This was my first time reading this author. This was a cute second chance romance. I enjoyed learning about sharks throughout the book.

Second Tide's the Charm brings a fun and lighthearted second-chance romance set on a shark research boat, adding a fresh twist to the typical love story. Marine biologist Hope Evans and her ex-boyfriend, Adrian Hollis-Parker, find themselves reunited after years apart, both professionally and personally. While Hope hopes to focus on her career and move past their relationship, working in close quarters with Adrian reignites old feelings and unresolved emotions.

Chandra Blumberg skillfully blends romance with marine science, showcasing her passion for sharks and adding an educational element to the book. The characters are well-crafted, and their chemistry feels realistic, though some readers found the romance more subtle than expected. The pacing is a bit slow at times, with repetitive internal dialogue, but the overall feel-good nature of the story makes it enjoyable.

For fans of cozy romances and second chances, this book offers a sweet escape with a unique setting and relatable characters. Second Tide's the Charm is perfect for readers who enjoy light, feel-good stories with a side of marine biology.

i liked this! it had sharks, second chance, love, found family, & so much more! i loved getting to see the characters grow from who they used to be to who they are now.

it felt rushed in some places, but it was overall a good read!!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. As a science nerd myself (and a lover of sharks), the professions of our main characters were really engaging and fun to read about. As someone who does NOT enjoy the miscommunication trope, this book really did a good job. Early on, I was definitely thinking “god just communicate with each other” but I feel like the rest of the story does a great job making up for that by having them communicate much more clearly every step of the way.

The third act “break up” was also entirely tolerable which I always love. Also the friendships in this book were lovely. The focus is definitely on the romance but our supporting characters were still lovable and not just outlets for discussions about the MCs.

Excited to keep an eye on this author going forward!

This book merges two of my favorite things: a romance story and sharks. Blumberg's novel is amazing! I breezed through this and loved every second. I can't wait to see other amazing reviews!

The unique premise of this second chance romance had me excited to read this new release! In the end, I liked it but didn’t love it.
✅What worked for me:
*Marine biologists studying sharks on YouTube
*Second chance, forced proximity, workplace romance
*Clean language, closed door
❌What didn’t work for me:
*Way too repetitive
*Angst level more like YA
*Not much was happening, making it feel too long
Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for this free EGalley in return for an honest review.

Highly recommended for those of us who like to imagine romantic bedroom hijinx mixed with actually scientific knowledge this book is a keeper. I usually get bored with second chance romances by halfway, but Chandra Blumberg's writing kept me invested.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and Netgalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Ok so one I didn’t know this was a closed door romance which isn’t an issue but it’s definitely something I like to know going into a book. This was such a cozy read. It’s a second chance romance between two biologists and I had a blast learning so much about sharks. I do have to say that the internal dialogue got a bit receptive and dragged in some parts for me. I just wanted to shake both Hope and Adrian at times and scream at them to just be together. I do wish their desire for each other would have been a bit more obvious, and I don’t mean physically. Sometimes it felt like they’d be better off as friends instead of partners. I feel like this is a book that could be easily adapted to Hallmark but they’d need to sprinkle a little more palpable romance in it. I did enjoy it though and would recommend to someone who was looking for something cozy to read.

This is a light, quick, wholesome romance for fans of second chances and forced proximity. I do love those two tropes but found this one a little hard to get into because there were parts that felt very repetitive. I like that Hope is a marine biologist who does shark research and the whole exes working together aspect. There's a lot of back and forth about whether or not to get back together so we don't see a lot of Hope and Adrian actually together as a couple but the dual POV gives us input to both their thoughts/fears/feelings which is nice. It's a good option if you like closed door romance, sharks, and second chances at love and are looking for an easy read.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press & NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
Second Tide’s the Charm is the latest romance from Chandra Blumberg, and I’m glad that she’s continued her trend of building a romance around a fun, niche theme. And while I don’t know a ton about sharks or marine life, I love how Blumberg conveyed her passion for the topic through her characters, while also ensuring that those who didn’t know a ton wouldn’t be super lost.
Hope and Adrian are both fairly relatable. Both are shark experts and researchers, but I like that each takes it on from different angles, with Hope being a marine biologist and him being a photographer and a YouTuber using his channel to educate people about sharks. And their romance was also easy to root for. There’s a lot of tension and questions about if they can make it work this time around, but their issues feel realistic, and the reasons they broke up to begin with weren’t super dramatic and over-blown, even if the reunion is a little awkward at first. The book was spent addressing the issues they had and figuring out how they could move forward together in a healthy way.
The pacing is a bit of a negative, especially with some of the relationship development being some repetitive pining and questioning, but while it was a tad annoying, it more or less worked. I did feel like the short chapters were kind of a double-edged sword, however, as while there were parts of the book where it contributed to snappier pacing, other times, it fed into the repetitiveness, and that the story had progressed quite a lot, with still a lot to go.
But overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to readers looking for a fun second chance romance with Black leads and cool marine biology theme.

This one ended up being a DNF for me at 60%. I enjoyed the premise of this book quite a lot and thought it was quite unique. The chemistry between the characters was definitely there and I loved their private interactions. I also loved the side characters and thought they brought a lot to the book. My favorite part about the book, though, was the sharks! Learning about this job and getting to see it in action was so interesting to me.

The reason I DNF'd this book, though, is that the author just kept putting the main character into every embarrassing situation possible. The second hand embarrassment I felt reading this book was just too much and I was having a hard time enjoying the other aspects of the book because of it. Additionally, the book felt quite repetitive at times and at 60% in it felt like we were still in the exact same place we were in at the beginning of the book. Plus, the miscommunication in this book was beyond unbelievable. I usually don't mind the miscommunication trope, but I cannot be convinced that two people who were dating for five years just stopped talking to each other. That simply doesn't make sense to me.

I usually love 2nd chance romances but this one didnt it. Two pretty annoying characters that didnt have that crazy of a reason to break up and it just didnt get better from there.

This is such a perfect summer book! Sharks! The ocean! Boats! I love the marine biologists who are studying sharks. It's always fun to read a book where the MCs do something that isn't common in books. And the second chance romance between Hope and Adrian was so well done. Such a fun book!

*3.5

I liked the two of them but the book was just kind of boring. I feel like I wanted something significant to happen and it didn't.

I received an arc through netgalley.

2.85🌟
I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn't do it for me. The premise of this book is very interesting and compounded with the super cute cover, I was immediately interested in getting the whole story.

In this book, we meet Hope and Adrian, who are marine biologists who dated for 5 years in college and later "broke up". This summer they have an opportunity to work together, doing what they love, and ultimately, rekindle the love they lost. Except, they never truly lost the love as they've both spent the past 3 years pinning away for each other.

I think my biggest issue is that I couldn't buy into their love. These two adult people separated because they were located in two different states, and one person was unable to make a decision about their future together. So they just stopped communicating and moved on with their individual lives without ever reaching out to (no calls, no emails, and one person stopped answering text messages), or having a conversation with each other.
I felt like we got told a lot about what they felt for each other, but I didn't feel like I got to actually feel and experience those things.

I think if you like the miscommunication trope or crave third act break-ups, then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary press for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m not gonna hold you, I’m not a huge fan of science, BUT I read Hazelwood’s and Easton’s STEM novels and I LOVE Sharks, so I went ahead and gave it a shot. And let me just tell you, I would have been upset if I HADN’T read this.

This was one of the cutest books I’ve read in a long time. I LOVED Hope’s character! She did annoy me that she didn’t seem to have a real reason to break up with Adrian, but I did understand everything else she did. I also really loved the passion she had for her job and the animals. And I know this is weird because they’re sharks, but they were all so cute! (That pregnant one?!) This was a very cool book that I didn’t know I needed.

Adrian I wasn’t such a fan of. He was very passionate about his work too, but he seemed to only be passionate about it. If you know what I mean. Like he said that he was hurt that she left and he seemed mad about it, but it wasn’t shown. I guess it was just him being hurt. But it took out some of the romance I think.

I also loved the STEM aspect to it. Again, I’m not a huge fan of the romance, but this was so cute. I loved to see the little shark facts. And let me tell you, EVERY BLACK SCIENTIST THAT DOES A STORYTIME AT THEIR LOCAL LIBRARY, I’M HERE FOR IT! (Looking at you Vincent! lol) That scene alone was enough for me. Seeing them realize that they should remember the kiddos to get more to go to those fields make me love them so much more!

Idk what this trend of STEM romances is all about, but I’m here for them all! A complete 180 degrees from my original thought of not liking science lol This is definitely a book I will be telling more and more people to read. It was a fun romance with light spice! I had such a fun time reading it. I hope y’all pick this up and read it too!

love a second chance romance DOWN, and i will always root for black love y'all -- two of the things that made me request this book, btw. and i'm SO glad i did -- i had so much fun! and i also love picking up books that include subjects i have no clue about, i always feel like i learn something lol
i also just always appreciate when the conflict and resolution to romances are believable/a little realistic -- while i know fiction is fiction, there's something about a believable ending that makes the "happily-ever-after" feel so much better and so much more worth celebrating.

This was a cute, funny low spice romance that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
This book follows hope and Adrian who met in college due to their shared love of shark research. They fell in love and had a five year relationship which ended suddenly when hope moves back to her hometown and decides to delete all of her social media. After living there for 3 years she decides to get back into the shark world and messages a friend who is also in the field (Adrian’s cousin) and accidentally ends up taking a summer job working with the man himself.
This book is a whole lot of push and pull between the main characters and a lot of romantic tension. I liked the banter and the characters a lot. I wish there was more about their romance after they end up together rather than semi ending right after. I liked the side characters a lot as well. I did find myself irritated with both of the main characters quite a lot (which isn’t a bad thing because it kept me hooked)

Hope Evans, marine biologist had had a difficult 3 years. She's lost the love of her life and can't get over him, her career trying to avoid the same field of work that Adrian's in. Now she's lost her job at the Surf to Shore as a paddle board instructor. Time to think about her next career move.

Adrian Hollis-Parker, marine biologist has become a prominent face among shark experts after being video assisting a shark that's beach and having it posted on Social Media.
He's happy with the work he does tagging and researching sharks while being filmed for his YouTube channel. But, Hope is never far from his mind, the women he lost his heart to. Adrian knows he has to accept that Hope isn't coming back.

Adrian and Hope get a second chance at love when Adrian's cousin offers Hope a summer job as an assistant Marine Biologist to Adrian for 3 months. Hope accepts the job knowing she needs to get back into the field of shark research, find closure with Adrian, and make peace with the past. But Adrian has other plans. Working so close to Hope, he realises he needs her in his life.

Adrian and Hope are a realistic young couple in love. But having a long distant relationship took it's toll along with miscommunication and the lack of flexibility on both of their parts. They're a great couple that like, love and lust after each other. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.







https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/199454284

4.5 ⭐️

Characters 8/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Writing 9/10
Plot 8/10
Intrigue 9/10
Logic 7/10
Enjoyment 8/10

Second Tide's the Charm follows Hope and Adrian, exes who find themselves working together after three years apart. How, you might ask? Thanks to Adrian's meddling cousin, who plays matchmaker by getting them involved in a summer project with Adrian, a shark-obsessed professor. The couple drifted apart due to poor communication, but their love for each other never truly faded. Now, spending an entire summer on a boat together, they must navigate both their lingering feelings and the challenges of working in close quarters.

This romance was absolutely charming. I couldn’t put it down. The characters were easy to care about, and the pacing kept the story engaging. Although it slowed a bit towards the end, it had a strong start that hooked me right away. I saw a lot of myself in Adrian, as someone who loves a plan and is intimidated by spontaneity, which made the romance feel authentic. Their struggles felt relatable, and it made rooting for them feel all the more rewarding.