Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything To Find Everything. Not that I haven't lived this before. Not at all. Yes, this story of two sisters awkwardly reconnecting 3 yrs after a major fight that left them not speaking to each other somehow managed to resonate with a guy who only has brothers. ;) Seriously, great job from new-to-me author Nicole Meier in crafting a very readable and relatable tale, that admittedly I wanted to stop reading at one point because it got a bit *too* real and brought back some difficult memories of my own. Hallmarkies and/ or foodies in particular will get a kick out of this one, but a strong book for any crowd I've ever come across. This is due to Meier's skill in focusing on the very human even while also relishing the particulars she has set in motion here. Very much recommended.

Family relationships can be difficult at times, and are often hard to repair. I really enjoyed reading about this relationship and how things worked out. Good story and believable characters. Definitely recommend.

The Second Chance Supper club isn't the first novel written with this premise and I suspect it wont be the last. However, the relationships in this book are different, strained from the very beginning which was a different twist for me.

A pair of estranged sisters with one of them having a surly daughter. Julia is a broadcast journalist who has a situation brewing with her network, so she pays her sister Ginny, the owner of a supper club a surprise and unwelcome visit. Ginny has a lot on her plate so to speak with keeping her business afloat, so she needs her sister and surly daughter to help her with her business. It turned out to be a much better book than I expected it to be and after a few chapters I started to get more involved in the storyline and actually started to like the characters more than I first thought I would.

I'm glad I continued to read this one because it's a sweet read that gets better.
I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a captivating story of healing and reconnecting. When Julia's career implodes in a huge way, she escapes to her home state of Arizona to regroup. She and her sister Ginny haven't spoken in three years but Julia is following her instincts and shows up unexpectedly at her sister's door. Ginny, meanwhile, is under intense financial pressure and her unending conflicts with her 21 year old daughter Olive exacerbate the feelings. The last thing she needs is her selfish little sister in her way making things worse. 

I love how real this book feels. Julia and Ginny have a lot of hurt and anger to work through, even as they remember how much they love each other and forge a tenuous new connection. Things aren't smoothed over in an instant but old resentments bubble out from time to time. Ginny and Olive also can't seem to communicate without attacking each other, both resentful of the other for various reasons. But Julia is a good buffer between them and helps them to connect again as well.

I was so relieved that this is not a romance, either. There is a hint of something to come in the life of one character, but it doesn't happen before the book ends and I am so glad. This is a story of family and forgiveness. Throwing in a gratuitous love story would take away from the beauty that is Julia and Ginny's story.

I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read with engaging characters. Would read the author again. Thank you.

Two sisters have become estranged after the death of their parents, but a career crisis has led Julia to show up on her older sister's doorstep in hopes of repairing their relationship as she takes time out from her problems. Ginny also has her hands full dealing with her daughter and running a secret supper club in her Arizona home. The three women are forced to work together to keep the supper club running smoothly as they each grapple with their relationships and decide what they truly want out of life. This book is a great choice for anyone who needs a food-related book for a reading challenge. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review.

The Second Chance Supper Club is a story of second chances (of course!), sisters, forgiveness, starting over, and hope, mixed in with some delicious food.
Julia and Ginny Frank used to be close, but when the death of their parents sent them on different paths, the anger, hurt, and resentment combined for a three year separation. Julia has a successful career, but the stress she faces keeping it together causes her to make a potentially career-ending mistake. Knowing she needs space and a chance to re-evaluate, she goes to the only place she can think of: her sister’s.
Ginny Frank was a successful chef in New York packed up her daughter and returned to Arizona to deal with her parents’ estate. She still loves her career as a chef and is trying to make a private supper club successful. The stress of trying to make it work is taking its toll on her and straining her relationship with her daughter, Olive. The last thing she needs is her sister showing up and stirring up all her anger and resentment to add to the stress. Or maybe, it’s just what they all need.
Full of good food and strong women, this novel was a delightful visit with women I would love to know. It was a joy getting to know the Frank women and watch them find their strength to move forward as well as rebuild their relationships with each other.
#TheSecondChanceSupperClub #NicoleMeier #LakeUnionPublishing

Ginny and her younger sister Julia haven’t spoken for three years, ever since Ginny left New York City and her prestigious career as a highly sought-after chef to attend to all the arrangements needed after their parents’ untimely death. Both sisters have harbored hurt and anger toward each other over their respective feelings of grief and abandonment. When Julia needs a breather from a fallout at her high-profile news anchor job, the first place she can think to turn is Arizona and her sister and niece, Olive. Will the women be able to put their hurts to rest and repair their relationship?


Ok, to be completely honest, I was THIS close to marking this one as DNF. I was a whole THIRD of the way into the book and just couldn't slog my way through the third-person cyclically redundant helping of blame and shuttered vulnerability that each sister whined about in each chapter. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a healthy dose of drama and anguish to set up a conundrum of "Will they or won't they be able to work this out?!?!" but it was just too heavy handed.

Because I'm supremely stubborn, I revisited the positive reviews and decided to keep reading. And I was glad that I did. I still didn't enjoy the first 1/3 of the book, and I'd be hesitant to recommend it to someone with that disclaimer, but at least the end wrapped things up nicely for the three women.

The foodie descriptions were mouth watering and enticing - I would love a plate of whatever Ginny whips up in the kitchen! Ah, and the Arizona setting felt earthy and inviting, the way family does. Those elements were so tangible and exquisite, and they really breathed life into the story. The characters were very relatable (I have a sister and we can both relate to letting each other down and helping build each other back up), and overall I'm happy to have stuck with it and finished the book. Can't leave a sister when she's down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story about two estranged sisters finding their way back to each other. I enjoyed this book that had family drama, good food and second chances. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

The Second Chance Supper Club was such a heartwarming novel filled with family drama, long standing issues between the sisters and a young woman trying to find her place in the world. This story was about second chances for all the main characters.

Each of the characters were realistic and well rounded, the kind of people I'd like to meet and talk with. I definitely enjoyed the interactions between the women and cheered as they slowly starting taking steps to meet each other in the middle.

If you enjoy stories about people overcoming their past, working toward a better relationship with others and/or second chances, this is the story for you.

I was excited to be given an ARC at my request. Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley. My thoughts are my own and happily given. I definitely enjoyed this book.

After the death of her parents in a horrific car crash, Ginny leaves her chef position in New York and flies’ home to Arizona to take care of their arrangements and affairs. Meanwhile, younger sister Julia continues to live in New York living her best life with a great position on the morning show Daybreak. Um, that is until 3 years later and without thought, she corners one of the shows guests with uncollaborated questioning into certain activities. With the threat of legal action, she is put on a leave from the show for 4 weeks.
On a whim and without notice to her estranged sister Ginny, Julia packs up and flies to Arizona, leaving her fiancé and New York behind her. When she arrives, she is thrown into the middle of Ginny’s chaotic life, filled with a mother/daughter conflict and a not-to-code restaurant business (aka “secret supper club”). You see, when Ginny’s daughter storms out during the supper service, Julie is given no choice but to throw on her best customer service face and help her desperate sister just in time to get through the supper rush.
Almost immediately, Julie realizes that her older sister has turned into a strong independent uptight mother, who is over-flowing in debt, AND is still angry at Julia for dumping all her parents’ affairs on her.
In an effort to keep the business afloat and undercover; Julie, Ginny and her daughter Olive slowly air out their feelings and soon Ginny’s impossibly strong façade slowly crumbles.
The great thing about The Second Chance Supper Club is seeing how three independent women, who were in different stages of their lives, quickly find themselves fighting through their personal issues and helping each other find their true worth. A fantastic read, one to share with the women in your life. Also, a perfect fall book, one you can easily curl up by the fire with a hot tea in hand.

3.5 stars
An enjoyable read about sisterhood and delicious dishes.
Sometimes we take decisions in a whirlwind and that doesn’t always works for our future and when a difficult situation appears, the only person that you can go to it’s your own sister. That’s what happens in this story.
I enjoyed the food and how the relationship between them was taken to some extent that was pushing limits for a real person in real life.
It’s a good story overall but unfortunately for me it’s not that memorable.

Julia has been an anchor for aa morning tv show. She asks the mayor a question without getting her facts together and this puts her on suspension from her job. James, her fiance is out of town and she just needs to get away to think things out. Her sister, Ginny is running an underground dinner club in Arizona. Ginny's daughter Olive is helping but reluctantly. Thew three of them being together after so many years apart seems to bring them closer and brings clarity to each of their futures.

Two sisters separated by time, distance and lifestyles are brought back together during a tough Time in each of their lives. They are getting a second chance to be there for each other and rebuild the relationship they had damaged years prior as their parents passed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier is an emotional but endearing look at family and putting your life back together when things fall apart.

What it's about: Sisters Julia and Ginny have been estranged for years, ever since their parents died in a freak accident and Ginny went home to Arizona to pick up the pieces while Julia stayed behind in New York City to work on her journalism career. But after making a big mistake that may leave Julia out of a job, she decides to run from her current problems and travel to Arizona to reconnect with Ginny and her niece, Ginny's daughter, Olive. But Ginny has her own struggles and tempers will flare, can Ginny and Julia patch things up again or are they doomed to be estranged forever?

The Second Chance Supper Club was such a cute book, and I really enjoyed the two storylines of Ginny and Julia. I did think that it felt like I was reading from younger POVs than I actually was though. Julia is 38 and Ginny is older, but I got the impression I was reading from the perspectives of women much younger. This might be because they weren't as developed as they could have been, and I would have liked to get to know them a bit better.

I do think that Meier struck the perfect balance between talking about food (Ginny is a chef) and family. The Second Chance Supper Club is a great book to read among heavier books, and while my eyes were glistening with tears at the end - overall it is not a tearjerker. However, this is definitely a book that will make you want to spend more time with friends and family and hold them tight. It makes you reflect on just how short life can be, and that part in itself made me emotional because I know from experience.

Besides wanting more character development, I was also a little disappointed about a couple of plot lines that just fizzled out with no explanation, and for adult women, they didn't really act like it or have the sense they should have, especially financially for Ginny. Overall though this is a super sweet book that I do NOT regret reading in the slightest.

Song/s the book brought to mind: Who Says You Can't Go Home by Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles.

Final Thought: If you are looking for a nice palate cleanser between heavier reads that still has heart, The Second Chance Supper Club could be the book for you! The parts about food made my mouth water, so I think chefs and foodies will also be able to appreciate this book. Julia, Ginny, and Olive were 3 characters that I felt for and I loved reading their stories. This may not be anything too crazy, but it was super sweet and a book that will stick with me for a while.

Thank you to Get Red PR and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I would recommend this book to other readers, I love reading tales about family problems, strife etc. Great cozy tale about two sisters. Very good

Ginny and Julia are sisters who were once is close, but they had had a huge fight after their parents death. They have been estranged for three years. Julia is a broadcast journalist who makes a huge mistake whilst doing an interview. She is suspended and turns to her sister Ginny for a shoulder to cry on, even though they have not seen or spoke to each other for a while. Ginny runs an underground supper club in Arizona. She has her own problems, she barely makes ends meet. She tells Julia that she will need to work in the supper club an the sisters start their relationship over again.

This is a heartwarming, cozy quick.read about sisters who get a second chance to put their differences behind them and start over. It's by no means an original storyline but the author puts her own spin to it. It is about family, mother and daughter relationships as well as sisterly love.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author Nicole Meier for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks @netgalley and Lake Union for offering a digital ARC of this sumptuous story! Even though sisters Julia and Ginny are estranged, home is the first place Julia runs to after she makes an on-air gaffe while anchoring a New York morning news program. A trip to Arizona sounds like the perfect way to escape from the burning stares on the street, the scathing criticism online, and the disappointed eyes of her fiance James. In Arizona, Ginny's bitten off more than she can chew with her hidden supper club, but she's reticent to ask for help.

A sweet tale about the bonds of family coming together, there are no surprises in this story. Rather you are treated to a feast of words describing the Arizona desert, the difficulties of communicating with those close to us, and, of course, the food! A great novel for lovers of Kitchens of the Great MidWest, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, or anyone who just loves to read all about what they ate.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This book was a 2.5 star read for me. The book was OK in my opinion. I liked the story and the concept of the story. I didn't like the characters at all in the beginning. They were annoying me. I also didn't know what to make of the writing. I just didn't connect with the story or the characters. I loved the scenery and the food descriptions. I felt there was potential to this book.

Nicole Meier, Author of  "The Second Chance Supper Club" has written an emotional, captivating, intriguing, and thought-provoking novel. I love the way the author vividly describes and writes about her characters, landscape, markets, florists and food. I appreciate the comparison of city vs. country life. The Genres for this story are Fiction and Women's Fiction. The author describes her dramatic cast of characters as complex and complicated. The theme of this book is sisters, mothers and daughters, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Younger sister Julia Frank seems to have it all together, she appears on a Television Morning show as a journalist and has a wealthy, motivated fiance. Julia appears to be polished and works very hard and is respected. With the pressure of her ratings, she mentions something live without thinking it through. Julia finds herself on "leave" from her job and doesn't know where to go. Just knowing she has to get away for a few days, she decides to leave the city and head for Arizona, where her older sister Ginny lives with her daughter.

Ginny and Julia have not seen each other in several years after a tragedy caused their estrangement. Ginny has her own problems. Ginny is a chef and barely makes ends meet, by having "discreet" supper clubs in her house, where she prepares and serves the food to a discriminating culinary and appreciative clientele.  This might not be the perfect timing for a reunion for the two sisters. Or maybe it is just the right time.

I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, friends, support, forgiveness, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking and emotional novel to those readers who enjoy family drama, and women's fiction.