Do Over by Serena Bell
Contemporary Romance
January 30, 2018
Loveswept

Reviewed by Kini

Favorite Quote: Jack and I are bound together, and even though in a lot of ways it makes no sense at all, in other ways, it is the most logical thing in the world.

I will pretty much always read a book where the main characters had a baby together but aren’t together and now get their second chance at love. I have read several books by Serena Bell and I am never disappointed, this book was no exception. It’s sweet and sexy and emotional in all the ways that I like.

The hero, Jack, believes he is worthless. He grew up with an abusive dad and carries that with him. He thinks he can’t be a good partner or father and it is holding him back. He is currently living a bachelor life and sees his son on weekends but even on his weekends, leaves the heavy lifting to his mom and sister.

Maddie, the heroine, finds herself without a place for her and her son to live so she ends up staying with Jack, her baby daddy. Maddie is a good mom to their son Gabe. She wants the best for him. She and Jack were childhood friends and she always believed in him, until he broke her heart.

This story is all about them reconnecting. It starts out of a necessity, because of the place to stay and grows from there. Maddie arrives on Jack’s door crying and he just can’t have that. He comforts her with kisses, as you do. So the time spent together forces them both to reevaluate things. Jack has to face his abilities as a father, his career, his ability to love and some things in his past. Maddie has to come to terms with some things as well. But Jack definitely has more shit to work through.

One thing I really, really liked about this book is that there is a secondary character, a woman who Jack had an on-going sexual relationship with, who ends up being a friend of Jack’s sister. And when Maddie meets her, there is an appropriate amount of jealousy, but this other woman does not get cast as a bitch or a slut or in competition for Jack. I want to see this more in romance. I am so tired of exes being portrayed in the worst possible ways.

I really enjoyed this book. It was sexy and sweet and I love reading about a family working their way back to each other. I was pretty invested in the story and the conflict was not overly done or outlandish. There is some grovel if you’re into that kind of thing. Also some forearm porn. This also broke my slump of C reads.

Grade: B

Prior Serena Bell reviews

Recent Reviews:
Harlequin Junkie
The Good, The Bad and The Unread

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