Rules for Second Chances is perfect if you love the second chance romance trope and stories with representation. Liz is turning 30 but has never felt like she’s had a place in the world. She’s hard to relate to, socially anxious and awkward, and feels like her husband Tobin elevates her because she can’t elevate herself.

Spoiler alert: Liz has undiagnosed autism. Only her sister Amber (who might be one of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever read) has guessed that she may be autistic. And while Liz has become fixated on people “seeing her,” what she really needed to do is just see herself. Unfortunately for her (and for Tobin) she very nearly ruins her marriage, leaving Tobin and placing a lot of the responsibility for how others treat her on the fact that she is married to him.

I am not autistic, so I tried to have an open mind while reading this entire thing from Liz’s POV. But it frustrated me. Even though Liz doesn’t realize or admit she has autism, she knows she has problems, but has done little to try and sort those things out. Her coworkers and her boss and her mother in law walk all over her and she is undervalued. But not by Tobin, and he takes the brunt of all her pain. It isn’t until she signs up for an improv class that she starts coming into her own, but she still almost sacrifices her marriage.

I found the writing beautiful, the love story was compelling. I wish we had been able to see into Tobin’s POV a little however. Because he is going through it too. Maybe this book wasn’t for me. I appreciate what it was trying to do and the story it is telling is important.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the eARC.

This was such a BEAUTIFUL story. Gah, I just teared up now thinking back to it. It was one of the most impactful endings I’ve read.

I enjoyed parts of Rules for Second Chances but the plot ended up being a bit of a jumble. There were subplots that could have been trimmed in order to improve the flow of the story. For instance, the improv storyline made sense to me but the work proposal competition seemed really forced. It was also abundantly clear very early on that the company both MCs work for is toxic. As the character growth and development happened mostly outside of the work storyline, it seems weird to leave it in. I also would have loved to see Tobin's POV. His character just doesn't have enough depth to really understand his motivations or how he sees his partner.

Rules for Second Chances was overall a good read and I see a lot of potential in Maggie North's writing. I'll definitely check out her future books.

I couldn't get into this book. The female main character was hard to relate to (for me) and I didn't appreciate her reasoning enough to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-copy of Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North, in exchange for an honest review.

Liz finds herself fading into the background, her vibrant spirit dulled by a sense of invisibility. At home with Tobin, her husband, an impromptu birthday celebration left her disheartened when a guest mistook her for hired help. Extroverted and successful, Tobin seemed oblivious to Liz's quiet yearning for recognition. Their shared workplace at West by North, a mountain and river guide service, mirrored the imbalance at home. Liz's aspirations to lead tours and develop innovative ideas were dismissed by her boss, who confined her to the mundane realm of spreadsheets. Desperation propelled her to seek change, both within the marriage and professionally. She separated from Tobin and sought solace with her sister and niece, longing for a life that truly reflected her worth.

Meanwhile, Tobin is determined to win Liz back. He buys her a relationship repair manual called Rules for Rebooting Your Relationship with Improv and asks her to try it with him. Liz is reluctant at first, but she eventually agrees. The improv class is a turning point for Liz and Tobin. They learn to communicate in a new way, and they start to rediscover the connection they once had. With the help of improv, they find happiness and their way back to each other.
If you love Second Chance Romance books, this is the one for you. I gave this one a solid 4 Star rating!

Liz Lewis has tried her whole life to fit in with everyone around her, but she always finds herself on the periphery. Married to outgoing, charming wilderness tour guide, Tobin Renner-Lewis, she tells Tobin that she needs a break. Liz needs to figure out how to stop playing second fiddle to everyone in her life so she maps out a plan to become the main character in her own life. Seeking a promotion in the wilderness adventure company she works at, her boss advises her to try improv comedy to boost her public speaking skills and build that confidence. Turns out Liz also isn’t great at improv, enter Tobin, recruited to partner with Liz to help her through the improv scenarios and hopefully have a second chance at being together.

This was such an unexpected gem of a story. There’s so many things I enjoyed about it, especially the setting (love Canadian representation), the neurodiverse representation, and especially the improv! I found Tobin and Liz’s story flowed so naturally, the improv scenarios that they went through to rekindle their relationship and work through the barriers they faced previously was such an interesting take on second chance romances. I do think this story could have used another round of editing, some of the scenes dragged on longer than they needed to without adding much to the story. I really felt for the journey that Liz went through during the story. It’s relatable to a lot of people that sometimes you just don’t feel like you’re in the drivers seat of your own life. I loved that she took her power back and figured out how to turn her weaknesses into strengths. For a first time novelist, I thought this was a very strong debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

I am a lover of spreadsheets and so immediately jumped at the opportunity to read this after reading the summary. I definitely related to Liz. I've been labeled different, although I'm not a fan of the big outdoors and I don't try to be what people want. I do make my way through this world and connect with people through comedy.

Okay, maybe Liz and I aren't as alike as I felt we were while reading this, but I still found myself drawn to this book and laughing because Liz is so terrible at being funny. I know that the saying is third times the charm, but for Liz, maybe it's just the second time? Anyone who can stand to listen to bad comedy is worth friendship at least, aren't they?

This is a sweet and funny RomCom perfect for someone looking for a light-hearted read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I see red this story because do love second chance romance books. Liz is a character who always feels overshadowed by her husband’s easygoing and outgoing personality. She is tired of feeling dependent on him in social situations and is tired of various other aspects of their marriage. Tobin isn’t so willing to give Liz up easily. In order to try to advance her career, she signs up for improv which Tobin is more than willing to help with.
I didn’t love the improv aspect of the book - probably because the thought of doing improv myself sounds terrifying. There were also many characters in the book who annoyed me - Tobin’s mom, Liz’s sister, and Tobin’s dad. I was frustrated with Liz not speaking up for herself when interacting with them.
I enjoyed Liz and Tobin’s interactions but didn’t feel overly invested in their relationship. I dislike the miscommunication trope.
Overall, 3/5 stars - there were some things that I enjoyed in the story but overall was an okay read for me.

Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North is an interestingly written second chance romance novel. I'm not sure if I loved how the improv classes played into the book, but I did enjoy following Liz as her and Tobin found their way back to one another. Feeling stuck in place and unseen by everyone around her, Liz realizes that her life needs some changes. I did enjoy seeing how Liz adapts and develops throughout the book, both in her personal life and also in her career. Overall, I think this book does a great job at showing how marriage isn't easy and how prioritizing your partner each and every day is important for success.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Maggie North for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

DNF after chapter one.

The synopsis and chapter one had some interesting concepts going but I could tell the writing style was not for me

“Rules for Second Chances” by Maggie North
A Quest to be Valued
For me this was a very hard read. The search to be seen and valued by friends, family, and in the work place. This is a very good story of growing self-awareness and the search for peace withing ones world. It took me longer than it should have to get the rhythm of this prose. I finally felt at home in this story; then it seemed like the next day the story was complete. I really need to put this on my re-visit list and make this journey again. This is a worthy read. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.

If you're looking for a book to break you in two, then put you back together again this is your book! This beautiful second chance story is filled with emotion that I'm still working through processing. Very well done debut!

The dialogue felt stilted, which kept taking me out of the story. this concept overall didnt work much for me

4.5 stars
I never thought improv could be this fun! Seeing it used as the cure for a relationship in crisis was such a fun and refreshing idea!
Tobin and Liz are such an interesting couple. They’re so different in the beginning but throughout the books, we sort of see their personalities morph into each others’, which was interesting to see and we also see them start to understand one another more. The setting of this book was beautiful and I loved that the author incorporated the beauty of nature consistently throughout the story. The beautiful background setting really makes me want to visit this place! Also, Lyle, Stellar, Sharon and Béa are such good side characters and added so much to this book!
There were many moments of humour and also many of somewhat sad topics, and I have to say, this author did a wonderful job of meshing them together. The fact that this is Maggie North’s debut book makes me excited for whatever else she will write and I’m looking forward to it! This book is one I would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves a second-chance romance or who wants a book about finding your individuality within a relationship (finding your own ‘magic’).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ARC.

a heartwarming debut!

This second-chance romance set in the most gorgeous landscape should be on everyone's must-read list. This book will warm you from the inside out with its honesty, heart, and humor. Gripping from the first page to the last.

A second chance romance set against the great outdoors with a neurodivergent FMC and IMPROV CLASSES! How fun is that??

In all honesty I was surprised at how much I liked this, it was a bit more emotional and heavy than I was anticipating, but I felt like the story really impacted me in a good way and I loved seeing the character development and plot pan out.

I really loved Liz as a character. She was incredibly relatable and I liked seeing that journey into learning and diagnosing her autism, as someone who isn’t well versed in these kinds of topics I liked how it was incorporated into the story. She’s flawed, but the arc of seeing her come to acknowledge those flaws (like how she treated Tobin, etc) was powerful. I also loved Tobin. Again, I love seeing the flaws in these characters and how he worked through them, as a character he’s an absolute sweetheart too haha. The family dynamics of these two characters really hit me hard, it was so sad yet raw, I really wasn’t expecting how heavy these subplots would be in this book but really loved how they concluded.

The setting and incorporation of improv was really fun as well, I loved how the improv class gave off the vibes of a kind of rag tag group all connected through improv, I especially loved Sharon and Bea as side characters! I also loved, literally adored, one of the final scenes involving Eleanor. The tonal shift and the mood of that scene was so good, I was sucked in and loved how it all panned out.

The biggest thing I struggled with was the writing style at various points. Considering the story is told through Liz’s point of view, I think a lot of Liz’s internal dialogue being kind of ramble-y and intricate makes sense, but it made it hard for me to really stay in the moment for certain points of the story. I was also hoping for more in terms of the improv class and how it connected to Liz’s character development, there was a lot of detail about improv and how it would help Liz, but I feel like Liz didn’t necessarily execute it well, like I failed to understand how she really developed as a character due to her improv class.

Overall though, I enjoyed this, it’s a unique concept and I felt like I learned a little bit more about topics from neurodivergence to improv classes, all the way to winter tourism! 3.5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Oooooof…I had such high hopes for this but it just fell flat. I love a good marriage in crisis, but the crisis was pretty weak. This read more like women’s fiction and I love women’s fiction but it was just boring. I would have liked dual POV for this one. I felt so bad for Tobin and the way he was blindsided. The improv thing was weird and I just think the writing style of this was confusing and didn’t work for me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were well written and I enjoyed seeing them connect throughout the story.

This was such a refreshing read. Tobin can capture anyone at anytime. He's outgoing and thrilled to talk to anyone and loves the outdoors. Liz is neurodivergent and has the biggest heart of anyone. I found that I understood Liz. I also cheered her on the entire book. I loved both of them and it's such a well written heartwarming story. The descriptions of the world were great and helped me picture the world that Tobin and Liz live in. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc. I recommed this book!

"Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice...with the same person?"

I wanted to love this book so much and it was just not it for me. The premise was so fun, but the writing was chaotic and hard for me, personally, to follow. I felt the ending was inevitable and could have happened 50 pages earlier than it actually did.