September 15, 2022
Valentine's Day is the new Groundhog Day in Painter's latest teen romance. According to Emilie Hornby, "love is for planners," and she is confident that Josh is the perfect boyfriend: He is well liked, academically gifted, and extremely handsome. So after dating him for three months, she adds "Say 'I love you' to Josh!!!!!!!!!!!" to her Valentine's Day to-do list. But Fate has other plans for Emilie, and she ends up crashing her car into her surly chemistry lab partner Nick's truck, losing a journalism fellowship due to a clerical error, and catching Josh kissing his beautiful ex in his car. After sleeping over at her grandma's, Emilie wakes up in her own bedroom and discovers that it is Feb. 14 again. Trapped in a time loop where she repeatedly relives the day's heartbreaking events, she tries to manipulate things in order to free herself. But tomorrow never seems to come, and she keeps finding her way back to Nick, who is not only annoyingly handsome, but surprisingly charming. Painter plucks readers' every heartstring, from writing a sweet love story between two teens with very different views on romance to honestly depicting how Emilie's parents' messy divorce has impacted her feelings of self-worth. Italicized confessions at the beginnings of various chapters prove there is a playful side to Emilie that is further brought out by Nick, whose constant teasing leads to flirty banter. Main characters are cued as White. Unequivocally hilarious and delightful. (Romance. 13-18)
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October 10, 2022
Sixteen-year-old Emilie Hornby must relive a disastrous Valentine’s Day over and over in this laugh-out-loud Groundhog Day–inspired rom-com by Painter (Better Than the Movies). Type-A Emilie might have a plan for everything, but nothing could’ve prepared her for what she feels is the worst Valentine’s Day ever: first, she rear-ends her cantankerous chemistry partner Nick’s truck. Then she discovers that the prestigious journalism scholarship she won was in fact wrongly awarded, jeopardizing her Northwestern University dreams. And finally, she catches her “perfect” boyfriend Josh kissing his ex-girlfriend. After Emilie retreats home to lick her wounds, her father springs unwelcome news: he and her stepmother plan to leave Omaha for Texas, further splintering her previously comfortable stability. But her troubles have only just begun. When she wakes up the next morning, she discovers that it’s still Valentine’s Day. Seemingly fated to repeat that awful day, Emilie turns to Nick, the only person she believes might be able to help. Throughout, Emilie struggles to navigate her parents’ acrimonious divorce, and the resulting financial precarity and blow to her self-worth. By combining these personal trials with a lighthearted love story, Painter delivers a thoughtfully elevated romantic jaunt. Most characters present as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary.
February 24, 2023
Gr 8 Up-This hilarious and swoon-worthy YA rom-com has main character Emilie reliving the worst Valentine's Day over and over again. After surviving her teenage nightmare of watching her boyfriend cheat on her, she seeks comfort in a pint of Ben & Jerry's and her loving grandmother-only to discover when she wakes up that she must do it all over again, and again. On top of bearing witness to Josh's infidelity, she can't seem to stop running into, sometimes literally, the mysterious yet charming Nick, who has her puzzled in more ways than one. No one writes YA enemies-to-lovers quite like Painter. She perfectly balances witty banter with heart-melting moments. A time loop trope is often difficult to navigate in YA because the characters are largely relied on to drive the plot; Painter executes this flawlessly as she creates characters that are well developed and relatable. With many Taylor Swift references and a not-so-subtle nod to Gilmore Girls, this story will appeal to romance readers of all ages. VERDICT A must for all secondary library collections.-Amanda Barnes
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