A year after her husband passed away, Robin got an email from her husband. He set up a year long dating site subscription and wanted her to move forward, find friends, date, discover who she is now. He wants her to learn to love life once again.
I received an ARC from William Morrow through NetGalley.

One of those books where I liked the premise, but I couldn't make it work for me. It didn't grab me in the beginning and I thought it was too slow. I'm glad others are liking it though!

As someone who (very luckily) has not had to handle this type of grief, it’s hard to really judge how well this is done, but to a novice, it was believable. My biggest gripe was trying to keep track of the generic 4 letter male names (Theo, Levi, Jake, Gabe) - c’mon editors, do better. Overall I appreciated the self discovery in the main character, even if her family seemed awful and I wish they had come around a bit quicker.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Avery had destroyed me several years ago with The Memory Book, so I was excited when I heard she would be writing adult fiction. Once again, she hit me in the feels with a story about a young widow trying to continue living after losing her husband, and subsequently, her identity.

I have to say, in the beginning of this book, I was drowning in Robin's sorrow. Her grief was palpable, and I was shedding tears myself. But as the story moved forward and Robin started working on her year of second chances, her grief ebbed. It never fully faded, but she managed it.

I am sure you are wondering what prompted Robin to embark her on this year of second chances. It was an email from her dead husband. No, really, as he lay dying, her husband drafted an email, encouraging her to attempt to find the next love of her life via an online dating service he signed her up for. He even recruited his best friends to provide support and encouragement to Robin as she attempted this task. As expected, there was lots of amusing and awkward encounters.

Robin's online dating foray may not have been totally successful, but she made some very meaningful connections. These people helped her reflect on her life, who she was without her husband, and who she wanted to be. The experienced forced her to say "yes" which didn't always turn out great, but one yes revived long dormant passion and got the wheels turning for her new journey.

The ending was extremely hopeful, however, part of me would have liked an epilogue. There were a few balls in the air, and I cannot help wondering where they landed. Despite that, I very much enjoyed this book. It was a different sort of look at grief which was emotional and felt very authentic while focusing on an aspect regarding those who are left behind.

Mixed feelings on this book! The writing was engaging and there were so many funny lines and scenes. I felt like the book captured grief and complicated family dynamics in a very real way.

It felt very obvious from the beginning where the book was going, but I still felt a little uncomfortable with how everything ended with her love interest. I felt like Robin’s life revolved around being in a relationship and I would have loved to see her exploring herself and her interests and hobbies more.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an eARC of this in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
2.5 stars rounded up
This was a very slow read for me, I just couldn't stay engaged. The beginning was good but the middle completely lost my attention. It picked up around 85% but I felt the ending was too abrupt. I was surprised there were fewer than 300 pages as it seemed to drag for so long. Nothing was a surprise along the way. I kept putting it down then going back to it and it took me several days to finish, which is very unlike me. Well written but not for me, I guess.

THE YEAR OF SECOND CHANCES is exactly what it promises to be. Robin lost her beloved husband a year ago, when she receives an email saying he signed her up for an online dating service before he died. Although she doesn’t want to move on, Robin does as Gabe asks, and begins going out on dates, which is way out of her comfort zone.

There are a few love interests, but I didn’t find this book particularly romantic. Instead, it was a look at how doing new things can stretch us as people. It’s hopeful and touching, and the portrayal of Robin’s grief is accurate and moving.

This is, at its heart, an optimistic book, although I found it heavy, nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher William Morrow for an ARC of THE YEAR OF SECOND CHANCES and the opportunity to give my honest opinion.

Grief is hard. And something this book does really well is capture that hardness. But also the more ephemeral moments of grief. Things like a color bringing back a random memory or getting irrationally angry because someone else is using his mug. I lost count of the times my heart broke along with Robin's.

Sadly, the romance angle did little for me. The men were mostly forgettable and even the two main love interests weren't given enough time or personality to make me care about the outcome.

This is the story of Robin, a sweet young widow whose husband sends her an email a year after his passing. In this email he is telling her how he signed up for a dating service which takes her into several dates where she gets to meet some interesting people.
I really liked how the author explores the grief of Robin and how it affects her entire family.
"Love should connect you to people, not chain you to them". This was one of my favorite quotes.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity of giving me this advance copy of this beautiful book.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I really appreciated that while Robin went on dates to get herself back out there a bit a year after her husband died, it’s really about her finding herself. She hasn’t done anything for herself in a long time and I really admired her character.

Would recommend!

**3.5 stars

Robin has been a widow for a year when she receives an email from her late husband containing a link to her online dating profile. She is still trying to work through her grief, and she doesn't want to date; however, her husband has set this profile up for her, so she gives it a chance.

I enjoyed this book, but I just don't think I will keep thinking about it. It shows a woman working through her grief while also trying to take care of her mom and her brother. My favorite part was Robin's friendships that formed with the different men that she went on dates with and how she discovered a new passion due to one of those friendships.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

The Year of Second Chances is an engaging women's fiction book about a young woman who becomes a widow in her early thirties. I appreciated the topic of this book because it's unique and unlike other titles that are popular right now. It also was a little lighthearted considering the subject matter. I felt like the author did a good job developing the main character and showing us her up and down journey. There were laughs, frustrations, sadness, and a lot of growth. I appreciated the idea of saying "yes" to things that are new, which led the main character on the path to her new life. I would have liked to see a little bit more detail in certain parts of her journey, but mostly because I reflected upon the story from the lens of a counselor. All in all, this was a satisfying read! Thank you to NetGalley for the early preview of this book!

I spent a beautiful summer afternoon today reading this marvelous story that drew me right in from the beginning. The premise is unique, as is how the author begins every chapter. You might think, from the description that this is a book about dating and meeting guys, but... wait! It is SO much more than that. It is also about grieving a deep loss and how we don't ever really "come back" from that, but we learn a new and deeper kind of acceptance. It's also about family. The author deftly wove in Robin's relationships with her mother and brother (along with their issues) in a way that highlighted Robin's relationship with herself. And each of the men that she met on the app each had something important to do with her journey. All in all, for me, it was about a woman journeying to find out who she was without her beloved husband by her side... a journey to herself. A love story, but not in the way that you think :) Highly recommend!

A novel about a young widow’s journey through grief as she uses a dating app set up by her husband before he passed. The author manages to balance the reality of loss with humor, optimism, and realism. I truly enjoyed this book!

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. The title sounded intriguing and the cover is quite pretty. Robin's husband Gabe has died and then she gets an email from him...The story might be triggering to someone who has recently lost someone, but it might also make you feel less alone. We tag along with Robin as she tries to fulfill her late husband's wishes and find out how to move on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Robin is stuck. She lost her husband one year ago, and though she has tried to move on she can’t seem to move through her grief. She deals by watching horror movies on the couch, avoiding public places and the town where her late husband was mayor, and working a job she doesn’t love. Then she receives an email from her dead husband around the 1-year mark of his passing encouraging her to sign up for an online dating site. As Robin navigates the world of online dating, she meets people who become friends that begin to bring out hidden passions. Robin finds better ways to work through her grief and learns more about herself along the way.

I enjoyed this book and appreciated the way Lara Avery explored not only the grief of this one woman (Robin), but that of an entire family - and how it can span decades. Sometimes you might need a push to allow yourself to live again by allowing unexpected relationships to flourish.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in a night. Robin was such an engaging and relatable narrator and I really wanted to see the outcome of her dating experience, but it became so much more. Robin’s beloved husband Gabe had passed from cancer a year ago. She is processing her grief and it is so realistic and affecting. No one could compare to Gabe in her eyes. But one day she shockingly receives an email from him that says he set up a year long dating site subscription to help her move on (albeit reluctantly.)

I loved how Robin started learning more about herself through allowing herself to really live and be open to these experiences. She was capable of so much more than she ever believed. She was more than Gabe’s devoted wife under the public eye of his career. She was more than her predictable job, and she was more than the glue to her family. I was not a fan of her family and totally understood why she felt the need to take control of the business. But she can’t fix everything. Slowly, she starts to live her life and no one else’s. I felt genuinely happy for her at the conclusion and honestly wouldn’t mind a follow up book of her next journey. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Robin is young, grieving, and trying to make sense of her life after losing her great love. She gets the surprise of her life when she gets an email from her husband one year after his death. He set up a dating profile for her before he passed away and wants her to get back out there and find another man/move on with her life. Robin reluctantly follows his request and finds her life changing in many ways.

I really wanted to love this and the premise intrigued me but I did not connect with the story and wished there had been more focus on Robin discovering what makes her happy outside of a relationship. I also wanted more chemistry between Robin and her eventual love interest - once we meet him it is clear they will end up together, though they don’t really seem well suited for one another. Readers looking for an emotional story and exploration of grief and self-discovery may enjoy this. 2.5 stars.

Thank you very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

A year after her husband died, Robin's world changes yet again when her dead husband makes his wishes known through an email he scheduled to be sent before he died. And he set up an online dating profile for her to start on that one year anniversary. Robin decides to give it a try and finds herself in awkward situations, fun situations, anger inducing situations, and everything in between. Most of all, Robin finds herself experiencing life again.

Seeing my name used in a book hasn't happened very often, but I felt connected to Robin right away because of that. I did enjoy reading this book and I felt all the emotions throughout the book. I would definitely see this book being popular at my library.