This book had a great story, and wonderful heart, and it pulled me along the whole way. I loved the characters, and the development, and even though I started out super annoyed with the heroine, I was rooting for her by the end.
But I struggled with some of the dialog. It just didn't flow like I expected, for people the age they were supposed to be. Sometimes it felt too juvenile. I wanted to love it more than I did, but the conversations just didn't feel natural, which took me out of the story a lot.

i loved following Cara’s ups and downs, parts of the book were laugh out loud and i found Cara a likeable character with a big heart, she tries her best for her family and friends sometimes to the determent of herself.
An east read and a new author fit me which i will definitely look out for more of their books in future

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Amazon Publishing UK and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own..

Whimsical read with fun, entertaining characters.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The Second Time We Met” is a second chances at romance book by Frances Mensah Williams. I thought the idea of this book, from the Publisher’s Summary, sounded rather interesting. Plus, the cover is wonderfully cute. While I know that rom-coms often follow the same formula along with the same tropes, I rather hoped I could put them aside while reading this book. Between the miscommunication trope and some of the characters often behaving as teenagers, it wasn’t quite as good as I hoped. I’m also not a fan of insta-love where it’s just “because” opposed to, well, a deeper reason (granted, that’s obvs not ‘insta-love,” but…). Overall, I think this book is a good one if one wants a “mindless quick rom-com fiction” read and while I’m all for that, sometimes having a bit more depth (which I hoped this book would provide with an inter-racial relationship and class divide) is also appreciated.

The Second Time We Met was very honestly just okay. I love these kinds of romance novels usually but this one seemed to jump around a whole lot. The time line seemed very rushed. I honestly wish the back story of how they fell in love was more prominent. I think it would have helped the plot a whole lot. Also a little more development of the charecters. I appreciate the diversity in the characters as well most authors don't do that. I think it is more representative of the world today. Overall I found it to be a cute book with a few things that could be added. Thank you #NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by saying that I REALLY tried to like this book. I enjoyed the beginning of it and thought it was cute! However, the time gaps following the beginning made the next few chapters feel rushed. Cara and Henry have an instant love but the romance part is lacking. There was barely any character depth, which made the characters feel weird and off. I found myself skimming through pages because after reading 50% of the book, I just wanted it to be over. The book was unnecessarily long and quite boring.

I’m giving this one 2 stars. Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cara in an events planner, who is recovering from a failed romance and decides that relationships aren't worth the heartbreak. Henry has a run in with Cara, he’s handsome, charming and throws Cara off guard. She’s interested and wants to know more about Henry. She misses her ride home and misses Henry. They cross paths again and Cara decides to take a chance on Henry. There’s an opposite attract situation happening, they come from different back grounds and people trying to intervene in this relationship. A sweet story about how a couple needs to survive obstacles that are thrown at them and decides that giving love a second is worth it. A story that gives the reader a couple to cheer for.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this book, I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

1.5 ⭐️
I was so intrigued and looking so forward for this second chance warm cute and fluffy read. But this was unfortunately was not it. Don’t get me wrong there were sweet moments but I found myself cringing majority of the time. I’ve never been a fan of instant love or the fact that I pretty much knew what was going to happen next. Sadly that’s where this book has led me to.

This book had so much going for it likeable characters and interesting storyline however it jumps from one thing to another i feel there is chapters missing.

First we meet two strangers in the first chapter. Fast forward to chapter two and their already in a relationship. What the actual heavens? Why would you skip out on all that romance? I don’t want to see that. I want to see the build up that’s the point in these romance novels you know?

The novel didn’t really have that spark for me. There wasn’t much personality in the characters to make me excited about it.

The Second Time We Met was hard to put down novel. A story that was hard to predict the ending, which I loved that it kept me on my toes. I love the multi-cultural, different class and blended family aspects of the story. I highly recommend this book.

Honestly I expected more from this, sure it‘s „just a romance“ novel but it lacked depth, in the characters as well as in the story itself. For what it was it could be shorter than it actually is. You wouldn‘t have needed that many pages for how much depth was missing from everything. Was it the worst book ever? No but it could‘ve been so much more with a little more to everything. It was so cliché but not good enough to overlook that.

This was a sweet story but fairly predictable. I wasn't as engaged in the story or connected with the characters as much as I normally do with romcoms, even though the second chance at love trope is one of my favorites. If you're looking for a quick read with a happy ending, this is a good book for you. However, it's not one that I see myself returning to again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The premise was good but this whole book was just really awkward. None of the characters felt believable or natural. There was no real romance, just a bunch of weird encounters. Cara had rude entitled selfish friends and family. I just felt bad for her.

1.5 ⭐️

This book was not for me. From the writing and the pacing to the story itself, this book did not engage me at all. The characters felt immature, judgemental, and unreasonable most of the time and their inability to talk to one another was incredibly frustrating. The protagonist, Cara, reads like a teenager, unable to think or feel for herself unless it’s to prove just how emotionally stunted she is. I also believe the blurb and title to be a bit misleading. – The second time they meet happens within the first two chapters of the book. It’s just a tiny detail, drowned within a relationship that, to be completely honest, feels like a background storyline within the mess that is Cara’s life problems. Honestly, the only reason I’m rounding up to two stars is because at least it tries to portray some of the difficulties inter-racial couples face, especially when they’re also part of so blatantly different social classes and cultures.

*Thank you so much Net Galley for the ARC*

Cara and Henry can't be more different. She is from a African/carribbean family while Henry is from a family of wealthy lords and ladies. Yet they fall in love.

Love Cara and Henry together. I love that he is actually a kind and nice person despite his background. :) Love the hilarious situations especially. I love how adorable they are together. So many sparks.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

The Second Time We Met is my first book by author Frances Mensah Williams.

Recovering from heartbreak, unlucky in love events manager Cara has vowed to avoid relationships. That is until fate throws her into the path of handsome and kind Henry, who is worlds apart from the men she’s dated before. Unfortunately, this encounter is short-lived when Cara misses her coach home and with it, any chance of seeing him again.
But fate is not finished with the mismatched couple. When Cara quite literally bumps into Henry a second time at a work event, the run in leaves them with feelings instead of bruises, and they can’t wait another day before seeing each other again. Yet it soon becomes clear how deeply different their worlds are: Cara’s drama filled African and Caribbean family couldn’t be further from Henry’s family of wealthy lords and ladies.

This was a cute second-chance romance that I enjoyed. I look forward to more from this author.

I requested this book because second chance romances are some of my favorite books ever, but this didn't meet my expectations. I love sweet rom-coms, but The Second Time We Meet was a juvenile and predictable novel that lacked depth and failed to capture and hold my interest. It is quite boring, much to my dissatisfaction, but the author has a lot of potential; I appreciate the exploration of its themes and conversations, and I hope I will like the author's next book better.

Cute romantic romp for all those that had that brief spark and never bumped into them again. Fun characters and clashes make for many laughs, a fun and light read, great for weekend or vacation.