This was not your typical second chance romance novel...there was not as much heat, way more drama, and we don't get to the real second chance part until we are almost done the book. But with that being said, I adored it. It broke all of your typical cliches and you really weren't sure where it was going to go. I loved that each character came with their own baggage, and it wasn't your typical hero complex plot where one person is just begging for the other person back. I loved the small-town vibes and since I am from Maryland, I especially loved it and felt like I could relate. There is a lot of modern technology thrown into the plot of this book and although I wasn't crazy about it, it did bring a breath of fresh air to these types of romances. Overall, really well done and would love to read more from this author!

5 *stars*

Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for providing a copy!

I really like the way this book is written - with a dose of humor.
Note: The book cover is very Christmassy, ​​but the content is not so much. Events take place close to Christmas. Keep that in mind when picking up this one.

In the first half of the book, I was very annoyed by Ryan. How come with all the injuries you still think someone will put you on the hockey field? But then I realized why he was like that at the other half of the book. It all made sense. The book is very well written and I really enjoyed the story. Goosebumps rushed over my body every time the main characters were close and knew what the other was thinking without saying a word. The connection between Sorcha and Ryan was unbeatable.

Thanks!

My review will be published on Goodreads on 24th of November.
#NetGalley #TheLeftoverBride

This was the first book I"ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was a super fun, quick read.

When I saw this book I was immediately intrigued. I loved the concept of the book. This was a fun book to read. It cleverly and respectfully covered serious topics. I also loved how both perspectives of the story were shared. This book was a little more steamy than I typically like to read. But it was still an enjoyable book to read.

If you love romcoms and don’t mind a bit more steam then you should definitely check this book out.

*thank you to netgalley for this eARC in exchange for a honest review* This was a cute holiday romance. Reconnected friends to lovers. #theleftoverbride is such a fun hallmark like book. The book has a slower beginning. Sorcha was left at the alter and now everything is her life seems to be falling apart. She is a wedding dress designer who was trending on social media for being left at the alter. This causes her dresses to not being popular anymore. She has a list of things she wants to accomplish. One being a blind date. On her way to the date in comes her childhood best friend and love whom she hasn’t heard from in years. I really enjoyed the background of the friendship between Sorcha and Ryan. The chemistry was so great. I haven’t read a lot of holiday romances but this one was good. I would definitely recommend.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

I was really intrigued by the premise of the book, but I think there were too many elements involved for it to work well in the end - the Christmas spirit, the jilted bride, the whole wedding dresses business, the NHL, the social media... it was all too much, and it ended up disrupting the story.

What also didn't work for me was the format of the book: there's A LOT of inner monologue and it drags on and on without dialogues breaking it up, and I was constantly skimming ahead to catch the story, then skimming back to get a sense of what I missed. And knowing that the author even shortened the book of about 20K words to help with the pacing, it's really problematic for me.

It's a miss for me - though I do think that a new editor could really help this book shine (and I hope they do).

Sorcha and Ryan were high school sweethearts. Then, he left town for a chance at becoming a pro hockey player, and she didn't follow. But she never thought he'd leave her hanging in her time of need. Now, for the first time in a decade, he's come home. She wants nothing to do with him until a media feeding frenzy threatens to swallow her up. Ryan comes to her rescue, and they call a truce. Can they find their way back to love?

This book is a mashup of chick lit and small-town romance. Sorcha is smart and funny, though disillusioned after her foray into reality TV went terribly wrong. Ryan is good-hearted but struggling, now that an injury is threatening his career. Their relationship is tense at first but they quickly become a cute couple you can't help routing for.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Sorcha is a wedding dress designer whose dresses are considered cursed thanks to internet trolls and rumors. Her own fiance ran away from the altar and disaster follows her on dates. Her childhood friend and former boyfriend, Ryan is a hockey player having issues with injuries and management. He comes home to regroup and reconnect. Both of their futures are up in the air as Christmas comes around.

Nice Christmas read. Fun, but with emotional meat.

The Leftover Bride is a Christmas themed second chance romance. Both the main characters were likeable, and their flashback scenes of their childhood were very cute, but I wasn't super connected to their romance in the present. Still, it was a quick, cute read that I'd recommend for the holidays.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are times I have read a book gotten to the end and said to myself- “Well that was a waste of a few hours” and this book was just that for me.
I read it with so much hope that each page would get better for me, but they didn’t. I just did not like the Sorcha or Ryan. I wante4d to like them. I wanted to feel a connection but for some reason I really can’t put my finger on I just did not care for them.
For me personally it was a dull slow-moving book to read.
Thank you NetGalley and Elodie Nowodazkij for the copy of #The Leftover Bride.

#TheLeftoverBride by Elodie Nowodazkij was such a fun holiday read in the small town in Maryland. I enjoyed Sorcha O’Connor and Ryan Sawyers story and their second chance at romance. Sorcha and Ryan have known each other since childhood and their first shot at love didn’t work out. Ryan went on with his career in hockey playing in the NHL becoming #HockeyHottie. While Sorcha was left at the altar by Nathan last year. Injuries bring Ryan home for the holidays and in the meantime Sorcha and Ryan have “lists” that need tending to. Can they find love through lists?

I enjoyed the layers of the story and building of the characters. The family members in the story all played a role and were involved in a nice telling way. Sorcha’s talent with sewing and ideas with the vintage pieces were clever and I liked that part as well. The cover of this book is perfect!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me an ARC. While I did receive an ARC the thoughts in this review are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this book. It was a cute read about second chance love, perfect to get you into the holiday spirit.

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I just didn't. The premise of it appealed to me but it just fell flat.

I found the main character, Sorcha, very irritating, whiny and repetitive. And the synopsis had made Ryan sound interesting but his chapters were also repetitively talking about all about his injuries, his dad issues or Sorcha - I felt like I was reading in circles. There was quite a few sort of intimate scenes between the two of these characters and while I'm all for these scenes, I enjoy a build up and some depth to the characters as well or I just can't relate or root for the couple.

I got to about 40% before I finally felt so bored that I had to skim quite a lot of it and found it was just more of the same. Very slow moving and just not for me.

2.5⭐


Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Such a sweet read for the holidays. This is my first time reading any of this authors books. I must say I really enjoyed the story. The characters are lovable and the book keeps you engaged.I finished in a very short time. Like I said a easy fun read for this time of year.

A second chance for two lifelong best friends to reconnect after she was jilted at the altar and he sustained hockey injuries to bench him for the season. Sorcha only wants to move past her would be wedding anniversary but when Ryan shows up back in their hometown they both have to confront their past to decide the future.

Way cute and has a nice element of spice to it. heir relationship is complex and I love that they make fun of the Hallmark movie rhetoric.

Thank you @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I wanted to like this book. The premise behind it seemed so promising. I usually love holiday rom-coms. Even the cheesy ones. But this one left me feeling underwhelmed.

Things I liked: I liked the way the history between Ryan and Sorcha was written. There was a realistic reason for their relationship not having worked previously. I also liked that they actually had to work through their past issues. And that we got good insight into their memories and past traditions, even all the way back to childhood.

Things I didn’t like: How slow moving the story was. I also felt that the final two chapters were a bit unnecessary. I’m a fan of heat in romances, but the final intimate scene seemed totally useless. It didn’t further the story at all. There also wasn’t any real conflict at the end. No Moment where you truly think their future is being derailed again.

I think this is a cute, lighthearted read. But I may have just had greater/different expectations.

This was a very sweet and lovely read, perfect for the holidays!

I loved our heroine, Sorcha. I felt a lot of admiration towards her throughout the story, because what she went through cannot be easy to handle. For me, I would be devastated that if 1) I was left at the altar 2) the video of that moment went viral 3) I became a meme because of it 4) I lost my business and initial dreams, I mean, knowing me I would have fallen in a hole of darkness, but even through sadness and frustration, Sorcha tried her best to stay positive, pushing herself to be better. I truly loved her and made me learn new things.

Now with Ryan, he also was facing a lot of trouble regarding her career and family, and of course the fact that his biggest desire was to reconnect with Sorcha, and I loved how he described his feelings, the longing that even made him feel like a poet (that made me smile a lot)

This a second chance contemporary romance, and the best of it is the memories both characters hold. It seems they couldn’t stop talking about the adventures they went through since they were kids and the way they discovered their own feelings and desires with one another. I really love this trope.

The only downside to me is that some parts felt a little rushed and I didn’t have enough pages to develop an even deeper connection with the characters, but other than that, I loved this book! And big shout out to Tiramisu and Fluffly Napoleon, the cutest pets. Can’t wait for Aisling’s story!

This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review! ✨

Review is already posted on Goodreads, Storygraph and Amazon, it will be also posted on Instagram in the next days, link will be updated when is up!

Great book to get you in the holiday spirit. Super cute and loving. The air Thor does a great job at bringing the two main characters together and involving their pasts etc. Ryan and Sorcha were easy to love and connect with. I still wanted a little more for this book but overall 4 stars and will definitely recommend this one. Thanks NetGalley!

"This could be a disaster."
"As my therapist would say, it's a moment in time."

Genre:  contemporary romance
Tropes: second chance romance, high-school sweetheart, friends to lovers to strangers to lovers, holiday romance, forced proximity, small town Christmas spirit
Cliffhanger: No
Series:  Swans Cove series #1 (stand-alone books)
Spice:  2/5 🌶


I received an ARC through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and left voluntarily. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

I loved it. I was actually looking for a romcom, but this Christmassy contemporary romance was perfect. It was sweet and sprinkled with funny scenes, romantic angst and steamy moments, but it also had a unique way of seeming real and relatable.

》》<u>The Plot </u>《《

One year after she was left at the altar, Sorcha is decided to put her life back on track and recover from her loses, because being a wedding dress designer who trended as the #LeftoverBride is not only painful and humiliating, but also bad for business. And when Nathan, the runaway groom, becomes the Most Coveted Bachelor in America, all eyes are again on her. But what does this has to do with Ryan Sawyer, famous hockey player (also known as Hockey Hottie) being back in town after 10 years? Well, according to Sorcha, this entire business is just a bad remake of The Boyfriends of Christmas Past, because even her feelings seem to betray her. Especially when she ends up needing Ryan... only to discover that he needs her just as badly. In more ways than one.

The story is shared between Sorcha and Ryan and, while this dual point of view has definitely diminished the mystery, it also increased the angst for their romance. Knowing what was going on inside both of their heads did wonders for my view of how much miscommunication there is in today's romance. Even more, it definitely helped me connect with both of them, making it hard to take sides but generally making me want to scream "idiots, just kiss already".

》》Characters and Relationships《《

👩🏻‍🦰 Sorcha O'Connor - #TheLeftoverBride

"Neona - my grandma from my Dad's side - would tell me " Sorcha. Sarcasm is dripping from your tone. This is so unbecoming." And then she'd wink at me because she's the Queen of Sarcasm."

I loved her. She was a great female MC and I just felt for her and everything she went through. Dealing with OCD, being left at the altar, losing her business and forgetting how to fight for her dream but never truly giving up on it, on love, on those around her... she had a lot going on. But I could feel the character development, the wish to put all the puzzle pieces back together and the kindness and determination with which she set to accomplish it all.

🧑🏻 Ryan Sawyer - Hockey Hottie

"Everywhere he goes, Ryan Sawyer always looks like he owns the place.
Like he owns a piece of my heart.
And goddamn him, he does."

Well, Sorcha, if it makes you feel any better, now he owns a piece of my heart too.

He's not easy to label. You can't put him in the high-school sweetheart category because he also has a hint of a bad boy in him, but he's not exactly a bad boy either(despite his grumpy grunting and temper) because he ends up being too sweet. Final conclusion? He needs an entire category just for himself. How should I label someone hot and sort of famous, whit a huge heart that rivals in size only with his ego and his stubbornness (and well ... maybe some other things 🤔... )?
In any case, wherever you may box him, I definitely need one in my life. He may not be easy to love, he's still making amends and learning how to handle some relationships, but he had an emotional journey that was really nice to follow.

👩🏻‍🦰🧑🏻 Sorcha and Ryan

"It's my turn to give myself an internal pep talk: one afternoon.  We can spend an afternoon together without ripping each other’s clothes or ripping each other’s throats. "

Their relationship was a roller-coaster. Angst, tension, laughter and fights, all bottled in sweetness and wrapped up with a bow of snarkiness and "that's what she said" jokes. They have a past which both helps and complicates their actual relationship and it's frustrating in the most delicious way to watch them pining after each other.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 The side characters are also cool, starting with Nathan and Sorcha's sisters and ending with Tiramisu the Cat and Fluffy Napoleon. I wanted to hate Nathan for leaving Sorcha at the altar, but let's just say there's more than what meets the eye here and I can't wait for his story (#3 in the series, coming in 2023 !!!). While not giving us a lot about her two sisters and brother, I'm also really looking forward for their stories too, especially after the "Easter egg" from the Epilog, which sort of introduces us to Aisling's story (#2 in the series, coming in 2022).

》》Conclusion《《

I definitely think this is worth a try. It's a nice contemporary romance with enough funny scenes to almost view if as a romcom, and it has a bit of everything: sweet moments, plenty of angst, gift unwrapping going wrong, adorable pets and some smut after all that thick tension. Not to mention: Christmas. It's the perfect read for this time, since the winter holidays season is near. So grab a hot cocoa or an eggnog, a fluffy blanket and this book and enjoy the festive vibe.

Although not a book I can recommend in my professional role, I will be recommending it in my personal life! Endearing characters, Christmas fun with family, and some serious slow burn romance all combine to make this a fun read!