This one was difficult to get through. The MC was hard to connect with and I found, though it started strong, the plot fizzled for me very quickly. This is the second book in a row I’ve read that had a subplot of improv out of nowhere and I’m realizing that it just doesn’t work for me. Leave improv for a different format!

Remember, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t meant it won’t be for you!

Liz’s development throughout the story was so well done, and I loved watching her character grow. With her own growth, the romance between Liz and Tobin grew as well. With some beautifully written sentences, and a roller coaster of emotions, this debut was wonderful.

Wonderful second chance romance. The hypothetical cherry on top is them being divorced. Sometimes, you just need something more mature in the book world of 19-year-old heroines in fantasy novels and all the high school drama. Perfectly flawed, as we are. Definitely pick it up as a palette cleanser for other genres!

I enjoyed the book and the writing, but unfortunately the main characters themselves were not ones I am usually drawn to! I think the plot was interesting and I loved the back story that was built.

I'm a sucker for second-chance, marriage-in-crisis books, but I'm sad to say that this book didn't do it for me. Maybe this is a personal thing for me, but I hate that it's the threat of divorce that finally spurs the MMC into action. The scenarios were fun (especially the ferry one!), but the writing sort of took me out of the book sometimes. I think my largest issue was with the disconnect between the way Liz and Tobin were talked about vs what their characters actually did. Liz is frustratingly woe-is-me the entire book, but doesn't really seem like she wants to change that or understand why she's the way she is. She keeps talking about Tobin being this everyman's person while also being kind but he doesn't come off that way at all (kind of one-dimensional, honestly). I think the conflict was, honestly, not high-stakes enough (don't even get me started on the pitch competition), and the miscommunication trope was not executed well in that the whole setup for why they have to be partners seemed pretty contrived (which, I guess understandable for a fictional book, but come on!).
Thank you Netgalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am having such mixed feelings about this one so I’m going to start with what worked for me before I state my issues. I really liked the way we were taken right into a marriage on the verge of complete failure, watching it crumble immediately before our eyes. We felt the urgency from the get-go and the tension that was keeping this marriage in a really uncomfortable place. Another reviewer said they felt their conflict was silly, but I completely understood it as someone who has had messy relationships go south because of all the little things, not just some big momentous event causing chaos. Sometimes all you need is to lose communication and faith in each other and everything else can come down with it.
The premise of this book is like nothing else I’ve ever read, with Liz and Tobin working through their marital problems using an improv self-help relationship therapy book as their guide? What on Earth? But somehow I let my judgment lay low and got into it. It was so awkward but it was so fun watching Liz come out of her shell and find her voice through her improv class and the self-help book. Because this is only from Liz’s PoV, we have to judge Tobin’s love and angst through what she’s seeing, so at times it was hard to really know what he was feeling, over their physical chemistry. I loved watching Liz find herself and her voice, and allow Tobin to be there for her as she did.
Now for my problems. Firstly, I felt the pacing was pretty slow. We were taken real time through sooo many things happening that the book felt much longer than it actually was. Despite that, the conflict Liz has with her sister is not given enough attention, I don’t think, including their big talk about everything that happened- there was so so much more to unpack there, and given that the sister drama was the most stressful/serious of it all for me, I really wanted more resolution in that and I just didn’t get it.
And then we have….the epilogue. Everything was tied up so ridiculously neatly up in a bow which kind of rubs me the wrong way when it’s done. I understand we want to see the couple’s HEA, but I don’t need every single little thing to be addressed and wrapped up perfectly because it just becomes unrealistic. But THEN they did something so absurd I actually said “oh please no, let this be a joke.” I honestly could not take it. If you read this please contact me, we need to talk.
Regular chapters- 4 stars
Book plus epilogue-2 stars
Average- 3.5 stars

I absolutely LOVE a second chance romance for a married couple! This was a beautiful story, and while it is definitely a romance, it was more focused on the FMC Liz as she explored her own neurodivergence, family dynamics, and what she wants out of this life. I would recommend this to anyone looking for diversity in their romance reading!

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK you should read it and let yourself be trapped in its magic! loved how well done my fav trope was

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC

I would love to support your authors, but unfortunately it seems as though St. Martin's Press and Wednesday books would prefer to stay quiet about the vile posts made by your employee. These statements were anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, Queerphobic, and made even more vile by the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. Your influencers want to know that St. Martin’s Press is committed to the safety and well being of ALL of their influencers, employees, and authors.

This is not a reflection on the author or the story in any way, shape, or form.

I think this was a solid, lovely debut from this author. While the novel is listed as a contemporary romance, it definitely came across as more of a self-discovery journey for Liz, the FMC. I thought Liz's exploration of her family dynamics, her neurodivergence, and her habits/sticking points was beautifully done. There are times when you're frustrated with Liz, but you can feel and read about Liz's own frustration with herself, and it ends up feeling so real that you put yourself in the character's shoes. I think the romance aspect would have come through more if we had had dual POV / Tobin's POV, as his character could only do so much when viewed through Liz's lens. It was beautiful to see how Tobin loved Liz (from the very beginning of their relationship, through the struggles, and through Liz's epiphany and their eventual second chance). It felt like Liz got a second chance not only to be loved for who she truly was, but to be able to better, more fully, love her husband as well. My heart ached for these characters and cheered for them, too. I would absolutely read more from Maggie North and appreciated getting an advanced copy to review; all opinions are my own.

This ended up being such a sweet second-chance romance! The beginning was chaotic, which, given the POV, makes sense as you get further into the book. You need to sit with the discomfort as the character develops and grows. It was interesting to see the progression and opinions change as the FMC worked trough the process with the aid of improv. The chapter headers were super helpful in setting the tone for each, and I was eager to learn from them as well. Overall, this was a perfectly "flawed" romance (as in, everyone had a part to play, good and bad), and for a debut novel, was shockingly good. I will definitely be watching for future books by this author!

3.5 stars, rounding up on the rating. Thank you so much for this ARC! I really enjoyed this book and the interesting spin of improv for marital counseling/confidence building/work improvement. I so enjoyed Liz as a character and found her incredibly endearing. I truly saw so much of myself in her and the struggles of feeling different, particularly in a male dominated company and industry.. I did struggle in that I felt like Liz let the people in her life off so easily - Amber, Tobin, her coworkers, and her mother in law all did cruel things whether intentionally or unintentionally and it felt like they got away with just simple apologies, usually making Liz give the bigger apology. I really enjoyed the book but also slightly wish Liz and Stellar ran off into the sunset together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fresh take on second chance love/marriage in crisis. I feel like marriage in crisis books are so hit or miss and come from a place of anger. This book was from a place of love and really, growth. It’s easy to root for Liz and Tobin throughout the book and wanting them to love themselves and each other. The use of improv was very clever and seemless in the story. There were also some funny parts (Merman!). This is a must read for 2024.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North was a cute second chance romance. It was a bit sluggish for me and I struggled a little to push through, but it’s a nice read that I think many will enjoy.

"Rules for Second Chances" by Maggie North was a delight to read. The writing is exquisite, the characters are relatable and likable, and the premise is unique. I was genuinely moved, While portions of the middle for me were repetitive and I found myself saying "come on already, Liz!," I blame me for this and not the writing/story.

I excitedly await North's next novel, whatever and whenever it may be.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC.

I decided to start this book and read for an hour, but ended up reading it in one sitting. It is the type of book what when yous start, you don't want to put down. For me, this was because of the loud and distinctive FMC voice, and the descriptive writing style. Overall, I give this book 4/5 starts and I greatly enjoyed it. I am not usually a fan of first person perspectives, but I should say this one was done quite well. I thought the romance was developed well and more importantly it is paced well! The book have some spice but no overly explicit scenes, more in the sense that it shows the realistic thought process of the FMC. There is some interesting autism rep, which I have mixed filling about, but overall it added an extra layer to the story.

This story is simple but well-crafted, it made me laugh but also cry. Really, I recommend!

I don’t usually like to read romance novels where the couple is already married. But I’m glad I took the chance on this one. Liz reminded me so much of myself that it was kind of scary. It makes me wish I could find my own Tobin. He was so sweet and supportive of Liz, and it was wonderful to read about them getting their second chance at happiness.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

If you’re looking for a good romance novel with the second chance trope regarding a married couple, I would highly recommend reading Rules for Second Chances. Although the book started off slow, I began to really enjoy it as we got to see more of Liz and Tobin’s relationship as well as Liz’s own personal growth.

This was the first book I’ve read with the second chance marriage trope, and while I enjoyed certain aspects of it, it wasn’t my absolute favorite trope to read about. I also wish we would have gotten to see Tobin’s pov because dual pov romances are more enjoyable to me.

Overall, I still really enjoyed Maggie’s writing in this book and would love to read another book by her in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 25%

Unfortunately, due to my own personal circumstances, I found the main character’s circumstances and outlook to be a bit bleak, making me unable to finish the book. This is definitely a me-problem and not the book. Despite all that, the premise is intriguing and I’m sure many people will still enjoy it.

3.5 Stars Rules for Second Chances is the debut novel of author Maggie North, who presents a new take on the classic second chance romance trope. After being mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party, Liz is forced to confront the truth that she has always known: no one sees her, including her own husband anymore. So she asks for some space as she tries to improve herself, her career, and her marriage. And she’ll achieve that through none other than improv classes. Having been relegated to being the “bad guy” and the one to always say “no” to her husband’s “yes,” Liz pursues improv, where the number one rule is saying “yes, and…” Having felt like “everyone got the memo” but her on how to make friends and be likable, Liz starts to suspect that maybe she’s not neurotypical, much like her autistic niece.

Rules for Second Chances definitely wasn’t like any other second chance romance novel I’ve read. And though there was a large focus on the main character’s marriage and reconciliation, this also felt like women’s fiction with the focus on Liz’s own individual character development and growth. The prose of this novel was also different from others I’ve read, but not in a bad way. I think the prose actually helped me more understand what it is like for neurodivergent people, like Liz, to live in a world that was not made for them. I recommend this one if you are looking for a fresh take on a classic romance trope.