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Release Day Review and Giveaway: The Do Over: A.L. Zaun

by - Monday, May 20, 2013

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Life doesn’t look like it’s supposed to for Dani Ruiz, a hopeless romantic. After a painful and sudden break-up with Rick Marin, Dani hides away from reality, retreating to a world of fiction where she prefers book boyfriends over the hassles of a relationship.

Almost two years later, Dani’s friends are tired of watching her in a holding pattern, so they stage an intervention, forcing her back into the real world of dating.

Unexpectedly, Dani meets Liam Lucas, a down-to-earth firefighter. He might be the person to show her she’s still worth something. Dani’s hesitant to trust her heart with another man, but their instant and electric chemistry is something she can’t deny.

As Dani starts to believe that she’s found her real-life book boyfriend, Rick decides that he’ll go to any lengths to get her back. Seeing Rick as a changed man makes Dani question everything. 

Can Dani trust her patched-up heart with Liam? 
Or has Rick transformed into the man she’s always wanted? 

Told from various points of views, The Do Over is a story of second chances and new beginnings.



See the trailer by Bethy Mac






Graphic by Jaime Guerard
"Hi, I'm Dani and I am a Kindle-holic and I hoard eBooks."

Dani's heart was crushed by her selfish jerk of a live in boyfriend Rick and was sent scurrying into the land of her kindle and book boyfriends. A couple of years later, fate intervenes and she meets Liam. A hot firefighter with a heart of gold.

Someone call a code blue. I wouldn't mind at all having him administer CPR on ME.

For the most part I liked Dani. She was smart, sweet, and kind. But she is guarded and terrified of getting hurt again.  I wanted to smack her sometimes as she made poor choices . You would think a girl who reads so many books would see she is falling into some of the love triangle plot traps.

"I know he's a good guy. The type I can easily fall in love with and dream about making babies with. He's perfect...Rick broke me. Liam can shatter me. It's just a matter of time."

Liam was just perfect. He was truly sexy, swoony, sweet, and an all around perfect book boyfriend type. He was not afraid to share his feelings or of commitment. He had a sense of humor, respected her, and put her first.

This man in a few short months had taught me to feel, to laugh, and to live. He was everything I had ever dreamed of and wanted in a man. He was patient and kind, loving and gentle. He was passionate and so attentive to all of my needs. He was amazingly handsome on the inside and out.

"...this is yours. I love that you read your books. But the truth is I'll never be able to compete with your book boyfriends I'll never be that Professor character. And even as much as I'll continue to serenade you, I will not become one of those rock star book guys. I'm just me, but I'm yours. All of me is yours. My heart, everything, all of it, yours..."

Now Rick is another story. Oh, how this man irritated me. Of course, we were supposed to dislike him at the beginning. He was an arrogant, selfish prick who broke her heart. But as time passed, he realized his mistake and decided he wanted her back. And he kind of became more of a dual personality: The jerk who just wants her back and will manipulate the situation to win AND a new better Rick who begins to realize that if he really cared about her then he should want her to be truly happy. And his whole crazy, hot and cold friendship pseudo relationship with Madison also helps change him even if he does not realize it at the time. So at times, I found myself almost liking Rick. But I was TEAM LIAM all the way!

Rick became my book boyfriend in the flesh. The asshole who reinvented himself for the girl. He was funny, attentive, edgy and sexy as hell. But like with all my other book boyfriends, I could turn off my Kindle and go on with my life unaffected. The only problem was that things started changing, and I didn't even realize it before it was too late. During those stolen moments with him, I was transported to another time. I felt as though the clock was turned back. The only difference was that Rick evolved into the man I had dreamed he could be instead of the one he had been. Going back there was dangerous. 

There is heartbreak, romance, secrets, lies, manipulation, angst, and drama. It made me mad, frustrated, sad, laugh, and happy at various times. Their friends added comic relief. They had interventions and busted on them and also tried to protect them. But there was so much going on behind the scenes that most were unaware of. I adored Liam and Dani together. But I just kept waiting for it all to come crashing down.

Daniela is playing with fire and you know someone is going to get burned. Will she choose the new perfect love or be reeled in by her first love that has changed and become the man she wanted him to be?

"Don't leave us on a cliffhanger. I can barely tolerate those in books. I don't know if I can survive one with you."

I enjoyed this book. It was not as short as some of the books being put out and it felt like a complete story. However she definitely left room for a spin-off book about some of the other characters and their future relationships. She gave us multiple points of view so we could see what all of them were thinking and were feeling.

Thanks to A.L. Zaun for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 


A.L. Zaun Facebook/Website/Twitter/Goodreads

A.L. Zaun graduated from Florida International University with a degree in English Literature a long time ago.  A degree she didn’t use at all in her professional endeavors.  She loves to read, write and take pictures.  She walks around with her camera, and most importantly she has her e-reader available at all times.  Healthcare Management by day, Mommy in the evening and most nights, you can find her sitting in front of her laptop with a bottle of Diet Pepsi, bringing the voices in her head to life on the pages of her debut novel, The Do Over.





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