This follows Maggie and her son Ben, she lost her husband a year ago and both of them are in need of a new start, choosing Starr's Fall as it holds good memories from past holidays. They have dreams of opening a board game café, very niche but she soon meets local heartthrob Zach who is surprisingly geeky and immediately bonds with Ben over their mutual love of game RQ. Zach helps to bring their dream to life but when he wants more than a friendship with Maggie will she be prepared to take a chance.

Its so lovely to be back in Starr's Fall, I loved Laurie's story in book 1 and when she was the first to wish Maggie a warm welcome it warmed my heart too.
Maggie and Ben's story was a tough one but really important to raise awareness to which I thought was handled with sensitivity. Considering Maggie's loss and needing to protect her own heart as well as focus on Ben, she is wary of any attention Zach gives her. The age gap of 10 years isn't an issue for Zach, however for Maggie she just can't see why the most handsome man in Starr's Fall would be attracted to her. With her self esteem low, Zach works on showing Maggie he can be trusted and helps her bring the Café to life.
While Maggie tries to integrate herself into the town she finds herself facing the gossip about Zach's reputation and when a misunderstanding with Ben causes Maggie to go into protective mum mode their budding friendship is at risk.
I loved the growth of all of the main 3 characters, Kate really gave them all the time and space within the story for them to develop. I would however have loved to have had more romance, I think a few more chapters would have given me the feel good feelings I was searching for.
Tropes are Age Gap, Friends to lovers, Single parent.
Thank you NetGalley, Kate Hewitt and Boldwood for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. This is such a cute small town book. About a mother and son wanting a change. I fell in love with all the characters and the characters were relatable. A story about a relationship between a mother and son but also about finding love.

I absolutely loved the second book in the Starr Fall’s series. This one follows Maggie, a widower and her son Ben’s journey with healing after her husband’s death while they try to rebuild their lives in Starr’s Fall by opening a gaming cafe. Zach, known as the town’s playboy, plays a big role in their healing, even though Maggie is cautious with how much she wants to allow Zach to be a part of their new lives.

As the storyline developed, I could see some parts of myself in all the characters. Healing for all the characters, even the non-main ones comes in so many different forms and stages. Which shows that healing and coming into your own self isn’t linear for everyone.

There’s possible romance, in a small town, with an age-gap between the main characters. What more can you ask for. This has to be one of my favorite reads of the year.

A sweet story of people dealing with personal issues and their growth. An age-gap romance, dealing with the death of a spouse and father, and so much more are presented in this heart-warming tale. I look forward to another visit to Starr's Fall. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I enjoyed the first book of this series and will keep reading all the books this author comes out with. I love how the author does a mix of real life nitty gritty and small-town romance. Also, how cute a board game café, I wish I had one in my town. Starrs Fall is a place I want to keep coming back to over and over again. Maggie and Ben's story is a timeless trope, with both suffering from grief and trying to move on. It is a story of hope and second chances. What's not to love! This series is perfect for Fans of the Gilmore Girls and Virgin River.

Thank you, Net Galley, the author, and the publisher, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This series is absolutely wonderful. Great setting and characters that you really care about. I’m very much looking forward to the next one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoy Kate Hewitt's books; they have more substance to them than many in the genre. Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall is the second in a series set in small town New England, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else's business. Apart from there being a remarkable number of incomers to such an unremarkable town (!), it's a pretty believable set-up. Maggie and her son move to the town a year after their husband/father is killed in a road accident. They have money but little energy or emotional resources. Inevitably Maggie meets a man and makes other friends very easily. But the rupture in her blossoming relationship happens fairly early in the book, leaving room for a more realistic resolution.

It was lovely to be back in this gorgeous little town. Perfect catch up with the inhabitants. I already want more and to find out more about Annie, Ben, Zach and Maggie.
I love the idea of living in a warm and loving community like they do here. It’s a very warm and comforting book, perfect for wintery afternoons, autumn evenings or on the beach. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Playing for Keeps in Starr’s Fall is the second book in this lovely series by Kate Hewitt and I have to say Kate’s done it again! It’s an absolutely wonderful escape to the small town of Starr’s Fall. Maggie and her son Ben move to Starr’s Fall to start over following the death of her husband. In typical Kate Hewitt style the community gathers together to welcome them and before you know it love is in the air!

I’ve followed Kate Hewitt for years because of the delightful communities and people in her books. Most of her books have been set in England, but Starr’s Fall is a cozy New England town that you’re sure to fall in love with. I’m eagerly looking forward to reading Jenna’s story next!

Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall is the new and completely unputdownable book by Kate Hewitt.. and let me just say I devoured this book in less than 24 hours! I absolutely couldn't put it down and loved every second of it!

Maggie and her teenage son, Ben, are looking to make big changes in their lives. Still reeling after the death of her husband, Maggie is opening a board game cafe in Starr's Fall, and she's hoping it will be the change they both need.

I loved Coming Home to Starr's Fall, the first book in the series. With serious Gilmore Girls vibes it was just the kind of book I love.... cozy moments in a small town, with a side dash of romance! I absolutely couldn't wait to visit again... and let me just say Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall is even better than the first. All your favourite characters are back, along with a few new ones!

Maggie and Ben's story is kind of timeless in romantic fiction, with both of them suffering from grief and trying to move on. However, Kate Hewitt adds depth into the story and I went through moments of wanting to cry and then cheering them on and laughing.

Beyond an unputdownable story, I love that we pick up with what is happening with Laurie and Joshua, from the first book, and also the other people that live in Starr's Fall, like town Matriarch, Henrietta Starr. It truly feels like you're visiting again, and I just love it!! If you love Gilmore Girls and cozy romantic fiction you need to pick this one up!

I was lucky enough to be given the chance to read the second book in the Starr’s Fall series and this one was so good. Maggie and her son Ben are on a journey of healing and change and as they go through the process of starting over, they learn a lot about each other. This is a story of hope and second chances. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Love the Starr's Fall books. Maggie arrives in Starr's Fall with her son after spending a couple of holidays there. She has bought a shop and's going to turn it into a board game cafe as her son is a massive gamer. They've had a lot of problems in their life and hope this will help. They meet Zach who also has problems . Everyone makes them so welcome

This is the second book in the Starr’s Fall series. I enjoyed the first book and this one was just as good. Highly recommended series.

A widow and her young teenage son need a change. A change that will help them heal and overcome so many personal issues that need resolved.
Moving to Starr’s Fall seems to be the answer to help them achieve happiness. But, overcoming obstacles seems to be weighing them both down. Can they go forward and find peace?
It was fun catching up with some of the previous characters in the series.
The small, quaint town of Starr’s Falls is the perfect town to start over.
The pacing of the story is perfect.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Maggie and her son move to Starr’s Fall, a town full of gossip and colourful characters, to open a board game cafe. While I found this book an ok read I also found the gossip to be a bit much at times and unnecessary and made me dislike certain characters. It’s also a bit of a depressing book which covers dark topics that some people don’t want to read about. I haven’t read the other book in the series and maybe if I had I would have enjoyed it more. Certain parts of the story like reactions etc were a bit unrealistic as was the romance in the story.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book, all opinions expressed are my own.

I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of being allowed to read this book.

For the first time in a little while I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It's a good book. It was an emotional book. I think the reason I feel so stuck on my review is that despite the context of the book this was still suppose to be a romance. It kind of was but it felt so heavy. Heavy, dark emotions weighted so heavily over 90% of the character interactions. Apart from maybe the last 30-50 pages, ever interaction is based on a hurt for every character and it was kind of draining. The author is fabulous at creating real-life characters I loved that, but constantly feeling sad and depressed because that's literally the basis for the awkward feeling interactions or conversations pulled me down so bad.

The author created a wonderful real feeling world and wonderful characters there's a lot of them but there not hard to get confused (I've never read the first book either). I absolutely loved the game idea as well. But this is kind of sad but the one character who was suppose to be the most depressed was actually the one to bring a lot of the good into the story, he was the bright shining light in this book. I just wished this book was less on fights, and dragging people down and the utter empty feeling I got from it almost the whole time. It has a happy ending but it's completely overshadowed by how unhappy I was made to feel. Which is the mark of great author, but I know that wasn't the true intention for this book.

Thank you very much again for allowing me to read this book, I did still really enjoy it.

Kate Hewitt's "Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall" is a continuation of the series.
Maggie and her son Ben's journey of moving, settling, and creating a life at the board game cafe is heartwarming and relatable. Their story is beautifully written. Maggie's resilience and determination, combined with the charming interactions at the cafe.
The romance element towards the end, however, felt a bit disjointed for me. While the buildup was sweet, the conclusion lacked the same cohesiveness found in the rest of the story for me.
A big thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great sequel to Coming Home to Starr's Fall. It was centered on a Mother and her teen Son that moved to town to open a GameBoard Café as they try to start over. While we meet some new people we also get to catch up with everyone we met in Coming Home. They welcome and befriend the new comers as we see how they have adjusted to town. A good book that while at times was really wordy had a great story.

I am already looking forward to Kate Hewitt's next book in this series even though this one doesn't come out until 3/21/25.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

4 stars. This is a feelgood book!

Widowed a year ago, Maggie moves to Starr's Fall with her son Ben. They need a fresh start and plan to open a board game café. Maggie is attracted to handsome, flirtatious Zach, and Zach seems very interested in Maggie. However, they both have their pasts to deal with. Maggie is 10 years older and the age gap is also discussed in the book.

This is the second book in the series, and since I liked the first book, I definitely wanted to read this one. Although this is a romance novel, I would say that Maggie and Zach's romance was just one part, and equally important themes in the book are growing as a person and finding your place.

The book was easy to read and endearing. The small town of Starr's Fall is a charming setting, and the book definitely has Hallmark vibes. And that's not a bad thing! I'm going to continue with the series.

WHAT I LIKED: Small town vibes! Board game talk! I liked how the main characters grew as a person

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: I hoped a bit more of romance; this was more like a story how they got together (there were lots of complications) and we didn't see them much when they really were together. Also reverse age gap is not a trope I like, however this book was cute despite that.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Pov: dual, 3rd person
Heat: closed doors, kissing only
Pacing: slowburn
Communication: miscommunication, but towards the end some healthy communication too
Third act: hiccups (they are not together so that's not actually a break up)
Ending: I'd say HFN

Main characters
* Age gap, reverse; she's 10 years older
* Friends to lovers
* Single parent

What?
* Forced proximity
* Found family

Where?
* Starr's Fall, Connecticut
* Small town

Drama?
* Difficult past
* Family drama

Other vibes:
* Hallmark vibes
* Mental health rep (Maggie's son Ben)

A lovely read. I was looking forward to the second book in this series and it dissapoint beautifully written with characters you can warm to. Maggie and her son Ben who has been having problems decide to move and to Starrs fall for a new start where they hope to open a board game cafe but when she meets Zakck who has a reputation in
the town there is an instant attraction between them and he is younger than her but he also bonds with Ben so will thing's work out for them. A lovely heartwarming story again from Kate Hewitt and I'm sure will be welcomed by her readers

Maggie is a widow with a teenage son. He was bullied and attempted suicide. She asked him how she could help, and he said he wanted a fresh start. They move to Starr's Fall to begin a new life. I loved how Maggie made her son Ben the most important reason to make a move. They start a game store and meet Matt who bonds with Ben over a video game. Complications happen but this is a well written story about motherhood, community support and strength. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.