Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

From the publisher:

From the author of the “genuinely funny” and “delightful” Loathe at First Sight (NPR) and “cinematic, charming” So We Meet Again (Emily Henry), a fun rom-com about a young Korean-American woman having to return to college after discovering she’s a few credits shy of completing her degree—only to find one of her TAs is her old college boyfriend.

Bestselling author Lily Lee is on a short deadline to deliver her new career guide How to Land the Perfect Job, and she’s been interviewing at all the top companies around town. But when she’s offered a coveted position at her dream company, the employer’s background check reveals she never actually finished her college degree. Unbelievably, her worst nightmare has come true.

Lily returns to her alma mater to relive her senior year of college, after walking across the stage at graduation a decade earlier. Just as she starts getting used to the idea of being a student again, things get even more weird and chaotic when she discovers her computer science TA is her old college boyfriend, Jake Cho.

As Lily and Jake reconnect, she sees that her late-blooming ex has done well for himself: the handsome, charming grad student appears to have his life together, while Lily’s on the brink of losing her reputation and her book deal.  

Told in present day with glimpses of the past, The Do-Over is a delightfully warm and hopeful story about second chances in life and love, and how the future might not be a straight line, but we still end up exactly where we’re supposed to be.

“Park’s (So We Meet Again) latest does an excellent job of navigating topics of anxiety, self-doubt, nepotism, and misogyny through an enjoyable second-chance romance with great characters. This book is an essential read and highly recommended.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Park’s pitch-perfect comedic timing and knack for creating heartstrings-tugging moments make this thoughtful romance really shine. This is a winner.” — Publishers Weekly

“The story is rooted in complex, relatable issues that are sure to have readers rooting for Lily the whole way through. A story of second chances in life more than love.” — Kirkus Reviews

“It’s a fun and sexy book, as Park (So We Meet Again, 2021) ties in mental-health issues with a strong female protagonist and of course a little bit of love. A fast read full of funny moments among friends, tense moments between rivals, and romantic moments between old lovers.” — Booklist

https://amzn.to/3KkTCAU

This was such a fun read! As someone who took about 30 years to complete my bachelor’s degree, I could definitely relate to returning to college years after leaving. In this case, Lily walked the stage, was handed what she thought was her diploma, and moved on with her grown-up life. Until she found out that her advisor gave her some very bad advice her senior year, leaving her half a dozen credits short of actually graduating. Lily had a super successful business book published and how has a second book deal on the line. She sneaks back into college to finish up her remaining credits and earn that degree, not telling her publisher what’s happened. She would prefer her publisher, and everyone else, not know about this, but there is no hiding, as she is eventually found out.

Lily manages to secure off campus housing with a roommate who is an amazing baker and turns into a good friend. Meanwhile, her best friend since her original college days keeps popping up to hang out on campus. When Lily walks into one of her required courses, a computer programming class, she is shocked to find her old college boyfriend, Jake, is the teaching assistant in her class. And he has grown up into a fine specimen of a man.

As Lily works hard to complete her classes, she falls back into a relationship with Jake but much like the first time around, he ghosts her. Not sure if she is more mad at him or herself, Lily throws herself even more into her classwork. When she finds out she is up for a possible internship with one of the top tech companies in the world, she is thrilled, even though it would take her on a different career path. When it leaks that she has returned to college, the internet weighs in as they always do, and Lily is in big trouble.

Eventually, everything works out for the best, and Lily gets her happy ending. I loved spending time with these characters and watching Lily and Jake grow. I loved that ten years after college, Lily is still reinventing herself with a second chance at a different career as well as in love. Park has turned into a must read author for me – and I hope for you, as well.

4/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE DO-OVER by Suzanne Park. Avon (April 4, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-0063216051. 368p.

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From the publisher:

An irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all—from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses

Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan’s, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear.

Take Gretchen for example, lead singer for a ’90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she’s too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen’s older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn’t always “working late.” And then there’s Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan’s where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways—and the bartender at JP Sullivan’s makes such strong cocktails?

Outrageously funny and wickedly astute, Marrying the Ketchups is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.

“Close…drops readers smack into Oak Park, a leafy Chicago suburb, and lets them hear the hiss of fryers hitting hot oil and catch an ice-cold Old Style sliding across the bar… Close lets each character’s unique personality shine. Fans of Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising will fall in love with these maddening, loving, stubborn relatives. Setting nostalgia against progress, tradition against rebirth, Close outlines the cousins’ grief and personal growth as they work with, and against, one another.” —Booklist, starred review

“[An] amusing, engaging novel about life, death, and the restorative power of a grilled cheese sandwich… Well-drawn characters always keep you interested in what happens next. Close navigates their entanglements and dissolutions with wry humor: She understands the difficulties and distractions of modern romance. As Jane, Gretchen, and Teddy struggle to find their footing, the close-knit Oak Park neighborhood is changing, too. But is that so terrible? Like marrying the ketchups, a long-standing kitchen task now deemed unsanitary, traditions can adapt to a new world order. Just like the Sullivans. An entertaining family story with realistic, interesting characters.” —Kirkus

https://amzn.to/3FqJbtt

I’ve had this book for quite a while (it came out in April) and it’s another that was lost on my Kindle. Then two good friends recommended it so I dug it up. I struggled with this book, it took me about a week to get through it, and when I turned the last page, my first thought was “what a stupid book.” I’m sorry, but that’s my truth.

There are a lot of characters, none of which is a main character or protagonist as a few vie for that title. The big events that define the book – the Cubs winning the World Series, Trump getting elected, and the family patriarch dying, are really on the periphery of this story. The Sullivan family owns a bar/restaurant and that is the thing that ties them together. I just never felt invested in these characters or their lives, and without that, I struggled.

This is literary fiction, and the writing is fine if not a bit dull, and the story is definitely character driven without a whole lot of plot. I wasn’t always a fan of the choices these characters made and I never really felt like I got to know these people. There are some funny moments, which were enjoyable. And for readers who don’t understand the title reference, for years restaurants that served (usually) Heinz ketchup via a bottle on the table, would, at the end of the day, combine half empty bottles and refill the rest so they would have full bottles on every table. Apparently, this is not the most sanitary practice, so I’m not sure if restaurants still do that or not.

Regular readers of this site know that I struggle with negative reviews. I’ve reached the point in my life where if I hate a book, I put it down and don’t finish it or review it. I didn’t hate this book, it just felt mediocre to me. All in all, not my favorite.

11/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

MARRYING THE KETCHUPS by Jennifer Close. Knopf (April 26, 2022). ISBN:‎ 978-0525658870. 320p.

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