Such a lovely, cosy, warm feeling book!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

The perfect read to curl up with a hot chocolate on a cold winter evening. Lovely characters. Romance and a well drawn setting combine to create a warm feeling.

So we have a husband, Max, who cheats on his marriage. In the typical midlife crisis manner with his young employee, in the workplace no less. Such a trope! But so often true. Wife leaves with kids support as she should have done it years ago 8n their opinion..not his first rodeo, but his last with a marriage.

Now Annie has to make a new life and husband stops her money.. luckily she has her own and a lot of friends, old and new once they heard about Max.
Short of cash and lacking z home now, Annie takes on a home guardian role. And her new life.
And a cafe. And a divorce battle. And a new community and love.
So a nice cosy story for light reading in front of a fire with tea and biscuit.

A fantastic book, full of great characters. Well written and flowed nicely. Loved the book club Anna joined
A great read which gave you a feel good factor
Highly Recommended
Thanks to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and Jenny Baylis for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I loved the authors previous book, so couldn’t wait to read this.

I loved the story and such fantastic characters,

Well written giving us, romance, laughter and lots of fun

This was nust a perfect winter read.
Hot tea, little snow and this book - perfect combination. This was a sweet and quick read.
3.5 stars for me.

I'm a huge fan of a beachside romance, and seeing one on winter was beautiful.

I loved Anna, and loved watching her redisovery of herself. The book club she joined with was hilarious - I wish there were something like that in my area.

A really great story, charming, atmospheric, great characters. Filled me with warmth and spirit. Well written and flowed nicely, was romantic and funny, charming and full of fun. A great read, i really enjoyed it.

The Winter of Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Annie Sharpe has it all – an acclaimed restaurant she owns with her handsome husband Max, and two gorgeous grown-up sons. But after one indiscretion too many, she leaves behind the only life she’s ever known.

In search of a fresh start, Annie takes up a position as a caretaker of Saltwater Nook, a creaky but charming beach house on Kent’s beautiful, wild coastline. The village community is an eccentric but tightknit bunch, and Annie is swept up in a whirlwind of their traditional festive celebrations, from pumpkin carving to bonfires on the beach. It soon feels like home – she even reopens the long-dormant seafront café.

Back in 2020 I read The Twelve Dates of Christmas which I really enjoyed so I was glad to see that Jenny was bringing out another book. For some reason I had in my head that this was going to be a second chance romance book but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a heart-warming tale full of winter charm. A lovely seasonal book for when the weather outside is miserable.

Rating 4/5

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, perfect for a winter’s evening curled up with a hot chocolate. So easy to read and a lovely romance story. Fantastic read.

3,5 Stars

Annie married her childhood sweetheart and had twins at a very young age. Since then she'd worked in her own restaurant almost day and night, while husband Max often searched for some fun outside his own bedroom. When Annie catches him with the new waitress she is fed up with him - once and for all.

She moves to a small coastal village, initially only to gather herself up and think about her future. But soon she is making friends and even opening up a little cafe right at the seafront.

I liked reading about Annie and her start into a new life-chapter very enjoyable. She is very codial and friendly and thus has no problems finding new friends, including men. But for me the heart of the story was not any romance but her life in Saltwater Nook, the community and their many festivities and the wonderful idea of having a café there on the promenade.

Another story by Jenny Baylis that I just couldn’t put down. I fell in love with this story. This was a very heartwarming tale and I can’t wait to read more by jenny

When Annie's finds her husband with another woman, she decides that it is time to leave (this isn't his first affair). She applies to be the guardian of Saltwater Nook - a former fisherman's home with a cafe attached, whilst the owner goes to stay with a friend in Cornwall for the winter. The owner's nephew John is not happy with Annie especially when she decides to reopen the cafe.
A delightful story of community and romance with lots of twists along the way.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting and sense of community is something that we often miss in this fast paced world. The heroine, Annie, chooses to walk away form her former life after finding out about her husbands betrayal. She finds somewhere to have a breather and lick her wounds but finds that it is exactly the right place for her at exactly the right time. Great escapist read.

There isn't a doubt in my mind that I could have devoured this book in one sitting, as I did with her debut novel (The Twelve Dates of Christmas). And of course...
I LOVED this!

Annie is a successful restauranter/ chef and has a "perfect life", on the outside. After a few too many marital indiscretions, she finds herself in a predicament where she needs a quick escape from her husband and old life. Along comes an advert for a live-in caretaker for Saltwater Nook, in the stunning coastal town 'Willow Bay'. And thus with it comes new adventures, new friends... a fresh start. Just what Annie needs.

The characters were all believable with perfect dynamics amongst them. The ladies in particular made me laugh out loud (a lot). I adored the nods to "classics" in the characters' book club choices, another cheeky something else 🍆, and finally the character traits of the darling John Granger- serious Mr Darcy vibes and I adored him. This was all perfectly blended in with modern contrasts of setting, dialogue and general goings on/topics of discussion.

I don't even know where to start in the way Bayliss so beautifully sets the scene of this idyllic town; all the different celebrations, but in particular one beach scene where I could almost smell the fire, see the chairs sinking, the marshmallows toasting and the waves lapping. Truly superb writing. Certainly not a one hit wonder, as Bayliss airs as a concern in her afterword. I for one will be a dedicated reader forever.

I couldn't recommend this enough, it's ideal for autumn/ winter, especially if you like to match your book to your season. Which I do 😍

Having previously enjoyed The Twelve Dates of Christmas last year by this author I was looking forward to seeing what her next work had instore. When I saw new release, I couldn't wait to pick it up. .It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was still an enjoyable read.

After walking in on her husband in a compromising situation with one of the waitresses from their restaurant, Annie has had enough and finally walks out of her marriage, her business and her entire life as she has known it.

Annie finds the perfect opportunity to escape from her life when she finds Saltwater Nook, an old beach-house with an out of service cafe and kiosk which needs looking after for the winter.

Annie had not anticipated that the community would be so welcoming and that she would find herself fitting in and wanting to re-build her life in the comfort of Saltwater Nook or that she would potentially find someone she would want to rebuild it with.

But Saltwater Nook is due to be sold and with her husband lurking around every corner, can it be that simple for Annie to start again?

I really enjoyed this book, I loved how realistic and down to earth Annie was and how exasperated she was in some of the situations, she was great.

What a gorgeous, wintery, warm hug of a book The Winter of Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss is! I absolutely devoured it and it put the hugest smile on my face. If you read and loved The 12 Dates of Christmas last year then you need to get this book on your wishlist immediately.; it’s an absolute delight.

44 year old Annie has found herself in an upsetting situation, but she doesn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself. She grabs life by the proverbials and carves out a whole new group of friends, career and even community. The cast of supporting characters are equally inspiring – I think I’m going to miss them!

Warm, funny and, for me at least, totally unputdownable, this is one of the best romcoms I read last year. Have all of the stars! With thanks to Pan Macmillan for gifting me a digital copy to review.

Jenny Bayliss is one of my FAVOURITE authors and I was beyond excited to read this during the Christmas holidays. The story starts with Annie; a wife and mother of two, who finds her husband cheating on her with a much younger woman. This isn’t a rare occurrence however she decides enough is enough and this time, packs her bags. As fate would have it she ends up at Saltwater Nook (whereI am now desperate to live!) looking after a property for an old lady over the winter months. The story has relatable characters, a dramatic storyline and all the little elements you need just to want to keep reading more and more.

Annie catches her husband having an affair, but this time it's different, the children are older are she is wiser; this is a chance to start again.

Finding Saltwater Nook leads Annie on a journey to start a new business, make new friends and fall in love.

This is a lovely novel full of funny moments, from the description of a dead marriage to a book club with a synthetic penis. Bayliss writes a novel of great characters with depth and a community you would want to be involved in.

Although this is fiction I could see the scenes being true, I do have one criticism which was the scene where Annie smoked weed with the character of Paul, I just felt this was not needed, it did not give anything to the novel and I didn't feel it was very realistic but other than that I loved it.

This is a novel I would recommend and I would happily pick up this author again.