Second Chance Christmas* by Jahquel J. is a heartfelt holiday romance that beautifully captures love, loss, and redemption complexities. The story revolves around Faith Stone, who returns to her small hometown of Sageport, where memories of her past, especially those tied to her high school sweetheart Rome, come rushing back.

The small-town setting, the weight of past mistakes, and the hope for a fresh start make this story resonate deeply. Faith's struggle with her past and her mother's reputation, along with the challenges of being a single parent, adds layers to her character, making her journey back to Rome all the more compelling.

Rome, who never left Sageport, embodies the idea of unfinished business. His lingering feelings for Faith and the unresolved tension between them create a tension that keeps the story engaging. The way their history unfolds, especially the impact of prom night, adds a sense of mystery and depth to the plot.

Second Chance Christmas stands out for its ability to balance the pain of the past with the possibility of a future. The Christmas backdrop adds a touch of magic, making the idea of a second chance at love feel both nostalgic and hopeful. The rekindling of Faith and Rome's relationship feels earned, and their journey to healing and forgiveness is heartwarming.

Despite moments of slow pacing, the emotional depth and the genuine connection between the characters more than make up for it. Second Chance Christmas is a touching reminder that sometimes, the past holds the key to a future filled with love and happiness.

This is a great example of a second chance romance! While tragic circumstances caused our couple to split 15 years ago the chemistry when they reunite is like they never left. I also appreciate that they didn't keep ignoring the elephant in the room and they had the conversation that was necessary to move forward pretty early on. I love how accepting of each other's circumstances they were and how they supported each other.
Personally there were some tropes that I didn't love but overall it was a good time.

Content warnings for death of a sibling, death of a parent, loved one with cancer (past), caring for a loved one with dementia (present), rape (past).

3.75/5 stars

A quick read with some really great characters. I think the author handled the heavy topics (death, grief, alcoholism, divorce, and trauma) very well. I felt for these characters and was rooting for them the whole time. This was my first book from this author but not the last. Really enjoyed this overall, just wished it was longer to give the characters more time to reconnect. It did feel a little rushed but still enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Black Odyssey Media for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book!!! Such a good story and great writing style. This was my first by this author and will not be my last! Such a cute holiday romcom!

I was drawn to the second chance story between Rome and Faith but I felt detached when it came to the characters. I also didn't expect the amount of spice and how it seemed to come out of nowhere.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Christmas Novels, as a Christmas baby I will always pick up novels that have this setting. Second Chance Christmas is the story of Faith and Rome, two people torn apart by tragedy. After a deadly car accident tore them, apart Faith swore to get out of their hometown and never look back. But we all know the saying “never say never”. The novel opens with Faith staring down a long holiday season without her daughters, they will be spending the holidays with their father and his new girlfriend. Just when she thinks the season couldn’t be any worse, she gets a phone call summoning her to the one place she swore to never visit again. It is after that summoning that things truly begin to change for Faith, she reconnects with her father and her childhood sweetheart, both of whom have been waiting for her. Rome on the other hand has been waiting for his life to truly begin, after the death of his younger brother, his father passing due to cancer and his mother’s dementia diagnosis his life has become stagnant. Faith’s return gives him the shake-up he needs as the two figure out letting go of their past and moving forward to a future together.

I loved this story and seeing how perceptions can change when you are old enough to see the other person’s perspective. In addition, sometimes parents have more going on than that which their children can see.

This cover art firstly drew me in - it's absolutely gorgeous!
Secondly, I love a second chance story and was excited to pick this book up. Overall I enjoyed the family dynamics and loved Faith, however a lot of the chapters felt like they were repeating the inner monologues from the last chapter. I also found some editing problems such as typos, and a character's name Seeming to change halfway through, which was quite jarring.

This Christmas story covers the adult life of Faith and Rome reuniting after 15 years post teenage break-up after a horrible car accident tears both families apart and their relationship.

Having grown up and figure out themselve, both go through their difficult life. Rome with his sick mother in Sageport and Faith, with a divorce and twin daughters, returning to Sageport to take care of her sick father.

The two reuniting adults find their spark for love and life again, in each other, and it is an HEA.

The main reason for a 3 star review is, while the story is great, I noticed a few typos and long with the fact that Faith's father's name switched from Carl to Clyde throughout the story, leading it to be very confusing. It would 'take' me out of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Odessey Media for the ARC.

This started off strong with two kids in a small town dealing with issues they shouldn’t have to at their age. Fast forward, fifteen years later, and they’re still struggling with issues from their childhood. The foundation was strong but then the character’s internal monologue became repetitive which took away from the story. But once the two MCs reunited, I loved how it was just an instant reconnection and the story picked back up.

I loved the MCs and I could feel their emotions when they were happy, sad, angry, frustrated, and even nostalgic. My emotions were all over the place which was the best thing about reading this. I felt Faith had the most character development and I was so happy for her to end up on top.

In the end, I felt like there were some elements missing that could’ve made me really love this. For one, I needed more out of Rome’s character. Maybe an epilogue that was at least 6 months in the future would’ve made a difference for me. Also, I felt like Faith’s friend Tierra was just forgotten. She was a small character but I felt like she deserved to know her friend found happiness.

This is an great read. I am a sucker for a good happily ever after, and this book delivers.

I love all the characters, and I enjoyed the storyline as well.

My favorite character is Faith. She was one of those characters I know I will not forget so easily. She's charming, respectful, and kind to those who are around her.

This is a nice, quick read. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

I rated this book 3.25 stars.

This was a cute quick second chance romance that I enjoyed. It follows Faith and Rome from teenagers into adulthood.

Faith and Rome had there future planned out together as most teenagers do little did they know their lives would forever be changed on their prom night. I always loved second chance romance books especially when the main characters are able to heal their younger selves.

Faith didn't deserve the hate she had to carry at such a young age especially when all she wanted was one night to be able to just be a care-free teenager. I completely understood Rome's point of view and grief has no bounds you can only see your pain and no one else's but in that moment he failed Faith and that hurt the most.

In the end Rome & Faith got their happily ever after and it shows that if you love someone it's okay to let them go and if it was meant to be you both will always find your way home.

I will say with this book I didn't feel the connections with the characters in the book and that is why I rated 3.25. I didn't fall in love with him but I did cherish their story!

I really liked the Rome/Faith story but Ashton’s pov was unnecessary for the overall plot. It would have been important if his life with Francis and his family was explored to show the effects of divorce and blended family. I did love how the author didn’t involve cheating as the reason for the divorce. I appreciated that it showed Faith lost herself trying to be the perfect wife and mother.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opinions expressed are my own. I really enjoyed reading Second Chance Christmas by Jahquel J. This is a story of heartbreak, reliving painful memories, rekindled love and new and happy memories being made. This story will make you laugh, cry and then be happy again. I highly recommend this book!

This is my first time reading anything by Jahquel J. or Black Odyssey Media whose goal is to help shine a light on minority storytellers. I knew it was going to be a good book when the prologue alone left me absolutely seething. It’s (if you couldn’t tell) a second chance romance set around Christmas time. I will say it’s not too heavily Christmas themed, you could definitely read this any time of the year and it not be weird.

Faith and Rome were the perfect couple, destined to be together, until one night a tragic accident caused Faith’s mother and Romeo’s brother to lose their lives, ultimately leading to their breakup. Heartbroken, Faith fled from the small town of Sageport, never wanting to return. That is until over a decade later when the newly divorced, single mum to twins, returns after her father suffers a stroke.

I loved the multiple POV’s in this, other than Faith and Rome we also get to see Ashton, Faith’s ex husband. It’s really nice to see two ex spouses who don’t hate each other and genuinely want the other person to move on and be happy.

At first I thought the second chance between Faith and Rome moved a bit fast, but you quickly realise that they never stopped loving each other and just picked up where they left off. The spicy scenes are quite short, I’d have liked them to be a little bit more detailed but that’s personal preference.

The writing style was so different to what I’m used to. Obviously the author, Jahquel J. and I come from two completely different cultures and ethnic backgrounds so this is expected, but I really enjoyed it. Even things like the character’s dialect is different to what it’s like where I live in England. It’s really nice to have some diversity in the romance genre. I definitely will be looking into reading more from Jahquel J.

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Second Chance Christmas is a heartwarming and emotional second chance romance that will tug at your heartstrings. It's a wild emotional rollercoaster ride, and I loved every minute of it!

Fifteen years ago, Faith Stone and her high-school sweetheart, Rome Atkins, both experienced something devastating that tore them apart. Rome's brother died in a car crash, with Faith's mother being the drunk driver behind the wheel. Having lost the love of her life and feeling there was nothing left for her in Sageport, Faith moved to Atlanta and never looked back.

One day, Faith receives a call from her father's fiancé, asking her to come back to Sageport to help her father after he suffered a mild stroke. Faith has not been back to Sageport since the accident 15 years ago. As difficult as it is for her, Sage agrees. She leaves her twin daughters with their father, whom she divorced almost a year ago, and heads down to Sageport.

Being back in her childhood home triggers a lot of hurtful memories for Faith, and being around her father who changed drastically after his wife's death doesn't make it any better. And then Faith sees Rome and all the old feelings come rushing back. Faith finally accepts that there are certain things she needs to face while she is down in Sageport in order to heal from her past.

I absolutely loved this book! It is a very realistic second chance romance, with the characters facing very real problems and overcoming them. Faith and Rome are strong characters from the very beginning, with dreams and aspirations that they had to put on hold to take care of their families. I loved how the spark was always there between the two, even while dealing with hurt and grief. Faith and Rome are not the only two dealing with grief in this book either. It was beautiful watching the characters come together and heal from the pain through communication and with the help of the loved ones. I was so happy when Faith rekindled things with Rome, especially after feeling like she wasn't good enough after her divorce. I was rooting hard for these two and I was so happy when they got their happy ending. They both deserved it!

Thank you NetGalley, Black Odyssey, and Jahquel J. for such a beautiful ARC!

This. Is . What. I'm Talking. About. When. I. Say. We. Need. More. Black. stories. I ate this up. Give me more more more more more more more.

Second Chance Christmas is a gorgeous romance story that had me hooked from the beginning. At times I felt the plot was rushed, I would have loved to see more of a build up or a conflict rather than rehashing past chapters, but it was still an enjoyable read.

This book was a very sweet second chance romance. 15 years have passed between Faith and Rome both dealing with the pain that caused them to drift from each other. Faith trying to heal her inner child and Rome trying to heal from his past and from losing Faith. The ending of this one was bittersweet and left you wanting more. I highly recommend reading this Book!

this was a really beautifully written book! I loved the writing style and the plot was great! the characters were fun and developed really well

This book had me hooked from the prologue. I went into this thinking it was going to be a light hearted happily ever after. I was wrong! This book touched on some very sad and deep topics. The perseverance Faith showed to be the mother she didn’t have for her girls was beautiful. Her childhood was rough and to finally see why was heartbreaking. The twist made me look at some of the characters in a more forgiving light. <spoiler>Rome and Faiths love is the definition of soul ties. </spoiler>

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review


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