I really enjoyed THE RECIPE FOR SECOND CHANCES! I was drawn to Stella’s character right away, and loved the chemistry between Stella and Samuel. The Italian countryside and food descriptions were so good, and it was such a fun read for me.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-dual timelines
-second chance
-debut
-food descriptions

*many thanks to Montlake and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review.

What a glorious book. It took me on a journey through grief,loss and love,recipe by recipe. The characters are written with such empathy and compassion you can't help but fall in love with them. I am now going on my own journey as I work my way through the wonderful recipes hidden within the pages. Highly recommended

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Amazing book!
I was thoroughly engaged throughout this book and I didn't want to put it down! The author captured my attention from the get go! Five stars from me :)

this was such an incredible book! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read it early. it was just a pure delight and i think everyone should read this one!!!

Thank you for approving my request, NetGalley :) I enjoyed reading this book and I believe people who have gone through an interesting past could also relate. It's all about the feels.. So much feels in love and whether people deserve second chances.

Thank you Netgalley and Montlake for the chance to review this book. I, like many others apparently, struggled to like the MC. I have nothing against casual sex or catching feelings, but this storyline was not for me. Firm believer in the idea that not every book is for everyone.

This was a cute and enjoyable read and I would be definitely open to reading other books by Ali Rosen in the future. I enjoyed it! If you like romcoms you will enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my review.

The RECIPE FOR SECOND CHANCES is a journey of Stella’s journey learning to trust others as well as believe in herself - in taking chances. Stella’s view of love is severely thwarted by watching the surprise ending of her sister’s marriage and her sister’s devastation in the wake of being abandoned. She copes by keeping most people and things at a distance so that she won’t have to experience the same loss. Thanks to her core group of friends from school - and a persistent suitor named Samuel - she learns to take a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montclair for the advanced ecopy of this book that was published on November 1, 2023.

I just don't like books with sexual flings and too much sex scenes, so overall this book did not click for me. I also found the main character kind of insufferable.

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Ali Rosen! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

This duel timeline Rom-Com gives us Stella, a recipe writer who has closed her heart off to the idea of romantic connection for her entire life following the traumatic divorce of her older sister. Stella is traveling to Italy for the wedding of one of her best friends, where she knows she will run into her ex from 9 years ago. We follow Stella and Samuel’s story as we look back to when they met 9 years ago and see where things take them now that they are seeing each other again after so long.

Ali Rosen did a wonderful job of making me feel like I was in Italy and had me drooling with her vivid descriptions of the foods the characters ate along the way. The addition of the recipes at the end was a super fun bonus!

I loved how real Stella’s anxiety felt throughout the book. I’ve seen reviews criticizing Stella as a character, and saying that she was unlikable, but if you’ve struggled with anxiety at all, Stella’s character will resonate with you and have you rooting for her. At times I do think Stella’s anxiety was just a tiny bit over done and repetitive, but that is honestly my only gripe here.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it not only gave us a love story of the romantic kind, but it also gave us a love story between friends. The relationship between Stella and her besties was loving, supportive, and fun. All of the side characters really brought something to the table and added to the story.

If you are a fan of writers like Emily Henry, and want to be transported to Italy for a love story with a super fun group of friends, this book is for you! I will definitely be checking out this authors, future work!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

This was an easy to read romantic chic lit book. It was enjoyable and romantic. I did find the heroine a bit hard to relate to or like. This is what let the book down. I really wanted to love it.

Getting to escape to the Italian countryside for your best friend's wedding isn't always what it is cracked up to be when your ex shows up. While excited to get away from her job as a recipe writer by attending her best friend's wedding, Stella is not excited to see her ex-boyfriend, whom she hasn't seen in 10 years since their breakup.
Recipe for Second Chances tells the story of Stella and her ex, Samuel, through a non-linear timeline while exploring what went wrong and how the couple could possibly work now if given a second chance.
I am a sucker for vacation stories, so I loved getting to read about the excursions Stella went on while in Italy with her friends (and ex). I feel like this book is perfect for Emily Henry fans and anyone looking for a fun get away.

cute rom com, it was light, fluffy, and overall fun.

however, the fmc irritated me - i just could not relate to her 🥴

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.

Though the romance so most enticing but it was hero’ ability to see past Stella’ cover that has had my heart swooning. Their honesty towards each other added so much depth and authenticity to their romance.

At time I had a hard time to relate and rooting for the main character, but as I read through, I think I just found myself in Stella. This book has slap me hard on the reality, the importance of opening up, value friendship, and grab the happiness with both of our hands. I love the chemistry and every conversation Stella and Samuel has. This book also highlight the flaws of both main characters and how they cope through it. It's been quite a journey!

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While the story and the characters flowed well, I had a hard time getting into this book. I found Stella to be lacking as a main character, and Samuel slightly more interesting than her. I could see people loving this book, it just wasn't for me.

This was a decent romance and I enjoyed the recipe angle of the book as well as the setting, but the MMC didn’t excite me and I couldn’t understand why his relationship with the FMC didn’t work in the first place. But I do look forward to seeing more from this author!