Marcella starts her new job as a head chef aboard the superyacht Themis, only to find Seb, the man who cost her her job six months ago, working as a deckhand on the same boat. The story follows Marcella as she tries to ignore the tension between her and Seb while also working very hard to keep her dream job.

The plot is fast paced and flows easily. Marcella and Seb share a love for food and adventure. So, we see a lot of emphasis on both of these in the book. I loved reading about all the different places they travel to. I spent a lot of my time googling all of these beautiful islands and their local cuisines (and their vegetarian substitutes, because yes, I’m a vegetarian). Marcella’s unapologetic ambition and her ‘love a challenge’ attitude was refreshing to read about in a female character. Liz had done a wonderful job in explaining the behind the scenes work that goes on in superyachts. The characters’ love for sailing and nomadic lifestyle really stands out and makes quite an impression.

I expected this story to be a little bit more angst filled given the history between Seb and Marcella. Marcella’s fear for her job and her career, although valid, seemed rather overdone. I felt that she made a mountain out of a molehill and some of the drama could have been spared had she been a little more practical. Nonetheless, the chemistry and tension between these two adds enough steam to the story to keep you hooked.

The Second Chance in the Mediterranean is a story filled with secret pining, amazing food, tension and sweet characters. This is the story to read to satisfy your wanderlust and get also a peek into the yachtie lifestyle.


My review on :
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4149570563
Review has also been submitted to Barnes and Noble website

After reading, The Night in Lover's Bay, I was looking forward to Marcella and Seb getting the rest of their story. Especially after getting to know Marcella better in the first two books in this series.

I was hungry while reading this book and the food descriptions didn't help. Alden's books always make me wish that I was traveling. I thought that Marcella and Seb had an instant connection, and I do wish that had been explored a little more. But I thought they made sense together and Seb was just who Marcella needed to lighten up a little bit. I appreciated both the steam and sweetness that was woven into this novel.

This is the third book in the Love and Wanderlust series and I can't wait to see what's next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one! The Sailor in Polynesia was my first experience with this series, but when I saw this one was available, I immediately grabbed it. Considering that I've loved nothing of these, I should probably start the first one, but I guess we'll just have to see.

I think one thing I love so much about this series is the setting. They're always so much fun because they're tropical, and they provide so much angst for our characters. Seriously, you get forced proximity and enemies to lovers in one of the most natural ways.

Speaking of the tropes, i really loved the romance in this one. Marce and Seb made so much sense together, and I loved their interactions. They didn't just get together because of their proximity, they actually had a connection. I also loved that neither one had to make a huge sacrifice to stay together, they both stayed true to themselves.

Like the last one, this book left me hungry for more. Specifically, more of Niki and Alex, which we're promised at the end of this one. I'll be keeping my eye out for the next book in this series!

Thanks to Liz Alden and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

a nice and fast read perfect for summer! i went into the book without having read the prequel novella but i have to say that it didn't influence my reading experience. loved reading about marcella and seb even though i sometimes struggled to connect with them. the setting, life and work in a yacht, is nothing i had ever read about before!

3.5/5 rounded up!

Thank you Netgalley and Liz Alden for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
.
QOTD: Is getting on a boat, any boat, one of your summer MUSTS?
My A: YES!!! My fiance, mother and I try to kayak on our local lake at least twice a month and we like to rent a pontoon and cruise. NO open sea for me, though!
.
FRIENDS. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I loved this book. I binged it, sneaking in pages while folding laundry, making lunch and painting with bubbles. If you hangout with kids on the daily, then you know how coveted those few pages can be! I just could not walk away from Marcella and Seb. I love all things Below Deck so I could perfectly picture all of the boat details, crew jobs and the crazy guests to boot which just made my reading experience even better. While I will probably never sail the open waters, I can definitely get behind escaping to them through my books! Liz Alden filled the pages with beautiful scenery, drool worthy food and steamy, swoony scenes that tie it all together. Add in the fun supporting crew and a little second chance romance with a splash of enemies to lovers and I am sold! If you’re in the need for an escape before summer wraps up, I HIGHLY suggest you snag this one!
.
A chef looking for her perfect job and a deckhand dreaming of being a captain. Marcella knows second chances shouldn’t be wasted.

My job requirements:
1) Cook amazing food
2) See the world
3) Get paid
4) Avoid sleeping with the hot deckhand—again

When I arrived in Montenegro to start my new position as the head chef aboard the superyacht Themis, I thought I was finally achieving my dream—until I realized I’d be working with Seb, the man who’d cost me my job six months previously. He thinks I ran away, and I know better than to get involved again. But the tension is building, and the crew has to stick together to get the job done. The more I see Seb, the more the memories make my heart pound. . . .
.
The Second Chance in the Mediterranean features an Italian yacht chef, the Cuban-American deckhand who deserves a second chance, and the forced proximity of working on a luxury yacht. Full of adventure and steamy nights, this standalone will take you island-hopping in the Mediterranean while making you hungry for more.

Having skipped the first book and diving straight into the second, I found that I had no problem learning the characters and getting into the story. This book—the third one—was no different. I appreciate spin-off books that truly operate as standalones but allow us to learn more about one of the characters under the umbrella introduced in book one.

This book was a 3.5-4/5 stars for me. I enjoyed it more than the second and didn’t have any problems with the plot or characters. The reason I wouldn’t rate it higher is that it lacks any real substance. I also did not feel invested in the characters’ lives and relationships as much. There was too much surface level fluff over depth. That being said, it was still a fun read and I read it in a few hours. The setting definitely made me want to be in the Mediterranean on a super yacht at some point.

Second chance romance please!!

What's better than finding someone again?? Nothing of course! I'm a sucker for "oh I never thought I'd see you again but am super glad you're in my life here and now, we're so getting married someday!", or something like that!

This is my first time reading a book from this series and I got to say, it was very cute, I loved Seb's character and Roy as well! This book gives off major vacation vibes which is perfect for the summer we all want, so we get to live it up in this book while rekindling the flame of Marcella and Sebastian!

Also, love the cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and Liz Alden for the earc in return for an honest review.

Loved everything about this book. I need more from this author. Seb and Marcella are the best. Now I want to sail. Go read this.

The wanderlust was so real. My absolute favorite thing was the travel aspect because we got a little peek into the characters' journey in these absolutely gorgeous places. I also loved that our characters were from all around the world giving us a peek into different cultures. Now onto the main story, before you dive in, please read the prequel story, it was well worth it. I was glad I picked that up because it gave us an idea about what had gone on in the past and Marcella’s (very well deserved) hesitation when it came to jumping into a relationship onboard. This book was a second chance romance and was quite enjoyable. I admired the MC’s dedication to her job and her desire to not let anything get in her way, making her extremely relatable. If you are looking for a fun summer read, this might be it!
Also, thank you to NetGalley and the author for an arc of this adventure!

I really love this sort of book. Mainly because I love the banter between two people. And the way they fall in love.

The third book in Alden's Love and Wanderlust series is absolutely enchanting. A Second Chance in the Mediterranean is a wonderful second-chance romance, and honestly, that isn't my favorite trope. However, Alden's other novels have been wonderful, so I knew that I wanted to try this one. I wasn't disappointed. Alden has a wonderful eye for detail AND story, and they up the quality of this romance.

Marcella is an Italian chef who has come to work on the luxury super-yacht, the Themis. Unbeknownst to her, her ex-lover, Seb, is part of the crew aboard the ship. They shared a passionate night together a few months ago, but she left immediately. (This story is available as a prequel novella.) However, when they both realize they are serving on the same ship again, things heat up rather quickly. I won't spoil the rest, but let's just say that their happy ending was well-deserved. It took a while to get to, but stories like this are worth the wait.

One of my favorite things about Alden's novels is her attention to detail. When I'm reading them, I feel fully immersed in the story because of her details. From the way she describes the food that Marce prepares, to the way she describes the sailing, Alden uses real-life experiences to add so much depth to the story.

Overall, this story was an amazing addition to the series, and I'm excited to read what she publishes next!

The Second Chance in the Mediterranean by Liz Alden is the third novel in her Love and Wanderlust series. The novel follows the tumultuous relationship between Marcella, a chef and Seb, a deckhand on a super yacht. This is the first novel I have read by Liz Alden and I could not put it down. This novel has great characters, perfect timing, a unique location, a bit of drama, and all of the romance. Highly recommended.

Oooh this was super fun to read, it’s like Below Deck in book form, and I didn’t realise I needed that until now.

Travelling is a massive passion of mine, and I’m constantly looking out for books that involve a good adventure and romance, so this turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.

I really enjoyed reading about Marcella and Seb’s relationship, and I thought they were super cute together. I loved the descriptions for the different places they stopped at while on the charters, and it made my wanderlust flare up big time.

As yachting is such a male dominated industry, I appreciated the author writing Marcella as a talented chef and using a female engineer. Also, there was quite a diverse character range which was really nice to read.

For me, I would’ve preferred more tension before the inevitable between Marc and Seb, I think half the fun is when two characters are dancing around each other and stirring it up before giving in. Although, the chemistry is off the charts, so there’s that.

As this was such an easy, quick book to read, I did find the writing quite simple (is that the right word?) at times, with quite flat characters and dialogue. Although Roy, I loved.

I did think that Seb was slightly childish at times, with his stomping out of rooms after an argument, and I felt that Marcella was quite harsh on Seb at the end, causing unnecessary drama. Although, I can’t imagine how much of a high stress job it would be, so maybe it was understandable after all.

Overall, a very fun read that transported me back to a simpler time, binging Below Deck, daydreaming of seeing the world.

I’ve spend my quarantine getting caught up on Below Deck, Below Deck Med, and Below Deck Sailing Yacht and have been on the lookout for romance novels taking place on yachts, so I was thrilled to find this book by Liz Alden. This book follows Marcella, a yacht chef, who arrives on a new yacht on the Med to find that Seb, a deckhand she hooked up with a couple boats ago, is also on board. This book is a second chance romance set against the Adriatic coast in the Mediterranean.

With my knowledge of yachties I know that one of the unspoken rules is “don’t screw the crew” so I enjoyed that there was that added drama of a relationship between the pair being somewhat forbidden as well as the fact there was a reverse age gap with Marcella being nine years older than Seb. I did also read the prequel story, The Night in Lover’s Bay (free in Liz’s email newsletter), which is about when Liz and Seb first met, so I was already invested in their relationship and loved seeing it develop further during this book. I will have to read the other books in the series because I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

I liked this book! This is the third book in the Love and Wanderlust series. It follows Marcella who gets a job at a super yacht and finds her one night stand working there too. So it's a second chance romance. I really enjoyed it. It was fun, cute and fast read. The angst at the beginning was amazing. I just wished we were shown more of their relationship and how they were doing with the whole coworkers thing. There were some things that bothered me too in the end, but overall I enjoyed my time reading this book.

so, this is the third book in the love and wanderlust series, and it follows the romance between marcella and seb. marcella being a new chef on a yacht, on which seb is a deckhand, combined with the fact they have history together sets the scene for a lovely romantic book (very lovely).

i was pleasantly surprised by how much i liked this story and the side (along with the main) characters. i decided to delve into the rest of the series and i'm very happy with my decision. they're all sweet, light, and funny romances with a HEA guaranteed.

seb is definitely one of the hottest book boyfriends i've read about, and the fact he only has eyes for marcella made me swoon more than once. marcella was just a great character overall, and i loved seeing her journey! don't forget to pick this book up on publishing date!

thank you to netgalley and liz alden for an arc in return for an honest review.

This is the third book in the Love and Wanderlust series - but easily read as a stand alone book. I haven't read the previous ones, but really enjoyed this book.

Marcella is the new chef onboard the super yacht Themis. On the boat, she finds a man from her past, Seb, is a deckhand. It's a sweet romance and an interesting setting - learning about sailing and how the staff live onboard. The characters in this story are fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This book delivered on the promise from that long ago novella! Thank you Liz Alden! Marcella and Seb were first introduced in a novella earlier this year and I've been so heart broken for them this entire time until finally reading how they come back together. Marcella is the new Chef on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean and Seb is a deckhand on the same yacht. After a brief fling months earlier that ended with Marcella gettin fired they find themselves forced together again and the sparks fly from misunderstandings and lust to real feelings and love. This story was both sweet and steamy and it gave me so much hope for whatever Liz could possible write next.

As usual, there was a lot of boating stuff which, as usual completely worked. I haven't the slightest clue about boating but i loved all of in the book. I can get a feel for what is happening and where they are. The story was so easy to read and yet it gave me that perfect emotional hangover when it ended because as usual, i wanted more. the HEA was perfect though and i hope we get to see more of Marcella and. Dev in future books!

Marcella is great under pressure, she works well with others, is at the top of her field and all around the kind of woman i want to be best friends with and look up to. Seb is the hottest guy in every room who only has eyes for Marce. He is that perfect alpha-cinnamon roll combination.

I'll update this review if I can put words to all the love i have for this book. For now though, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves an HEA.

First of all what a beautifull cover . This is my first book by this author and it will not be the last . We learn about the life of the crew of superyacht . Our couple is so sweet and cute . I loved the side charachers and especially Roy .
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First of all I’d like to say a huge thank you to Liz and
@netgalley for the ARC.

I think I’ve made my love of book boyfriends pretty
clear with my extensive list of favourites that I regularly
swoon over on Instagram. Seb shot to the top of that
list the first time his name was mentioned!

The story is told in first person POV of the female lead
Marcella, and the chemistry you feel when she spots
Seb leaps from the page. It’s obvious there’s a history
between the two (if the title wasn’t enough of a give
away) and you get a glimpse at why Marcella is
reluctant to see Seb.

As the story progresses you really get a feel for what
it’s like to work on a Super Yacht and man alive, do I
want to get me one of those!

There wasn’t a single thing in this book that I didn’t
like but plenty that I loved!

✨Side characters - loved them all (and although there
was just a tiny bit of him in this story, I need more
Alex!)
✨The owner of the super yacht was a married couple
where the husband was a stay at home dad and the
wife was a badass tech mogul!
✨How multicultural this book is, there is so much
representation in this book with all characters.

I really wish I could go back and read this for the first
time all over again because it was just amazing! I can’t
wait to read more of Liz’s work!