From the publisher:
“Look, you’re a nice girl but I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” The voicemail ends and I freeze in the dentist’s chair as I realize… I’ve just been dumped on live radio.
It took the most humiliating break-up for me to see that my life is in serious need of a do-over. Cue my anti New Year’s resolutions that even I can’t fail at:
- Stop dating. (Men are the worst.)
- Stop trying to lose weight. (I’m never giving up chocolate.)
- Stop working so hard. (Selling mortgages is not my dream career.)
- Stop trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. (Start living my best life.)
- Stop trying to please my mother. (It’s not possible.)
But it turns out number five is harder than I thought, as she begins her campaign to get me back with my ex. So, what’s the perfect solution to keep her out of my love life? An imaginary boyfriend—at least he was supposed to be imaginary until I blurted out my neighbor’s name…
Nate, the bad boy next door with gorgeous hazel eyes, a razor-sharp jawline and a mysterious scar, might be hot, but he’s definitely not my boyfriend. Now all I need to do is stick to my resolutions while also keeping my interfering family away from my non-existent lover who has no idea that we’re fake dating. What could possibly go wrong?
A completely addictive, feel-good rom-com perfect for fans of TikTok sensations The Love Hypothesis, The Unhoneymooners, and Sarah Adams. An absolutely hilarious page-turner for anyone who feels they need to start living life to the fullest.
https://amzn.to/3rNhSow
I read Peterson’s second book, The Fake Out, and loved it so I hunted this one down. It is available on Kindle Unlimited so I grabbed it!
Perci, like a lot of young women, has many insecurities which are being fed by her well-meaning mother. She works for her father, her boyfriend is her boss and her dad’s favorite employee, and her mother constantly points out everything wrong with her, and as an added bonus, tells her where to get her hair done, picks out her clothes, and, well, you get the idea. But Perci isn’t happy. Especially when her boyfriend, the one her mother was convinced was about to propose, instead dumps her on a live radio talk show.
Her best friend, Mathias, is always there to help pick up the pieces, and he’s her strongest cheerleader. He makes a list of resolutions for her, and they hang it on her fridge, but it’s not easy for a people pleaser like Perci to stand up to anyone, much less her mother. But nonetheless, having that list in plain sight gives her a certain amount of courage as she works to change herself into someone she truly wants to be.
Nate is the hottie that lives next door, and in a moment of panic, Perci lies and says he’s her new boyfriend. Much to her surprise, when she admits to him what she did, he agrees to play the part for her family. While Perci thinks he is just being nice and couldn’t possibly be truly interested in her, we all know what happens when you fake date someone!
Perci’s grandmother, Mimi, loves her for herself and constantly shares her “mimi-isms;” adulterated sayings we all know. She adds some comic relief to the story and is another cheerleader for Perci. I loved watching Perci grow and learn to assert herself. While this is definitely a romance, it is also about learning to love yourself, which really got me invested in these characters. This was a fun read, and I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it! Sharon M. Peterson is a new author to watch for me, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE DO-OVER by Sharon M. Peterson. Bookouture (July 27, 2022). ISBN: 978-1803146386. 328p.
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