i was so pleasantly surprised to read this book! i’ve never heard of this author before, but the synopsis stood out to me. it’s a perfect holiday season read - i couldn’t put it down and read it all in one day!

Thank you to Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own!

I read this right before I dove into Melissa's 2024 release Wish I Were Here and even though I wasn't exactly trying to compare the two, I didn't love this as much as the other.

Sadie has had a no-good, awful, terrible end to her year. She's now single, jobless and currently living out of her brother's best friend's guest room while she figures out her next move. But after making the wish to start things over, she wakes up on January 1 of last year. She now has a second chance to do things differently. But while navigating what she thought was her best life, she's realizing that maybe things weren't as good as she thought.

I love a bit of magical realism and I thought this was a fun concept, but a year felt like an awfully long time to be doing things over. I liked Sadie's character in small doses, but it was hard for me to root for her in the beginning when she kept making the wrong kinds of choices. Jacob was a cute love interest but I wished that we had more scenes in the beginning with him so we got to know him a little bit better.

Overall, some of the lessons Sadie learned were super important and it was nice to go along with that growth, but I felt a bit bored at times and craved a bit more chemistry between these leads.

I'm a big fan of a time-travel romance and this did not disappoint. I especially love the concept of a do-over!

Time travel tropes are some of my absolute favorites! In this story, we follow Sadie, a woman down on her luck, who gets the chance to relive a year of her life. Taking a leap of faith, she sets out to fix her past mistakes, only to discover that maybe things were meant to unfold the way they did. It’s a beautiful tale of self-discovery, showing how life often works out as it should. Sadie was a wonderfully relatable character, and the found family dynamic was heartwarming and unforgettable!

Definitely not my favorite read this year. It was okay but didn't grabb me like I would have hoped. The story flowed nicely and the characters were good.

2.5 meh stars.

The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner is all about getting a fresh new start after a bad year for main character Sadie.

Sadie just had the worst year of her life (as you'll be reminded over and over with the phrase "My Very Bad Year"). She broke up with her boyfriend, lost her apartment, had to move in with her brother's best friend, and lost her job as a pastry chef after a confrontation with her boss which has led to her being blacklisted at any other restaurant she might want to work at. She's quick to stand up for what is right and to speak up when someone is being treated unfairly. But this quick temper often gets her in a little bit of trouble. At a New Years Eve party, Sadie meets a fortune teller who grants her the chance to do over her last year, which she gladly accepts. When she wakes up in the morning it's January 1st - of the previous year. She's at her home in bed with her boyfriend, late for work at the restaurant, and everything is as it was last year. She realizes that she needs to keep her mouth shut in order to make this year her best year ever - BUT she quickly realizes things might not be happening the way she really wants them to.

I thought this story had promise when I read the blurb and knew it was going to be a closed door romantic comedy. But I found it to be a let down. Her family was over the top against her pursuing her dream of being a pastry chef and owning a bakery instead of going to school. They said some horrible things to her and never really listened to her. There was a lot of workplace sexism and even some SA thrown in there for good measure. She used the phrase "My Very Bad Year" nonstop (sometimes twice in one sentence) and spoke in crazy food puns that were so bad it was laughable. And the romance was non-existent. It felt like these two were just best buds and not into each other at all.

I really did enjoy the found family aspect with the people at Higher Grounds coffee shop and that was the only redeeming part of this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Love, love, loved this! Adorable, witty, cute, all of these words and then some. I needed a sweet lighthearted book to read after reading something super heavy before it. Thank you!

I adored this book! I loved the do-over aspect, It really made me feel so many emotions! I have never read anything by this author before, but this was one of my favorite books of 2024 so far so you better believe I will be picking up her others!

I loved this book and I cannot believe I waited so long to read it! The idea of having a do-over, a second chance yesr is fascinating. Sadie gets her wish and she gets that second chance year. It's interesting to see how that year plays out and how she compares it to her first time in that year. I loved the characters she connected with in both years - especially Jacob. I am a sucker for a "he's loved her for years" storyline and Jacob is one of the best male characters I've read fitting that storyline. Sadie, she's phenomenal. They're the kind of characters you wonder about long after closing the book, what they'd be in to in five, ten, fifteen years.

I feel like the world needs more New Years Romance novels and I'm so happy to add this to the list!!!

The premise for this novel is very intriguing and I thought it was going to be a very light hearted romance/time-loop type of read and while at times it was, it was more of a learning process for Sadie our FMC. At times it felt predictable, but that didn't take away from any of the charm and heart! It does have those deep moments, but overall it's an adorable romance about a gal finding out how much better life is to just be herself!

This was a first time read for me by this author and after reading this, I would definitely like to try more books by her. Sadie is really down on her luck having lost everything - her job, home, and her boyfriend. She could really use a redo of last year, and that's exactly what she gets when she meets a fortune teller who offers her one wish. She knows she has to do things differently this time around so she doesn't end up the in the same situation. She begins to spot the red flags that she missed the first time around, but she also may just have the opportunity to start a new romance.
The story was well-written and entertaining. The focus is more on Sadie and her finding her happiness rather than on romance, which I liked. She was a strong and resilient character and I was rooting for her throughout the whole story. A heartfelt story that will give you all the feels!
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Sadie gets her wish for a do-over year but will a second chance at everything she's expecting be what she needs? A sweet, magical story. Great characters with found family vibes.

This was a cute, fun read, and the magical realism is perfect for a seasonal/holiday/New Year's type of book. The story was very positive and feel-good. Some characters' actions or words could get a little overexaggerated (usually the negative characters), but the story was sweet, and it addressed a question most of us have at some point (what if I could just do those moments over?). Overall, it was an enjoyable book.

I enjoyed this one and the themes behind this romance! I wasn’t expecting the time loop/alternate universe part of the story, but fully enjoyed it

This was new author for me & I really enjoyed this one:) it was so fun, sweet, charming, and a little magical! I loved that Sadie got a second chance for a whole year and how she found herself along the way! All in all a great read! I look forward to what’s next!

I absolutely adored The Second Chance Year. This book was a sweet romance with a great message: It's okay to be yourself.

I flew through this book and loved the "second chance" approach. It was filled with heart, and a bit of magic, which worked really well with this story.

This book was a fun and interesting look at how things might go if you were able to undo your past mistakes. . Sadie’s life is not going as she had imagined it. Wouldn’t it be great if she could go back and redo the last year and just not make all the mistakes that got her where she is? Well she might just get her wish.

This time travel romance was a great read.

Sadie has had a bad year- she lost her relationship, job, and apartment and feels like her dream of owning a bakery will never come true. She's now living in the guest room of her brother's best friend, Jacob, and trying to get back on her feet. A chance meeting with a fortune teller at a New Year's party ends with her waking up with the chance to relive the past year.

The story highlights so many moments throughout the year. You can see how the changes and decisions Sadie makes affect not only her but those around her too. She has a lot of growth and learns a lot, and I also liked her budding relationship with Jacob.

I flew through this book and couldn't wait to see how Sadie's second chance year ended!

Oh, what a good read! Sadie doesn’t like to take anything from anyone, and tends to be very vocal when something happens. Which completely blows her life up. She loses her job and her man, and finds herself moping on her little brother’s best friends couch with ice cream and the Golden Girls. Until she is given a second chance year.

What a premise! Listen, sometimes magical realism just doesn’t do it for me. But Rebecca Serle and Ashley Poston always seem to get it right….and this definitely reminds me of their books. I loved following along with Sadie as her second chance year starts, and she handles things with a hindsight perspective. The thing we have to consider is…would we want a second chance if it was truly given to us? Will things still shake out the way they are supposed to in the end? Is the grass greener on the other side? This book focuses a lot more on Sadie’s self realizations than any romance. It handles a lot of hard topics like bullying, family dynamics with a golden child, sexual harassment in the work place and the boys club work culture that still exists in many industries today. This was a fun ride!

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of The Second Chance Year from Netgalley, I am leaving my review voluntarily.**