this was so wholesome it was almost too much. (she actually said golly.) i guess it's the religious aspect that tipped it over the edge for me. (that and the i'm-in-love-after-an-evening thing that i can't stand.) but the writing was fine and the sisterly love was nice. ( )

Thanks to Chicklit Central & HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson for a gifted reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining page-turner with likable characters, an appealing premise, and a heartwarming romance between old high school rivals.

Career-driven McKenna Keaton has devoted her life to being successful - first as a high school valedictorian, topping everyone in all the clubs, awards, and achievements in that milieu, then at law school, and finally as an attorney at her big name law firm. But she’s shocked when instead of being offered the senior partnership, she is accused of embezzling and is given unpaid leave for 6-8 weeks while the crime is being investigated.

So now she is a disgraced workaholic from New York who returns to her family home in time to attend her little sister’s wedding shower, bridesmaid dress fitting, and ultimately the wedding. All without sharing the news of why she’s actually arrived back in North Carolina.

And because this is a rom-com, the best part is when McKenna runs into a fellow high school nerd who has become a successful documentarian – think sexy Ken Burns. Henry Blumenthal is now the famed Hank Blume, and is finally able to share that he had a major high school crush on McKenna. And he isn’t over that crush.

Oh, there’s one last plot element – McKenna’s father is deep into studying the family genealogy and has unearthed an unusual pattern in their family tree that they call “the family curse.” The unmarried women in the family die as spinsters unless they marry before the age of forty. McKenna is thirty-eight and has no desire to marry or even date as she is focused on and satisfied with her career. The career that is now in limbo even though McKenna is innocent.

I enjoyed the way all the threads skillfully came together in this entertaining novel, the relationships between sisters (McKenna has two), the romance that develops between Hank and McKenna, the mystery of a spinster relative from 100 years ago, and a satisfying conclusion where justice is served. ( )

Sweet and charming. ( )

Title: The Do-Over
Author: Bethany Turner
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"The Do-Over" by Bethany Turner
My Assessment:

'The Do-Over' presented a slow start in the beginning. Still, it did pick up, giving the reader an exciting and enjoyable read about the lives of McKenna Keaton and Henry Blumenthal by the end of the story. These two had been childhood schoolmates' friends and had grown apart after growing up. McKenna displayed some downright negativism in how she handled her life, especially when it came to her family in North Carolina and not being honest with them after her return.

On the other side of the scale, Henry was very much likable as he comes into the story...with a name change [now Hank Blume] and with a fascinating job of being an acclaimed documentarian who had liked McKenna in HS. So, it seems like we have two opposites that will come together and give the reader an exciting read.

The author also gives the reader some very well-developed secondary, well-defined, and even adorable secondary characters that add so much to the story. How will the story play out as McKenna has now returned home in NC because her powerful attorney had been accused of embezzlement over $300,000 from her job in New York? What was going on in the relationship with the Keatons...especially with the sisters and the mom? And how will Henry come into all of this as the situation plays out? The reader will have to pick up this good read and see how well this author brings it all out to get it all. However, in the end, it seems like the story was somewhat cut short, but all in all, it was a good read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." ( )