To paraphrase the book: Not all people read as a form of escapism. Sometimes people read to feel understood.

This book was the latter for me. As a 40-something, soon-to-be empty nester, I related to Moira in many ways. It’s a hard thing, mourning your youth, questioning the decisions a past version of yourself made. And, in Moira’s case, discovering that you’ve maybe settled for things you shouldn’t have.

Fair warning: This is not a cutesy, Hallmark romance. While the book isn’t heavy, it does deal with messy people, messy emotions, and gray areas. Frank and Moira are petty and immature at the beginning of the book. (You will not like them at first!) So many of their initial actions are motivated by selfishness, rather than genuine concern for their kids.

BUT! Man, do they turn it around. Their initial bickering gives way to fantastic chemistry and a surprising level of compatibility. This just leaves timing… Moira’s literally just separated from her husband and has to untangle her emotions about not just his possible infidelity, but how invested she was in their relationship to begin with.

I loved this book - stayed up too late reading it, and finished it in a matter of hours. That said, there were some things I wish had been handled better. I think Moira and Frank’s pettiness could have been slightly toned down in the beginning. I wish Frank’s motivation for his initial antagonism had been more clearly explained. I wish the situation with Rupert had been more cut and dry. And, most of all, I wish the ending of the book hadn’t been so abrupt. I won’t go into detail, in order not to spoil the ending, but this kind of abruptness is a pet peeve of mine.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Moira and her Daughter Harriet are in LA for very different reasons. Harriet is doing a semester abroad from her school in England. Moira is taking space from her husband after she finds a damaging text on his phone from another woman.

When they meet for lunch one day, Harriet announces that she has met someone and they are in love and want to get married. Shocked, Moira questions the validity of falling in love with someone after only 6 weeks of knowing them and she also fears that her daughter is going to upend her life and future plans for this guy.

Moira agrees to meet Aiden and his father Frank at their house in Malibu. She thinks Aiden is wonderful for Harriet but she is still not happy about their young love and Harriet changing her life plans. Plus she is very put off by Frank and his brash and casual demeanor.

Frank texts Moira as he is not happy with the young lovebirds either and the two of them hatch a plan to try and break them up or at least get them to hold off on any life changing decisions. Frank and Moira’s plans don't go as expected and they continue to verbally spar with each other. Eventually all the tension between the two comes to a boil and their children both lash out at their parents and Frank and Moira end up acting on their tension between each other. Aiden and Harriet decide to get away from all the parental drama and elope in Greece so Moira and Frank must race after them to be a supportive (Moira) or to stop the wedding (Frank) but as they take this trip together they realize they have a connection just like their children do and with every misstep of their trip, they grow closer and the attraction grows. Can this be the start of a second chance romance for each of them?

This was well written with sharp dialogue and deep connections between the two main characters. Moira is stubborn and Frank is arrogant and in theory they should not work but when they piss each other off, instead of retreating they double down and the chemistry is perfection! Because they are unafraid of hurting each other's feelings, they challenge each other and thus they are forced to have deep conversations about their lives and their wants.

I felt so conflicted because as a parent I was feeling what Moira felt with her daughter eloping but I also saw Harriet’s POV with trying to show her mom that she raised a strong and confident person who is old enough to make her own choices.

Frank was such an arrogant jerk but he was also somehow loveable at the same time. He was the perfect love to hate character. He speaks his mind and doesn't hold back. It was refreshing and also infuriating at times! I could see how Moira was so annoyed with him and also drawn to him. The push pull between the two was excellent.

Rupert– ugh what a gaslighting jerk! He was in the book the perfect amount. You knew who he was but he didn't interfere a ton with the overall story but was also the source of most of the tension. We officially meet him at the end and I'm glad we only had him for a little bit because I couldn't stand him and the way he treated Moira like she was his property. A perfect “villain” character.

The plot was very strong and I liked how they kept getting forced together and having to actually get to know each other. The story kept pace and almost felt like I was reading a movie and I could see the different scenes changing and each encounter moved the story forward. It didn't feel repetitive or stale.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Carol Mason
Genre: Romance, RomCom
Troupe: Enemies to Lovers

Thank you to NetGalley and Carol Mason for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a perfect, romantic summer read. This book includes some of my favourite tropes including enemies-to-lovers. I feel that the development of the enemies-to-lovers trope was perfectly paced, it wasn’t too fast or slow, and the build-up to the relationship was perfect.

I loved how Frank and Moira could have fun, entertaining conversations together but could also be serious when needed, their dynamic is amazing and always left me wondering what would happen next.

This book is not overly long but I would say that this is a good thing as the story seems to end where it needs to and the plot doesn’t get unnecessarily dragged on.

I really wanted to love this enemies to lovers story but I had such a hard time liking the main character Moira at ALL. She was written to be quirky and brash but it came off a ignorant and unwilling to listen to others. There wasn't enough charm between her and Frank, I didn't see how they could possibly fall in love given their scenes together. I also needed a bit more conclusion...They're going to date while their kids date? Weird.

What a great beach read!!! And great emotional depth too!! A true winner in my book. As always, light spoilers to come, so beware!

"'People want to escape in a novel, otherwise why read it?'
Not always. Sometimes people read to feel understood'"




I was hooked on this book from the beginning just from the witty tone alone. I don't find myself laughing out loud at books quite often, but this one really made me grin and snort out some laughs. Carol Mason does such a good job with the banter between characters, specifically Moira and Frank. Also Moira's husband (now ex) is made to be such a bumbling idiot that I could really envision this as if it was a romantic comedy on the screen.

I also found the characters to be fleshed out super well, especially the main character Moira. I appreciated the reality of her struggle, where even before she believed her husband had cheated on her, she felt unfulfilled in her marriage but wasn't sure if that was enough to leave him. As a reader, I could tell that she was struggling immensely with the decision to leave Rupert, and with the sense of loneliness she felt when she was living in California. Sometimes I wanted to knock some sense into her, but I do believe that shows that Mason represented her flaws well, which we all have, so that made the issues in the book even more believable.

Okay, let's talk about Frank now. I do love a good enemies to lovers arc, but even more so, a real asshole redemption arc as well. Like he left her in the woods, but I was still rooting for this man at the end! He was also just another really well developed character, and his struggles were detailed in enough depth that it made me want to care. The relationship between him and Moira was well paced and believable, even though they had only spent a small chunk of time together.

And please, let us all take a moment to marvel at this line from our man Frank: "Any silence shared with you is pretty good, Moira Fitzgerald"
I mean come on!!!

Overall, this was a really fun read, and I would recommend this book and the author!!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC!

This book is humorous and well written, but it’s not for me. The main character has a negative outlook that I can’t relate to.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The book started with me thinking it would be a love story about Moira’s daughter, Harriet but the addition on Moira’s love story unfolding was an extra surprise. There were pages that made me gasp, some that made me laugh, and some that made me fall in love with love all over again. The tale of two parents not wanting their kids to be together and falling in love while trying to keep them apart was really cute. I want to know how Frank’s new book ends…but my imagination tells me it ends with love!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC!

I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this book, but I absolutely did!
Great humor, excellent banter between the main characters, an amazing setting. I've never read a romance story about people in their 40s, and it was sooooo good. Loved the character of Moira a lot and Frank being a grumpy romance writer was so fun!
I kept smiling while reading and laughed a lot. Joyful experience and such a good read! Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Carol Mason for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, I rate it a 3.75/5 rounded to a 4. I love a good second chance romance and I love the way that this wasn’t your typical second chance romance. The enemies to lovers aspect was great.

I really enjoyed the banter between Moira and Frank, at first I was a little unsure but as the book progressed, I loved reading their banter. I liked how their banter/bickering was similar to an old married couple, it made me feel as if they had known each other a long time.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Moira and Harriet. Harriet really stuck by her mums side through everything UNTIL Moira was using her own experiences to try to control Harriet.

I did struggle to connect with Moira at first due to the fact that she is 40+, married and had a children, this is not something I am able to relate to but once they started travelling to Greece, I found it a lot easier to read. The mood/scenery change was great and it was good to see that Moira was a bit more outgoing. This found it a bit easier for me to relate/connect to her despite the above.

I wasn’t a major fan of Rupert so I was really rooting for Frank even though he came across very rude at the start. I loved getting to know Frank more (about his relationship with Aiden and his past). Although at the start, Frank was getting on my nerves as he made rude choices, my opinion changed as the book and relationship progressed.

I would love to read more about Moira and Frank or Harriet and Aiden, these characters were really interesting and I would love to know more about what happens in their future but I am also happy where it ended!!

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a enemies to lovers, second chance romance, light read, destination style book 🫶🏼

Second Chance Romance, by Carol Mason, is just what the title says, a second-chance romance novel. This one is different than many because the main characters are middle-aged. Fun, fast-paced, and you get to travel to California and Greece through the pages of this one!
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. Right from the start, I found myself getting really annoyed with the main character. The way the relationship developed felt unrealistic and hard to believe.

That said, Carol Mason’s writing style did manage to keep me interested throughout. However, I felt the story relied too heavily on glamorous locations rather than focusing on building up the characters.

If you enjoy a fluffy summer read you might still find it enjoyable. But if you're looking for deep character development, this might not hit the mark.

Amazing. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I blushed, truly an entertaining heart warming read. Those who love sweet and cosy reads should love it.

2.5⭐️ rounded up

Struggled with the first half, I found i was getting annoyed with the characters and didn’t like how they acted. The second half definitely improved and by the end I enjoyed it. Not a bad book just not really one for me.

I really enjoyed this read! Perfect story for reading while on vacation as you get to visit both LA and Greece as settings in this book. When you think enemies to lovers, you don't expect the characters to be 40+ years of age. Loved the relatability of the characters: all the good, the bad, and the ugly. Great beach or vacation read!

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC.

This one was ok. I thought the plot of Moira and Frank trying to break up their kids was entertaining. I just didn't find their romance believable. I also found it frustrating how unsupportive of their kids they were. They had no real reason to not support the relationship outside of their own bitter feelings.

What a cute read about Moira and Frank!

Moira is in LA while her daughter Harriet is studying abroad. Her daughter falls madly in love with a boy named Aiden and what to take the next steps in the relationship. Moira and Harriet go to meet Aiden’s father, Frank, at his fabulous Malibu home. After a not so cute meet cute, Moira is stunned to find out that Frank is the author of one of her favorite romance novels. But one thing that Frank and Moira connect on is that this six week romance between was moving too quick.

Aiden and Harriet’s relationship is getting pretty and want to elope with or without their parent’s consent. Frank’s and Moira, although enemies, team up together to try and conspire to end the relationship.

Will Franks and Moira be successful in ending their children’s relationship or will their new companionship turn into something more.

Thanks you NetGalley for the Arc!

Second Chance Romance tells the story of Moira, who finds out in the middle of her marriage that everything she thought about her husband is untrue.
As she is on the plane heading to help their only daughter settle into a term in California she discovers something that shakes up who she thought she was. Meanwhile, her daughter falls head over heels in love and wants to get married after only 6 weeks of being with her boyfriend.
Enter Frank, a best selling novelist turned script writer, the father of her daughter's love interest. They dislike each other immensely but band together to stop their children from making a huge mistake of marrying so early in their relationship.
Close proximity means that they end up flaring with sexual tension for the better part of the novel.

I wasn't sure if I liked the character of Moira, but I really liked Frank. His spiky but hilarious conversation had me giggling while Moira's character just couldn't make up what she wanted. I appreciate she would have felt like she was at a real crossroads in her life but I wanted her to be decisive long before she actually did!

It's a decent read so would give it 3.5 stars overall.

Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an early release copy in exchange for an honest review

I had a lot of fun reading this story and going on these travels with Moira, first in California and then Greece. I didnt care for her husband Rupert, so was glad that he did not feature that much in the story and the male main character, Frank was one of those guys that you kind of want to hate, but see the appeal of... hard to describe and I guess that is also how Moira felt. There was a lot of banter going on between Moira and Frank and sometimes it was a little OTT, but it still made for entertaining reading. I really liked Moira and her daughter's relationship and felt that I could relate bespite having boys and not a daughter. I can imagine the worries of young love and moving too fast especially when it is your child.

I binge read this book in one night. I found it to be very witty. And I had many laugh out loud moments. This is definitely your quintessential rom com book including some cringe and predictable and frustrating parts but overall this was such an enjoyable and easy read, with excellent writing style. KUDOS!

We all would like to believe we have a second chance at romance if our first love doesnt last. Moira and Frank create an angst with sarcasm, banter, and honesty. This connection between relatable characters is what I liked in particular about the book. It made me feel acknowledged in my own relationship connections with friends, my children, and my spouse. I loved the excitement of young love and knowledge of lives lived, trying to help kids not make the mistakes we did at 19 and 22. The plot was engaging, relatable, and adventurous. I enjoyed this book!