I've always enjoyed Suzanne Park's books, both YA and adult, and this is no exception! It was a fast-paced and fun read that had me laughing out loud several times. And even though it had such hilarious moments, it also touched on some pretty serious things like systemic racism, imposter syndrome, cultural differences, and ageism. I appreciated that the author was able to intertwine the serious topics and the lighthearted moments into a cohesive plot that kept me wanting more. It made it a captivating story from start to finish. The main reason it wasn't a five-star read was that when it comes to books with romance, I prefer them to be on the spicier side. This is categorized as women's fiction and romance, but I'd say it'd be more appropriate to categorize it solely as women's fiction.

Overall, this was another great read by one of my all-time favorite authors, and I hungrily anticipate more of her works in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

One word: Unexpected!

Much more women's fiction than romance, the main focus of the book was much more female friendship to the romance, To me, the romance felt a little flat/forced.

Loved the academic/going back to school storyline and I think a lot of readers will relate to the feeling of wanting to try and do something new and struggling with imposter syndrome.

If you go into it thinking more about it being a second chance at life rather than second chance romance, I think you will find it an empowering read!

The Do-Over by Suzanne Parks is a very fun and fast read!! It will be a book that I recommend to lots of readers!!

Lily is 32 years old and has published a book. She is going to start a new job and discoveries that she did not actually graduate from college!!!

Parks takes us on a journey of Lily returning to college to finish these classes. One of the biggest surprises is that the TA in her computer class is her old college boyfriend!! Will Lily be able to finish these classes and the other requirements sent her way???

Really enjoyed this one that is out on 4/4!! Preorder now!!!

The Do-Over by Suzanne Park
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam: Closed Door
Pub Date: 4/4

After a routine background check for a new job shows that Lily never actually graduated from college, she has to go back and complete the credits she needs before she can take the job. As if the situation isn't complicated enough, her first college love is one of her TAs.

I enjoyed this women's fiction novel about growth, self-love, and empowerment. Familial expectations, mental health, second chances, and friendship are all themes explored throughout the story. I think that the synopsis and cover are slightly misleading since this is not as heavy on the romance as it would appear to be. While I still enjoyed the book, I would have had different expectations going into it if I had known that it leaned more toward women's fiction.

The friendship between Lily and Mia took center stage for me, and I liked the rest of Lily's friend group, too. The subplot about Lily's parents' unrealistic expectations was also well done. I didn't feel any chemistry between Lily and Jake, which was disappointing because even with such a minor, romantic subplot, I would have liked their relationship to be believable.

I like Park's writing style and will surely check out more from her in the future. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Avon for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not really into second-chance romances and this book didn't change my mind about it.

Lily is successful in life - in her ten years since college she has written a best selling book and made amazing strides in the corporate world. However, in the interview process for her dream job she learns she didn't pass the background check because she apparently doesn't have a college degree. It turns out she was a few credits shy and now must return to college to complete her degree. She soon finds out a lot has changed since she was in college, the classes, the parties, and her ex boyfriend.

I was expecting more romance and at least a likable romantic interest. I'm sorry, I just didn't vibe with Jake at all. I did love her friend group though and Lily's growth throughout the book.

Read this if you're into:
-minimal steam
-witty writing
-ride or die friend groups
-strong, independent women

I went into this book expecting one thing and got something... very different? I think I was anticipating more of a romance, but this landed a lot closer to women's fiction instead, in terms of Lily's road to realizing that revisiting her past doesn't have to be considered a setback or a failure. The parts between her and Jake were so promising, and then the book barely focused on them in light of shining more focus on its protagonist's individual arc. In other words, that might not necessarily be a deal-breaker for other readers, but I was hoping for something divergent from what this turned out to be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Would you want to go back and do-over any part of your life?
In The Do-Over, Lily has to return to college to finish her degree because she didn’t technically graduate, as she finds out 10 years later when she fails the background check for her new job. But guess who the hot TA in one of her classes is? Her college boyfriend! And he’s looking mighty fine… So with a second chance at college (and her career), will she now have a second chance at love, too?
I thought this was a fun read, and I liked seeing Lily’s growth. I didn’t feel as connected to the romance storyline, and I’d recommend this one for women’s fiction readers over romance readers. The author addresses anxiety and imposter syndrome in a realistic manner and represents Asian Americans, too.
Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on Tuesday!

Thank you @avonbooks for a copy of this book. This was a fun rom com about Lily, a semi-famous writer that discovers she missed a few credits and never graduated from college. Lily goes back is paired with a bubbly roommate and her BFF visits and enjoys Lily's second chance in college. Lily's TA is her college sweetheart and must decide how to act with him. I enjoyed the flash back and the shenanigans Lily gets into this time around in college. I enjoyed the women's empowerment focus on the story as well. I didn't really buy the second chance romance between Jake and Lily but did not impact my enjoyment.

Lily Lee is in a quandary. As a successful author and interviewee for her dream job, she finds out she never finished her undergrad degree. Oops. So she takes time off from her big time life so she can secretly finish her degree at her alma mater. The TA of her course just happens to be her ex, Jake Cho as in college boyfriend. There is a wacky best friend, Mia and a silly yet multitalented roommate, Beth who was just waiting around to become her newest friend and life line. The O’Haras are her competition in her field, Cam, a nemesis and Mary, who is a welcome surprise. You’ll see. There are the disappointed and roadblock parents and blasts from the past that explain it all.

What I liked: women empowering other women, witty banter and silly situations, the love interest, Jake, and Mary. The hot button issues were explained and dealt with for the main characters.

What I didn’t like as much: skipping over all love scenes to the point where I felt like I skipped pages, waited long enough and just nada and Lily and Mia just up and leaving their lives whenever they wanted with no worries about money and responsibilities. Maybe I am just wishing I could too and I am bitter but it bugged me.

I would lean to 3 1/2 stars but it wasn’t quite 4 stars for me.

When Lily learns from a work background check that she did not technically finish her undergraduate degree, she must return to the university and take one last semester of classes 10 years later. On her first day of classes she finds that her ex-boyfriend is a PhD candidate and the TA for her computer science class. Lily embraces some aspects of college culture while still trying to keep her real reason for being back under wraps so the publishers of the book she is writing do not find out.

I found this book to be extremely frustrating. My biggest issue was that this book is plainly marketed as a romance (the cover and blurb scream second chance romance), but it’s not. It’s women’s fiction with a romantic sub plot. I was expecting a true romance so the fact that the romance wasn’t even a B sub-plot, but more of a C or D level sub-plot was just annoying. The romance wasn’t the main plot of the book. The main plot was Lily learning and growing more confident in herself. If the book had been advertised as women’s fiction it would have easily been a 4 star book, but the marketing set expectations in the wrong place.

My other issues were to do with the college aspects. I fully admit that I went to a bizarre university (BYU), but there were just so many things about the university in the book that just felt off. Like I said it may have just been my college experience, but this college just felt absurd. The idea that she had 6 weeks after the start of the semester to change classes, doesn’t make sense, to drop a class, sure, but not add a new one. The idea that she was the only person in her 30s on campus and in classes when the university clearly has masters and PhD students is so odd. The fact that she wasn’t given a clear list of what she needed to graduate (like finding out half way through the semester there was a swimming requirement) felt like a choice by the author to cause chaos when there is no chance that such a thing would happen in the real world. I do fully believe that people think they’ve finished a degree when they haven’t but the rest of it was just so absurd.

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

I absolutely love Suzanne Park's writing and this book did not disappoint! Packed with Suzanne's signature wit, this book also tackles the very real and relatable issue of imposter syndrome. I really enjoyed watching Lily navigate something I deal with often myself. And the second chance romance is so sweet, I loved watching Lily and Jake find their way back to each other. Another winner from Suzanne!

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @avonbooks for an early copy of The Do-Over by Suzanne Park. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

The Do-Over tells the story of Lily, a non-fiction career writer applying for a coveted position at a top firm who finds out that she’s short a few college credits and never actually completed her degree a decade ago. In order to earn those credits, she needs to go back to her alma mater. She’s enrolled in new classes and gets the full college experience again in her thirties, additionally, she gets to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend from college, Jake, who’s currently a graduate student and her computer science TA. Would she be able to hold on to her dream job opportunity and amazing author reputation?

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Having to go back to college to complete a degree you initially thought you have already earned all those years ago is bizarre and nerve-wracking. It’s a nightmare turned into reality.

The Do-Over is a novel about second chances, a second chance to discover new things, and a second chance at love. Reluctantly, Lily had to take a computer science class her second time at college, though she opted to take Statistics class instead (she had some experience with one of her previous jobs and deems it would be an easy class for her instead of CS class), it was already full. Despite having no prior experience with the subject matter, she thrived and excelled in her CS class and was one of the top students. She also made new friends in the class, and with Jake, her ex-boyfriend, as her TA, they were able to reconnect and smooth things over regarding their breakup all those years ago.

I loved Lily’s character and her strength to go college all over again. Despite her anxieties, I’m also glad that she has Mia, her best friend, as a support system. The characters were admirable, and I enjoyed reading second chance at young adulthood, but my takeaways from this story aren’t as many as I expected them to be.

Rating this ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases April 4th, 2023!

Starting over....

Lily Lee thought she had things in the bag. She is offered the top position at a firm to be turned down because her background check shows she did not graduate from college. She knows that she did. Except, walking the stage and taking part in the graduation ceremony does not mean that you graduated. So back to school she goes.

She is shocked when she sees that her old college boyfriend, Jake Cho is one of her TA's. He seems to have everything going for him while she is on the verge of losing it all.

This book touches on many things such as family expectations, tough choices, friendship, second chances, mental health, taking care of yourself, and school life. I thought I would love it, unfortunately it was good not great.

If you are reading this book thinking it will be heavy on the romance, it is not. It is more like a journey that Lily is on. It is about her taking care of herself, about empowerment, and going back so you can go forward. Yes, there is romance, but it is not the focus. I enjoyed the parts about female friendship and starting over, being empowered. These parts shined for me.

Overall, an okay book but should be labeled a tad differently. I believe readers will enjoy this book more if they go in thinking less about romance and more about it being a women's fiction book.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the romance equivalent of a Girlboss book and had all the cringe to match. The dialogue didn’t flow, the romance didn’t feel real, the coincidences felt wayyyyyyy to staged. I didn’t really like any of the characters and felt that this was just not worth the time to read

Thanks to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Suzanne Park for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for the Do-Over coming out April 4, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Bestselling author Lily Lee is on deadline to bring forth her career guide How to Land the Perfect Job. She’s offered a highly sought after position at her dream company, but the employer’s background check shows that by some fluke she never finished her college degree.

Lily returns to her senior year of college again, after walking across the stage at graduation a decade earlier. Just as she starts getting used to the idea of being a student again, things take a turn for the worst when she finds out that her computer science TA is her old college boyfriend, Jake Cho.

As Lily and Jake get to know each other again, she sees that her late-blooming ex has done well for himself. He seems to have his life together, while Lily’s on the brink of losing her good reputation and her book deal.  

The Do-Over is about the second chances life has to offer. There are chances to reconnect and the future might not be clear, but we end up where we belong.

I’ve read all of Suzanne Park’s books. I love Korean stories and I love her writing style. Her stories are usually very relatable. This one felt different. I think it was more adult rather than her usual YA sweet romances. I wish I could say I loved it, but there were things I didn’t care for. I think the romance took a backseat and it was hard to see why they wanted to get back together after all that time. I thought Lily was a strong character and I related to her struggle of navigating her life. I also loved that she was an author. It was a little harder to get an idea of Jake’s character. I didn’t feel as connected to him. I do love the idea of second chances in life and I thought the overarching themes were good. If Suzanne Park writes other novels like this, I would definitely check them out.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary second chance stories!

DNF at 57%

Honestly, I don't think this book is for me. It wasn't bad, I just could not get into it. I think other people will really enjoy this for it's not for me

Lily has a mishap and finds out that she never technically graduated college. So, back she goes to her almamater to finish out the credits she needs so that she can get the job she has worked so hard for. When she gets there, the TA for her class is none other than Jacob. Jake, who left her when she needed him the most. Jake who broke her heart.
He is determined to make things right between them, but she needs to focus on keeping a low profile and just getting things done. It wouldn't be right to be caught with her TA, even if they have a past and she is the same age. She is still a student. As she struggles with the class, Jake helps her through it and they begin to get closer. She has to figure out if she wants to let him back in again and trust that he won't let her down, or just focus on her future.
I really liked this story, but there were a few inconsistencies that I struggled to get past. The journey was more about Lily and finding her true self and how she wants her future to look going forward. I enjoyed that portion of the book, but I did struggle with the romance. While Jake was a perfect book boyfriend and super sweet, I just didn't feel any of the passion I was hoping to feel. I absolutely loved Lily's mom though, she was a great addition to the story. 3.5 Stars
Thank you to Avon, Suzanne Park and Netgalley for an early copy.

It wasn’t great, it wasn’t bad, but it also just wasn’t. I didn’t find myself particularly caring about the characters or the dilemmas that they had been put it. I was a smidge board with the antics given the age of some of the cast. The maturity levels seems a bit scattered.

The Do-Over is only my second read by Suzanne Park, but it will not be my last. As this novel read more as a women’s fiction story with a side of romance, it might be good for future readers to alter their expectations before reading. I think if I knew this, then I would have felt differently while reading. The story follows 32-year-old Lily Lee, who is working on a new book, How to Land the Perfect Job, when she discovers that she never finished her bachelor’s degree while applying for a job. She returns to her alma mater, Carlthorpe College, where she will need to re-do her senior year of the college experience to graduate now officially.

Returning to school ten years later is never easy, so it was interesting to read about Lily’s journey. When Lily attends her computer science class that she needs to graduate, she discovers that the TA is her ex-boyfriend, Jake Cho. With this new complication, Lily has a lot to deal with as she goes through the on-campus college life, trying to continue to be an author, and navigate new and old relationships. Lily is not alone in this journey, though, as she has her best friend, Mia, and her new roommate, Beth, that are there were her.

Lily and Jake were both enigmas to me. As the two of them reconnect and revisit their past, there are glimpses into their previous relationship, but there was still something that felt unfinished. I think this was due to Jake not being highlighted enough in the story. It never seemed he gained many layers as a character, and I needed more to want him included as a potential love interest. I also feel that more exploration into Lily was needed. She is redoing her college experience, including frat parties, and it would be nice to really explore why. There are bits and pieces into these reasons, but I still never really understood it. The same is also for Lily’s career paths as she begins to enjoy computer science, she has her author job, and she had the other dream job from the beginning of the story. There are a lot of paths for Lily, but I never feel like this is all resolved or its clear that this was the point of the story. Overall, this was a fun concept, but it needed a lot more details to get all the various points across to the reader. I still enjoy Park’s easy and enjoyable writing style, so I will read more in the future, but this particular one was not quite for me.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Avon, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This book was a sweet second chance story as lily returns to college ten years later only to discover the teacher aide is her old college boyfriend. This book was cute enough although I'm not so sure it was exactly a romance, it reminded me more of a general fiction novel. That being said I did still really enjoy lily as a character and how much she grew both in her career, as well as managing her anxiety and her complicated relationship with her parents.