Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the THE DO OVER blog tour! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Jennifer Honeybourn to share with you, AND my review of the book! This book is truly amazing and I’m so so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!
I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Do-Over by Jennifer Honeybourn Published on July 14, 2020 by Swoon Reads
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 240
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
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Emilia has always wanted to fit in with the A crowd. So, when Ben, the hottest guy in school, asks her out, she chooses him over Alistair, her best friend—even after he confesses his feelings to her.
Six months later, Emilia wonders how her life would have been different if she'd chosen Alistair instead. Haunted by her mistake, she finds a magical solution that promises to rectify the past. As a result, everything in her life is different. What happens if her second chance is her only chance to make things right?
Sometimes I don’t have a whole lot to say about books, so I’ve created Rapid Fire Reviews as a quick and fun way to get my opinion out without repeating myself and boring you! Here we go!
DID I LIKE IT?
I did! The plot was like 99% amazing, so that’s exciting!
FAVORITE CHARACTER?
Violet, since she was the only one that I actually liked. By the end of the book I like Emelia a little, but honestly I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters and that’s why this isn’t a 5 star read for me. Ben and Marisol and Olivia and Drew and Avery were all just… flat. Marisol had a little bit of character, and Avery wasn’t horrible, but just… why would anyone want to be friends – or more than friends- with any of these people? I don’t know.
WILL I RE-READ IT?
No, probably not.
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE BOOK
quick, summertime, plot driven
QUICK THOUGHTS
What is a night market? Are these a real thing somewhere? Let me know if you’ve ever actually experienced one!
Much like the book, I love the idea of this cover… and I kind of love how it looks if you switch the colors (like I did) and make it pink instead of yellow. Overall, 7.5/10 stars!!!
- Summer romances
- Second chances
- Plot driven books
If you could trade lives with any YA character for a day, who would it be and why? What about a week? A month, year, or forever?
I’d be interested to trade lives with Anna Oliphant from Anna and The French Kiss (one of my favorite books!) for a day, maybe a week tops, simply to see what living in a boarding school in Paris would be like. I don’t think I would trade lives with anyone for longer than that, though, I’m pretty happy with the one I’ve got!
What would you do if you spent the day with Emelia, Ben, and Alistair? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
Since I’m around their (fictional) parents’ age, I’m not sure how eager Emelia, Alistair and especially Ben would be to hang out with me! But let’s say they were up for it, I would love to play a game of Settlers of Catan with them at Bonus Round, the fictional game-themed café where they hang out (and I would very likely lose against them).
If Emelia and Alistair were to hang out with characters from other YA books, who would they be and why?
I think Emelia and Alistair would get along perfectly with the kids from Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. Alistair and Emelia would be all over helping Simon figure out Blue’s identity, considering they were so involved and worked so hard to help Violet with her love life in THE DO-OVER.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I think everything that I liked about the story made it into the book — if it didn’t serve the story then it ended up being cut in revision and I can’t think of anything that was left out that I wished had made it in there.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from The Do Over?
I gave my love of movies to Alistair in this book — his dream is to become a director and he is always quoting his favorites. I tried to pay homage to some of my favorite movies in this book through him — there are a few Mean Girls quotes. In another scene, Emelia slips on some ice and grabs Alistair and they both fall, which is loosely based on a scene from While You Were Sleeping. And the grand gesture that they persuade Violet to do is a little bit of Say Anything/John Cusack and the boom box.
Were there alternate endings you considered, or did you always know where the story was headed?
I pretty much always know how the story will end when I start writing (I work towards the happily ever after). I don’t always know how I’ll get there, though, it often changes during revision, and that was no different for THE DO-OVER.
Jennifer Honeybourn is a fan of British accents, Broadway musicals, and epic, happily-ever-after love stories. If she could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, she’d have high tea with Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and her nana. She lives in Stratford, Ontario with her husband, daughter and cat in a house filled with books.
She is represented by Hannah Fergesen at KT Literary.
Enter here for a chance to win a print copy of THE DO OVER by Jennifer Honeybourn!
Have you read this great book yet? Do you love it as much as I do? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
Thanks for being on the tour! 🙂
You’re welcome! I love being part of your tours! 🙂
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