Returning to Harlot's Bay, Maryland, after reading the obituary for her high school friend and one-time crush, Molly finds Karl very much alive in his bakery. She has been gone the past twenty years, leaving just before graduation. After a miscommunication soon after, Karl hasn't heard from Molly since. Except when he listens to her narrate monster romance audiobooks. When she shows up at his bakery, he seizes the opportunity for a second chance at a relationship with Molly. But Molly has been hurt over the years with massive walls around her heart. Can trust exercises be enough to bring them finally together?

While the first book in this series didn't quite land for me, I was excited to see Karl's romance. And for it to be the audiobook narrator was such a treat! We get to see even more of this delightful small town. Please be Lise next!

I was nervous getting towards the end of this book, but this gained a star with the ending. I loved how it all came together, bringing it all full circle.

And once again, Leni Kauffman has an amazing romance cover!

This second chance romance features:
🧡 High school crush
🧡 Both in their late thirties (but still dealing with that high school drama)
🧡 Plus size main characters with body positivity
🧡 Karl swearing a lot
🧡 Molly with her cynical shields
🧡 Both struggling to say how they feel
🧡 A small town full of characters
🧡 Employee like a daughter (Charlotte!)
🧡 Monster romance readers

Open door / spicy!!

4.5 / 5 stars

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC!

This was so fun! I really enjoyed this further peek into Harlot’s Bay, and I really loved the main characters. It was so fun to see them working through their problems and coming together. Also, I love when a bakery is involved!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC!

Karl and Molly were the best of friends in high school. They came close to dating until Molly moved away suddenly before graduation. Now living in California as an audiobook narrator, Molly is startled when a friend sends her Karl's obituary. On a whim, Molly flies out to Harlot's Bay for Karl's funeral, only to find him alive and well, as grouchy as ever.

Karl hasn't stopped thinking about Molly in 20 years, and he's listened to all of her audiobooks. Now that he has her back in town he's going to make the most of his second chance. Molly is fresh out of a divorce though, and feeling skittish about moving into any kind of relationship, no matter how much she's falling for Karl.

This delightful grumpy and grumpier love story is a great follow-up to the first Harlot's Bay love story. Olivia Dade is always hits the spot!

This was honestly a super cute romance with hilarious author's voice. You honestly don't read about curvy characters or characters finding love after divorce in their 40s much, so this worked well. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

grumpy x grumpy marshmallow
small town
second chance

Two grumps with terrible communication and walls a mile high are horny for each other for 20 years.

It took me a long time to even start to like Molly (about 71% of the way in). While I appreciated the character growth from both MCs but felt it took too long. All the drinks and food did sound delicious though.

The banter was fun, if a little repetitive.
I did also appreciate that the MCs are older (late 30's) and not in the best shape physically.

Thank you [name of publishing company] for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Olivia Dade and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC! Even if Olivia Dade wasn't one of my favorite authors, the premise of Second Chance Romance would've convinced me to read it. Molly and Karl pined for each other as teenagers, but they lost touch after Molly moved across the country a few months before graduation. In the two decades since they've spoken, Molly's gotten married and divorced, and the curmudgeonly Karl listens to the ridiculous monster romance audiobooks Molly narrates every day at top volume while he bakes. When Molly sees an obituary for Karl, she decides to drop everything to pay her respects to her old friend, only to find that he's alive after all.
I absolutely loved this book and ate it up in a matter of days. I loved the characters (both main and side) - their antics and interactions made me laugh out loud at times and cry in sympathy at others. I understood why Molly and Karl were wary of entering into a serious romantic relationship, even though I wanted to scream, "Stop being stupid, you're perfect for each other!" like the side characters seemed to want to as well. Those side characters added so much color to the story. Overall, I'd 100% recommend this book (and have already).

I love, love, loved this book! The plot locked me in from page one, and spit me out a new person on the last page. The characters became real to me and will live in my brain forever. The setting was tangible and perfect. The pacing was riveting, but not rushed. All coming together to be a book I can't wait to recommend to my friends.

This particular book was not for me. I honestly don't think I'm the biggest fan of the plots in these books or the writing style. I read At First Spite for a book club and DNF'd it because I couldn't get into it. However, I see the potential in these books enough to know they would be another person's cup of tea.

Thank you, Net Galley, for providing the Advance Reader Copy. I rated it 3 stars. I generally refrain from giving ratings below that to be fair. With that said, despite multiple attempts, I found myself struggling to engage with the narrative, experiencing difficulty maintaining focus, and ultimately setting the book aside for extended periods. So I decided to discontinue reading. In my opinion, the transition from High school to adulthood didn't feel fluid and the MMC comes off kinda desperate. Maybe there's more to it, but it didn't pull me in enough to want to finish it.

Finally get Karl's story! Loved this so much. Grumpy baker and his high school best friend who was also his crush. Great job as always Olivia Dade!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my first Olivia Dade book. I have to say I enjoyed both Carl and Molly’s sarcasm and banter. I loved that Carl (even though he struggled to articulate his feelings) was an actions man. He did everything he could think of and read of to prove Molly could trust him. He did show her that he loved her but struggled so hard with verbalizing it. Same goes for Molly, she just couldn’t get those words out for fear they wouldn’t be reciprocated.

I will say, I did feel the story ran slow. I could have done with it such long dialogue at times and maybe a little more tension. But besides that I enjoyed both Carl and Molly especially since they were written as normal people with normal bodies. Overall 3.5⭐️ for me.

I love immersing myself in an Olivia Dade novel. They’re such fun slice of life books that are comforting, but also give me a little thrill of peeking behind the curtain into someone else’s drama.

The characters in “Second Chance Romance” have such distinct personalities and voices, it wasn’t hard to get drawn into their perspectives. The whole story is really boiled down to the fact that even if you have an attraction to someone, you have to be able to speak their language.

Karl, specifically, read like a very original voice, which is hard to do these days.He’s a man of action, not words. His love language would definitely be acts of service. Molly’s love language feels like words of affirmation, and she needs to hear Karl verbalize what he wants so she can learn to trust him. These two spent a majority of the book learning to speak the other persons language.

I would have liked Molly to be a little more open to accepting Karl for who he was, but I also appreciate a woman having standards after being hurt and taken advantage of.

All in all this was a fun story to read and I look forward to more Olivia Dade romance!

When a fake obituary brings Molly back to her high school town, she reunites with her ex best friend of sorts, Karl. As sparks fly, and the two work to regain each other’s trust, a romance sparks.
I’d say this is my favorite second chance romance, that is if it were actually a second chance romance. I know that the title is second chance romance (how many times can i say second chance romance?) but i feel like it technically isn’t one because the two characters weren’t in a relationship in the past. In my eyes, it’s more childhood friends to lovers.
Even with that slight annoyance, I still absolutely loved this book and I love this series. I love the crazy plot line that kickstarted this whole book, the meddling side characters. Honestly this small town is really giving Gilmore Girls vibes with the loud side characters in the best possible way.
I cannot wait to see what Olivia Dade writes up next in this amazing series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s for an eARC of this book!

This was a cute story very relatable on many levels of love, heartbreak and body image. You follow Molly who has found herself face to face with her high school years live interest after a break up her marriage and a struggling ego hit hard on her psyche and her outlook on her worth. You will follow Holly as she finds herself back in her childhood town and in love with an old flame.

What a great story. I really loved the main characters, Molly and Karl, who used to be friends in high school but lost touch over the years. Molly thought Karl had passed away! But a chance encounter at a reunion and there were lots to talk about!

I really enjoyed the banter and back and forth between them. I laughed a lot, which is always a positive thing. Plus, it’s set in a small town, which I absolutely loved. I love a small town romance. Always gets me hooked right away.

I also enjoyed that the main characters were older, plus sized, and mature. Made for a different story experience which I am totally here for. Overall, Second Chance Romance is a great, easy read for contemporary romance lovers.

I had such a good time with this book! I’m a sucker for second-chance romances, and Olivia Dade really delivered. The characters felt so real, and I loved seeing them work through their past and slowly find their way back to each other. There were plenty of sweet, funny moments mixed with just the right amount of steam, and by the end I was completely rooting for their HEA. This one left me smiling.

This is my second book from Olivia Dade and I can confirm she did not disappoint. She has an affinity for making her romances realistic. It not so much instalove and unrealistic conversations. I never devour her books in one sitting as I like to savor it over time.

We always knew Karl was a softie underneath all the grunts but it was so exciting getting to peel the layers back. It wasn't easy either. He and Molly both had to work for it. I'm so happy we had dual point of view to see things from Karls side. I fear without it it wouldve been weird.

Molly was a delight to learn about. I loved seeing her grow from past mistakes and into a new person. My only complaint about the book is the miscommunication. It's my least favorite thing to read in a book.

3.5 stars rounded to 4!

An Olivia Dade romance is always so fun for me to read.

I was excited to go behind Karl’s gruff exterior to see the gooey, marshmallow man underneath. And he was goooooey! I loved watching him care for those around him, even when he was sarcastic with them. I appreciated Molly’s struggle with connection, even if it was friendship. Between her father and her ex-husband, along with moving quite a bit as a child, I’m sure it was difficult for her to open up. Overall, I thought that Karl and Molly were sweet and the fat representation was wonderful. I’m glad that this was more of a “this is my body and that’s his body, and it’s sexy” book.

I’m glad that we had a dual point of view for this book because without it, it would’ve been difficult to know what either of them were thinking because THESE GUYS WEREN’T TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING REAL. And I found that frustrating. They were both in their late 30s and couldn’t have an honest conversation about their emotions or what they hoped would happen after her visit. I did appreciate that Karl learned how to ask for help, lean on others, and communicate his feelings, and I liked that Molly learned that Karl’s actions spoke just as loudly as his words.

While this wasn’t my favorite book of hers, I still really enjoyed my visit in Harlot’s Bay and can’t wait to return in the future. Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Tropes: second chance, high school friends, he falls first, sarcasm as flirting, grumpy/grumpy

Olivia Dade does it again with another feel-good romance that’s equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and swoony. This second-chance love story brings us a cantankerous baker as the male lead and a spicy book narrator as the heroine—an unlikely but perfect pairing that will sweep you right off your feet.

I loved the witty banter, constant bickering, and even the laugh-out-loud threats that kept their dynamic lively. Both characters are carrying the weight of their pasts, and it was so satisfying to watch them learn how to communicate and finally open themselves up to the possibility of lasting love. When they reunited, it felt like no time had passed, and yet, there was so much growth and vulnerability shining through.

Even though this is the second book in the series, I jumped in without reading the first and had no problem following the storyline. It was charming, funny, and full of heart.

I loved At First Spite, one of my top ten books I read that year, so I was excited to return to Harlot’s Bay and get more from monster-smut listening Karl. Unfortunately this story didn’t feel like it was written in the same style or tone, or with the same empathetic intuition, as book one. At best, I can say that it’s just okay.

The pacing and plotting for Molly and Karl was all over the place. Occasionally fun and entertaining interactions but with a lot of whiplash thrown in. Despite giving them both understandable backstories, they’re both so emotionally stunted and inept that I just stopped caring. It went too far. To replace the lack of maturity or self assessment, it’s all lust and horny thoughts without any build. And there were moments throughout that felt very forced (the reunion turned imaginary prom was odd). It didn’t work or flow well.

What did work was the setting and the secondary characters. The rest of Harlot’s Bay still had the color and quirks that I loved.

Overall, I’m sad that this one didn’t deliver a great connection. I think Karl’s character deserved better romantic build.