The Do-Over

Lynn Painter is an international bestselling author who lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and children. Painter is known for writing both young adult and adult contemporary romance novels. These include Better Than the Movies (2021), Mr. Wrong Number (2022), The Love Wager (2023), Betting on You (2023), Happily Never After (2024), Nothing Like the Movies (2024), and the upcoming release of Accidentally Amy (2025). While Painter writes in both markets, she doesn’t consider the adult and young adult genres differently. Though her protagonists are of different ages and in differing stages of life, she believes it is a disservice to young adults today to intentionally “age-down” the delivery of a teen story.

Painter plays heavily into many romance tropes in her novels. While The Do-Over employs the hate-to-love trope through banter between Emilie and Nick, Mr. Wrong Number explores forbidden romance and forced proximity. The Love Wager invokes the betting trope and Better Than the Movies uses fake dating as a plot device to further the romance.