I'm going to be honest and say I didn't enjoy this one... not because of the domestic violence scenes which were hard to read, but because of the whole doctor getting involved with a patient.

This was quite an emotional read. Touched on domestic violence. With some romance mixed in. Very well written. Enjoyable read

I always love Ali Vali's books although they sometimes tend to be a bit long. Heavy subject matter but executed with style. The characters are interesting and engaging. The story is well paced. If you're strong enough to go on this journey with them, you won't regret it.

This was a sweet love story, while intertwined with horrible violence. It’s also a story of second chances and never giving up on love.
Harry’s love for Desi continued for years after they were separated and she was willing to do anything to look after her.
Desi was remorseful for things out of her control and it took Harry’s support to forgive herself.
I liked this book and Harry’s protectiveness. Desi was broken but recovered and overall it was a good read.

This was a tough read. The book deals with domestic violence, so I knew it was going to be hard, but it was also full of hope and love. The subject matter was approached very nicely, it is easy to say “I wouldn’t let myself end up in a domestic violence situation”, or “why doesn’t she just leave him/her”, but it is almost never that simple and that’s exactly what this book shows so beautifully. Unfortunately, near the end the story lost it a bit for me which knocks back the rating.

I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

TW: DV
After years of being separated, Harry never expected to see the one girl who tore her life apart on the operating table in front of her. Broken and battered, Desi, never expected the one memory who kept her alive would be her doctor. After having been brought to the brink of death by her abusive husband, they meet again and have to learn to heal separately and together.
This book was an excellent one, and accurate when it came down to the dynamic of domestic violence. The author did a great job with the personalities and thought process of the abused character.
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who wants an accurate storytelling.

Desi Thompson is gravely injured after being assaulted by her abusive husband and rushes to ER where Harry Besantes is assigned the task to assess her injuries. Harry is shocked by the state of her long lost love, Desi, being the victim of domestic violence. The two had grown up together and were deeply in love until, one day after high school, Desi's father’s threats forced her to cut all contact with her. Harry who is still angry and hurt over Desi sudden disappearance on her is surprise to learn why she never contact her again and the sacrifice she made. After listening Desi’s part, she can’t turn her back on her when she needs her most. So, Harry promises to stand by Desi and help her through this while they try to give their relationship one more chance.

The main crux of the story lies in the description of after events of the domestic abuse. The initial shock and the aftermath when victim tries to recover from the pain and hurt both physically and emotionally, unless that person has a strong support system to help them leave their abuser like Desi had in Harry. The descriptiveness of the abuse allowed us to get in the terrifying mindset of the victim to get a better understanding of their shock and reasoning.

With all being said, although the violence that is described is realistic, but the aftermath seems a little bit exaggerated to me. The romance between Desi and Harry was too rushed for my liking. At times it feels that Harry’s and Desi’s conversations are just repeating over and over. The bad guys in this novel are really dumber while consumed with homophobic and jealous rage. I liked Ali Vali’s writing style, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was missing in the story.

*𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

Oh wow - this was a walk down memory lane. I read the original online version of this <<cough>> years ago and picking it up to read today brought back a lot of memories. I don't remember enough to identify how much changed - I believe the plot, characters, dialogue and overall writing is much tighter than in the original, which is what you would expect as Ms Vali has a few more years of writing under her belt these days.

After nearly being killed by her abusive spouse, Desi ends up with Harry as her doctor. The two had grown up together and were deeply in love until Harry went away to school and Desi's family's threats forced her to cut all contact with her. There's lots of angst in this one - the "one true love" who broke her heart has returned, the rather horrible family threats and abuse that went untold, and the current threat of a vengeful spouse. Through it, the unbreakable bond between Harry and Desi reasserts itself and it really is a soul-mate match.

There's an odd mix of violence and humour in this - the domestic violence is dark (present and past), and the "villians" are villainous (something that Vali tends to overdo) but there's also fair bit of humour and sass in the dialogue between the characters (main and secondary).

Overall, I enjoyed the book - it brought back a lot of memories and how can you resist a soulmate story that has so much conspiring against the two. It just makes you root for the happy ending all that much more.

Harry and Desi are magic! These two were meant to be together. The subject matter of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse is never easy to read, but when an author does it right and uses the subject in a realistic way I don’t have a problem with it. This story moves is wonderfully paced with no dragging parts. As soon as I started I wanted to finish this is one sitting. It took 2, but that is saying something. The sex scenes between Harry and Desi were well written. The supporting characters were well developed and had bigger roles than many romances. Personally I’d love to see Rachel get her own HEA.

This was a difficult read. There were extremely graphic scenes of domestic violence and depictions of deeply misogynistic behaviour that I found hard to stomach, and a little over the top at times. The characters were well built, but the romance developed way too quickly given one of the characters had just ended an abusive relationship after almost getting killed. The dialogue and tone felt too comical and cheery throughout, which didn't sit well with the dark themes the story covered. Having said that, I enjoyed the final chapters where some truly evil characters got their comeuppance.

I was given a copy of the story in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS STORY.

Totally believable scenario - young lovers separated because a father has antiquated ideas of right and wrong, that he has total authority over his daughter.

Harry is too perfect - strong, compassionate,romantic, passionate, intelligent, loyal, generous and her first love, Desi, breaks her heart.

Desi has a lack of self worth which makes her believe she has no choice when threatened with a horrible fate for herself and her younger sister by her father.

Desi disappears and Harry can't understand what could have gone wrong... until over a decade later when she is called to the ER to treat a domestic abuse victim - Desi.

The story follows Harry. Desi through the battle to be free of Desi'husband, to heal from years of abuse and to come back together in love..

There are supportive friends, legal drama and character growth.

Ali Vali is a great story teller. My only comment is that I'd prefer fewer sex scenes - though I am sure other readers will clamor for more.

There is a lot going on in this story. It's graphic and gritty with a lot of heart. A sweet second-chance romance with some troubled characters who have a lot of overcome from the past and the present before they can look into the future.

This is a romance but also has elements of suspense. Ms. Vali has chosen to address the profoundly serious topic of domestic abuse. The story is extremely believable, and I wondered if Ms. Vali or a loved one encountered abuse. If this is not the case, then she did some excellent research and hit all the key points of abusive relationships.

Desi Thompson is the woman who is trapped in an abusive marriage. Actually, through most of her life she has been in such a situation. Ms. Vali develops her character in such a way that I wanted to hold Desi in my arms and help her.

Harriet (Harry) Basantes is the other main character in One More Chance. She and Desi grew up together. In high school their relationship developed into a romance. However, they were unwillingly separated upon graduation. Harry continued with her education and became a respected orthopedic surgeon at the local hospital. Desi, however, gets married and remains in the area. Their characters finally cross paths years later when Desi comes in as a critically injured patient and is seen by Harry. The secondary characters in this book are also well developed and believable.

As with most of Ms. Vali’s books, the setting of this book is New Orleans. I liked how she was able to bring in one of the characters, Detective Sept Savoie, from one of her series. It is always enjoyable when an author starts to overlay the different characters from other books/series.

Domestic abuse is a very emotional topic. I feel that Ms. Vali handled it extremely well. This is a topic which needs to be addressed so that abused women do not feel alone. Ms. Vali has pledged a portion of the sale of this book to her local abuse shelter.

I highly recommend One More Chance and rate this book with 5 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Netgalley:

One more chance is not for the faint of heart. It is a beginning to end the journey of a victim of intimate partner violence, with violence and pain throughout. The love story is sweet but it is resolved very quickly and then you are left in a state of vigilance about the violence perpetrator. I enjoy Ali Vali's writing and this book was not an exception.

This book showed what Vali does at her best. She wrote an amazingly strong MC (Harry) and a vulnerable lady in trouble (Desi). With domestic violence being the main topic of this book, you may not want to read it. The way it was described made my toes curl, so this will be your trigger warning. This is only in the beginning though, the rest of the book is spent building back trust and making sure Desi is safe and recovering. These are the parts that'll make your toes curl in a very good way!

But also these parts are the reason why I made this a 4-star instead of a 5-star review. I found that Harry and Desi were walking around in circles. And I do get that in situations like these you need to be repetitive towards the person coming out of an abusive relationship. But for me it felt al little too much.

Other than that I really liked and enjoyed the storyline of this book. Vali writes in a way I really feel the emotions and get engrossed in a book. Also the dependable part of this second chance relationship is what really warms me up. Please don't tell other people that I (as a self-respecting, independent woman) love reading about strong and fierce loving butches who take care of you ;)

All in all a great read which fits fantastic in the brand that is Ali Val

What a story!
It never cease to amaze me how difficult getting over such a huge drama as domestic violence. It takes extremely strong person to accept help and have the will to get out, get life back on track. In this case I am amazed by Harry and her will to never give up. Connection like that happens once in a life time. I love this story very much. I was happy for the ending as well.

This book just wasn't what I was expecting. An interesting premise, but it fell far below expectations. The characters felt one dimensional and never got the depth that I hoped they would as the novel went on. The dialogue was clunky and unrealistic for the character's age.

I had trouble following the story at parts too. The narrative jumped in the middle of a scene and I couldn't follow where the characters were.

There's potential, and I feel like this author could be successful with a less hard-hitting genre.

Content warning: This book contains strong portrayal of domestic abuse and its aftermath.

Ali Vali is a fabulous storyteller, this one is clearly close to her heart, which is reflected by the the extra passion and strength of her words. There is a classic butch/femme relationship at the heart of the book, with the twist that they are meeting again after years. Desi had to abandon Harry in high school and their reunion takes place in hospital, when Harry, the orthopaedic surgeon is paged to attend to a Domestic violence victim who turns out to be Desi. Their mutual shock and complex feelings of seeing each other again and processing the violence is explored with empathy, particularly of Desi who needs time to heal both physically and emotionally. Desi's ex is determined to get her back and finish what he started, thus turning the book into a thriller, stopping your breath at moments, as his temper escalates.

The story is very well told, a difficult subject is handled with care, believable and empathically told. The relationship between Harry and Desi is fully developed with both going on emotional journeys as well as passionate ones. The side characters of Harry and Desi's family and friends, (especially Harry's 'nephew' Butch) provide much needed light relief and humour. Couldn't put this book down.

With thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.7*

I'll be honest. This was a very difficult read. The story is about Desi, a woman who as been subjected to domestic violence. This maybe a trigger for some people.

Surgeon Harry Basantes is called into the ER when a patient who as been assaulted by her violent husband. She is instantly thrown back sixteen years when she sees Desi Thompson for the first time after just walking away, disappearing without a word.
Desi as always done as shes told, unfortunately that means marrying a man who her father insisted was a better match then Harry. But when she is rushed into the ER at the result of her husbands hands, she cant help wondering if the right thing is worth the cost.
Harry refuses to let Desi go home, even if she as to put her own feelings aside. Can they rekindle their friendship?

Some parts of the story don't feel very realistic to me, so i'm having trouble with the story line. The violence that is described is realistic, but the aftermath, no. The romance that ignites between Desi and Harry was too rushed for my liking. I might be wrong, but anyone who as been beating for many years, along side emotional and financial abuse don't just jump from one relationship to another practically over night. (And i;m speaking from my own personal experiences)

The main characters, Desi is very insecure which led to lots of repetitiveness in the story line. Harry as a bit of a god complex.
I tried to like this book... maybe because I've been through something similar I shouldn't really be writing this review due to comparing my own feelings. SO please take this review with a 'pinch' of salt and read the book for yourself..

I was given a ARC copy for a honest review.