Review by Amy @inkwells_bookshelf
Overdue by Stephanie Perkins is a tender, grown-up slow burn about rediscovery as much as romance. It follows Ingrid, a 29-year-old librarian who has spent eleven years in the same relationship and suddenly they both find themselves wondering who they might be outside of it, they take a break to meet other people before committing to each other, what unfolds is a gentle, heartfelt journey of reclaiming identity, navigating adulthood, and learning how to date again after so long.
Enter Macon (pronounced MAY-con), Ingrid’s grumpy-sunshine coworker and long-time secret crush. He brings humor, emotional depth, and the kind of quiet steadiness that makes Ingrid’s self-reflection feel safe. Their dynamic is slow burn in the truest sense, longing, careful, and beautifully understated.
Set in a cozy mountain town full of library stacks, bookshops, and soft autumn vibes, this feels like a comforting evolution of Perkins’ earlier YA work - more mature, more introspective, but still full of heart.
It is slow (and at around 75% I did wonder if it needed all those pages), but it’s warm, thoughtful, and ultimately a lovely story about new beginnings, small shifts, and choosing the life that fits. Not romance-first, but romance-essential.
Perfect for readers who love:
- slow-burn workplace romance
- second-chance selfhood
- small-town coziness
- a bookish setting full of libraries + bookshops
There is a reno’ project in this book and I pictured all things Piglet in Bed in there – the perfect cozy homey aesthetic.
Written by
Amy @inkwells_bookshelf
A thirty-something, bookish, gingham-and-gaudy-mug-obsessed girl - and a firm believer that the best stories are read under a cozy duvet, with a strong coffee and a sleepy dog at your feet.
