One More Chance

This book gives you a glimpse into the life of Ayrton's colourful and well drawn characters -women behind bars in Holloway prison. It cuts through the stereotypes we have seen on TV and Is a credible, accomplished debut. This book is upbeat as well as poignant, funny as well as sad. It grips you from the get-go because Danni's voice is so distinctive and unique. The themes in the book explore love and loss and pain and hardship and how self reflection and positivity can help women to come face-to-face with who they really are and find happiness.
Behind the bars and bravado, behind the disgusting archaic conditions, these women Ayrton has created — often victims of circumstance or abuse or addiction — are just like you and me. Due to their background or things hidden deep within or just because they like to commit crime, they find themselves in a spiral they can't see a way out of, They do what they've always done and sometimes that's the way it stays but sometimes there's a chance for change.
Lucy Ayrton peels back the layers and offers a glimpse inside a compelling world and complex web of female behaviour and teaches us about dreams and hopes and aspirations.

The main character, Danni, is vulnerable but she's not a victim. She's real and raw and it's this honesty, I Ioved.
Danni knows she's an ex junkie. She knows she's messed up time and time again. She takes full responsibility for all of it, but there's a surprising childlike naivety that draws you to her like a magnet. You want to rescue her. To help her. You want her to win.

And then you realise, she's perfectly capable of doing that on her own.

Danny has one focus. She wants her child back. A child that is in foster care. At the beginning of the book, Danni is childlike herself. And then she meets Martha who opens up her mind to different possibilities. As the narrative grows, so does Danni and so does her voice. I was right there on the sidelines as a reader, waving my pom-poms and willing her to succeed.

I loved this book. I loved the plot and the story arc. I loved Danni, I loved the fact that this book contains — sometimes shocking — statistics about women in prison I would never have been exposed to before. It sheds light on the archaic prison system, the lack of resources and staffing levels and good programs for women prisoners, but there's an optimism embedded in the narrative. Buried in the honest prose and layered throughout the plot, there's a chink of light, a glimpse of emotional freedom at the end of a tunnel. Lucy draws the prison staff so well and shows the challenges they face in supporting these women and rehabilitating them and the frustration they feel when they don't succeed.
This is NOT a heavy or depressing read. It is light and funny and clever commercial fiction at its best. It is written in an unusual and accomplished way and that's what makes Danni so credible. Not only that, the writing and voice are distinctive and the plot is clever. I started reading this on a plane yesterday and immersed in this world and in Danni's head — I didn't stop until the early hours.


Dialogue books have accomplished what they set out to do with their imprint and also with Lucy's book. One More Chance gives a voice to young Dani, someone we wouldn't normally hear from in commercial fiction. Ayrton humanises the stereotypes and the statistics and gives us new perspective and new insight and an opportunity to look beyond the crime and the stigma and the labels. She invites us in and let's us see these women warts and all. She also gives us a chance to realise most of these women are just "trying their best" to survive. Aren't we all?
Enjoy!
Thank you to NetGalley, Dialogue Books and Laetitia Rutherford for my advance copy.

Thank you NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group and the author for allowing me read in return for an honest review.
This story centres around Dani, a young mother who has been in and out of prison. During this current prison stint, Bethany, her young daughter, is being looked after by foster parents - Dani is on a mission to get out of prison this time and get Bethany back. We are then introduced to Dani's new cellmate, Martha, a quiet girl who Dani is unsure of at first. Don't judge a book by its cover! You really get a feel for the characters in this book.

The author must have done a lot of prision research as you really get a feel of prison life and its culture.
A gritty, honest read. Really enjoyed it! Great debut novel from Lucy Ayrton. Four stars.

One More Chance

Gripping and hard to believe this is a debut! Poor Dani is in prison again while her daughter is in foster care. Dani is so determined to get her back, the only thing standing in her way is Dani. A brilliant insight into the life of a prisoner told in such a clever and sympathetic way. This is a page turner that will have you gripped to the very end.

I struggled a little with the style of this book to begin with but as soon as I became accustomed to it I found it surprisingly easy to read and an enjoyable experience. The story was very unexpected and refreshingly different from anything l have read before. This book is quirky, unique and definitely stands out from the crowd. Well worth reading

One more chance by Lucy Ayrton.
Danielle Grove is in prison.  Her baby girl Bethany is in foster care. She gets a new cell mate Martha. Martha is different. Quiet.  Can dani get OUT and get her baby back? Can she get out and not go back inside like she's done in the past?
A fantastic read.  I loved the story and the characters.  Except Chris.  She was a meani.  I liked Dani and Martha. Surprised how quickly I read this. Just couldn't put it down.  Wanted to know what happened.  A great read. 5*.

Very good book. Did not expect it to be so descriptive and interesting, I would gladly recommend the book to others, please read. It had me reading over a couple of nights and wanting more, it had me angry, sad and tearful at points in the book,

One More Chance by Lucy Ayrton
A great summer read.

This debut novel, 'One More Chance' tells the story of Dani, an ex-junkie whose life has downward-spiralled towards several stints in prison.
Dani is a believable character who you wish only to turn her life around and hope life gives her a break. It's easy to sympathise with her even despite her tough exterior, wary attitude and lack of belief in both herself and the systems in which she finds herself. Coming from a broken home, an absent father and an extended family who she resents, Dani leaves home at a young age only to fall in with the wrong type of people, desperate to be cared for and loved.
Through Dani's eyes we are given a raw insight into life in prison for women, how to survive life inside and how to prepare for life on the outside. We sympathise with Dani, she's not a bad person, but shows how her background and simple nature lead her into a life of crime.
The ideas and story are sound, willing Dani to make her life better, however the part regarding the dream, dog and escape is quite random and far-fetched.

https://bookresolution.blogspot.com/2018/08/one-more-chance-by-lucy-ayrton.html

I found this book really hard to put down, every spare minute I had I was reading it again.
One More Chance is well written, well thought out and the character building is excellent throughout.
This was a brilliant engrossing story and I can’t wait to read more by Lucy Ayrton.

i enjoyed this book, once i started i could not put down, I had to see if Danni would be let out of prison and stay out for the sake of her daughter. i Would recommend this book.

Wow, this book definitely kept me sane during a long coach journey stuck in traffic! I was able to block out the world and immerse myself wholly in Dani's story.
We first meet her when she is in prison. As we get to know more about her we see flash backs to her childhood, to see the events from the past that shaped her present day incarceration. Back in the present, we see her meet her new cell mate, Martha, and how, together they plan how Dani can get out, keep clean and stay out and, hopefully, get her daughter back.
Each chapter of this book begins with a fact about women's prisons, or women offenders. These facts complement the part of the story they are inserted into and add some rich colour and food for thought as the rest of Dani's life is told. It's evident from these that the author has definitely done her research and, when coupled with the stories of what went on in prison for Dani, definitely opened my eyes about certain things.
The characters were all pretty well crafted and their behaviour and interactions felt real. Dani was a bit brash and a fan of colourful language but all her actions and dialogue were congruent with her character so that didn't faze me at all. Martha was very interesting and, I guess, will be the marmite character in the book based on what she is and does. Me, I found her intriguing and with there was a Martha in my life!
The story itself was powerful emotional for me. I really felt for Dani at times, others I just wanted to slap her silly and urge her do something else, take a different path, but then life's not that easy, especially when I have never been in any of her situations personally. Who am I to judge? There but for the grace and all that. It was gritty and brutally honest which gave it a claustrophobic feel at times.
As I always do when I find a new author to me, I tried to check out her back catalogue and was completely amazed that this is actually her debut novel. Wow! It was so very well written I would never have guessed that at all.
All in all a good solid read that grabbed me from the off and held me hostage throughout. I really can't wait to see what the author serves me up for my next course. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.