A new to me author and I was not disappointed. This was a very enjoyable read and I liked it a lot. A must listen to on audio.

*Thank you to St Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

Marriage in trouble is one of those underappreciated tropes that can be so hard to do well, and dang did Maggie North nail it. Despite only offering Liz's PoV, we can quickly see why her relationship with Tobin is so strained. I'm so glad that this book is about finding your true self, rather than becoming someone else. Also IMPROV!! Here it's used both as a technique to get out of your shell and to find trust and connection with your partner. I truly thought it was genius. And the narration was just chef's kiss - between the hilarious scene about zombie wasps and the myriad of accents, Gail Shalan cemented herself as one of my new favorite narrators.

I also enjoyed Liz discovering her potential neurodivergence, as understanding that really helped her understand herself more. Her relationship with her sister Amber was a subplot that I really enjoyed (despite it starting out strained). There's still some work for them to put in to truly heal, but their progress gave me a lot of hope.

I really hope that we get books for Stellar and Amber because they deserve their happy endings!

Holy crap this book absolutely blew me away! Marriage in trouble/second chance romance is my all-time favorite trope but it's so often not given the treatment it needs to be truly successful. But oh my gosh Maggie North knows exactly what she's doing. There's not a moment in this book that I would change. Maggie North is a master at writing about interpersonal conflict and I couldn't put the book down cause I was feeling so much. She gave both characters so much grace to have their own individual needs and slowly pushed both of them to discover what those unspoken needs and desires were. She was so tender with both of the characters and left room for both of them to be completely vulnerable in their longing for each other. The narrator infused every line with so much yearning that I NEEDED to listen to the whole book with my ears so I didn't miss a single raw moment. I absolutely adored watching Liz go on this personal journey and felt so seen by her struggles. The autism rep was such a fantastic inclusion. I'm thrilled that we're getting more of that now. This book was the perfect combination of a what I love in a romance - hopeful and swoony in equal measure. I 100% recommend this book! Please pick it up and then come into my DMs to tell me about your feelings cause I have many I need to process now 🥹

Such a cute and funny book! I loved it! I related to Liz more than I would to admit. I definately have alot of the same social issues Liz has. Liz's personality is funny and quirky, but also so real. I love how Tobin is masculine but also just loves Liz the way she is. He loves her for her despite her flaws. I was invested into Liz and Tobins realationship and was rooting for them the whole time.
I also loved how Liz calls her c0-worker D*ckhead instead of David had me literaly laughing out loud.
Overall highly recomend this book. Looking forward to more books from this author.
Thanks you Maggie North and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this book as an ARC

What was there to like about this book? Over all, the writing itself was...fine. But that's about it. Listening to the audiobook, which may be the fault of narrator and not the author, I tuned out quite a bit and sometimes had trouble following along with what the character was talking about. Because, 80% of this book is Liz's internal dialog. Liz also doesn't stop beating you over the head with how much she just "doesn't understand" and how socially awkward she is --because, oh! she's autistic and doesn't know it.

Now, before anyone gets uppity with me, I am also likely somewhere on the spectrum. Getting some kind of a diagnosis isn't important to me because I've built coping mechanisms to deal with the world around me, even when it does put me out of my comfort zone and wear me out. Liz is somewhere else on the spectrum, which is fine. But only getting HER perspective during this ordeal was exhausting to me. I really, really would have loved a break from her to hear from Tobin and how he was dealing with this. What it was like to have fallen in love with this woman. And for them to both be totally and completely blind to the obvious signs of neurodivergence.

I *wanted* to like Liz. I really did. I almost cried during the first chapter and the birthday party. That was legitmately awful and I almost DNF'd it immediately, but I was like...this is a romance about improv! It can't be that bad, can it? And...it sorta was. While there weren't too many other incredibly emotional scenes (although I was LIVID when meeting Tobin's dad...) and the improv stuff itself was....oddly used. Like, Liz began to view her entire life as an improv routine? Which, life sorta is, but you're not supposed to be conscious of it. In Real Life, you DO get to say no. Has no one seen the movie Yes Man?

Lastly, and a bit of a spoiler: I absolutely did NOT need the "heartwarming" birthing room scene at the end. Kids and babies and birth squick me out something fierce. And that they just...decided to have a kid because her birth control was already messed up, so...why not? Ugh! Get an IUD, lady.

So, while I gave this 3 stars for managing to get through this actually kind of a long read (10 Hours, even at 1.25X speed, which you need because the narrator can be excruciatingly slow). Did I retain much of it beyond the bad? Not really. I doubt it will be memorable enough for me to suggest to anyone.

I really wanted to like this book, but after 4 hours into it, I had to give up. I didn't like the characters and felt no connection between them. I also couldn't get past the narrator's voice of Tobin. The storyline was different, which I liked, but in the end, it was flat. I picked this one up because I thought it was going to be more of an outdoor adventures book, but it really wasn't.

Liz has given up on her marriage. When an opportunity arises for Tobin to reenter her life, he comes in with vigor. He is prepared to do anything to save their marriage if only Liz would give him the chance. 

I loved the premise of this book. Falling in love with the same person all over again seemed really cute however I don't know if it was the improv storyline or maybe not connecting with the characters that threw me off this book a little as I found it dragged a bit towards the end.

I just could not get past the narraters voice. Even during everyday tasls the narrator had a passionate pushy voice. It had my anxiety at a 10. I did however push through. The story was OK but nothing above average.


Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest oppinion

Rules for a second chance is an interesting take on relationships and self improvement. The narrator does an excellent Job getting into character. I loved the interaction between Liz and Tobin. Tobin is my fantasy man. I would improv with him anytime. lol. Good read not too much drama. Easy listenning.

This book was quirky and cute. One of my favorite tropes is second chances so I was really rooting for Liz and Tobin. I often felt bad for Tobin because he seemed to be really trying but Liz had some difficulties getting her true feelings across. The idea of improv for couples therapy was a different concept to me but made for some funny and cringey moments. Overall I enjoyed this one .

This was my first book written by Marggie North.. I adore second chance romance tropes and FMC that are not exactly the norm, so I was excited to listen to this audiobook kindly provided by Netgalley and St. Martins Griffith.

Liz is a socially awkward introvert struggling with how to articulate what she really wants out of life and her marriage to Tobin. She moves out into her overly critical sister's house, joins an improv class, and prepares to give a career changing pitch at the wilderness tour company where she works.

I liked the dynamic between Liz and Tobin. The improv element was an interesting way to push Liz's character arc and I en;joyed getting to know the others in her group. I'm wondering if there was maybe too much going on at times. Tobin going up for the same pitch as Liz didn't seem like necessary conflict, and there were improv bits that I thought sort of came out of nowhere.

The narration was very good. I felt Liz's social frustration through Gail Shalan's voice and also her joy.

3.5 stars. Rules for Second Chances honestly gives me such mixed feelings. I loved seeing the work each put in for their relationship and themselves. The idea of being seen and heard really resonated. The details of the improv and situations? Ehh kinda pulled me out of it with some cringe, but maybe that's just me and secondhand embarrassment.

Narrators were good, although sometimes for the FMC I couldn't tell when she was speaking in her head vs voicing.

Women's fiction focusing on an offbeat introvert woman trying to repair her falling marriage and "become magic" after turning 30 wouldn't usually appeal to me. However, when I heard "autistic", I jumped on it and started reading.

For years, Liz feels invisible at work and her marriage at home is falling apart. Turning 30 was her breaking point. In quick succession, she moves out and finally makes active steps in her promotion. Soon, she finds her way into the world of improv and character acting in more ways than one, discovering more than she hoped. In a way, this is a quarter life crisis book, as Liz discovers why she’s not as put together in her life as she hoped by this point. She’s figuring out how to do it throughout the book, even if she doesn’t get it right the first try, and I like that determination from her. Liz also happens to explore more about herself and her world in new ways, especially as she’s figuring out this world is not built for her.

I do like that her and her husband, Tobin, take time to at least talk things out. Tobin’s the outgoing one and despite what Liz thinks of him as the perfect guy that’s gone sour over the years, he has his own issues to work with. The second chance romance progression felt natural, and it didn’t feel like there was some type of artificial road block put in for drama’s sake, it felt in character. And to have two contrasting personalities was a great choice, as they played off each other. And it’s not just each other they have to navigate: they have to tackle work and extended family dysfunctions. I do like that this has an earned happy ending in more ways than one.

The other characters were really interesting, with Eleanor and McHuge being the two that stick out to me the most.

The setting was rural Canada, which I’ve never been, but I could feel the bitter cold spring and the mountain air of the region. The pacing was good, things mainly didn’t drag out for too long and overstay their welcome, or rush through too fast.

I laughed quite a few times throughout, especially during the playacting skits that the book they read makes them do. Also, there’s some inside jokes that I think some people might not like, but I thought it was too true in some aspects. I wouldn’t say this is a comedy book, but it was a definite welcome among the heavier stuff.

Gail Shalan did a fantastic job in narrating, and was a great fit for Liz’s character, and I loved her range of voices, especially for some of the guys.

This does have plenty of sexual innuendo and some explicit sex (chapter 16), so it’s not for kids. There’s a list of content considerations and warnings on Maggie North’s website if you are interested. But if you’re interested in a Women’s Fiction book in rural Canada featuring a woman on a personal development journey and figuring out her autistic traits and reinventing herself, this is a good pick.

I really loved this book. Liz and Tobin's journeys are both so lovely and satisfying individually and also as a couple. Their relationship was romantic and emotional and really just SWOONY. The improv angle was fresh and fun and interesting. I truly loved reading it.

I was so excited for this because I love romances where the couple is already married, and because it’s all about eco tourism. But I don’t know, it was just awkward and flat for me. Like the descriptions of things were odd and I never felt connected to Tobin or Liz or even the beautiful setting. Not my favorite read unfortunately :(

I like the narrator in general, but when they were doing Tobin’s voice it was abysmal.

Liz works in the world of wilderness adventures and has tried everything to be the person people need her to be. She's married to the handsome and popular wilderness guide and when he throws her a birthday party where she's mistaken for a server she decides it's time to take back control of her life.

I typically love a second chance romance and was excited for the wilderness tours aspect, but it was business focused instead of out in the wilderness and Liz and Tobin just didn't do it for me. Tobin wasn't likeable. The opening party wasn't Liz's style at all and I cheered when she broke things off, and was anticipating the second chance may be an old flame as Tobin just seemed off in his own world.

Liz prioritized her confidence and making herself a priority participating in improve classes with the goal of getting a promotion at work.

Liz and Tobin decide to work through their relationship challenges with a role playing/improve book. There are some incredibly funny, laugh out loud scenes, but I just didn't get the substance I was craving. I felt their relationship challenges were glossed over and replaced by improve practice. Challenges were brough up and Liz and Tobin quickly moved past them with out the resolution or compromise I was looking for.

I did love the narration. There were a lot of characters brought up throughout the book, it was clear who everyone was and an overall great narration.

Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. In this book however, it’s a bit different. There is not time apart.

Liz and Tobin are having issues in their marriage and they are working on it in a non traditional way. Even though this books is labeled as romance, it is more about the FMC’s journey to self discovery.

What to expect:
🪵Contemporary romance
🪵Neurodiversity
🪵Marriage In Crisis
🪵Single POV
🪵Complicated family
🪵MCs in their 30s

There were sweet moments between the MCs but overall, the plot was not for me. I think the book would have been better with Tobin’s POV. I couldn’t feel the yearning I was supposed to be feeling, ya know? 😂

The narrator did an excellent job in this audiobook!

Thank you @ & @Macmillan.Audio for the gifted advanced audio copy!

#netgalley #rulesforsecondchances #maggienorth

Marriage in crisis is hit or miss for me and sadly this was miss for me. The audiobook was well done though, thank you Macmillan audio!

3 stars.

"Rules for Second Chances" by Maggie North is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the exploration of a complex adult relationship falling apart and coming back together. I appreciate how different this book felt from many other fluffy romances I have read. It felt grounded and mature, something for readers like me (people in their late 30s who are married and/or don't have kids). I liked the late-in-life neurodivergence representation; this really resonated with me! Unfortunately, I didn't love the main characters, Liz and Tobin. I didn't love how much stuff was going on in this novel. There are a lot of side plots in and around Liz and Tobin separating and Liz's attempt to find herself away from their marriage. I appreciate that Liz wanted to take the time to get to know herself and figure out who she was away from Tobin's looming, outgoing shadow. This being a story told only from Liz's point of view, I felt we only got to see the best and worst aspects of Tobin... and he's pretty one-dimensional and kind of a bore once you get to know him. There's a lack of depth there that felt sorely needed. There is SO much miscommunication in this book! It might have some of the most, and biggest, miscommunication I have ever read in a romance novel. Some of the improv content made me laugh, and some of it was pretty cheesy and awkward. I *I hated* the very last part of the book, which made me cringe out loud. When going to write my review for this book, I totally forgot I had read it. I didn't particularly love the audiobook narration, either. She was a bit distracting and spoke too fast a lot of the time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Maggie North, and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I quite literally got a headache from trying to understand this book and zoned out way too many times. I expected a light second chance romance but got a conflicted main character trying to make her self-discovery journey deeper than it really is. The book was way too long for something with storytelling this confusing. It pains me to write a negative review, but I genuinely don't see anything I can praise about the novel. The only thing that made the listen bearable was the narrator's awesome voice filled with emotion and expression.