This book had a super interesting premise. I liked the main character and her friends, but I felt the main male character was a little underwhelming. The mc’s opposition was definitely very predictable. However there were a few laugh out loud moments than greatly improved the book for me.

This is a cute story about believing in yourself, friendship and second chances.

Lily lee is a bestselling writer author and is set to land her dream job in the corporate world. But that all changes when a background check reveals that she never got her college degree. Believing this is all just a misunderstanding, Lily returns to her alma mater and learns in order to get her degree she must re-enroll and take a few classes. Now back in school, Lily is trying to navigate being a college student again when the TA of one of her classes is her ex-boyfriend Jake Cho. Lily is determined to finish her degree and get her dream job back before anyone finds out the truth. It can't be that hard, right?

I really enjoyed the books themes, which deals mostly with Lily overcoming the high expectations put on her by her family and herself. Also Lily's friendship with her best friend and roommate are the highlights of this book. There is a romance with Jake, but it's not the main story of the book -- which is fine, but I think marketing this as a romance is not accurate. It's more women's fiction, which I don't mind. I think the marketing gives readers false expectations and could lead to disappoint.

Overall, I think it's a fun, quick read. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑⁣
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: 𝐒𝐮𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 ⁣
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝟎𝟒.𝟎𝟒.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 ⁣
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I spent the weekend in LA’s Little Tokyo and Korea Town hanging out in coffee shops while I allowed myself to get lost in Suzanne Park’s latest novel, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑.⁣
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Having read all of Suzanne Park’s books, I strongly believe that 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 is one of her personal best. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 is about Lily Lee who after landing the job of her dreams, shockingly discovers through a background check that she never technically finished college. She goes back to finish her senior year and finds herself in a class with Jake Cho, her college ex-boyfriend who is now a TA while finishing his PhD. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 has all the elements of a Suzanne Park masterpiece - a story that is full of heart, complete with the doting Korean parents, a love interest that molded into the Kdrama star of your dreams, imperfect characters that can overcome impossible situations, but always relatable, and hopeful. ⁣
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I loved going back to the past and seeing how things would change if given another chance at life, love, and circumstance, while armed with life experiences and knowing what you know now. It’s a wonderful premise of a story that is uniquely original, poignant, and oh so fun to read.

Loved loved loved this book. The characters were awesome. It was more than a romance and it kept me in it

Lily is the author of a bestselling book series all about being successful in the workforce. As she is writing her new book on landing the perfect job, while working to get her personal dream job at a top firm, a background check reveals she didn’t actually graduate college. Ten years after she thought she graduated, Lily returns to her college to finish the last few credits needed to earn her degree. She fully dives back into college life - living in a dorm room with a roommate, attending frat parties, eating in the dining hall, and to make things even weirder, her college boyfriend happens to be her TA.

This book is all about self-growth and empowerment. Anyone who goes into it expecting a romance focus will likely be disappointed. The romance in this book is secondary to the character’s personal development. While the description makes it sound like a second chance romance, the book is more about second chances in life and finding a new path. That being said, I don’t often read synopsis and typically go into books blind, and I loved it. I thought Lily’s journey was inspiring and a great reminder that it is okay for life to go differently than planned. I also enjoyed seeing her fully embrace college life and have more fun than she did the first time around. Overall, I thought this was a fun read!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. Our main character Lily is on the trajectory toward her dream job when she finds out she didn’t actually have enough credits to graduate college. She ends up going back to school to finish out her degree and finds that the requirements have changed. She takes on some new STEM courses and finds out her ex is her TA for one of her courses.

Lily was a character you really wanted to root for. Her friends were honestly too good to be true, and I thought the past with Jake was a little rough around the edges. However, I loved her journey of self reflection and growth, and how she persevered through adversity.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#TheDoOver
#NetGalley
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Do-Over by Suzanne Park. If you like Suzanne Park's books you will defiantly want to read this one!

This was cute! I loved the premise of having to return back to college. I enjoyed watching Lily’s growth throughout the book and her friendships were A+! The second chance romance was done pretty well also. One critique I did have of the book was how many times Lily shamed herself for having gained weight since her original college days. I don’t feel like it added anything to the story, but it also decreased as Lily regained her confidence so it may just be indicative of where her head was at the time. Overall, super cute book, great friendships, would recommend!

Well, now I have a new fear to add to the list of college-related nightmares that pop up years after graduating...

But despite the anxiety that the first few chapters gave me, this was a really cute read! It kind of struck me as a mix of Legally Blonde and a less problematic version of Never Been Kissed.

Lily's do-over of her last semester of undergrad, ten years after she thought she graduated, was equal parts awkward and endearing. She starts off just intending to finish out her original degree but discovers that she might have skills and interests outside of her original major and career path.

The tech-related jargon might a little cringey for those familiar with the world of tech, but it wasn't the worst I've read. And it was a minor enough part of the book that it was easy enough to ignore.

Overall, very fun and sweet. Would recommend!

Content: fade-to-black

3.5 stars = Good +

I enjoyed this female empowerment story where the main character takes the lemons handed to her to make lemonade. The characters are fantastic, and the inevitable moment where things fall apart wasn't too painful. And the restoration afterwards was highly satisfying. I would have liked one of the side characters to have gotten a bigger smack upside the head, but I'm choosing to imagine that it happens eventually, just off page.

A second chance romance.
Lily has to head back to college later in life after a mix up, and the last person she expects to.see if Jake, her ex from college. Will be hurt her all over again? A fun read.

TW: anxiety, imposter syndrome, panic attacks

I truly appreciated the author’s note and how the author decided to shed light on mental health issues in the Asian American community, which is so important, through this story.

This novel had a mix of women’s fiction and romantic elements because the female MC not only gets a second chance to go to college but also a second chance at love.

Lily discovers that she never completed her college credits so she has to go back to school to graduate and runs into her ex-college BF, who ends up being her TA.

Unfortunately, Jake and Lily’s chemistry didn’t jump off the page for me so I didn’t enjoy the romance as much. Though their reason for break up before they reunite was interesting and I wondered what I would do in that situation myself.

However, I definitely appreciated the women’s fiction elements of the story including overcoming anxiety, self doubt, undue pressure from parental expectations, and imposter syndrome because they were relatable.

Lily’s return to college life was also a riveting aspect of the story and made me feel nostalgic. The author did a great job of transporting me back into the college environment. It definitely made me think what I would do differently if I got the opportunity to do-over college.

Furthermore, I also enjoyed reading about Lily’s writing life and her found family including her best friend, Mia.

This was not the romance I thought it was going to be when I started the book. It was a sub plot and I was fine with that being 2nd. The main plot is about a woman's path to discovering who you are what you want to do and helping other woman get the job/life they want. And its not about having all the money and power its for all woman.

Lilly write guide books to help get the job you want and in her current book for the dream job she finds out she was short credits to graduate college which she thought she had so she has to go back. And in the process take other classes that are new requirements and discovering a new challenge. Also facing her past she had a bad senior year and you get to touch on that.

She also finds out her EX from her senior year is her TA and she doesnt know how to handle this and can you start over with a person as well?

I love her roommate and the bonding they did and her best friend always being there as the best wing woman LOVED it.

There was so many good messages in this book It wasn't what I thought it was going to be it was better. I really enjoyed this one!

Thanks to Netgalley for this E-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Suzanne Park always seems to perfectly balance a personal growth after setback triumph with a second chance romance, where neither overshadow the other and they both compliment each other. In The Do-Over, there’s successful career-guidance guru who learns that she never actually graduated college, and needs to go back to her alma mater to finish a few credits…. Where she learns her ex-boyfriend is now her TA!

THE DO-OVER by Suzanne Park tells the story of Lily Lee, a successful author and businesswoman, who upon getting an offer for her dream job learns that she failed her background check and is one class away from completing the college degree she has been including on her resume. Lily returns to her alma mater, only to discover her old flame, Jake, is her TA.

This is my first of Suzanne Park's work and I was thrilled by the charming premise and the ownvoices representation. This one wasn't my cup of tea - some of the writing felt a bit forced or hard to believe, and I just had a hard time getting into the novel. I do think fans of Park and of second change romance would likely enjoy THE DO-OVER - it just wasn't the novel for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

If I could do a half star rating, this book would get a 3.5. A slow start kept it from being a solid 4 for me.

Loved the plot of Lily being forced to go back and finish her senior year of college. And I’m not usually a second chance romance fan, but Lily and Jake were so sweet together, you can’t help but root for their second chance to be their HEA. The representation of anxiety and how it can severely affect someone’s life was really important, and I thought it was depicted well.

The pacing of the first third to half of the book was a bit slow for me. I felt like the action and the romance both ramped up significantly in the second half though, so I’m glad I stayed with this one after the first few chapters when I was thinking maybe I wouldn’t.

Overall, it’s a fun read, tackles some important issues, and has a really sweet romance.

** Thanks to NetGalley and Suzanne Park for my eARC of this title! **

I really liked this take on a 2nd chance romance. It's full of hope and redemption, and focuses more on female empowerment than the love story, which is nice. The anxiety rep is great, and feels super relatable. I also LOVE Mia & Beth, and would be so excited if we saw their stories in the future.

I just couldn't get into this one. It felt very contrived. I understand that romances are not real life, but I like them to feel realistic. This book relied on so many coincidences and perfect storms of preposterous proportions. Also, the characters were extremely archetypal and not fully developed. DNF for me.

Lily Lee, in applying for her dream job, finds out that she didn't actually graduate college ten years ago (this is everyone's nightmare!) When she goes back to complete her last credits at her old university, she is surprised to find her old friend turned boyfriend, Jake. Can Lily graduate this time without completely ruining her career as a self-help author and will she find happiness with herself and Jake along the way?

I liked the supporting characters in this book a lot- maybe even more than the main characters. I was okay with the predictable storyline but didn't love it. This book had trouble holding my attention but wasn't terrible. Basically, I'd give this one a big shrug. Cute, had some interesting details and characters, but kind of forgettable.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

This book is a strong women’s fiction, with a huge focus on Lily’s personally journey as she returns to college to be able to move forward with her own life. The larger themes are well thought out and Park does a great job of making Lily someone the readers care for and want to cheer for.

In terms of romance, it did feel like a B plot to Lily’s own journey (which is totally fair but not what I was expecting when I began reading). I do wish I had gotten to know the LI better and seen more personality and growth on his part, even as a secondary character in Lily’s story.

If you’re looking for an inspirational story about a woman controlling her own future, this book will absolutely give you that.