The Second Time Around
by Mary Beesley
This was a good book. Just not very realistic. I wanted to love it, but it was good. I felt like the sex, and Father and son in the love triangle was a stretch. I would not say it is for everyone, but some may love it.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader’s copy of The Second Time Around.

Claire is both an empty nester and a widow at the young age of forty. After years spent raising three daughters and attempting to de-escalate her abusive late husband, the emptiness of her home only illuminates the scars she’s carried with her in the years since her husband Stevie passed away. Nearby, Banks Sexton and his sons Smith (30) and Tommy (5) are struggling to adjust to the loss of Helen, beloved wife and mother. Claire accepts a nannying position with the family, but the catch is that she’s unprepared for just how much she’ll fall for the whole family.

This book was a fun slow burn, fade to black romance read. Claire’s connection with little Tommy is impossible not to root for, and the tension in the love triangle is delicious. While the book was predictable at times, it was an enjoyable summer light read.

I have never read a book with a similar plot to this one! It’s about a widow who starts nannying a little boy, Tommy, whose father has also been recently widowed. Tommy also has an adult brother. Both the adult brother and the father start falling for the woman and she is caught in the middle! Throughout the whole book you are wondering who she will end up with and how it will affect her relationship with little Tommy. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 explores the intricacies of our main character's life, Claire, as a widow and an empty nester. While still reeling from the trauma that was her alcoholic husband, she is also trying to find out how to live a new daily life without her three daughters present. After being setup by her best friend's husband for a nannying position to the most adorable little boy named Tommy, she is introduced to the Sexton family. Banks Sexton recently lost his wife and is in the throes of grief. Smith Sexton, Bank's eldest son, is prominent in the real estate world and is looking to settle down with a family of his own. While Claire is forming a genuine bond with Tommy, Banks and Smith both start to see her in a different light. After a tropical vacation filled with plenty of mishaps that leads to Claire being pulled in two different directions, she starts to realize that maybe it's possible for her to have a second chance at the life she's always wanted.

Claire’s husband died leaving her alone since her three children got on with their lives. At forty, Claire had a desire to be needed. Her friend gave her the perfect opportunity. Banks lost his wife and had a 5-year-old boy needing a nanny after school. Banks was told Claire was a widower and a grandma. All true but when Banks and his 30-year-old son, Smith, met her they were stunned. Tommy quickly loved Claire and it did not take long for Smith to fall in love as well. Banks loved the way Claire fit into the family and thought he should ask her to marry him. Claire’s struggles to care for another man after a husband that took her for granted added a lot to the story. Tommy’s love for his family and the fact that his needs came first was heartwarming. Great story.

Mary Beesley crafted characters who leapt right off the page. Their realness drew me instantly and gave me all the feels through out this book. I felt deeply connected to Clarie as though I fully understood all of her desires and motivations. I could not put this book down and would definitely recommend it to others!

A three-voice story between Claire, Banks and Smith. Claire, 40 years old and grandmother, is an artist who has lost inspiration and takes a nanny position to take care of a little boy who has lost his mother. She falls under the spell of the family, her father who is fifty years old, as well as her thirty-year-old son. And the three men also fall in love with her. I loved this story that shows the different ways of loving, and that love has no age. Everyone can make and rebuild their life.

Captivating and heartfelt story of second chance at love. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. Most books tend to have a lull however, Mary Beesley kept the story engaging throughout the book. I would 100% recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC, this review is voluntary and in my own words.

I may be in the minority with this one, but it was just okay for me. I felt as though the characters and the romantic tension just fell flat. Although I enjoyed the ending, it did feel a bit rushed in the last 40 or 50 pages. I'm definitely satisfied with how things ended!

I think that Tommy was my favorite character, and he was written very well for a young child.

I'm glad that Claire got her happy ending, as did Smith. It was clear by his character development that he was done dating young, "party girl" types and wanted to move on and settle down. I'm glad that Claire didn't end up with Banks, because it was also clear even from an objective standpoint that he was not ready to move on from his wife dying.

Age Gap, Second Chance

Love this sweet story. Claire is a widow who becomes a nanny for a 5 year old boy who is in need of a mother figure.

Love all the characters especially Tommy who is sweet and innocent little angel.

Love how the characters interact with each other especially Tommy and Claire.

I so wanted to love this book, but I just didn’t, and I think it is because I could not get over the inherent weirdness of father and son gunning for the same woman AND mother and daughter crushing on the same guy.

That said, the author is very talented - she is a good writer, which these days is by no means a given.

The book just really needed a more complex plot and more character development.

Character-wise, I felt like I was left wanting.

Claire was awesome. She was the perfect mother, BUT she was so indecisive it was killing me. I get that she, more than anyone, was in an incredibly awkward situation, and she honestly handled herself with grace. That said, her inability to act on her feelings from Chapter 2 made the plot drag.

Ugh, Smith - he had all the makings of a great hero, but I feel like he never really put himself out there. I felt like the whole book, he was operating at 50%. Nobody wants a part-time hero

And as far as Banks, it was like the author wasn’t sure if she wanted you to love or hate him. Okay, love and hate might be strong, but you get the idea.

Overall I did not dislike it, but I didn’t love it. I probably would not recommend it to a friend, but I have zero regrets about reading it.

This book is the book I wished I had written. I absolutely love the storyline and from the offset, I was completely engaged. Claire is the most wonderful character who has a fantastic outlook. The turmoil she feels when she meets two attractive men, who are father and son, is so believable and thought provoking. I literally couldn't put the book down at points because I was so desperate to see the outcome. The peripheral characters were believable and added further interest. An excellent read.

Book Review 📚
The Second Time Around by Mary Beesley - 3.5/5 ⭐

A cute romance based around love, healing and second chances. It's a slow burn but it's beautifully done and gives you a deep insight to everything that characters are feeling and going through. There were moments where I laughed, cried and smiled.

Claire deserves the world, and more. She's stronger then she realised and she definitely deserves a second chance at love. She was an amazing character and was described wonderfully. I can't fault her or anything she did. Beesley definitely done her character justice and have such a descriptive insight of her mind and feelings.

The fact you actually feel yourself routing for Clairw and hoping she finds all the happiness she deserves is truly a credit to Beesley. It was such a beautiful, light hearted and amazing read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

I was given access to this book by Net galley in exchange for my honest opinion, all the thoughts expressed down here are my own. Thank you!

the story follows Claire a 40-year-old widow, who now that her youngest has left for college finds herself with a little too much time in her hands and not enough money on her bank account. she takes a nanny position with a friend of a friend.

Banks is recently widowed, 4 months ago, with a 5-year-old son, Tommy. while his older son Smith helps as much as he can, Tommy needs someone there all the time, so he hires Claire.

Claire will find herself the center of attention of the Sexton men. she can't deny the attraction for the older two and the strong connection she has for little Tommy ( he is adorable btw)

(to clarify, Banks is 50, Claire is 40 & Smith is 30, so all consenting adults.)
it was an interesting read, closed door romance, i read it pretty quickly considering I've been in a book slump but i did have a few issues with it.

one it was formatting, it might be petty but i did not like how text were shown in the book. they were having full convos in text but they were not marked in quotations or separated.

Banks came across as a bad dad and overall, I did not like him. granted he is still grieving but he was just doing the "dad role" come home and spend a few hours with the kid. when his wife dies, he is lost without her, I HATED that he came home to find Claire spending time with his kid, dinner made and he thought "marry me" later in the book there is a point where he proposes to Claire when they have not even gone on one date, and they don't even talk about anything other than his son. he wanted to marry her because she is great with his kid, also he proposed with the death wife's ring.

Smith is a man that is ready to settle down, he wants to be dad and get married, but he is dating 20 year olds and gets mad when they are not ready to settle down. he doesn't do anything but his inner monologue is like "im tired of dating girl who are not ready to settle down" like maybe date someone you own age.
you can see that it was to show that he is mature enough and to make sure the age gap.

Claire's inner monologue was the hardest part to read because while her husband died 5 years ago, the man she loved was long gone. he was an alcoholic and this severely change how he acted. i feel like the author did a great job depicting how it affects the inner relationships. we see this with Claire and herself stem, as well as with her daughter and how they handle themselves.


i did enjoy the story and i was happy with the ending. it did feel a bit rushed but i liked it.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's a very easy read. A story told from multiple points of view is always a win for me. I found myself rooting for Claire the whole way through the book. Her story was interesting and her relationship with Tommy was so sweet.

I had a lot of fun reading this one. All the characters had their quirks, but they were still very likable. I loved the ending!!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book.

I really liked this book, especially Tommy who is one of the best young characters I’ve read about in a while. Other than that, the rest of the characters in the book had unlikeable qualities. Smith wasn’t bad either I guess. In the end, I appreciated all of the character’s quirks and moved on and enjoyed the ending. 3.5/5 for me.