Do Over
Author: Mari Carr
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Description:
Sometimes once is not enough…
After twenty-five years of marriage, Faith Wainwright wonders what she’ll do next. Her kids have moved out and sometimes she feels so distant from her husband, Troy.
Right before their anniversary, Troy gives Faith an unexpected gift: a journey through their hometown to reenact all their “firsts.” Their first date. Their first kiss. And especially the first time they made love—only better.
Each stop on their tour becomes an opportunity for Faith and Troy to rediscover how explosive their passion can be. Now Faith knows exactly what she’s going to do—Troy, over and over again…
Review:
I’d call Do Over by Mari Carr a palate cleanser book – in that it was a short quick read, that packed a punch and honestly, was much better written and constructed in the 70-odd pages, than a lot of romance novels that hover in the 300pg range. It takes an especially skillful author (IMHO) to write a great short-story and Mari Carr seems to have capitalized on that – I honestly, don’t know if I’ve read a bad book by her yet.
My favorite thing about this book was that it focused on a couple who had been married for 20+ years and the idea of a trip down memory lane. In a way, it was similar to the idea in Strong, Silent Type (Lorelei James) and Making it Last (Ruthie Knox)- about rediscovering love. And its something I would really like to see more of. I mean, yes, the typical romance is one where a couple meets/falls in love and gets married (or most of the time) – but what happens after the vows are said; after children are raised – how does a couple stay in love when life and going-on’s can make you forget why you fell in love with them in the first place. Do Over in short, but I was totally sucked into the story – and as I was reading, I would go back and re-read a section or a letter because it did tug on my heart-strings. Plus, the fact that the impetus of the story was from the husband’s perspective (him recreating their memories) made me just want to say awww.
Short but powerful read, well-deserving of a 4-star rating. Read this if you just want to feel giddy about falling in love all over again.
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