Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen was a read now on NetGalley and the cover caught my eye. I sometimes love going into a book without any idea what it's about except the cover -- I also tend to buy my wine this way, eye-catching label all the way!

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for granting me access to this title.

The years ago, Stella broke Sam's heart. A man she was reluctant to let in, but ultimately couldn't stay away from despite the long list of reasons it wouldn't work. When things imploded, Stella and Sam lost touch. Now, Stella is headed to her friend's wedding in Italy and she's hopeful to escape her life and job back home. When Sam shows up, Stella is forced to relive the moments that led them to this exact moment. Could there be another chance for Sam and Stella?

What I enjoyed was the current day and past history of Sam and Stella. It helped me understand the complexities of their relationship and why things went so awry. This is Ali Rosen's debut novel and I thought it was a solid read. I will say at times I felt my attention waning and ultimately, I thought the book could have been shorter. However, that being said, I have to say, I loved the ending. it had a bit of a French film ending (iykyk).

Thank you netgalley for this ARC!

Recipes for Second Chances was set in Italy at a friend's wedding and features a second chance romance (as the name shows!).

I love Italy so much, and the way the author described the scenery and the food was great! Unfortunately, the author didn’t extend that to the characters. This felt too “surface level” for me. I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Stella.

This was just an okay read, but the second chance aspect was executed well!


This was just an okay read, but the second chance aspect was executed well!

A romance complete flashbacks and a friends wedding. I found this book lacking - I didn't root for the relationship (and the 'big issue' was was pervasive throughout the whole book, so it was a bit frustrating). I feel like we didn't get the angst or build up or fluff, and was very much in Stella's thoughts. I also would've liked more of the friendships. A lot of scenes made my eyes glaze over, wanting to get on with it, but that's a common complaint for me. This was an easy read, although a bit repetitive/frustrating, it just didn't feature the elements I like in a romance book.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Initially, I was really into this story. But after a while the story began to drag and it was hard to keep interest. The pace moved far too slow for me. Still would encourage others to check it out but it wasn’t for me.


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

I liked the idea of the book, I really liked the food information, especially everything about Umbria, Italy. I liked the closeness of the good friends over the years. I really appreciated Samuel and Handley. I really worked to like Stella, but barely managed tolerating her until the end.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by this author. Loved the writing style! Thank you for the ARC!

I love love love this book!! I seriously want to reread it now and I just finished it. I can't get Stella and Sam out of my head!! Italy, food, a wedding and keep getting thrust together with your ex who you broke his heart. Yes, yes, yes! You need this romance in your life!
I just reviewed Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen. #RecipeforSecondChances #NetGalley
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I really tried to get into this book, but romances are really hard to get into when I am not sold on the character and the writing style.

Fast-paced and enjoyable romantic read! Samuel's character was a breath of fresh air. Great debut novel!

Enjoyable fast-paced read! I thoroughly enjoyed Samuel's character. I like Stella's character once she grew up a bit and realized what she really wanted in life and decided to go for it.

I was unimpressed and underwhelmed with this book.

I will say, Ali Rosen is, for the most part, a word artist. Her ability to describe scenery and food almost made me feel as though I was sitting at the table with Stella and her friends. I did say, “for the most part,” though. One line that caught my attention early on was:
“He was wearing the squarest outfit I could imagine…”
I’m sorry, “square”? Did we fall back to the 1960s? Ali is the same age as I am, roughly, and that word was no longer in style when we were kids. Who says “square” in that context?
Additionally, some words were thrown into the mix in what felt like an attempt for her to flex her vocabulary.

Now, as for the story itself: as I said, I wasn’t impressed. It took me almost a week to finish a 230-page ebook. I kept losing interest in both the characters and the story layout. One chapter will be set in “Present Day,” and the next chapter is “Nine Years Ago.” We continue to flip-flop in this manner throughout the entire book.
The most unimpressive part of the book, unfortunately, is Stella herself. As someone who lives with anxiety, Stella drove me up a wall. She talks throughout the entire book about her anxiety, and how external forces have influenced her choices (not even her direct personal experiences), and yet she didn’t seek therapy? None of her friends tried to gently talk to her about how clearly unhappy she was, despite her constant insistence she was “fine”? I found all of that incredibly frustrating. Stella is an anxiety-ridden coward. I was very tempted to DNF this book, but my need to see how things resolved usually trumps that temptation. That being said, I definitely would NOT recommend this book to a friend.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

For a debut, this was a well described and well paced second chance romance. There were alternating timelines (it reminded me of Forget me Not) which I enjoyed. Overall I’m not a huge fan of second chance but I think this was done well for a debut and I enjoyed it.

Sweet story told in alternating timelines as Stella Park attends her friend's destination wedding in Italy and runs into Samuel, a sorta-ex from nine years ago. As the story plays out, Stella remembers their summer together counter pointed with Samuel and his date for this wedding. A quick but very enjoyable read. Stella may be a little difficult to comprehend, but Samuel is definitely swoon worthy. Don't miss his letter to her as she left to go to Scotland so many years ago.

Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen was hard to get into. The description sounded great and from the get-go I liked the voice, but I couldn’t embrace Stella. Even though she was well fleshed out, she was also a mess and hard to like.

Romantic setting with vivid descriptions. Bell pepper level spice but not quite closed door romance. Quick read with a big, fat happy ending.

I really enjoyed this book. The only thing that I found to be an issue was that it was a bit wordy. I will definitely recommend this book.

The cover and description made me want to read this book. However I was a bit disappointed. I didn't really care for Stella and didn't believe the chemistry and love between her and Samuel. The time jumps were confusing and just overall meh.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

RECIPE FOR SECOND CHANCES was a sweet, fast read that was easy to get through - what's not to love about enemies-to-lovers romance set in Italy?!? Rosen is a cookbook author by trade, and you could see her love of food shine through here, which in turn made me extremely hungry and desperate to pack my bags and go to Italy myself. I do wish the two main characters were a bit more fleshed out - I found them lacking substance, and wanted *more.* Still a good read for those lazy days.

Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen is a heart-warming debut.
Read it in one day because I just could not put it down.
This delicious second-chance romance is set mainly set in Italy and New York City which is just perfect.
The story of Stella and Samuel was beautifully written, and I ripped through each page dying to find out what happened between them.
A very enjoyable book to read. Loved every page of it!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

This was definitely not an enjoyable read. Every character was abysmal. The lead character was mean, rude, and just plain terrible. I’m not sure why anyone would want to be friends with these people let alone date them. The whole thing was uncomfortable.