Such a sweet read. I adore books like this. And I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I'm a sucker for a good Christmas romance

I just love holiday romances! Lori Wilde does a great job with this story. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I would recommend this!

Christmas romances hold a special place in my heart. Such perfect stories for the happiest time of the year and Second Chance Christmas delivers everything I like in Christmas romances

This book is an emotional overload and I LOVED it!
I have a lot of catching up to do as this is the twelfth book in the series and I want to read them all.
If you haven't read an author before I believe reading a Christmas book by them is a great way to try them out as I believe author's make their Christmas books a little more special.

Friends Jana and Joel find a baby in th nativity scene at church right before a winter storm. Deciding to give the mother a chance to come back the set out to take care of him themselves and find each other. ARC from NetGalley.

Lori Wilde knows how to write a Christmas romance with heart. She creates characters that are flawed by have so much goodness in them to grow into strong individuals. Jana and Joel went from best friends to lovers and then falling in love.

A baby left in a manger. Coworkers that won't admit they like each other. All in the idyllic Twilight, Texas - my favorite place to visit for the holidays. Joel and Jana have that simmering heat that's fun to read and wonder "will they or won't they." The quirks of this town and it's holiday obsession have you wanting to visit this place every year. Since it doesn't exist, I'll read the holiday installments of this series!

A teen mother hides in the shadows and watches Jana and Joel at the community nativity display. She decides they are the perfect couple and places her baby in the manger with a note that she will return by New Year's. But, they aren't a couple. Jana works part time for Joel. Jana has had a difficult life, once in the foster care system herself, no way is she turning this baby over to CPS. Joel agrees to help her. He would agree to anything for Jana. Jana takes independence to a new level and trusts no one. She is fiercely independent. Joel must find a way to break down her defenses and make her realize she can depend on him. The storyline is modern day inspirational and original. So glad I chose to read this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this advanced review copy. In return, I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

3 1/2 stars

If you have a few minutes of downtime and want to read a story that pulls at all of your heartstrings, check out Lori Wilde’s Christmas novel, Second Chance Christmas. Set in Twilight, Texas, many of the Twilight characters are back to get involved–perhaps overly so–when Joel and Jana find a real live baby in the place of baby Jesus in the nativity scene. A note hastily scrawled on a diaper informs them that the mother will be back in a week. Impetuous Jana thinks they should keep the baby for the week and (almost) reluctantly Joel agrees.

In that week best friends Joel and Jana discover that they don’t know everything there is to know about each other and that some secrets are kept for protection and to avoid judgement. And, they also discover that they can’t avoid the feelings they have for each other.

As usual, Wilde has filled Second Chance Christmas with so many layers that the reader is never bored. While I had no problem guessing what Jana was hiding, and don’t think most readers will either, tension arose from how her situation would be resolved and what reactions would be to it.

While I would have loved some of Wilde’s typical humor to shine through and the feeling of the small town not to feel more than a bit off-putting, Second Chance Christmas still worked well as a emotional holiday read.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Second Chance Christmas is the 15th book in Lori Wilde’s Twilight, Texas series. Good friends Jana and Joel were volunteering to help with the church grounds and nativity setup when they find an infant in the manger with a note asking the finders to care for the boy and his mom will be back by New Years for him.

As it’s a holiday weekend, all agree that it is better to have these unwitting volunteers care for the child rather than bring in family services, and that doing so for 10 days is not too much to do for the child or his mother.

Through the time keeping baby Gabriel, Jana and Joel face some realizations of their own, including that they actually think of each other as more than friends. However, Jana’s past is a bit sketchy and she questions whether Joel will still be interested when he learns about all she has been through?

This is a lovely story of second chances as well as the build from friendship to life partners. Well written, wonderful characters, this is a story that truly expresses the beauty of the season. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

Enjoyable holiday story by Lori Wilde - happy reading!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher ~ Thank you ~ !! This is my honest and personal review.

I really never regret picking up one of Lori Wilde’s Twilight, Texas series. Second Chance Christmas is twelfth in the series and really lived up to my expectations. I went into this book with hopes that it would keep my attention all the way through and that I’d be feeling Christmas cheer after reading. So, I thought I would remember some of the characters from the other Wilde books I’ve read, but turns out I don’t remember any. That’s fine though, the characters that do make an appearance were wonderful and I felt like I wanted to eventually check out their stories too.

Second Chance Christmas opens up with a young girl who is in a tight spot. She has no place to stay and no way to take care of her newborn boy. So, she’s near the church and sees this young couple. The girl decides they will be perfect to take care of her baby and quickly scrawls a note on his diaper promising to return for him by New Year’s Eve. Jana and Joel are really good friends.

Occasionally, Jana works for Joel. As the book opens they are volunteering at the live nativity and are rounding up the animals for the night when they hear a baby’s wailing. They find a baby in a manger, named Gabriel, and decide to take care of him. Luckily the whole town pitches in. And while taking care of Gabriel, the two begin to fall for each other, as well as for the baby.

I really genuinely enjoyed my time reading Wilde’s Second Chance Christmas. Sure some parts were a little melodramatic. However, I was so caught up in the story and what would happen. I ended up reading this book like the wind. Isn’t it wonderful when you have a hard time setting a book down? Also, I really enjoyed the character development that Jana and Joel go through — learning to trust and to listen as well as giving into love. This was really a sweet book.


ON A SCALE OF ONE TO BUDDY THE ELF, HOW MUCH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT DOES SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS HAVE?
Overall, this book really made me feel filled with holiday spirit. There’s special cookies that tell you who your soul mate is. Also, there is a whole nativity. Plus we see people pitch in to help each other out and I love that. Oh and did I mention a parade? Plus there is the appearance of a Christmas tree. This book just made me feel so warm inside. I’d definitely recommend.

The basic storyline for this novel caught my interest: a baby is left in the manger of an outdoor nativity scene in Twilight, Texas. Two friends find the baby and become temporary caretakers for the child until the mother returns. Their partnership takes them on a journey of learning to trust and to accept the past and move on.

It is unfortunate that this fine beginning of the story quickly degenerated into a full-on story of sexual attraction and culmination in a very graphic manner. The constant sexual innuendoes and not-so-subtle desires rapidly eclipsed the main idea of caring for the baby. The overt graphic descriptions of intense sex were an unecessary distraction in what could have been a hilarious romantic comedy, and ruined the story for me. Readers should be aware of this content before picking up the book.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Lori Wilde’s latest Twilight, Texas instalment does not disappoint. Titled Second Chance Christmas the fans of Twilight get the heartwarming HEA for Joel and Jana, two characters existing fans will be very familiar with and if not, will get to discover and love as well, I am sure. The twilight series though all standalone books tend to mention other characters and offer tie ins to other books in the stories.

Joe and Jana are this year’s Xmas’s care takers of the living manger. These two we find out though employer and employee are also good friends. Friends that end up entrusted with a days old baby boy with a note from his mother saying she'll return as soon as she's able to. They decide to take baby Gabriel in with the help of the town of course, because not only is it that, that’s just how twilight is, Jana does not want him to end up in the foster care system as she had been. Now the other books had alluded to Jana having some serious baggage and we finally get in depth knowledge of exactly what kind. As Joe and Jana almost move in together to be the couple Gabriel’s mother had thought them to be the sparks fly. Taking care of baby Gabriel jointly helps them discover not only about learning to trust and letting go, but that perhaps a real couple and a real family should indeed be the end goal for them this Christmas. This review was given on the ARC copy I received from the Publisher via Netgalley in return for my honest opinion. Happy reading!

Another one is these series that I continue to read out of duty. Not the worst book in the series but not the best. A quick read that was just okay overall.

I couldn't get into the couple in this book. They are supposedly best friends, yet she doesn't know he has broken up with his girl friend. She has major trust issues, yet he blabs what she has told him in confidence about her very troubled background. He's a pillar of the community, yet he performs as a stripper every year as a fund raiser. The main point of resolution (which I won't reveal as a spoiler) comes far too easily. Not the warm, fuzzy book I expected.

WOW this book starts out in a Church lot with a manger scene and what transpires next is an outpouring of love and dedication to helping others in their time of need - Jana has many issues from growing up as a foster child and Joel comes from a big family - getting the logistics just right is a tough row to hoe on the way to their HEA!!

~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

I love Christmas books... And I love romance books... But not this one. This book was very unbelievable (I mean how can anyone believe that a policeman, doctor, and priest would all look the other way when a baby is abandoned and a couple wants to "babysit" him until the mother may or may not come back... then that couple lets others "babysit" him for them so they can have alone time). AND then... letting the baby sleep in bed with them, warming a bottle in the microwave, ugh... (I mean my son is 15 now but I remember those are bit no-no's). It is a ridiculous plot.

Another thing that annoyed me was the repeated reference to yoga, meditation, and essential oils as "woo-woo" health (I mean, I for one disagree, though I realize they are not a cure all, I am a little put off by these references the author made).

This is the 70th book I've read this year, and the worst of the bunch (I rarely give below 3 stars). I would not recommend this book to my friends or others, and would be hesitant to read anything else by Lori Wilde (this is the 2nd book I've read by her).

📚Second Chance Christmas by Lori Wilde is the twelfth book in the Twilight Texas series. However, it works well on its own. Having experienced the author's work in the past with Christmas at Twilight, I eagerly jumped at the chance to read the latest installment in the Twilight, Texas series.

This installment gives us Joel McGregor and Jenna Gerard’s story. Jenna moved to Twilight seven years ago. She was nineteen years old when she made the move. Since then, she made a life for herself in this quaint little town. Despite the residents embracing her, she didn’t allow anyone to get too close. The few friends she gained during this time never saw the real Jenna, the woman behind the tattoos. Joel grew up in Twilight and had his share of hurts in the past. He longed for that someone special and knew he had found it in Jenna. If only he could break down the barriers she built around her heart. Chock full of emotions and brimming with the Christmas spirit 📚Second Chance Christmas kept me reading into wee hours of the night.

The story began with Joel and Jenna overseeing the towns live nativity scene and preparing to take the animals back to the farm when the night was over. While preparing to round up the animals, Jana discovered a baby named Gabriel abandoned in the manger. Fearing that the baby would become a statistic in the foster care system, she convinced Joel to help her take care of the baby. Their only reassurance that the mother would return was the note written on the baby’s diaper. In working together to take care of the baby, Jana and Joel grew closer. Soon, their feelings for each other intensified.

I enjoyed this adorable, friends to lovers Christmas romance. Jana and Joel’s journey to happily ever after faced many obstacles, with fear has the biggest one of all. I loved how patient Joel was with her. She built walls so thick and high it would seem not even a bulldozer could tear them down. However, Joel’s with his patience and positive approach to life proved stronger than any bulldozer. Bit by bit he broke down her defenses and soon she trusted him enough to reveal her vulnerabilities.

Jana was a caring and thoughtful person, but her lack of faith in her ability to love kept her from forming lasting relationships. However, her interactions with Gabriel revealed her capacity to love. She acts tough to cover up her insecurities, but beneath that layer of toughness lay a broken soul.

The romance developed nicely, and the aspects of the story in relation to baby Gabriel gripped my heart. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, but Jana and Joel earned a special place in my heart.

I had a wonderful time coming back to the series. 📚Second Chance Christmas was a delightful story of second chances. A second chance to make up for mistakes from the past. It left me smiling and eager to go back and read the other books in the series. Perfect for fans of warmhearted Christmas stories with a small town vibe.

The 12th book in a series and with most romance series you can hop in and out as each book centers on one couple and their story and while there are other couples and their progressions in other books, it is easy to dip in and out. This was the first book I read in this series and while I was lost about the character back stories on the surrounding characters, I felt as though I knew all I needed to know or learned it in the book about Jana and Joel.

While cleaning up the local nativity scene, this pair come across an abandoned baby with a note that the mother will return, but needs to get some things together and she chose to leave the baby as they seemed like a good pair that could take care of her baby. This couple isn't a true couple as they are friends and co workers, but maybe through the bonding experience of caring for a newborn some feelings could develop!

As with all romance books the journey is the reason for reading! I enjoyed the ups and downs of this book, they seemed natural and even the kink at the very end seemed to work with the story. While there was some repetitiveness to the conversations that the characters had, it was a great read to curl up with as the holiday season approaches.