I really liked the neurodiversity rep in this, and the improv direction was a fun slant on the second chance theme.

The pacing didn't quite work for me though, and there were some scenes that happened off-page that felt like they should have happened on-page and vice versa.

Still a quick read with some sweet moments.

Maggie North’s sweet debut novel about an (undiagnosed) autistic woman who struggles to fit in at the wilderness expedition company where she and her gregarious husband met and still work. Tired of feeling like she’s never seen, at work or in her marriage Liz decides to GET MAGIC: Go for a promotion at the company’s annual pitch competition, start improv classes to give her a boost of confidence in order to win said competition – and – break up with her husband. But Tobin isn’t letting go without a fight: He convinces Liz to use him for her improv practice and work through a series of relationship-repairing scenarios. Can they learn to say “yes, and” to their dreams, and each other?

I enjoyed Rules for Second Chances a lot, with one BIG exception. Part of Liz’s frustration with Tobin is that everyone at work sees her as an extension of him; as she begins to gain confidence (and her sh*tty boss begins to notice her) Tobin just doesn’t seem to understand why she needs to stand on her own feet, and how damaging it can be for a woman in a male-dominated workplace to be viewed as half of a package deal. I don’t really see that he fully understands this even by the end, though in practice he does agree to support her independence (Badass improv classmate Sharon deserves much more of the credit for helping Liz on her journey – she’s the best character in the whole thing, and I love her).

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded down

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press or a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful and heartfelt romance! This is for everyone who's just a little different, a little quirky, and wonders why the "normal" people around them don't seem to recognize that they are drowning. The advice to "be more friendly", "be more approachable", and act like everyone else is like death from a thousand little cuts and is almost worse than just being ignored.

Liz has always been that person, pretty much either ignored or thought of as a bit too much, excluded from groups and considered to only be useful for back office work at her toxic, bro-centric workplace. Her spouse, Tobin is the exact opposite, the guy who's the life of the party, the person everyone gravitates to and admires. This has caused Liz to shrink into herself even more in a desperate attempt to play by the unspoken rules that she thinks will finally get her the acceptance and popularity she craves.

This book was sometimes painful to read as Liz blows up her marriage, to a man she deeply loves, then has to face the wreckage and figure out if anything is salvageable. It's a journey of self-acceptance, as she can't truly commit to love Tobin until she can learn to love and accept herself in all her glory and difference. There was angst, there was sadness, there was passion, there were funny moments, and I shed a few tears as I was reading, but in the end, it felt like Liz and Tobin were on their way to a better future.

The book is clearly a romance written by an author who knows neurodivergence intimately, and wants to celebrate its difference and its strength. I hope that it exposes more people to this inner world, helps them be more tolerant, and makes them better able to see how much neurodivergence can contribute, instead of consigning it to the margins. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

The premise of this contemporary romance novel is a marriage-in-trouble between an introverted heroine and an extroverted hero. The trouble began when the heroine is mistaken for a caterer at her own birthday party. After that fiasco, the heroine had enough and moved in with her sister and niece. The heroine decided to take an improv class that shows how bad she is at it, but the hero is the only one willing to help her practice. As the couple becomes closer again, the heroine must face the issues that stops her from moving forward towards her happy ending.

This is a nice romantic novel that deals with relatable issues that are facing the main couple. Told primarily from the heroine's viewpoint, it shows how a person must learn more about oneself and how to become a couple in the long run. The heroine is a relatable character, flaws and all. It would have been nice to have the hero's viewpoint in certain areas of the story, so that it would enrich the story in my eyes. There was also a mix of secondary characters that were detrimental to the main characters or supportive of them. Also, some additional details could help in parts of the story though it wasn't a deterrent in my reading. Overall, a nice romantic read.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

Rules for Second Chances is Maggie North’s debut novel about one woman’s determination to change her life. It is Women’s Fiction that includes romance between a married couple who are in crisis.

The story begins at Liz Lewis’ thirtieth birthday party where she is mistaken for a server instead of the honored guest. Liz is a socially awkward introvert who is more comfortable with spreadsheets than people. Strangely, she is married to the most likeable guy in town, Tobin Renner-Lewis. Tobin is an adventure guide at the same wilderness expedition company where Liz is employed. Liz is competing with other employees for a promotion, but she is invisible to most people, so her chances are slim.

After walking out on Tobin, Liz decides to improve her confidence by taking an improv comedy class. Tobin wants to win Liz back, so he helps her with her improv class scenarios over the next eight weeks. Liz slowly realizes that she is neurodivergent, but she also learns a lot about Tobin. They have to figure out if they can make a go of their marriage again, despite their many differences.

Rules for Second Chances is a very well-written story that grips the reader with its heartfelt emotion. Liz is a multi-dimensional woman who has struggled all of her life with being a socially awkward wallflower. Tobin appears to be the perfect man, and a total mismatch with Liz. The author skillfully weaves a serious tale of a couple trying to make their marriage work, with multiple humorous scenes. This is definitely a must-read for fans of realistic fiction.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for my advanced listening copy of Rules for Second Chances by @mnorthauthor which releases TODAY! 🎉

This is a fantastic romantic debut!!
🏔️Marriage in Crisis
🏔️Autism Representation (Adult Diagnoses)
🏔️Career Development/Exploration
🏔️Improv Comedy Workshop (and relationship repair)
🏔️Self-Discovery
🏔️Second Chance Romance
🏔️Setting Boundaries and Challenging Toxic Positivity

Liz and Tobin fell in love while working for an adventure guide company; he’s the extroverted charmer and life of the party and she’s the introverted ‘misfit’ working behind the scenes who feels overlooked and unseen. She asks for a marriage separation from Tobin so she can stop being a minor character of her own life. She enters a pitch competition at her company and signs up for an improv comedy workshop to push her own social interaction comfort levels and confidence. Tobin is desperate to save the marriage but seemingly unaware or unwilling to address their issues. Over the course of a few months Tobin and Liz agree work through improv relationship scenarios to try and reconnect. As they challenge one another, Liz must decide if she can have both the marriage she wants and the career dreams she’s chasing!

This book has is all; humor, angst, vulnerability, intimacy, grief, and character growth. Being of a similar age and having worked through my own adult diagnosis of neurodivergence, I strongly related to Liz and her desires to stand on her own merit. It was incredibly powerful to watch Liz find her voice, while building new friendships and repairing her relationship with Tobin.

Gail Shalan as the narrator of the audiobook really captured the nuances of each emotion experienced by Liz with a rich and emotive performance!! Romance readers and audiobook lovers should absolutely pick this one up!

I took a long time to read this book and am still not totally sure how I feel about it. It was very cute and I liked that it was a second chance romance with a couple that’s already married. I felt like I could relate a lot more since I’m married and in my 30s.

I also loved the representation of an autistic main character, who is also bisexual but mentions it casually in passing. The author did an incredible job of integrating aspects into her book that aren’t usually included.

An example of this is when Tobin, the MMC, dresses up as a merman with some feminine costume pieces. Liz, the FMC, finds it to be both beautiful and incredibly hot. I’m a huge advocate for gender fluidity and the idea of no rules (I think it comes with the territory when you’re pansexual), so I loved the scenes like this.

There were some things that didn’t work for me with this book, but it’s hard for me to pinpoint them. I found the writing style to be too chaotic for me, and a lot of the improv plot didn’t interest me. The first three quarters of the book seemed to really drag on.

Even though this wasn’t one of my favourite romances, I’ve seen a lot of amazing reviews and I recommend that you check it out for yourself!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for my gifted copy!

Liz struggled socially while her husband, Tobin, shined. Tired of living in his shadow, Liz leaves her her husband in an attempt to find her confidence and her voice though Tobin isn't going down without a fight.

I have an interesting relationship with this book. I liked it though I felt it was light on the romance side and more about Liz's quest to find herself. I understood Liz's need to figure things out and reach for that corporate prize, but I still didn't understand her need to do it without Tobin in the picture. And that is where I struggled a bit. This book was single POV which makes sense as a choice given that it seemed much more like Liz's personal journey than a story about Liz and Tobin, but oh how I wanted inside his head. That probably would have amped up the romance side of it for me.

I would consider this a marriage in crisis book, and I loved the way Tobin was ready and willing to do anything to save the marriage. It was Liz who was ready to walk away, who was resistant to try. But she was a willing participant when they began employing an improv based relationship book to help them dig deeper. This was definitely something unique for couple's therapy and resulted in some rom-com moments as well as some sweet and tender times of connection.

Improv was also a means for Liz to build her confidence in preparation for her big pitch. She was very quiet and had difficulties with social situations, but she was putting herself out there. I appreciated that part of her personal journey and loved how these classes brought her into a community where she developed the true friendships she always desired. Liz was embracing "yes, and" and it was paying off as new relationships were made and others grew stronger.

I think many will relate to Liz's desire to be "seen", and I know I related to how not everyone was accepting of Liz's true self. She felt the pressure to fit the mold when she just wanted to be herself. Along the way, I met Liz's niece who was on the spectrum and eventually led Liz to realizing she could be, too. It's interesting to have an adult autism diagnosis in a book. It seems many think it's important for children, but it was something that helped Liz really understand herself. It was that missing puzzle piece that helped complete the picture and gave her clarity.

Great characters, humor, and some special "moment" kept my interest during the bulk of the book, but those last few chapters were the best. Everything came together in a way I adored. I was left smiling with my heart full of joy.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for an e-ARC of "Rules for Second Chances" a debut book by Maggie North which was released on June 25, 2024!

I saw many authors I like promote this book and was super excited to get my hands on an ARC! This is such a unique story, unlike any I have read before. Liz and Tobin were such real characters and I loved getting to know them and see them grow and change throughout the story. This is definitely a debut worth checking out!

I really wanted to like this book much more than I did because some of the dialogue and themes were beautiful. I felt like this wasn’t really a romance despite it being all about second chances; it felt more like reading “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” which I truly loved a lot but knew going into it that it would be more focused on the protagonist figuring themselves out. I found some of the characters in this book to not really be memorable, and some of the scenes felt really unnecessary. However, I really appreciated the fact that the main character has struggled to fit in and is pushing herself and even is figuring out if she’s autistic, and I think that is so much more significant than the romance plot which genuinely didn’t even seem to be the focus of the book. Overall if this was a contemporary fiction piece instead of a romance I think it would’ve been a lot better!

I have completed this book but as it is published by an imprint of St. Martin's Press I will be withholding my thoughts until they respond to the boycott.

I started out really, really enjoying this book. But, as I kept reading, I realized the entire plot is one giant miscommunication trope. These characters had to work aggressively hard to not tell each other anything. It was so frustrating.

I sympathized with the main character and her struggles trying to find herself within her marriage but I just could not stop wondering if this couple had ever had a real conversation in their entire marriage. They seemed to know nothing about each other. It was so weird.

There ended up being some very sweet scenes between them but a lot of it felt forced and very unbelievable.

I didn’t love the improv theme mostly because the thought of doing improv might actually be my worst nightmare. I was secondhand cringing from embarrassment for a good chunk of this book.

I thought the neurodivergence representation was admirable. I wish that Liz had found out about her diagnosis earlier in the book and had some time to sit with it. I would have loved to follow with her on her journey coming to terms with it.

I think this book will find a wide audience. It’s bordering on being more women’s fiction than romance. There were many redeeming qualities and a unique story, but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

This was a very enjoyable and engaging story.

Read this story if you enjoy:
✨Second chance romance
✨Neuro-diverse rep
✨Outdoor vibes
✨Improv comedy

There are so many lovely moments in this story. It’s not all sunshine and roses - but it really takes a look at what this FMC needs to do to really be herself and find her strength again. There were times when she frustrated me a little bit, but I could also see the journey she was on and I was invested in her character arc. I also felt for her as she tried to find her own way in a very male dominated career field. I thought the representation of quickly getting pigeon-holed into a role in a job was a very accurate portrayal of what happens all too often in work settings.

The romance aspect of this storyline felt secondary to the story of growth and self-focus that was prominent throughout the book. I loved the improv comedy angle. There's so much that can be learned from improv classes and applied to real life interactions. The angle of the relationship book was creative and made more sense with how these two characters came back together.

Overall, this was a great story. Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for the eARC copy of this book!

“Love is about making your own rules, and so is life.”

Married couple Liz and Tobin are complete opposites. Where extrovert Tobin lights up a room, introvert Liz cowers in his shadow. Against all odds, the pair fell in love at work. But as the years have passed, Liz has only grown increasingly more uncomfortable in her own skin. That’s when, quite hastily, Liz decides she needs a break from feeling like a walk on role in her own life, literally walking away from her own marriage.

Intent on improving her self esteem, Liz signs up for an improv class to force her out of her comfort zone. Although admittedly she’s not the best, she perseveres, if only to prove she can, and to earn a promotion at work. But when her husband becomes her role playing partner, Liz is forced to act her innermost fears in lieu of one liners.

I was surprised to read that Rules For Second Chances was actually author Maggie North’s debut. This is because the way the story opens makes you feel like it’s a continuation of Liz and Tobin’s story. In this way, it sort of felt like I was walking in on their love story in the middle instead of the beginning.

And while Liz’s self discovery was written in a unique way, I felt like it could have happened without the friction between the main characters. I know North’s goal was for the reader to feel for Liz, but in reality I wanted to hear Tobin’s take. If they had provided both viewpoints I think it would have enhanced this novel, instead of eclipsing the story with unnecessary complexity.

Liz and Tobin find their marriage at a crossroads. Liz is autistic and struggles with anxiety; she’s tired of not being the main character in her own life. In an effort to grow her confidence and find herself outside of her marriage, she signs up for an improv comedy class.

I loved the sound of this one, and ended up enjoying it but there were a few things that I struggled with.
The improv element was interesting but felt a little forced when it doubled as marriage counseling. The story seemed to rely more on the improv than the relationship between Liz and Tobin, and there were just some things that just seemed unrealistic for the sake of comedy that was a miss for me.

I really loved the autism and social anxiety rep (can relate big time), and Liz's growth throughout the book. The improv element did end up coming full circle with a heartwarming HEA.

🎧 The audio narration was good, I personally struggled with some of the voices, but it's something that's just a personal ick for me so don’t let that deter you.

Check it out if you like:
🎭 Second chance romance
🎭 Neurodiversity rep
🎭 Canadian Wilderness
🎭 Improv

This was a lovely book with moving and well-fleshed out characters. However, I thought the plot lagged a little at times.

Rules for Second Chances had a writing style that wasn't for me. It was very difficult to get into. I didnt think the book flowed well - kind of choppy. The chapters didn't flow together.

The cover is absolutely beautiful!!

Thank you to Netgally and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.25/5⭐️

OK, at the risk of not sounding sympathetic/supportive of neurodivergent characters, I waffled on finishing this book. Ultimately I’m glad I stuck with it, but I still was not satisfied. As a debut, I will say that it was very well written and included lots of great humor.

My issues were both with the female protagonist and some of the storyline. Liz, as a socially awkward woman working for an outdoor wilderness guide business wants to become her own person, get some of the magic that her outgoing, friendly husband has, win a business pitch contest for a promotion, gain respect from her colleagues and family and oh yeah, move out and divorce her perfect husband. Lots going on here.

At the beginning of the book I felt like I was stepping into a story with previous history that I had no idea about. With that said, I had zero connection to or understanding of Liz as she came off as uncompromising and a bit arrogant in her relationship with her husband (wilderness guide) Tobin. As the story developed and Liz began making inroads into “blossoming” through the use of improv and becoming more self-aware, we begin to see that both Liz and Tobin have issues, both personal and as spouses. However, I STILL felt that Liz was too judgmental toward Tobin while being wishy-washy herself. She broke her own boundary rules with him and was constantly pulled toward his “hotness”…while he tried to respect said boundaries and put in the work to save their marriage. And a personal pet peeve? Confusing the important issues of marital disharmony with the easy weapon/distraction of sex.

The storyline felt all over the place (too many distractions) with odd twists and strange outcomes in some cases.

So while I did appreciate the authentic representation and feel of the treatment/understanding/bias against autism, I felt Liz was a high functioning, low-on-the-spectrum adult who did not treat her husband with basic courtesy during a lot of their screen time…until basically the denouement of the book.

Again, impressively written, great laughs, and yes, this will probably be an unpopular opinion, and that’s OK…it’s just my take.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing the free early arc of Rules for Second Chances for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I enjoyed reading Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

3.5 stars to this great story about finding the courage to be yourself even when it seems like the whole world is against you doing so.

Liz Lewis is an extreme introvert and people pleaser married to handsome and outgoing Tobin. They both work for a nature tour company that pushes Tobin into more and more work that keeps him gone for long times while Liz is hidden as the lone person in the ops department. She used to dream of being a major guide and contributing ideas and her marriage used to be her safe place, but her worry about doing or saying the wrong thing has her shut up in a metaphorical box of loneliness that no one seems willing to let her out of. A random comment from her jerk of a boss has her sign up for an improv class that will let Liz realize what she's really made of and it begins a massive change in Liz and those around her.

It's a heck of a downer for a large part of it. Liz has obvious issues but it's like people are just happy to ignore that and let the status quo continue as long as she keeps acting exactly like they expect from her. It's almost physically painful to read her being so uncomfortable in most situations. I was happy to see her start to assert herself mostly because it stopped the awkwardness. There is a good message and some moments of laughter, but it's just such a heavy book overall that I couldn't enjoy it.

I do give major props to North for a line somewhere in the beginning where Liz recognizes that all their relationship issues would be solved if only they actually talked to each other as they should. It's little details like this that make the awkward and sad parts bearable. I appreciate the message and how Liz manages to overcome and/or learn to live with her limits while also proving to others that she can do more than they think.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the read!