Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for the chance to read this book.

This book was quick to read, and I was easily drawn into the story. Thea has strived to be the best her whole life, and when she reaches the top, an unexpected event causes her to question her choices. This is a second chance type story about making choices that will leave you fulfilled and happy and not just rich.
Another thoroughly enjoyable Phoebe Macleod book.

Thea Rogers has dedicated her life to her career in corporate law. Apart from her colleague and long-time friend-with-benefits Alasdair, she’s forgone friendships and relationships, and now she’s on track to become her firm’s youngest ever female partner. However, things for Thea change whenever a senior partner suddenly dies.

I really like Rebecca as a character as well. The difference from when she's first introduced to when her and Thea actually become friends is really interesting to me. The friendship between her and Thea felt real as there no feelings of jealousy, which can happen a lot in female friendships, and while yes, they were different, I felt that this added to being a realistic part of the storyline.
I absolutely flew through the pages of this book! From the get-go though, nothing about this book felt romance-y at all. To me, it felt more along the lines of female empowerment as well as self-reflection and personal growth. Throwing a random "romance" part more than halfway through the book was realllllly odd to me. Not everything has to be a romance, or even NEEDS to have romance added in to it, but it felt that the pressure of that led to the blah romance part towards the end of the book. I also didn't enjoy the time jumps. Sometimes it's a great addition to books and other times its not. Unfortunately for me and this book, it was not.

I did feel like it had a happy ending though and I was very pleased with how it wrapped up!

Tropes include:
❤️Friends with Benefits
❌Midlife Crisis
👩🏼‍💼 Lawyer

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my review and my honest opinions!

this is oddly advertised as a romance and yet no romance at all happens until the last quarter - the story was seriously more about home renovation and a friendship, which is okay and something I'd read but because of the last quarter it was very disjointed!

The Do-Over by Phoebe MacLeod is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that readers cannot help but love. Thea Rodgers was a corporate lawyer who had been focused on her goals of success for a very long time, but realized all that she had to show for it was her house, her job, and a friends with benefits relationship. When she decided to make changes in her life, one of them is a close female friendship. While definitely a romance, I think that the more significant story was that of the friendship that Thea found with Rebecca as well as reestablishing a closer relationship with her family. When she rejected everything from her former life, there was just one piece she couldn’t seem to completely leave behind. I loved all the main characters in this novel and there were secondary characters that evoked a great number of the funnest moments. Of all the characters in the book, I think I liked Alasdair the best. He was so delightfully irreverent and unwaveringly supportive of Thea in all of her incarnations. If you enjoy romcoms with a strong story in which the romance plays only a part of the whole, then this one is for you. I give this book 4.5⭐️ rounded to 5⭐️ on Goodreads and retail sites.

I would like to thank Rachel’s Random Resources, Netgalley, and Boldwood Books for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Fairly decent read but Thea was pretty annoying throughout. Always whining if something didn’t go her preferred way. Including even taking it out on her supposed friends. I found the plot with Alisdair quite unbelievable and it seemed like a farce at times. Also her obsession with poor George was scary. Not to mention being rude to basically everyone that she meets.

The Do-Over by Phoebe MacLeod was an okay read. It had some entertaining, comical moments, but I felt it lacked romanticism. I felt it needed more banter, attraction, and sizzle. I wasn't convinced the two main characters were really it; I thought this read more like a primary female lead story than a rom-com book, which is unfortunate because I've heard nothing but positive things about this author's work. I'm not going to let this book taint my opinion of this author. I'll pick up another of her books and give it another try. I usually prefer to give an author another chance when I've read one of their novels that hasn't worked well with me since sometimes it's simply the book or even me, and you never know; their next book could be fantastic.


⚠️I was gifted an ARC courtesy of The Bold Book Club and Netgalley and this is my honest review.

The Do-Over follows Thea Rogers, a driven corporate lawyer whose life has been defined by ambition. On track to become her firm’s youngest female partner, Thea seems to have achieved everything she’s ever worked for. Yet behind the veneer of success lies a life devoid of meaningful connections. Her only personal relationship is a long-standing friends-with-benefits arrangement with her colleague Alasdair, and she has sacrificed friendships, family ties, and personal fulfilment in her relentless pursuit of professional glory.

When a senior partner unexpectedly passes away, Thea is jolted by the lack of genuine emotion at his funeral. This moment forces her to confront a deeply unsettling question: if she disappeared tomorrow, would anyone care?

As Thea begins to re-evaluate her life choices, she faces a critical crossroads. Should she continue down the path she’s always known, or take a bold step towards something entirely different? What follows is a journey of self-reflection, growth, and reinvention as Thea seeks to fill the emotional void in her life. Along the way, she learns that change, while daunting, can also bring unexpected joy and fulfilment.

This thought-provoking and uplifting novel delves into themes of ambition, identity, and the importance of human connection. Thea’s struggles are portrayed with raw honesty, making her journey deeply relatable to anyone who has ever questioned their priorities or felt trapped by their own choices. The story’s balance of poignancy and hope ensures an engaging and satisfying read.

Perfect for fans of character-driven narratives, The Do-Over is an easy yet meaningful read. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to reimagine your life and focus on what truly matters. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy stories of personal growth, second chances, and the courage it takes to start over.

3.5/5.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

The Do-Over by Phoebe MacLeod

Thea Rogers is on target to have the kind of career most women dream of. She is in corporate law, she is the youngest junior partner ever created but to get where she got to she had to give up her entire life and none of that mattered until one day it did…. When one of the senior partners died she wondered who would care if she died tomorrow and the answer shook her to her core.

I loved this. She literally crashed her whole life to the ground. She didn’t just find a new path she burned everything to the ground and allowed her neighbor to go into business with her. Man oh man the things that could have gone wrong…. ARGHHHHHHH.
The difference is that Thea didn’t regret her choice to leave and I loved the heck out of that. I loved the way she found her people, how she saw her family in a new light and she gave herself over to something better for a better outlook on life.
It was sweet, and gently weaved its way into my heart. I could see how it might translate to everyone because it had some wooden moments but I think it was necessary to give us the full range of what the book was giving us.
4 stars

This book is an absolutely delightful and charming read! The characters are so fun to get to know especially with their quick banter and silly antics that play out in the story. There was a small twist in the story that was fun as well. The ending is satisfying and the cutest happily ever after ever! Definitely pick this book up for a feel good read!

I really enjoyed this book. I fell in love with the characters and it really made me contemplate quitting my job to live in the country. I absolutely adored the relationships that blossomed in all ways, from the romance to just the family relationships and connections made and strengthened. It was a really sweet book, full of lots of contemplatitive scenes with more serious undertones. The beginning seemed a little slow for me personally, with a bit of legal jargon that I didn't fully understand or connect with, however I soon fell in love with the story and flew through it!

Do it over was the first book I read for this author. The FMC is a lawyer who is at crossroads with how her life and job is going. After a coworker unexpectedly passed and she discovers that coworker was not well liked she’s begins to wonder about her own life. She quits her high pressure job. Thea seems frustrating and frustrated at times. Alisdair the mmc was not a like character he was also a lawyer from the same company they mostly had a friends with benefits type of thing. This story didn’t engage well I almost dnf

2 stars

This is a good book but the whole idea of it is misleading, i mean where is the romance? or the comedy? it's much more some type of self discovery book than anything else and please even her perceptions felt kinda flat.

Unfortunately I could not connect with anyone in this book, what is sad for me. Talking about the main character She is boring, not only she but all the characters present there have no depth to show. I felt like no one there but the personal assistant (a kiss to her) had personality, and when things were getting interesting because the character was walking according to what she had presented to us, the book has a drastic change that takes us to a feeling of page one meeting a new character.

Thea has no opinion, no strong thoughts about herself, or even lives life as a person would. The criticism at first is understandable but I can't stop thinking that all the changes in her life were because of other people. Absolutely all the decisions made, in addition to her career, were situations suggested by others that after considering she just accepted. And I don't believe that this kind of behavior is characteristic of a strong character that I could be enchanted by.

This was a cute book, easy read but not one that had me very invested. Thea was equally great and frustrating. I enjoyed seeing her grow outside of being a lawyer - learn to connect with her family and build friendships.

I don’t know if you have ever picked up a book and thought,’ OMG, that is ME!’ I never had until I started reading The Do-Over but as soon as I started reading about Thea, I recognised myself immediately. I used to be that young woman, corporate lawyer focused on nothing but work, determined to make partner by the time I was 30 (although I never had a PA like Janice, that must be a London Thing.) Then, like Thea, something happened that turned my whole life around and rearranged my priorities and what had seemed like the be all and end all become not so important after all.

From that point onwards, our paths diverged and I did not end up doing the same thing as Thea (that would have been too much of a coincidence) but I did relate hard to a lot of what she went through, which might be one of the reasons that I really loved this book. It wasn’t the only reason though. This is such a great story, with lots to say about life and priorities and what we really want and what really matters. It is also about focusing so hard on one thing that you don’t see other obvious things that are right in front of your eyes. The characters are fabulously drawn, completely believable and draw you through the story with ease because you really care about what happens to them.

The plot itself is fun and sweet and aspirational and you will love it if you are the kind of person who likes to live a life vicariously that you are unlikely to live in reality. The way Thea’s life path unfolds (and I am trying to review this without including any spoilers) is entertaining and unlikely but then I started to wonder if people do really make life decisions in that way. Then the series of mishaps and changes that unfold one after another are plausible in that fictional kind of way and I have to say that, although the ending could have gone another way, I am really happy the way the author took it and think that was the perfect solution to the book.

This has been one of my favourite romance reads of the year and Phoebe MacLeod is a real talent in this genre who is on the way to being one of my ‘must read’ authors. If you are looking for books to gift to your romance-loving friends this Christmas, you should add this to their stocking, or maybe ask Santa for it yourself.

Thea Rogers has dedicated her life to her career in corporate law. Apart from her colleague and long-time friend-with-benefits Alasdair, she’s forgone friendships and relationships, and now she’s on track to become her firm’s youngest ever female partner. She should be ecstatic. But when a senior partner dies unexpectedly, Thea realises the people at his funeral are only there out of duty. Suddenly, Thea can’t shake the question: if she disappeared tomorrow, would anyone care?

As the life choices she's made suddenly make less and less sense, Thea is forced to make a decision. Stick with the original plan or take a completely different path.

Thea has a chance to do it right this time and fill her world with the things that matter. But can people really change? And once life starts looking up, why does it feel like there’s something… or someone she can’t seem to replace?

Loved it. will recommend to others

A lovely story about a change of life style and career.
Theatre has become the youngest ever partner in her firm, she has Alasdair a friend with benefits, and a house she loves. She has it all. But when a senior partner dies, it has an unforseen affect on Thea.
Is it time for a change?
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really just could not get into this book. It took a lot for me to push through and not DNF. There was a lot of potention but it just fell flat. The characters were plain and lacked depth, and the story line was just meh.

This book had under developed characters, under developed romance and a plot that felt all over the place. I’m all for friends to lovers but not when the FMC is totally indifferent and suddenly in love? I did not connect with any part of this book.

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Enjoyable book but lacked depth and characterisation.
Having read other books by this author, I liked the premise of this book - I too have harboured thoughts of leaving corporate life behind (if it wasn’t for the money!) but I felt this book was lacking… insufficiently descriptive and characters that didn’t seem multi dimensional.

Overall it was an enjoyable read but could have been so much more with a bit of depth and description!

This book wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the banter between the FMC and the love interest. The dynamics between them made me laugh out loud in certain parts.