Lynn Painter

The Do-Over

In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.

After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.

Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.

How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?

“Yes, Emilie Hornby, I'm here to tell you that I'm a little obsessed with you. With this." He raised his hands and cupped my face. “With us."

“I remember everything about you, Em.”

EUGEHEJRIWJHWJSKWJSIQJWOQOSJSJSJSJSJSJJWKQKSKSNAHHAS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MFEKSJWJJEJWJEKQOEJWOEOORKNENRBWOOWOSEJSJBRJEKEKJDHEJWIWOODDOSKJRNTKEOEOWOWOEKKDEWNSBDNBEJWJWJIWOSKSKNWKAOSOQOIS

He kissed me like he was trying to prove something.

sTOP ITKJEJJWISJQJAHAHHWOEJRJEJHJJEJENEJKWOFEJJEOWJDJENDBRBEJWJJWJWJDDNNDNWHWHWJJSJDKW

"And Ive thought about it, and I really want my DONC to include kissing you, Em."

reminds me of me and him hUEY HUHUHUHU WALA NA WALA NA 🫸🏻😞🫷🏻

I never-ever-talked about my parents to anyone. But as Nick looked at me as if he actually wanted to know, I found myself telling him everything.

HE IS SO REAL ,, there’s always something bad that’s going to happen after when you’re happy

"Existence is the default. Merely existing, emotionally, is the baseline. Happy is, like, this floating, fluid thing that's impossible to hold on to. Elusive as fuck. Sometimes you get lucky and have it, but it's only a matter of time before it slips back out of your hands."

"Uh, something that mattered to her, I guess. I mean, if she was a bookish person like you, I’d try to find a special edition of her favorite book or something.”

"It's easier to just say what the people want.”

“I was so good that my parents didn't have to worry about me. So they didn't. At all.”

“I'd wanted love that was better than my parents love, something that was built to last.”

“and if Josh was doing better than me, affection was not the feels coming over me.”

Racquel Echeverria

Fate is for suckers. Love is for planners.

Marz

“If I did? I don’t know—not chocolates and anaphylaxis, that’s for sure.”

WOOOOOOOW. wow. i went on to read this book completely blind (impulse buy) and I ENJOYED IT !!! it’s the typical cliché repeating-day-trope (well duh, nasa title na) but I WILL EAT IT UP EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 

first of all, can we talk about how well written lynn painter’s male lead always are? i swear i just fell in love with nick stark. i honestly didn’t hate josh naman, it just annoyed me na he doesn’t pay attention to details about emilie, like who gifts their gf a silver band knowing that’ll make her skin turn green 😞 AND THAT’S WHERE NICK CAME THROUGH he swept me off my feet the moment he said “something that mattered to her, i guess” i knew he’d be the one 🫵🏻 but still, nagkaayos naman si em and josh so 💯

i also love how they got closer because of their problems and the feeling of “loneliness”. ‘yung parang they just got what eo was feeling, yk? it reminded me so much of me and ano HAHAHAHAHAH EH KASI GANYAN RIN KAMI NAGING CLOSE IH 😞 it’s definitely the feeling of having someone in solitude with you (ang contradicting, pero you get the point)

the DNOC, them sneaking out into the 40 story building to talk about life, how em did things eric would’ve loved :( and the purple unicorn cake 😭‼️

as someone who has a slightly similar situation to em in regards to her family, i felt her situation right through me 😭ALSO WHY IS EM’S BROTHER NAMED POTASSIUM ???

i have so much to say pero idk how to word it out, rated it 4/5 stars kasi it’s nothing new, pero i still enjoyed it vv much ! and medyo nabagalan ako in the beginning buuutttt BASTA READ THE BOOK IT’S GOOD AND SUPER EASY READ N’YA LANG ❗️❗️ 

love you Lynn Painter, i will eat up every Y.A book you write i swear

“I love you, Nick Stark.”

WOOOOOOOW. wow. i went on to read this book completely blind (impulse buy) and I ENJOYED IT !!! it’s the typical cliché repeating-day-trope (well duh, nasa title na) but I WILL EAT IT UP EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 

first of all, can we talk about how well written lynn painter’s male lead always are? i swear i just fell in love with nick stark. i honestly didn’t hate josh naman, it just annoyed me na he doesn’t pay attention to details about emilie, like who gifts their gf a silver band knowing that’ll make her skin turn green 😞 AND THAT’S WHERE NICK CAME THROUGH he swept me off my feet the moment he said “something that mattered to her, i guess” i knew he’d be the one 🫵🏻 but still, nagkaayos naman si em and josh so 💯

i also love how they got closer because of their problems and the feeling of “loneliness”. ‘yung parang they just got what eo was feeling, yk? it reminded me so much of me and ano HAHAHAHAHAH EH KASI GANYAN RIN KAMI NAGING CLOSE IH 😞 it’s definitely the feeling of having someone in solitude with you (ang contradicting, pero you get the point)

the DNOC, them sneaking out into the 40 story building to talk about life, how em did things eric would’ve loved :( and the purple unicorn cake 😭‼️

as someone who has a slightly similar situation to em in regards to her family, i felt her situation right through me 😭ALSO WHY IS EM’S BROTHER NAMED POTASSIUM ???

i have so much to say pero idk how to word it out, rated it 4/5 stars kasi it’s nothing new, pero i still enjoyed it vv much ! and medyo nabagalan ako in the beginning buuutttt BASTA READ THE BOOK IT’S GOOD AND SUPER EASY READ N’YA LANG ❗️❗️ 

love you Lynn Painter, i will eat up every Y.A book you write i swear

The do over type of tropes typically aren't my thing but this wasn't bad. It took a min to get through because of that but still pretty cute ! 

cute valentines day read and story. the banter was cringy but it’s YA, so feel like thats normal. the taylor swift references were also very cute. 

ive never read a groundhogs day plot and i realize now i really do not enjoy them and they are not for me in books. i also did not enjoy the end conflict of why the two couldnt get together (i thought it was so dumb lol) and thats why i scored this lower even though its a sweet little read. 

alice l

cute valentines day read and story. the banter was cringy but it’s YA, so feel like thats normal. the taylor swift references were also very cute. 

ive never read a groundhogs day plot and i realize now i really do not enjoy them and they are not for me in books. i also did not enjoy the end conflict of why the two couldnt get together (i thought it was so dumb lol) and thats why i scored this lower even though its a sweet little read. 

Okay, this was so cute and the perfect book to read for Valentine’s Day! I was wondering what I would think about Lynn Painter’s YA work because I haven’t enjoyed her adult romances. But this is everything I was looking for and enjoyed it wholeheartedly. The concept was so much fun and you really like the characters. It really made you question what would possibly happen and how it would end. It’s so funny to have read time loop romances during the holiday they take place but I’m thinking this one is my current favorite so far. I’m also definitely looking forward to reading more of Lynn’s YA work to see what else I think about it. 

Priscilla Stanfield

3.5! Cute little story. Banter was cringy but it’s a YA so that’s to be expected. Loved the Taylor references and it was a great read for valentines!

Emily O'Masters

Keely Calagos

3.5! Not as good as her others but Painter really knows how to write YA romance 💘

Full review to come

nina 

l ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

** spoiler alert **
           i liked this, but i didn’t like it enough. i think it’s overall a 4.25!

i wanted more & better interactions with em + nick which is weird to say since she spent a lot of her vdays with him … but it also didn’t even count? the DONC was all he remembered and it was cute but i didnt LOOVEEEEE it. i did <3 nick throughout the book but he completely lost me at the end. i was very upset when he called his day with emilie a “play date” 😭 i also feel like since so much time passed after the parking lot situation, she shouldn’t have let him back in so easily. yeah he got her a cake … but he needed to grovel some more. 

i definitely enjoyed the story, side character, & loved em’s personality (BUT i got second hand embarrassment when she told nick she loved him) so overall it was a great read! i got through it in less than 22 hours - super fast and easy. 

i will say that a part of me kept comparing it to better than the movies (it seriously became a fav) so perhaps i didn’t read the do over with a clear head & didn’t rate it very fairly but 😭 it is what it is

it was really good. it was fast paced but i read it all in one night and i enjoyed it a lot

t. edwards

This book is so sweeettt, I was hoping that he also was in a timeloop but sadly he wasn't.

Joan 

I liked this book a lot because it felt very fresh and original. My favourite narrative in the book was the time loop, which added an element of suspense and made me want to keep reading. I also really loves the supporting cast- wished we got more of them, though. 

Matti Kivi

Super cutesy romance book with good plot would recommend if you liked BTTM

Salma

Christina Hynes

** spoiler alert **
           My new favourite book ughhhh it so cute I love Nick and Emilie. I love the whole friend group. I like that nick was like distant because of Eric death he died on valentine day and this book is a valentine day time loop. It was so good 5/5

loved the plot, the characters, the taylor references, the atmosphere, the back story,the ending, just loved it 

connie charnock 

Levena Banda

Nothing like a cute YA romance for after you’ve finished your finals.

Alexis Donahue

Cute time loop book. Loved the DONC and the reason for the repeating Valentine’s Days <spoiler> (Nick’s late brother’s jacket).</spoiler> Overall rated it 3.75 at no fault to the book… but more because it was too cutesy and innocent for me. Good read though.

lynn painter is the queen of writing rom coms. I adored this book and it was such an easy read.

Tara Bounkeovisane

One of Painter’s simpler books, but still a sweet romance. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys time loops; think 

Alyssa deRaad

One of Painter’s simpler books, but still a sweet romance. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys time loops; think Groundhog Day but romance

Nouran Hazem

4.5 ⭐️
This was so so fluffy and cute I thoroughly enjoyed it and I really saw myself in emilie 🫶🏻🫶🏻 AND THE TAYLOR REFERENCES WERE EVERYTHING 💞💞I think that Lynn painter’s YA books are simply superior..

“I had a marvelous time ruining everything…”

I don't usually gravitate towards YA contemporary anymore, and I'm not the biggest fan of time loop stories, but I'd read the phone book if Painter wrote it. She has this way of writing characters that feel so authentic that you can't help but root for them. I loved watching Emilie go through all these different versions of the same day and how they helped her become the person she's always wanted to be but was afraid to show the world. I couldn't get enough of her relationship with Nick, who gives off major Jess Mariano vibes, and I was here for it. Right from the get-go, the banter between them was spot-on, but that's not surprising, seeing as how Painter always nails that. I also appreciated how it wasn't all lighthearted and touched upon series topics such as divorce and the death of a loved one. Was it a little cheesy and predictable? Yes. But did I enjoy every moment of it? Also, yes.

Heather Harrington

Fell off at the end, the stuff with her parents were really unresolved and so was her own personal growth with the whole not being a people pleaser thing. Speaking of which, Lynn Painter would have absolutely used the line “pathological people pleaser” if that’d been published before this book was LMAOOO

Lizzy Jensen

the time loop concept was really fun! the book was easy to digest, and it was a quick read. it felt joyful, authentic and sweet - all the things you want in a rom-com.

however, i didn't feel super connected to the romantic leads as characters, but their romance story was really sweet still! the banter was good and had some classic romance cliches tied in there.

i'm all for a good taylor swift reference, but i think there was an overuse of pop culture notes at times.

romantically speaking, nick stark is the standard.

the do-over gives you all the warm and fuzzies you'll want in a rom-com book, while also being playful, fun and cute. ❣️

alannah

the time loop concept was really fun! the book was easy to digest, and it was a quick read. it felt joyful, authentic and sweet - all the things you want in a rom-com.

however, i didn't feel super connected to the romantic leads as characters, but their romance story was really sweet still! the banter was good and had some classic romance cliches tied in there.

i'm all for a good taylor swift reference, but i think there was an overuse of pop culture notes at times.

romantically speaking, nick stark is the standard.

the do-over gives you all the warm and fuzzies you'll want in a rom-com book, while also being playful, fun and cute. ❣️

Meghan Thompson 

MOVE OVER WES BENNETT NICK STARK HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

to say that I love this book would be a fucking understatement. this book was everything IT MADE MY HEART PHYSICALLY MELT INTO A FUCKING PUDDLE. 

my girl Emilie, as a child of divorce I get her, I see her, I understand her on a spiritual level. that need to be the perfect daughter in order to not cause any issues amongst parents?! PREACHING TO THE MF CHOIR. also the fact that she still believes in love, albeit a little type A about but if a book could physically describe how I feel about love this would be the book. there was not a moment where I did not absolutely love Emilie and she is great and perfect and I am SO PROUD of her. 

NICK MF STARK AKA THE NEW LOML. my fav thing in books is overly attentive/observant MMC especially when they pretend to not know the FMC but in actuality they everything about them UGH my fav. Nick was the sweetest and funniest MMC ever and I love him. currently looking for my own Nick Stark. yes the man had me at the end but there was not one singular moment that I could stay mad at him. he listened and remembered....what more could you ask for. 

"I remember everything about you, Em" had me FOAMING at the mouth

all in all this book has me saying FUCK BTTM. this is hands down my comfort read I love every second of this book and will be continuously listening to the audiobook for the rest of my life :)

The Do-Over

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