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After settling into routines and relationships, it’s easy to end up stuck in a rut, just going through the motions. And when a young woman’s long-term relationship is shaken up in Overdue by author Stephanie Perkins, it leads her to rethink a whole lot of her life choices.
The story finds librarian Ingrid Dahl at an unexpected crossroads. When her sister gets engaged over the holidays, Ingrid and her college boyfriend, Cory, stop to consider where their relationship is heading. Neither has ever dated anyone else—so, after 11 years together, they decide to take a month off to see other people before coming back together and, most likely, moving toward marriage. Ingrid decides that she’d like to start with her cranky coworker, Macon. But when things don’t go as planned—and she and Cory decide that they need more time—she has to move forward.
Rejected by the object of her long-time coworker crush, Ingrid sets out in search of other options, casually dating library patrons and dating app matches—always intending to reunite with Cory once their experiment is over. Admittedly, the whole situation feels like a terrible idea from the start—and also unfair to the men she meets and dates along the way. And even if it’s not hard to see where the story is heading, the setup still feels uncomfortable.
As the months pass and Ingrid’s relationship status goes through a whole lot of changes, the shake-up makes her think about the other aspects of her life, too. She thinks about her home, her career, and the changes she needs to make in order to be happy—reminding readers to consider their own happiness and fulfillment, too, instead of just sticking with what’s comfortable.
And, of course, as Ingrid experiences all of these life changes, the will-they-or-won’t-they tension with Macon builds. It’s a slow-burn romance—with their friendship taking all kinds of unspoken (and sometimes misunderstood) twists and turns along the way. But while Macon sometimes comes off as a little too surly, the characters are still both charming enough to make the journey easy-going and generally enjoyable.
Though the story’s set-up is definitely awkward and problematic, Overdue eventually builds into a mix of sweet and thoughtful and sometimes a little spicy. It’s a bookish romance that might just inspire some readers to step outside their own comfort zone and go after their big, scary dreams.
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