Overall ⭐️ 3
Characters ⭐️ 4
Setting ⭐️ 5
Plot ⭐️ 2
Themes ⭐️ 3

The quirkiness and humor that moves this slow burn romance is so delightful! Like a diner that has tables themed to classic movies.

We have all been Ingrid trying to make big life decisions but feeling stuck by the weight of them. Ingrid is searching for the courage to take ownership of her story and make courageous decisions towards her happiness.

I love when authors grow with their audience and make the leap from YA to adult romance. Very Taylor Swify. However this book read a bit more like a YA novel to me. The romance was too slow for me. But Stephanie Perkins fans will love catching her latest work!

Wow, what a powerful and emotional read Overdue is!
The story centers around 29 year old Ingrid who has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for 11 years and never once have they talked about getting married. Her sister suddenly gets engaged after only 2 years so Ingrid and her boyfriend, Cory, decide to take a break (haha yes like FRIENDS) and date other people & get back together after a month. Ingrid has always had a crush on her coworker, Macon, and plans to just go after him. Well as usual, her plans don’t go the way she hoped and after a month, she & Cory aren’t ready to resume their relationship.
The story really shows how a relationship can sometimes you get too comfortable and the hardness of breaking up to move forward. It also was beautiful in reading how Ingrid really got to know herself and what she truly wanted out of her life.
This story was a very slow burn & can seem long at times, but the outcome was so rewarding.
Thank you so much NetGalley, and St.Martin's Press for this arc.

Warm, witty, and full of heart, this delightful romance explores love, growth, and the unexpected twists of relationships. Ingrid’s journey of self-discovery, sparked by a bold decision to explore other connections, is both relatable and refreshing. With charming characters and an engaging mix of humor and emotion, this is a perfect read for anyone who loves stories about navigating life’s uncertainties and following your heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, however I had to push myself to even get 46% of the way through it before ultimately DNFing it. The cover of the book is beautiful and I loved that the story featured librarians. This sloooooooooooowwwwwwww-burning romance was just too slow for me and I struggled to find the premise (not sure we want to marry, so let's date other people, sleep around, and find out if we still love each other) believable. The FMC, Ingrid, seemed juvenile and lacked emotional intelligence and stability in my opinion. The chemistry, or lack thereof, between Ingrid and Macon left me wanting more. I was hoping to feel the emotional pull and turmoil, but sadly, I did not.

Finally, I think the most off-putting aspect of this book for me was some of the politically sensitive issues that came up in the conversations between the characters. They weren't overly blatant, rather an off-handed comment that made it very obvious which side of the political aisle the character was on. I don't care what side of the aisle it is, I don't want to know where they stand...especially when it is not an integral part of the storyline. I much prefer when the characters stay politically neutral.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

Ingrid and Corey have been dating for years with no plans to marry. They are starting to feel the pressure to move on, but they feel they’ve missed out on other dating opportunities. They decide to take a month off from being together to see what they’ve been missing.

This was a great debut from the author and I’ll check out any future books she puts out. The writing was strong, the plot entertaining, and the banter was great. This was a small-town slow-burn, with lots of bookish things. I loved the characters and they had decent depth and back story. I highly recommend this book to romance lovers.

As a librarian, I'm always pretty suspicious of books about librarians but this one passes the test. Not only do I love a slow burn romance but so much of this book is about decorating spaces that I was all the way in. It hits a lot of familiar beats (grumpy dude, cheery girl) but there's a good cast of characters and setting.

This was such a cute and cozy story. My first book by Stephanie and it won’t be my last.
📖💕💐

This slow-burn book was entertaining. It featured small-town settings, downtown, libraries, and bookstores. The story explored character growth, friendships, and taking a leap in life.

The most enjoyable aspect was the emphasis on protecting meaningful relationships and recognizing when others have reached their limits. Relationships can be overdue to end or start, making this book particularly sweet.

QOTD:
What if the person you’re currently with isn’t the one for you? Would you be willing to take a month-long break from your current partner to explore other options and then resume your relationship?

I want to thank NetGalley and publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ingrid is still dating her first boyfriend after 11 years. And although those around them have moved onto new stages in life Ingrid and Cory haven't progressed. So they decide to take a one month break to see what else is potentially out there before committing to marriage.

Yes a lot of the results were a given from the beginning, but I still empathized with Ingrid and her feelings of being behind in life compared to those around her. And even though the outcomes might seem obvious to those on the outside, the one it's happening to still needs time to discover it on their own.

My first ARC and I couldn’t put this book down!! It’s a very slow burn and it’s so worth it! I loved the focus on Ingrid and her journey to finding her purpose and happiness.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222376487
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b01ea45d-be57-476b-bf6a-6c6995d93b05

i wanted to like this more than i did, but the concept itself was kind of strange and i just got soooo annoyed by the miscommunication like i think we all could figure out why macon didn't want to kiss ingrid on page 5 but she somehow couldn't figure that one out for 400 pages????? a lot of it just felt elongated for no reason... i feel like it had a lot of potential but it just didn't keep me there

This book was interesting. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Some parts were sweet and emotional and others were unexpected. This was kind of chic lit for me more than I expected but I still enjoyed it.

Stephanie, girl, welcome to adult fiction! My only feedback is that I wish there were more Macon and sooner in the book.


Thank you to Net Gallley for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing.

I've been sitting on this review for a few days because I wasn't sure where I landed after finishing it. This is a 3.25 stars for me.

Ingrid and Cory have been together for 11 years, and were in no rush to take the next step - until Ingrid's sister gets engaged to her partner that she's been with for only two years. They decide to take a break: they've pretty much only ever been with each other, so one month as "single people" should be enough to get it out of their systems and they can move forward. This leads Ingrid wide open to pursue her co-worker and crush, Macon. Except he wants nothing to do with her when she tries, and so begins her foray into the actual dating world. But when the month is up, Ingrid and Cory aren't any closer to feeling settled. Another month is fine, right?

Things I loved:
-Ingrid and Macon's relationship. Despite their ten-year age difference, they just fit so perfectly into each other's lives and understood what was actually important to one another
-The family relationships and how not every one will be perfect, but it's important to try if you really want to stay a part of each other's lives.
-Edmond. I love him

What didn't work for me:
-This is marketed as a slow-burn romance, but there wasn't enough slow burn between the two characters. Majority of the book is more about her dating other men and I wanted so much more interaction between Macon and Ingrid than we got.
-I would have loved a little more development about Macon's aunt. There were pivotal events happening in the book that involved her, and I just didn't feel like her importance to Macon was fleshed out enough for it to be plot points.

The romance IS there, it just took too long for me personally to get to it. I'd recommend this, but I'd maybe stress than there's not as much romance as I usually recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books for the eARC via NetGalley.

Unfortunately the only thing I absolutely loved about this book was the adorable cover. There were many things I did not care for in this book, the pacing was EXTREMELY slow. Yes, it’s a slow burn but it puts other slow burns to shame. I had to force myself to finish it and actually want to pick it up. The characters were very dull, lacking enthusiasm and personality. It was very hard to connect with them. The plot was not there either. It felt like Stephanie Perkins was over explaining so many times and a majority of it didn’t even need to be in the book. Just felt extremely full of filler. The book is long enough, definitely could be some cutting out! I also did not care for the writing as it seemed a little juvenile at times. For the things I loved, I love books about books/librarians/ etc and I think that’s what drew me to this. I liked the new beginnings and newfound happiness. It was a cozy read which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the aspect that it was more of a women’s fiction type instead of heavy romance. It was a nice change of pace! I did really enjoy the ending which is what made me rate it 3 stars, had the ending not been what I was hoping I probably would’ve given it a significantly lower rating. Overall I feel this is just a forgettable book. There was nothing that stuck out to me or that I will hold with me in the future. Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Thank you to St. Martins press and NetGalley for this arc.

I really loved Overdue: it was such an adorable slow burn romance. The two main characters are absolutely adorable. If you love love, you’ll love this book. ❤️

A cute, cozy, slow burn romance! I loved the theme of starting new, and Ingrid's growth through the story was wonderful! It really left me with a warm feeling in my chest!

Stephanie Perkins wrote one of my favorite stories of all time called "It's a Yuletide Miracle Charlie Brown," and what's even more shocking is that it's a short story, which are generally not my preferred method of storytelling. I read some of her YA books, which I enjoyed but wasn't wowed by, but when I saw she was writing her first adult novel, I was thrilled. I was a little nervous about the premise because I don't like "go on a break" storylines, but I wanted to give Perkins the benefit of the doubt that maybe she could pull it off well. So, I was deeply saddened by how much I disliked this story. If I hadn't been reading an early copy for NetGalley, I absolutely would have DNFed it by the 50% mark and rated it one star. However, since I was reading it for NetGalley, I forced myself to power through and found that there are the bones of a good story here, which in some ways made me hopeful and some ways made me even more sad. I just keep thinking about what this book could have been. It is deeply inaccurate to market this book as a romance because only about 20%-25% of this book can honestly be classified as such, which I know is part of why I disliked it so much. It is horribly jarring to go into a book expecting one thing and getting something else entirely different. I can't do the rest without spoilers, so....

SPOILERS AHEAD, READERS BEWARE!!

The first 50% of this book was the most agonizing, drawn-out breakup I have ever had the displeasure to read about. The next 25% of this book was I kid you not about painting walls and read like something straight from HGTV mixed with lots of details about starting a small business with zero business experience. And the rest could be called romance. And the romance was so, so rushed. They went from holding hands to having sex and sharing all of their secrets in one night, an it was so jarring and made me feel incredibly short changed.

Ingrid's pact with her boyfriend honestly made me so uncomfortable because she was so unwilling to be honest with the men she was dating, and it often felt exploitative - especially with the men who genuinely wanted to be in a relationship with her. I was appalled when she tried to kiss Macon as soon as the break started, and then it made her appear unintelligent that she couldn't figure out that someone who was genuinely interested in her would absolutely not want to be her exploratory sex partner knowing she was planning to go back and marry her boyfriend who only eats chicken nuggets. She didn't even try talking to him first - just straight in with the kiss. It made me dislike Ingrid who is supposed to be our heroine, and reading about it was painful. I was with Macon cringing in the corner the entire time. Then when she FINALLY breaks up with Cory, we had to read about her painting and redecorating Macon's home as therapy, which felt very similar in enjoyment to watching paint dry.

As a librarian and someone who actually has an MS in Library Science, it hurt my soul that she turned down an absolutely free master's degree in the career field that I love. Furthermore, the book did an ok job representing what it's like to work at a public library. However, the biggest inaccuracy represented was the way they acted like book banners were popping up on a very regular basis and that being a big basis for why Ingrid didn't enjoy working at the library. I won't lie - people do come in to the public library and complain about books, but it only happens periodically. If this book was striving for accuracy, the toughest part of the job would just be dealing with the angry patrons - for example, having someone call you a b*itch when you ask them to please stop cursing loudly in front of children. I've also had a man threaten to bring in an AK-47 to shoot up the library because I asked for his library card when he requested that the books be put on hold over the phone. Those are the kind of interactions that happen on a regular basis that make you consider different employment Then when Ingrid was like "my true passion is working at a bookstore," I was thinking "Live your dreams, I guess, but working at a bookstore is very, very different than owning a bookstore." And then somehow she finds all of these amazing staff members and she opens a successful bookstore with zero background in business ownership not counting a course she took that spelled business as bizness, and I just could not suspend my disbelief that far.

So why two stars? Well, I loved Macon (except when he stupidly did not go to her sister's wedding). He was a wonderful love interest who frankly deserved better than Ingrid. I liked her friends, and I loved when the book leaned into Ingrid fostering those relationships. Ingrid's sister Riley was fantastic, and I wanted more of her. She told Ingrid a lot of things she really needed to hear, and I was cheering her on the entire time. Cut out most if not all of the horrifically drawn out break/breakup, really focus on the romance and give it the time it needs and deserves to breathe, make her friends part of the story from day 1 (Mika inexplicably just pops into existence after half the book is over), and make Ingrid's dreams more clear from the beginning. Making opening a bookstore seem like a wild hair that she comes up with after a big breakup with no background or experience did not work for me.

I initially picked this up since I was intrigued by the "we were on a break" friends style dating around. That ended up being only a small part of the book and it was actually more about Ingrid's personal journey and figuring out what it means to be an adult. The timeline for any romance is veryyy slow. I did like that the timing felt realistic and Ingrid made mistakes. Ingrid is not really likable and the name she chooses for the bookstore is insufferable so she could be too annoying for some readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really tried to get into this one, because I loved her YA books so I figured I’d adore her adult one… but it just wasn’t jiving for me. It just wasn’t drawing me in. I’ll give it another go at some point, but for now I just couldn’t and had to skim.

If you're craving a cozy, slow-burn romance with a side of self-discovery, Overdue by Stephanie Perkins is exactly the kind of story you'll want to curl up with. Think Jane Austen, but make it modern—filled with heartfelt moments, personal growth, and just the right amount of swoon-worthy tension.
Meet Ingrid: a 29-year-old librarian stuck in the comfortable (but maybe too comfortable?) routine of a decade-long relationship with her college boyfriend. On New Year's Eve, they decide to hit pause and explore dating other people—just for a month. But one month turns into two, and suddenly Ingrid finds herself catching the attention of more than a few charming suitors.
Yet, despite the whirlwind of flirty encounters, there’s only one man whose heart she really wants to win—her grumpy but irresistibly intriguing coworker. As the seasons change, so does Ingrid. She grows into a more confident, independent version of herself, learning how to embrace new experiences, lean on friends when she needs to, and step into the unknown with courage.
At its core, Overdue is more than just a love story. It’s a journey of growing up, letting go, and finding strength in the unexpected. If you love romances that deliver both heart and depth, this one deserves a spot on your TBR list.