Thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Meier and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I
have read books by Nicole Meier before and I'm a fan, but something about this book was lacking.
The writing was good, loved the descriptions of the scenery and the food, but the story line just seemed to me to drag a bit and I Just could not connect with any of the characters. I just didn't like them. They were whiney and self absorbed.
Still it wasn't a bad story and I am a sucker for happy endings! 3 stars.

Julia Frank is happily engaged and working in her dream job until one day she succumbs to the pressure and challenges the mayor on live tv about something she overheard at a cocktail party. After the interview Julia is removed from the morning show while the bad publicity dies down so she runs to the one person she thinks she can count on. Ginny Frank is the owner and chef of a clandestine supper club and the mother to a daughter who is trying to break free. The last thing Ginny needs is another surprise but that is just what she finds when Julia shows up on her doorstep in the middle of dinner service just after her server walks out. Can Julia and Ginny make peace with the past and learn to work together and appreciate one another?

The Second Chance Supper Club is an east, enjoyable read that will resonate with anyone with siblings. This is the story about the choices and sacrifices that we make for family and the lasting impact they can have on our relationships. I strongly recommend this book.

I love to read stories about sisters and this one did not disappoint!!! A wonderful story with amazing characters!!! Highly recommend

I absolutely love to read books about sisters. I am lucky enough to have two wonderful sisters and unlike the sisters in this book, we have always been very close. The two sisters in this novel have been estranged for over three years and have to work very hard to re-establish their sister relationship.

Ginny is the oldest sister. She was on her way to becoming a famous chef in NYC but when their parents died in an accident, she went home to Arizona to clean out and sell the house and decided to stay. Ginny is stressed to the max with the struggles in her life. Julia is a broadcast journalist in NYC. She is put on leave after a major error on the show and decides that its time to go home to Arizona. She needs some time away from the hustle of the city to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

Julia shows up on Ginny's doorstep without warning after three years of no communication between them and after the initial shock, they try to let go of their anger and become sisters again but it's difficult for both of them to let go of their anger at each other. Will working to keep the secret supper club running be just what they need to find common ground and a path toward forgiveness, or will the increasing stress push them even further apart?

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

The Second Chance Supper Club is a charming read set against the landscape of the desert southwest. Julia is a successful broadcast journalist whose career is the center of her world; a blunder on-air leads to a scandal that leads Julia back to the sister she has not seen for three years. Ginny, a once Michelin-starred chef, lives in Arizona running a secret supper club from her house. While the sisters have a fractured past and resentment towards each other this second chance presents an opportunity for them to move forward in their lives.

This was the first novel by Nicole Meier that I read and it will not be the last! Told in a very descriptive style, I felt like I was in the Arizona mountains surrounded by the beautiful landscapes described throughout the story. Ginny's amazing meals were the cherry on top and I really like Meier's attention to detail. If you are looking for a change from the suspense genre or are a fan of women's fiction-pick this up today and settle in for a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Julia and Ginny are sisters who had what they thought was an unbreakable bond. When a sudden devastating tragedy happened it tore them apart.

Three years of not speaking to each other Julia who is a renowned news anchor shows up at Ginnys door. She had something happen at work and needs someone to turn to. Ginny is not overly thrilled to see her sister. She was forced to give up her career as a Michelin Star chef because of her.

Ginny now runs a secret supper club from her home. People pay good money to come to her home and have a one of a kind dining experience. Julia is shocked to see that this is what her sister has been doing since moving from New York. She also realizes how much her past actions changed the course of Ginny’s life.

This is a book about love, forgiveness and family. The book is very well written and I enjoyed the characters. It is told from both Ginny and Julia’s point of view.

Family is who you run to when the worst things happen. Sisters, Julie and Ginny, are estranged, but when Julie’s life is turned upside down, she goes to the person that will always have her back. The reunion of sisters will force them to re-examine the events that pushed them apart and hopefully give them a second chance. Food, family, forgiveness - this book has it all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel.

The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier I loved the book and the decsriptions of the food and descriptions of the way she selected the food at the markets. Sometimes simple things are better than glamorous. Made me hungry she was quite the chef. The characters of Ginny, Jennifer, and Olive are beautiful.

I really enjoy books about friendships and sisters, especially since I didn't have any sisters. I like to see the bonds between the characters and what tears them apart and brings them together again or maybe not. I'm also a sucker for a "foodie" book. I love all things food - events, tours, tastings, competitions.

This book checked the box in the "food" department. I loved the idea of a supper club, exclusivity, small tables and an intimate setting. Ginny is the chef and loved her career in NY and was devastated when she felt she had to leave it behind. The "supper club" was her way of keeping her foot in the door and her creativity flowing as she didn't have the money to open a restaurant. The parts of the book that focused on the "supper club" were my favorite parts.

The book started out with promise in that there were two sisters whose bonds had been broken because of choices made in stressful and trying times and their journey back to each other. While the stressors in their relationship didn't seem bad enough to warrant not talking to each other for a few years, I guess the upset is in the eye of the beholder. Something happens that brings the sisters back into each others orbit and it is during this part that I wish the author had delved more into exactly who each of the sisters were, what the problem was, more challenges to begin to make it right and more lessons learned by each of them through this journey.

It wasn't a bad book at all, it was just lacking for me. Lacking in problems and solutions that don't wrap themselves up quite as quick and nice as this one did. It's a sweet read, palette cleansing but nothing that left me thinking a whole lot about it.

The Second Chance Supper Club is about the relationship between two sisters. Julia lives in New York, where she works in media, while Ginny is a cook in Arizona. Events in their lives have separated the two sisters, but they reconnect after Julia flees New York in an attempt to escape the fallout from an incident at work.

The book was fairly predictable with a plot in which life is composed of opposites: New York vs. Arizona, family vs. work, head vs. heart. Even the sisters are opposites. For example, Julia drinks green juice for breakfast and counts calories to maintain a slim figure, and Ginny is a somewhat plump foodie. This is a world of binaries.

I prefer books where things are less clear cut, but this is a sweet story about the importance of family. Meier is able to show the kinds of things that can lead families apart and bring them back together, and there are also some delicious descriptions of food. The Second Chance Supper Club could be a good choice for people looking for a fun and uncomplicated story about sisterhood.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of The Second Chance Supper Club, I loved it! It is such a sweet and refreshing novel that is easy to read, flows smoothly, and is delightful all around. The characters are down to earth and the relationships are relatable, making it easy to feel connected to them and feel their emotions. I love reading novels about families and I am drawn to the sociological and phsychological elements involved, which made reading The Second Chance Supper Club even better for me. It was a "curl up on a comfy couch" type of read, one that you don't want to put down. I can easily see this made into a movie, or a TV series. I could not get enough of the characters or the story!

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Meier and Lake Union Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

They had a strong sisterly bond until a tragedy strikes and thrusts them apart; but now at a crossroads, the sister’s lives are about to intersect. Julia has it all, a fulfilling career, a fiancé and the hard won respect of her peers, that is until she makes a poor decision and puts her job at risk and ruins her reputation. This sends Julia running to the only person that could understand, her sister Ginny. Ginny runs a clandestine secret supper club in Arizona and has a lot on her plate. The last thing she wants is more drama or the burden of nursing her sisters wounded pride. But family is family and Ginny could use some help herself. Julia and Ginny will be working closely together and have no choice but to confront the pain and betrayals of the past.

I was really needing a change of pace from all the thrillers and needed something more heartfelt – and man was this the right novel! This was an extremely quick read and I found myself so immersed into all the characters lives that I couldn’t help but be hoping for the best for all of them! I really liked the sisters and how different they are from one another because it reminded me of my sister and I and how difficult it can be to maintain a relationship with a sibling. I really enjoyed the idea of a secret supper club and all that went into doing something the Ginny really loved! I wished that I could enjoy some of the food that they talk about in this novel, so if you are reading – be ready to be starving! I really enjoyed the entire novel overall and would definitely recommend.

Out September 10th!

I enjoyed The Girl Made of Clay and was excited to read this book. It ended being OK and would probably give it 2.5 stars. The book started out promising but didn't seem to go anywhere for me. What could have caused Ginny and Julia not to speak for three years? After finishing the book, I still don't know why they were so mad at each other. Ginny yells at Julia for not helping after their parents' death and they forgive each other. They really don't even talk about it much. How did Ginny last three years running the supper club? She can't stay on a budget and spends more on the food than what she charges.I thought her new restaurant would have a catchier name than Bistro G, especially since she already had Mesquite. I didn't mind Julia and Ginny, unfortunately Olive was a different matter. I hated reading about her. She acted more like a bratty teenager than twenty-one years old. Her attitude and the way she treated her mom was atrocious. She's an adult not a little child. After the book ended, I still didn't know much about Ginny or Julia. I do love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier
Source: NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing
Rating: 3/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: In theory, this book has everything I love in literature: family drama, loads of good food, and an idyllic setting that enhances the story. While I love all these things, they just didn’t seem to come together in this read to create the kind of emotional drama I was expecting. In fact, there wasn’t really any big drama in this read at all and it read quite flat all the way through from start to finish. For example: Julia completely screws up at work yet there is never a moment where she loses control, breaks down, and/or freaks out; even her major life changes that follow in the wake of the screw up aren’t met with any real drama. Additionally, Julia’s sister, Ginny is up to her ears in debt and difficulties with her restaurant and daughter yet there is never a moment of explosion or big, over the top drama. As deep as she’s in it and given all the stress, I expected a Mount St. Helen’s kind of explosion at some point. Finally, Olive, Ginny’s daughter is an angsty young adult looking to break free from her mother and while she does storm out once or twice, there is never an explosive argument or breaking point which would have been totally understandable. In truth, I feel like this book doesn’t truly have a climax, but just reads in a linear fashion, point A to point B, with only a few moments of light drama. With all the events and situations, the three women are involved in, I expected there to be some big moments, some explosions, some real drama that would shatter everything but those moments, not even one ever came. I wanted that climax, the emotional dump so the rebuilding, the repairs, and the new paths forged would somehow seem to be more deserved, earned. With all this being said, I did like aspects of this book: the food – oh, gosh! – the descriptions of the food are amazing, the setting is absolutely idyllic, and I did like the women. I can’t say I disliked this book, but the lack of a climax really hurt the overall enjoyment for me.

A sweet and simple book about the reunification of two sisters after several years apart. There are no twists or turns, no surprises, no messy endings. Way too pat for me. I also started getting annoyed with Ginny's inability to break even or make money. This woman supposedly earned a Michelin Star yet doesn't know how to appropriately price a meal to make a profit? And her excuse of "taking a risk" makes no sense. Likewise, the use of the term "foodie" by a member of the restaurant industry grated on my every nerve. This is not a term of endearment and no chef would call their best customer a "foodie." Simple things like this can ruin what would otherwise have been a light fluffy enjoyable read.

Julia and Ginny are sisters that have grown apart. Through a series of events Julia finds herself taking a break from her life in New York to fly across the country and pay Ginny a surprise visit in Arizona.
During the visit we find more about the sisters and why they grew apart. Julia also spends time with her now adult niece Olive.
The supper club is a charming setting and helps to weave the sisters stories together. Ginny runs the supper club from her home assisted by Olive. Ginny and Olive have a strained mother/daughter relationship. The addition of Julia adds a great perspective.
I found all 3 main characters and the peripheral characters reasonably likeable.
The book overall is a good read, its more “meaty” than a cozy romance. I did know fairly early on how the story would turn out.
A solid 3 star read.

3.5 stars
I really enjoyed the setting of this book (makes me want to visit Arizona!) and the concept of the underground supper club. There were moments where I found both Ginny and Julia annoying. Honestly, Julia seemed like a selfish brat who didn't even bother taking a single day off from work after the death of her parents, dumping everything on Ginny to deal with. And Ginny goes into debt and guilts her adult daughter, Olive, into working for free in her secret supper club as a hostess/server. However, as the book progressed, each of the women started to appreciate the hardships of the other. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than I did the first half - I do hope there will be a second book as I would love to see what happens next in the lives of Ginny, Julia, and Olive.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

A very nice book about estranged sisters, Julia and Ginny and taking risks and starting over. Left me with such a good feeling, a beautiful story. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Sibling rivalry was the reason I was tempted to requested this book, along with my love of food.
The descriptions of the food were tempting but the story lacked of depth, it was too obvious from the start what the ending would be and the title was a dead giveaway.
The fact that Julia didn't pursue her leak before confronting the Mayor didn't ring true if she was a professional.
Her relationship with her sister didn't suggest she'd seek her out in time of trouble and her niece's attitude towards her mother changed drastically, without much of the discontentment being resolved especially as the father didn't play any part in resolving the issues.
An easy read but I like my stories with a bit more ' bite' !

This was an easy read between some heavier books I've read lately. I didn't necessarily connect with the characters and the story felt a bit dull at times, but it was still a nice read.