Do Over was a sweet, romantic, and steamy read that I truly enjoyed. It's one of those rare romances about a couple who is already married and over forty. In fact, they've been together for twenty-five years. Their kids are grown and in college, and now that they have an empty nest, it's time for them to reconnect as a couple. Fortunately, they're able to accomplish that during a fun-filled weekend taking a walk down memory lane in which they 'do over' all their significant firsts: their first date, first kiss, first time making love, and more.

The entire story is told from the third-person perspective of the heroine, Faith, whose amazing husband, Troy, planned the entire excursion down to the last detail. Being at a similar place in my own life and having just celebrated twenty years of marriage, I could totally relate to the characters. They still deeply love one another, but had fallen into a comfortable routine over the years that didn't allow much time or space for romance and passion. Also, Faith has been having a particularly hard time coping with her kids being gone, but lucky for her Troy is a truly wonderful husband. For a self-described “caveman,” he was a pretty romantic guy and a very tender, considerate lover. Even his somewhat dominant moments were laced with gentleness, and his deep love and respect for his wife was completely apparent in his every action. All I can say is that if my husband did for me on our twenty-fifth anniversary what Troy did for Faith, I'd be over the moon and he'd so be getting lucky.;-)

Do Over was my first read by Mari Carr, but it most definitely won't be my last. She certainly has a way with telling a great story that's both steamy and truly romantic in every sense of the word. I also greatly appreciated that the mechanics of her writing were rock solid with no real errors that I caught. It seems rather rare to find this combination in an erotic romance author, so when I do, I'm always eager to try more of their work.

Note: This story contains explicit language and sexual content, including mildly dominating behavior, light bondage, and anal play, but in my opinion everything was very tastefully done to the point that it barely even felt like an erotic romance, more like an ultra-steamy one. ( )

*** 4 stars ***

This was my first encounter with Mari Carr, but after reading this story, I must say it will not be my last.

I liked this story primary because it is about happily married couple. They have been together for 25 years, there is no cheating or any other bad plot element in a story. It is a celebration of their love. Quite refreshing.
There are some attempts of erotic sex scenes but they were not very good and secondary to the whole HEA-feel, at least to me.

I can only hope that after 20 more years my husband and I will feel like Faith & Troy. :) ( )

3.5 starsThis is a very romantic short about a husband's 25th anniversary gift/weekend to his wife. The cover images didn't feel right to me - she's much too young, but he at least has some gray in his hair! At only 72 pages, I was easily able to read it in one sitting. The thing which didn't quite gel with me was that it was also a sexy story and I didn't feel the romance (and it was very romantic!) "fit" with the hot sexxoring. I enjoyed both individual aspects of the story but I didn't think they meshed all that well. It was nice to read a story about a slightly older couple who are happily married but wanting to reconnect and get the sizzle back after their children have left home. ( )

3.5 starsThis is a very romantic short about a husband's 25th anniversary gift/weekend to his wife. The cover images didn't feel right to me - she's much too young, but he at least has some gray in his hair! At only 72 pages, I was easily able to read it in one sitting. The thing which didn't quite gel with me was that it was also a sexy story and I didn't feel the romance (and it was very romantic!) "fit" with the hot sexxoring. I enjoyed both individual aspects of the story but I didn't think they meshed all that well. It was nice to read a story about a slightly older couple who are happily married but wanting to reconnect and get the sizzle back after their children have left home. ( )