A review by cbleyer
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

4.0

“I looked up at him, giving me teasing eyes from such close proximity, and I realized that I was actually feeling kind of big things for him. I mean, yes, we hadn’t known each other long, but I felt like I knew more about him than so many people who were important parts of my life. I felt like he knew me. And I rarely felt that from anyone.”
“I think he truly believed that happiness was elusive and fluid because of what’d happened to Eric, and instead of reaching for it and risking being shattered, he was just no longer interested in reaching. For love, or even for friendship.”
“I felt like Nick saw me—saw all of me—and it caused a warm pinch in my chest.”
“I love you, Nick Stark. It won’t count tomorrow and it’ll be like I never said it, but on this Valentine’s Day, I fell in love with you.”
“It wasn’t until he cleaned out his truck and could still smell her perfume on his brother’s jacket that he was almost suffocated by how much he missed her.”
“He shrugged as I put my hands in the box and pulled out the cake. The purple unicorn cake with the sparkly frosting. The one I’d wanted on my ninth birthday. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I lifted it all the way out and set it on the table. The shiny golden horn, the glittery unicorn, the sparkly purple frosting. It said Happy Birthday, Em, the way I’d desperately wanted it to when I was in the fourth grade.”
“I remember everything about you, Em.”
“Eric’s idea of a perfect day—the day I forgot to give back the coat—was the day the time loop ended.”