Lovely, moving and really special. The Second Chance Cinema is a hopeful story about love, loss and new beginnings. Elle and Drake are wonderful characters and I adored reading their story. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Ellie meets Drake in a bar she wrote a article about and saved from closing. That is what she does finds places about to close and writes about them.
When she is out with Drake they find a cinema that plays only their lives at certain important points..
They are given tickets to return so only so many times. But once these are used they can't go back.
Each is worried about certain parts of their life the other will see.
I enjoyed this story a lot and wanted to see where it would lead.
It's an unusual storyline and it kept me readin

Magical, nostalgic, and utterly charming, The Second Chance Cinema is a love story like no other!

When Ellie and her fiancé, Drake, stumble upon a mysterious old cinema hidden at the end of an alley, they’re drawn into something extraordinary. On the screen? Their own memories - some heartwarming, some haunting, and some revealing secrets they’ve kept from each other. As their wedding day looms, they’ve got ten viewings that force them to question their past, their choices, and whether love alone is enough to shape their future.

With a touch of magic and a whole lot of heart, Thea Weiss weaves a spellbinding debut that had me completely hooked. I laughed, I teared up, and I was completely swept away - this is a story that will stay with me, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

A magical story of forgiveness, loss, love and second chances.

This story was so unique to anything I’ve ever read. It was a romance story but started with a couple; Ellie and Drake, who stumbled upon an abandoned cinema that replayed key moments in their lives.

Ellie and Drake were at a point in their relationship where it was struggling. Ellie very much wanted to explore and Drake wanted to please his family but going to this cinema really put a spin on everything.

It was interesting to see what couples keep secret from each other and how that can fester in a relationship. This book definitely isn’t all sunshine and daisies it is very real and emotional.

It had me that invested that when the characters were at a low point I honest felt there with them! Both characters were easily loveable and the ending was so satisfyingly hopeful.

I loved the concept of this story and it had me gripped from the moment they stepped foot in the cinema.

I’ll definitely be looking for more books from this author because the writing was so magical and real.

Ellie and Drake seem an ideally matched couple - she a cataloguer of vanishing places, always on the lookout for the quirky, the picturesque, the vintage, he a construction expert, safe and reliable, always fixing things.

As the two plan their marriage, however, both worry about secrets they are keeping.

And then one night, as Ellie leads them off the beaten track, they stumble across a hidden cinema with its own, special, midnight show - The Story of You. Those secrets will be revealed, and the two will have to face some uncomfortable truths.

I adored Second Chance Cinema. I always think there's something magical about cinema, something liminal as one steps out of one's normal life for a while. The darkness. The anticipation. It's especially magical when you have the whole place to yourself - as though the world has, just for a brief while, bent itself around you. For Ellie and Drake, that's literally true as they attend showing after showing, taking each of them deeper and deeper into their backstories - and revealing their pasts to each other.

This is a brilliant way to tell how two people came to be who they are, and to expose the dilemmas and tensions they now face. Across the screen flit parents, siblings, childhood insecurities, teenage angst, lovers, breakups, and betrayals. "To know all is to forgive all" runs the old saying, but will that be true for Ellie and Drake? Rather, it seems likely that with more perfect knowledges comes judgement, misunderstanding and pain. Yes, you may see what happened to your lover on a certain night ten years before, but will you understand? And are they the same person now as they were then? Is it fair to judge them on that past?

As the showings continue, the revelations affect Ellie and Drake, with things done, or left undone, in the past reaching out and putting their lives and relationship in question. Ellie's fears that she can't recapture her best work, and Drake's frustration that instead of building lovely, bespoke homes he's working on cookie-cutter residential boxes, tangle with family tensions and past relationships to make this a complex but rich account of a relationship. At the same time there's a good sprinkling of magical Christmas sparkle and vein of humour to lighten the more intense moments.

All in all I found Second Chance Cinema a compelling read - Weiss takes her fantastical premise and grounds it sufficiently enough that it seems real, with the authentic consequences for Ellie and Drake. It is in some ways an unsettling story, with real challenges for the couple, but it's one I had to keep reading - a "what if" that I had to follow to the last page.

Such a fresh take on a romance novel! I've honestly never read another book quite like it. Full of magic, hope and learning to live with grief, but also a reminder not to dwell on the past and to live for the future.

An amazing read!

A wonderful book about love, loss, grief, understanding yourself, acknowledging our imperfections and understanding what truly matters in life. It really resonated with me and moved me deeply. A truly beautiful book.

I'm going to be honest - when I got an advance copy of a book with no cover on Netgalley, I didn't have the highest hopes. I expected a three star read, something fun but not fantastic - but man I was wrong. I was completely blown away by The Second Chance Cinema. I'm not going to go into too many details, as going in blind is what made this book so stellar for me (and I recommend you do it too!), but just pleaseeee believe me when I urge you to pick up this book as soon as you can. There's magic, hope, and stacks of romance, in addition to all round whimsy. My only wish is that I could access the cinema myself.

I absolutely loved Second Chance Cinema, it’s a beautifully layered story that dares to do something different, and completely pulls it off. Rather than following the well-trodden path of a budding romance, Thea Weiss refreshingly centers the story around an existing relationship, exploring what happens after the "happily ever after." This fresh angle gave the book so much emotional depth and authenticity, and I found myself incredibly invested in the characters' second shot at love.

One of the standout elements for me was the subtle yet powerful use of magical realism. The paranormal thread gentle, evocative, and never overbearing added a touch of wonder and whimsy that perfectly complemented the emotional heart of the story. It reminded me how love can feel like magic, especially when it's given a second chance to bloom.

Weiss has a gift for capturing complicated feelings like nostalgia, regret, hope and threading them through with humor and charm. The setting (a quirky old cinema) and the supernatural twist provided such a rich backdrop for the story’s emotional journey. If you're looking for a romance that’s not only swoon-worthy but also poignant and a little bit otherworldly, this one’s for you.