So, I goofed on this one. I had received a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review, but I’ve been so crazy busy (and honestly in a reading slump) that I ended up buying the audiobook with one of my credits on Audible so I could listen through it. I’m hoping me actually getting a copy of the audiobook makes up for the fact that I’m late on reviewing it 😅. 

Anywayyy, I truly did enjoy Stephanie Perkins’ Overdue. You’re basically following Ingrid as she learns how to “adult” in a way that actually makes her happy. Along the way, she dates new men, pines over Macon (her hot librarian bestie), and tries to find out what she actually wants to do in her life. What I loved about this novel the most is the slow-burn aspect (seriously guys, I’ll go over this in more detail, but it was slow-burn), the “finding yourself” themes, and the hilarious attempts at entering back into the dating world for Ingrid. 

So, with the slow-burn parts of this novel, you have our main romantic protagonists Ingrid and Macon. I will give you this spoiler that slow-burn here means they don’t get together until the last third/fourth of the novel. The rest of the time is them pining over each other and Ingrid trying to figure out who she is without Cory (her college boyfriend who is also dating other people to “take a break”). Macon was honestly such a fun male main romantic lead. He and Ingrid truly are the definition of grumpy/sunshine leads (someone please give me some recs where the man is the sunshine and the woman is the grumpy because I’d love to read it). They both had such chemistry so it was definitely just a waiting game to see when they’d spark. I think this is a major reason why a lot of people didn’t exactly like this novel. The slow-burn, if you’re into quick romances with a lot of steam, could be a bit much at times. I didn’t mind it and it was a nice break from constant spice in the romance world. 

I thought that the whole theme with Ingrid finding herself in her late twenties to be so relatable. Honestly, guys, who really feels like they have it all figured out? Because at almost thirty (oof for me) with a husband, a house, and a toddler, sometimes I still wonder what the heck I’m doing and how am I even an adult. I can’t even decide what I want to eat sometimes. Regardless, this theme was very heavy throughout the novel (taking up even more space than the romance in my opinion), and I think it’s what makes this book worthwhile. 

This book was equal parts funny with trying to figure out how to date again (I can’t imagine how scary that would be with literal dating apps and meeting people through screens…), and equal parts romantic (Macon and Ingrid painting together is *chef’s kiss*). For people who don’t mind a romance that actually takes time (because which romances that are actually worth it don’t take time???), Overdue is perfect. 

Overall, I seriously enjoyed this novel and loved the slow pace of it all. To be completely honest, I think its slow pace took me out of one of the biggest reading slumps of my life. I didn’t need a flashy book. I didn’t need something that gave you a twist at every corner. I needed a sweet, soft, book-filled romance that would lazily take my hand through its pages. 

Source: Audiobook from Audible

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Everand, which gives you one free audiobook or ebook of your choice!)