I wanted to like this slow burn romance novel but it was a bit too slow for me and while I appreciate the characters and story the author was trying to convey, it just wasn’t a fit for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was fast paced, and had such a good flow. I love Ingrid, and i like Macon, but Ingrid really stood out the most to me.

I really loved that we didnt just get the slow burn relationship building, we also got Ingrid's self discovery and growth. That was the best part for me, and i really resonated with it. We dont always gets that with romance books, and it really gave it more depth.

The only part that was wild to me was being with someone for 11 years and not already being engaged. It took her sister getting engaged to have them question their relationship, and tbh that shouldve happened like 8-9 years ago.

Omg...I loved this! I have not read this author before so I was pleasantly surprised

I'm feeling under so I spent part of yesterday and today on my sofa reading and feel in love with Ingrid and Macon.

Igrid and Macon are each others work wife/work husband. Until Ingrid's long term relationship suddenly ends and that dynamic is totally shook up.

It was a long book for a rom-com but I was ok with that since I loved the story so much!

Book available on October 7th.

Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC.

Overdue tells the story of Ingrid, a librarian who agrees to take "a break" from her relationship in order to date other people. Ingrid and Corey have been together for eleven years and decide to date other people before they get engaged. Ingrid has her co-worker in mind when she agrees to Corey's idea. This novel is described as a lusty showburn romance. I disagree with this description. This book gave me female empowerment vibes and explored the main character finding herself and exploring her dreams without needing a man. I rated this two stars because the premise isn't exactly what the book was about.

A quick and fast paced read. The characters were great and the story was good. I love a book that involves one of my favorite places to be…the library.

As a Stephanie’s Anna and the French Kiss lover when I was a teenager I was really excited to read this book. This story isn’t just about romance—it’s about self-discovery, timing, and the quiet moments that can change everything. More like a slow burn but worthy at the end. I didn’t expect to feel so invested, but I genuinely loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and Saturday Books for allowing me to read this arc. As a librarian myself, I loved the setting of the library and bookstore. The storyline was great, the book was so sweet and of course the much deserved HEA brought tears to my eyes.

I read a few reviews early in my reading of this book, which is not something I typically do, on purpose. I agree with a lot of them that the book is slow to begin but the overall story makes up for that in the end. A romance about book lovers & librarians, so what could be bad? There is spice (open door) but nothing too graphic. A good romance for all book lovers!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC!
After devouring Anna and the French Kiss years ago, I decided to give Stephanie’s adult book a go. While this did have a lot of elements I thought I was going to like, ultimately it was just too long and moved too slow for me. I’m not anti-slow burn, but I need other plot points happening to make me want to keep picking up the book, and this didn’t really have that. The majority of the book was about the main character’s struggles with her career and opening her bookstore, which just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.

OVERDUE follows protagonist Ingrid in the aftermath of her sister getting engaged to her girlfriend of two years--causing her and longtime boyfriend Cory to re-evaluate their 11-year relationship and if they really want to be together. They agree to take a month apart to see other people and at the end of that time, either get engaged or break up.

I enjoyed Perkins’s YA books when I was in high school, and I was so excited to see that she’s releasing her adult debut in October!

Admittedly, I struggled with the beginning of this book. I would say the first 30% felt incredibly slow, and I found myself frustrated with Ingrid and Cory because it felt PAINFULLY obvious to me that they had no business being in a relationship, but it took them much longer to figure that out. There was also a lot of telling instead of showing in the beginning, as we sped through various dates Ingrid went on and recapped them all instead of showing them to the reader.

Once that initial hump is over, though, OVERDUE really found its pacing and hit its stride. What I felt this book was actually about—Ingrid finding a new career and developing her relationship with Macon—was much more compelling than the serial dating at the beginning of the book.

Despite my critiques, I did like Cory’s character a lot and really enjoyed when he popped up in the story. While he was obviously not right for Ingrid as a romantic partner, I loved their friendship and thought it was very sweet how they continued to show up for each other.

Fair warning with this book: the slow burn does truly burn so slow, but I LOVED that. It made it all the more satisfying when these two finally admitted their feelings for each other! And Macon, of course, was the perfect love interest. What can I say? I love a grumpy/sunshine pair!

I also appreciated how Perkins portrayed Ingrid mourning the loss of her relationship with Cory. Even though it was something she knew was coming, it felt very honest and relatable how she grieved for the future she thought she was going to have. And I appreciated the slow-burn romance for the same reason—I liked that Macon and Ingrid didn’t immediately start dating.

Of course, I do always love a solid cast of friends, especially when they act as a found family, and this book was no exception. I also appreciated Ingrid and Macon being two characters who weren’t interested in having children but were supportive of their friends who were choosing to have kids—I think we need more of that in romance novels. Not everyone’s happy ending needs to include having children!

In all, I would recommend this book—just keep in mind that you’ll have to be patient through that slow beginning. But I think the payoff was worth it :)

Thank you to Netgalley and Saturday Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ingrid and her college boyfriend, Cory, have been dating for 11 years. They decide to take a month long break to date other people, before getting back together to discuss marriage. Ingrid has had a crush on her co-worker, Macon, for many years and is excited to maybe get to know him a little better. This was an enjoyable read but I'm not sure I've a huge fan of the slow burn. This felt like a lot of yearning for 80% of the book, then poof, everything is perfect. Aesthetically, though, this book felt like a warm hug since it was a love letter to books, bookish people and introverts.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie Perkins and Saturday Books for the eARC!

This slow burn romance was good, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it were not quite so long and drawn out. It was a cute story though, and I will check out more books by Stephanie Perkins in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing and ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Really enjoyed the slow burn romance between Ingrid and Macon. Friends to lovers!

Ingrid has been with her boyfriend, Cory from college for eleven years without marrying. They decide to separate for one month to test the waters on dating and sex, since neither of them has been with anyone else, ever,

It seemed easier for Cory to manage this than Ingrid, not just a gender thing, but finding what finding what she really wanted for her future. Ingrid needed to discover more about herself in this quest and it was going to take more than a month.

Macon is Ingrid's library coworker. They work very well together as friends but Ingrid would like to explore more. Macon is a bit shyer than Ingrid so she can't really tell if her likes her in a romantic way. The fun of this story is exactly that journey.

Loved it!

This was a light sweet read. It did feel a bit long at times but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy, my opinions are my own.

The novel follows a young woman in her late twenties navigating the ups and downs of life, love, and self-discovery while working in a small-town library. While I really enjoyed the premise and the overall tone of the book,the word flow in the narrative felt choppy at times. A character who works in a library and has a strong connection to books would likely have a better grasp of expression, and at times, the writing didn’t fully reflect that. The slow burn between Ingrid and Mason, with their growing curiosity and connection, was much more engaging. In the end, despite the slow start, the book turned out to be a sweet, cute romance that wrapped up nicely.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!

I am too old for this book. I knew that immediately and was sorry I begun to read it. After a few chapters I researched the author and found that this is her first romance book for adults. She has written several YA books prior to this one. I think I am too much of “adult” for the story. I am sure a younger generation reader (under 30 years old) would probably enjoy this more than I did.

If you are okay with the following, then you will probably like the story: If a relationship is stagnant, sleep around with other people, if the attachment survives, stay in the relationship, otherwise, split up. Casual sex is not only acceptable, but also it is required to test the bond. It doesn’t matter who you use or upset during this experiment. No apologies are needed to those who you hurt during this trial.

I don’t agree with the above, so I had a major problem from the start. Also, the plot is filled with very liberal undertones, which once again, I don’t agree with.

The characters were not very appealing to me. They acted much younger than they should for their ages. It was very frustrating. The main character especially irritated me so much. I will add that during the story, she did show growth, which helped me continue to read, but her total disregard for her past actions still showed immaturity.

Even the food in the book was disgusting to me. I rolled my eyes so much while reading. Again, I am not the target audience. A younger person would probably run out to try the food described.

I knew how the book will end, because, you know, it is a romance, but I was interested in how the author was going to write the rest of the story, so I continued to read. I do not like to leave a book unfinished. I cannot say the plot did not hold my interest, but I was really glad to finally finish it (and it dragged on for me). I am old 😊, so I know how many times I wrote this already, but I am not the target audience, definitely too old for this story.

I debated the entire time while reading what star rating I would give. The writing is not bad, it is the plot that I had a difficult time with. I averaged how much I dislike the plot (1 star), even though it held my interest (but I constantly look at the % read, hoping it would end soon) with the actual written book (3 stars). I wanted my opinion stated though, and 3 stars is “okay”, so I went with 2 stars because this is a bit less than “okay” to me (at my age!).

I appreciate St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books (emailing a link of this book to me) and NetGalley for giving me opportunity to read the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

This book was just a nice, cozy read the whole way through. There’s just something nice to read about libraries and bookstore and home renovations.

From the start of the book, Ingrid’s relationships are flawed. She doesn’t make all the right choices, she doesn’t always keep people happy. To see the bit of growth throughout the story, which takes place over the course of a year, is heart warming.

Tropes: age gap, grumpy x sunshine, slow burn, soft MMC, flawed FMC.

I enjoyed this romantic comedy. The characters were well
written and dialogue was often humorous. The couple, Ingrid and Corey , have been together for 11 years. Ingrid works in the library and they have come to a decision that they need to date others and resume their live in status and continue on with a wedding after one month.

Humor ensues as Ingrid dates up many men. The side of Corey is left a mystery but it works. After one month they need more time. With each month passing they still need more time. Sorry too slow moving for me but an enjoyable story.

You know how cozy fantasy has been a big thing lately? That's what this book is minus the fantasy - it's a cozy romance! But the stakes are very much not low. I didn't read the book was about before diving in, so I was shocked when Cory and Iggy broke up and I was only 1/3 of the way into the book! I knew they were going to break up, obviously but I had no idea the whole back two thirds of the book were going to be so fun!

I loved watching Iggy find herself, find her footing with Macon, find her place in town and with her friends. Did I say this book was a romance? It is, but it also reads as a general fiction finding your way through life when it's turned upside down mere months before your 30th birthday. Iggy has the greatest friends, the greatest support system and I just want to move into town and shop in her bookstore and befriend every character in this book. I am definitely going to read Stephanie Perkins other books and start petitioning to get Cory's POV through all this as her next book because I want to see his romance arc!

A five star idea with a one star execution.

Needs way more character depth and the plot needed momentum. There’s slow burn then just embers.

I hope some edits have been made by publication.