Cover Image: A Year of Second Chances

A Year of Second Chances

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Member Reviews

Lovely easy to read feel good read. Gorgeous cover that drew me in. Nicely put story. Lovely sounding location. Lose yourself in this lovely book
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A Year of Second Chances is a great weekend, beach, or holidy read! The friendship between Dawn, Suzie, and Charlie is complex and takes on new and different aspects over the course of the book. Although they are very different from one another you can see why they would be friends. 

Dawn is the the connecting force that keeps the group together, but I loved that she wasn't perfect. Sometimes her mistakes were funny and sometimes they were more serious. Suzie's obsession with becoming a mother was exhausting, but I never felt it was over done or out of the realm of believability. Her problems with Rex during all of this felt grounded in reality as well. Charlie is the newcomer to the group, but once she allowed herself to be a part of Dawn and Suzie's lives she started to become more of the person I think she always wanted to be.  I probably liked her story the most, but I found myself relating to each of them at different parts of the book.

The misunderstandings and complications between each of the women and the man in their life were the types that could have been solved had they been able to have open and honest conversations with one another (but that would have made for a very short book). While that aspect became frustrating over time, when I took a step back I remembered how difficult those types of conversations can be; no one wants to put themselves out there to be rejected or have their dreams trampled on. It's also so natural for us to put the worst possible spin on a situation, and at some point Dawn, Suzie, and Charlie each do just that.

I thought the story moved at a good pace and I never got bored with anyone's storylines. The ending was perfect and well earned for each of the characters.
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This book was a light, easy 'beachy' read. 
The characters were a sort of one dimensional and got rather annoying as the book went on. There just wasn't much development with them. And every character in the book was terrible at communicating with each other and in general.
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Over the course of a year three lives intertwine. It’s interesting as at some points a little boring. Do they have children? Will they, won’t they? What happens to them all? Grab it and find out!!
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This is about three women who lead three  very different lives and then with  one life changing adventure their lives collide... an enjoyable read ..
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To start with, I found this book a little slow and didn’t warm to the characters. However that soon changed and I was fully hooked. It was great to see how the lives of Dawn, Charlie and Suzie interlock and weave together. I didn’t expect the twists that came along and it helped make the characters make more sense. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
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If you are looking for a light, easy read for a summer vacation this book will be just right for you.
There are 3 main characters who all connect via the gym, 2 are friends and one works in the cafe. But a driving obsession of Suzie, the beautiful, elegant, rich friend pulls all 3 together to form a fragile bond. Charlie is a single mum with money problems and a 17 year old with big dreams. She finds a solution to her money woes but struggles with the emotional responses it brings her and the domineering nature of Suzie leaves Charlie wondering what she has done and if she can go through with it. Then there's Dawn, hitting 50 and worrying she has let life pass her by. She tries to spice her life up with disasterous consequences, 
The characters were a bit one dimensional and got rather irritating as the book went on. They had the same thoughts over and over and I wanted to rage at them to sort themselves out. More depth to their storylines may have helped me understand why they made the same mistakes and thought the same things constantly. And every character in the book was terrible at communicating. I appreciate that was needed for the storyline but I would have liked to see more skill from the author to weave in the plot line without having to resort to people who don't talk to each other. But, that's a small detail and this is a first novel and overall it doesn't spoil the read.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. This is my honest review.
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This book was amazing! It was a happy and lighthearted and I felt really connected to the characters. It was easy to read and I'll be looking out for more novels by this author in the future.
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Samantha DeMartino has had a life that has always fell into place. She hasn't had to do much but just fall into place with life until her fiance surprises her weeks before her wedding. She now has many changes to make and fast and one starts with going to her honeymoon solo.

Jed Armstrong has been so busy with his family's dairy farm and ski lessons that he doesn't have time to think of his troubles that always haunt him nor about his loneliness until he sees something that haunts him from his past as he is driving on a dangerous stormy road one night.

Having a honeymoon by oneself isn't what Sam planned but it's what she got but then came more. As Sam is trying to figure out how to stay alive and make better choices things start making sense and she's so glad life is turning out like it is. Can we all be so grateful? This thought provoking and novel has us yearn for our hearts desire!

This novel gets 5 stars for originality and amazing compatibility of all the characters. This story flows so effortlessly and will captivate you until the end. It is a cozy, warm, and heart wrenching tale that comes to life from page one. I am giving an honest review in exchange for an ARC of this novel. Its a must read!
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