I did enjoy the journey of Ingrid finding her dream of owning a bookshop, since that’s always been something I’ve been interested in. However, I think it was very clear to anyone who has any amount of rational thinking that the experiment Ingrid and her boyfriend wanted to pursue could only end in failure. This made it really difficult for me to understand their thinking around it and relate to the protagonist, and I often found myself wondering what Macon could possibly love about her. He kind of felt like a Darcy rip-off?

Very light fluffy read that lacked substance, which is not a bad thing, but I wish I found the plot and characters to be more coherent.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

ARC Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

I was surprised by how oblivious and selfish the FMC was. So many things that she did and wanted made no sense. She acknowledged some of it…but in the end red flags were everywhere! A majority of the story was centered on the FMCs personal growth and being alone after a long term relationship. (Which made less of a romance, only 15-20% was). It’s supposed to be a slow burn but throughout the story I felt no connection between them!

Spoilers
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These characters were so annoying! When they FINALLY got together they joked about having feelings for each other while in other relationships. 🙄

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Saturday Books for the ARC

This was a fun and easy read, but I think it would appeal to a younger audience. When Ingrid and her long term live-in boyfriend decide to date others for a month before settling down, nothing goes as planned. We read about the funny and terrible realities of modern dating and watch as Ingrid eventually sets her sights on long time coworker and friend Macon. Their relationship is a slow burn. The library and bookstore settings sounded appealing, but political commentary, modern relationships, and unbelievably sweet dialogue and pronouncements of longing left me shaking my head. I did recommend the book to my twenty-three year old daughter, however. Not a book for me though..
Thanks to NetGalley and Saturday Books, part of MacMillan Publishing, for the ARC.

I will always, always, always love books about librarians, and this is especially true with this one as I currently live in North Carolina. This is a slow burn, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. I usually read fast-paced romance novels, so this was a much needed change of pace.

I guess I should have read reviews or the blurb before I requested this book. For me, the only positive is the cover, it’s gorgeous.
The storyline and characters…. Just nope.

~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

Grumpy sunshine is one of my favorite tropes. I usually love Stephanies books and i know this one is not her norm....it was certainly missing something for me. I loved Macon's character and i loved the emotional aspect of this (I definitely cried), but it just fell short for me. I didn't care for how slow the book seemed to be paced and I didn't like that Ingrid was casually sleeping around in the beginning of the book. This one was a middle of the road for me.

I was so excited to dive into this book! The cover is adorable, I love the setting in a library, and the situation the FMC has found herself in. It felt very real, while simultaneously crazy to think of taking a "break" Ross and Rachel style. The cover being bright and floral threw me for a loop when the beginning of the story takes place in the middle of a snowstorm. But don't worry, the story does heat up, it's a slow burn, so hang in there, however! Overall, an enjoyable read!

This book is so slow that at one point I read someone’s name and had no idea who it was. I racked and racked my brain until finally, a few paragraphs later, I realized that it was the name of her boyfriend WHO WAS A BIG PART OF THE BOOK UP TO THIS POINT.

Also, the author spent a whole bunch of time talking about character names and how to pronounce them. If you have to explain how to pronounce a name and it’s not going to be an important part of the story, then call it a day and name them Sally Smith and Tom Jones..

I felt it was pretty obvious who we were supposed to root for from the first time we meet him. But, why? He’s grouchy, non-communicative, and the description of his home makes him sound like the saddest of losers.

I was so annoyed with the whole set-up that I started writing comments to myself to get through the book. I’ve hidden them as spoilers.

<spoiler>

I just made it to April. 41% of the way through this book. Ingrid broke up with Cory at the end of March. She’s sooooo sad. But she’s been sleeping with other men for two months. Is she really surprised that she is done with Cory? And, here’s the other thing. She broke it off with Gareth because their relationship was too much like her relationship with Cory. And she longed for a more mature relationship. So, why is she nearly comatose after the break-up? In other news, Cory is hung up on someone who seems to be a lot more interesting than Ingrid. Ingrid needs to grow a personality.

WHEN WILL THIS BE OVER?

My conclusion: I am too old to read slow books. I no longer have the interest nor patience.

April. Finally halfway through. Interaction between Ingrid and Macon. (May-kin, not Mace-un). She basically tells him she has no life, no outside interests. Why doesn’t she get back on the dating apps and sleep around NOW THAT SHE’S FREE OF A RELATIONSHIP? Ingrid annoys me. Macon tells her that he occasionally orders in pizza but no chain restaurants, only veggie toppings, and he composts the box. How very precious of him. Macon annoys me, too. He’s the reason we have r/vegancirclejerk on Reddit. And, I’m saying that as a vegetarian.

54% of the way through. I have realized that I am too old to constantly read the word f¥€k in casual usage over and over.

62%. I thought we were making progress. Ingrid is finally doing something to improve her life (even though she moans and groans over the basically free place she’s been living, while turning down the absolutely free room in Macon’s home). Macon was even growing on me a little. But then he talked about how his job as a librarian was a noble calling, and I threw up a little in my mouth. And, I’m saying that as a teacher who feels I’m doing what I am meant to do.

74%. Another unpronounceable name. Bildungsroman. Whyyyyyyy? You need store names that roll off the tongue. Compare “I want to browse the books at Dahl’s.” to “I want to browse the books at Bildungsroman.” And I say this as a person who likes unusual words and origins.

And, of course, Macon nearly ejaculates in his shorts when he hears the name because he’s so magniloquent. I’ve met librarians. I like librarians. None of them are like this.

79%. Macon kisses Ingrid on the cheek and she realizes she’s in love with him. Her friends tell her that he obviously loves her, too. But, because he’s a (their words) shy librarian, she’ll have to make the first move. Ugh. Man up, Macon. Grow a pair. I don’t mind a quiet guy, but, dude, you’re going to be 40 in a month. Just because you’re quiet doesn’t mean you can’t seize the reins a bit here.

79%. Ingrid has to sleep in Macon’s bed while he’s out of town dealing with a dead relative’s stuff. She’s so turned on by lying on his she’s that she…ugh. I can’t with this -ish.

82% After approximately 326 pages of slow burn, they kiss, fall into bed, admit their love, and have sex again. I skimmed as fast as I could. I just really didn’t care at this point.

84% Lord, now they’re making up for lost time by sharing that they masturbated while smelling each others’ scents in sheets and towels. Am I a prude? Is this what passes for romance these days?

89% So, Macon is overwhelmed at the thought of going to Riley’s wedding. Macon doesn’t much like to socialize. Macon prefers his own company to that of other people. Not knocking Macon’s choices, because I’m the same. But, I am also divorced and chose not to remarry for those reasons. Trust me, Ingrid, it’s hard being with someone who has social anxiety.

Macon dates Ingrid for three weeks before asking her to move in, and then proposes about 2 weeks after that. The finish line is in sight.

</spoiler>

Final thoughts. It’s wrong to call this a slow burn romance. It’s a Bildungsroman. The last 15% is tolerable, but you might not have the patience to read the other 325 pages.

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They'll take a one-month break to date other people, then they'll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship—and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.

This was a hard one for me to get through. The female main character was just alot to take. For the age thay she was she was very cringy and just very immature and lost. Which I imagine is my own personal bias because I am the same age as she is In the book and im not in her situation. Trying to kiss her coworker the first day she gets back after telling him she's sort of 'still in a relationship' was crazy to me. And then telling all of her coworkers her entire personal life and dating half the town. I felt awful for the male characters in this book. She used and led on a few of them and it wasn't really fair for them. poor Gareth. I even liked her ex more than her. But the ending did get better. She definitely redeemed herself some. She was able to get the store going and finally realize she couldn't force herself on Macen. Every woman needs a Macen and the ending was adorable with him.

3.5 Stars
Overdue is a sweet, slow journey of a woman whose career and relationship make sharp pivots over the span of a year.

I did really enjoy the friendships in this book that shone - friendship is such a hard thing in adulthood, and it was beautiful to see Ingrid learn to both rely on and show up for others. This was definitely the highlight of the book for me, and Macon & Ingrid’s friendship in particular.

I also enjoyed the work pivot and discussion of family upbringing and sisterhood - Perkins had some insightful thoughts on these topics that added to the story.

The story did drag a bit and stretch - sometimes it seemed to me the characters also acted a bit outside of their given age range. But I enjoyed this story - it was a cozy read.

I loved this book! I found myself always thinking about it and wanting to pick it up. I also absolutely LOL'd at Ingrid's dating journey online, it was so relatable. And then of course I swooned over her and Macon, it is a very Slow Burn - but I love a good pining!

Ingrid and her long-term boyfriend, Cory decide to hit pause on their 11 year relationship for one month after Ingrid's sister gets engaged forcing them to reevaluate where their future is heading. Ultimately, they decide to date other people before taking the next steps toward marriage.

Of course, Ingrid already has someone in mind: her grumpy coworker, Macon, whom she's secretly been crushing on. However, as always, life has other plans for Ingrid, and things get complicated.

Tropes:
- Slow Burn
-Grump X Sunshine
-Friends/ Coworkers
-Take a Break with a twist
-Age Gap


Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin Press / Saturday Books for this ARC of Overdue in exchange for my honest opinion.

A late bloomer coming-of-age story of Ingrid, who dreams of leaving the library to open her own bookstore. Ingrid has been with her boyfriend for 11 years and they decide to experiment with dating other people. Enter Macon, Ingrid's grouchy coworker at the library. Macon refuses to date Ingrid during her open relationship time, but is a great friend to her. This book was a slow burn, but cozy and sweet.

I wasn’t crazy about the premise of Cory and Ingrid agreeing to break up for a month (which turns into months) to go sow their wild oats and then get back together, but once that got resolved it was a sweetly satisfying slow burn love story between Ingrid and Macon. Loved the cozy book-centeredness; I skipped the steamy scenes. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I am so glad to report that it did not disappoint. I have been a @naturallystephperkins fan since 2010 and Anna/Isla/Lola still mean so much to me so I had very high hopes for this one and am so happy with it.

We got to follow Ingrid on a year long journey of self-discovery and finding her path, while also falling in love. This to me was more of a novel with a romance subplot than a romance book with side plots happening, but that felt like exactly what it was supposed to be for Ingrid.

Once we really got into Ingrid and Macon’s friendship and seeing it grow and become something new, I fell in love with both of these characters and how deeply they mattered to each other. This was sweet and caring and felt like a perfect read for someone who is also trying to find themselves and create a new path.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins/Saturday Books for this ARC for an honest review

This was such a lovely and unexpected story! I love a good grumpy/sunshine story, and with librarians?! Yes please! I had read some of Stephanie Perkins' YA novels before I even realized this was the same author, and her move into adult romance did not disappoint. Her characters had heart, chemistry, and the story had an overall warmth to it. I look forward to more writing from this author. Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this arc!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this!
This is really a tale of two books squished into one. In the first portion we follow Ingrid (a librarian) as she goes on an 'experiment' with her current boyfriend: sleep with other people to see if they're missing out. A poor attempt at hooking up with her coworker leads to a ton of awkward tension and a series of dates that never quite deliver on the experiment but DO teach her she's not ready to marry her current boyfriend.
The second half of the book follows Ingrid on a task to find herself post-boyfriend split and a growing friends to lover story with that coworker, Macon. There's a bit of an age gap (although never really developed), incredibly slow burn, soul-searching plotline that takes her to a new line of work, home improvement projects, and eventually some spicy scenes.
This is a solid 3.5 stars for me...this is SLOW. Very slow. If you're looking for immediate romance payoff, this isn't it. But I did really enjoy the very long development of the friends to lovers plotline. I did think Ingrid and Macon worked well together, and the author did a great job of capturing Macon without ever actually being in his head. I'm a book lover and this is a book for book lovers: lush library and bookstore settings, tons of talks of different stories. When the romance does finally boil over things start to happen at a much faster speed but when you're doing the will they won't they dance for so long...about time you get to the pace.
Enjoyable read...just be ready for the long haul.

I really enjoyed this book. I absolutely devoured the last half to find out how the main characters got together.

The first bit felt a little bit childish and I cringed a couple of times which brought me out of the story. However, I loved it from the time we get to see Macon's character without the sourly/cold attittude and I wish we got to see more communication from him. At the end of the book, I was wanting more of their story and did not want the book to end!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc!

When I read the description for this book, I was definitely intrigued. I like slow burn and pining, but when I tell you this book is slow burn, it's SLOW. I really struggled for a couple weeks to get through the first 100 pages, and I wasn't sure if I could actually finish it because it was that slow. The whole book takes place over a year, and I desperately wanted it to speed up. To me, there was no chemistry between Ingrid and all of the other men she decided to date, and honestly I think at least one of those short relationships could've been omitted completely. It also just took forever for Ingrid and Macon to even begin to flirt with each other. I could definitely feel the pining, but I wanted to read it from Macon's POV too. I think having a dual POV could've helped move the story along, but I do get that the whole point is to grow with Ingrid as she matures without Cory. The experiment between Ingrid and Cory probably could've ended much sooner because it was dragged out for far too long. I wanted the relationship between Macon and Ingrid to start earlier because their chemistry was so strong. For me, it's also incredibly difficult when COVID is mentioned in books. It takes me out of the story, and I honestly don't think it was even important to mention it. Call it a book ick, but I don't need COVID or current slang/pop culture being mentioned. Positively, Macon is a pining KING. Who doesn't want their dream guy to make their house your dream house?

Overdue is the debut novel by Stephanie Perkins. A slow-burn romance between two librarians, Ingrid & Macon, who have been coworkers/friends for years, but are both at points in their lives where a new chapter is due. Told from Ingrid's point of view as she works towards true happiness both professionally & romanticly.
Thank you, #NetGalley & St. Martin's Press, for the ARC of the Overdue. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book, with all thoughts and opinions being my own. If you enjoy a progressive way of thinking, plenty of self-reflection, some family drama, a sprinkling of passion, as well as romance that'll make you swoon, then you'll enjoy this lovely story, #Overdue by Stephanie Perkins.