Member Reviews

Seriously knocked my socks off. I have never felt so “seen” in my entire life. While I don’t share Liz’s marriage troubles, I relate to her in almost every other way. She is me, only she is figuring herself out at a much earlier stage. Kudos to the author for giving us such realistically imperfect characters to love and learn from. I was hooked from the very first page.

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Quick Summary: A "perfect moment come to life"

My Review: Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North was a second chance women's fiction story/romance. It featured an outgoing wilderness adventurer (Tobin) and a quirky, introverted number cruncher (Liz).

About the Book: It takes two people to make a marriage work. What happens when one person loses sight of the other? What happens when the hopes and dreams of the future disappear? What happens when the two are no longer seen as one?

My Final Say: This book was lovely. There were so many issues at play. While it did focus on Tobin and Liz, it also touched on some heavy family dysfunctions. I loved that it largely concentrated on what it takes to rebuild a healthy marriage. Additionally, I appreciated how it centered attention on acceptance of self and on embracing a united partnership via unconditional love. Readers who enjoy realistic fiction and stories of personal development and growth will love this story.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💗

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin), and to NetGalley for granting access to a digital ARC of this work. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to review this title.

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Very sweet and beautifully descriptive. This character description is one of the best I've ever read: "If she met a unicorn in real life, she'd snap off its horn and tell it to be happy being a horse." The improv-as-therapy concept was original and interesting to read.

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This book gave me feels! I think the author does a great job with character arcs and threading the needle between making the reader frustrated and then explaining actions- very well done!

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“But the truth is, magic is the only thing that matters. Without it, I’ll always be a side character. I’ll always be a voice that gets talked over. I’ll always feel pinned by fear, poisoned with frustration and resentment.”

This book is definitely in my top 5 reads this year! It made me laugh and it made me cry, it was the perfect amount of steamy & was so heartwarming! The spicy tension between Liz and Tobin was so thick I felt like I was feeling it myself!

The character development in this book was unbelievable and I have never felt like I’ve known book characters better than I do Liz & Tobin! The struggles of social anxiety are so common & rarely talked about in everyday life let alone in a book. I feel anyone who reads this would understand the impact of social anxiety just a little bit better!

Overall this was a great read that went at a steady comfortable pace & I can’t wait to read more by Maggie North!!

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Second chance romance girlies, we rise, with scorching fulfillment that are angst filled yearning hearts will be battered then swept clean with attentive care of being pieced back together. I loved this debut, and I love this journey Maggie North has written in such a heartfelt way.

I loved Liz and Tobin in a way that works for love rather than letting it sit idly by and staring at it in hopes it’ll fill up the spaces we need if we just stare at it long enough.

And I love Rules for Second Chances in way that shares a need for self, the actualization of our truths and who we are, and wanting to share it with people who recognizes it and loves it ten times more than we could ever have hoped for.

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An incredibly beautiful second chance story that will grip you from the beginning, tug at your heart throughout, and gently heal you at the end.

Maggie North spins words together in such a consistently warm and inviting way, that you’re simultaneously invested in the storytelling while taking moments to gasp at her delicately strong prose. The emotions packed into this book had me taking moments for reprieve because of how visceral it all felt.

Marriage in trouble/marriage reconciliation are some of my favorite types of romance books to read (though there aren’t enough in the genre) and Rules to Second Chances is prime example as to everything done right with this trope. The stakes were high and realistic, the chemistry between the characters was established early on and palpable and believable, and outside characters and storylines were pertinent to the main event and held their own importance and weight. This was a love story between two people meant to be together, but also between a woman and her own self-discovery. And this was also a sorry about Yeti, a himbo of a cat who deserves all the accolades.

The ending of this this story was spectacular and absolutely hard earned. This book is for the people who long to be seen for who they are and accepted in the same right. This is for the independent souls who still need to be taken care of. This is for the romantic hearts that truly believe in second chances. This is a book I will be recommending until my last breath.

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Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy. All opinions are my own!

Achingly tender, beautifully written, RULES FOR SECOND CHANCES is an unflinching marriage in crisis romance that hinges brilliantly on both humor and heart. An ode to neurodivergence, self-discovery, the work and wonder of vulnerable, intimate long term partnership, and the magic of making an authentic life with those we love. I adored it!

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