Second Look by Connie Stephany

Second Look by Connie Stephany
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 248

Blurb from Goodreads

Adam Jackson is not proud of his string of bad decisions. Cheating on his girlfriend, irrevocably hurting the woman he loved since high school and dumping his fiancée on their wedding day are just the tip of the iceberg. When an unspeakable tragedy pushes him to take a hard look at his life, Adam says goodbye to the no-strings hookups and begins to make amends with the women he hurt in the past. The only problem is the woman he wants to find the most has disappeared off the face of the earth.

Jennifer Sylvester has only loved one man in her life, but she’s made one mistake after another with him. She hasn’t seen him in four years and she’s determined to make sure their paths never cross again. When Jennifer is offered her dream job back home in Minnesota, she’s unable to turn it down. She packs up her daughter and moves back home, hoping she’s able to stay hidden from the man who still holds her heart.

When Adam and Jennifer finally reunite, old sparks begin to fly. But can Adam break down the walls Jennifer has spent so long building up? And more importantly, is Jennifer brave enough to ask Adam for something that could once again tear them apart?



My Review

Second Look revisits some of the characters from the first book Second Chances, Adam had left his bride to be and the book concentrated on that. Now in book two, we get to really meet Adam, his life now and some throwback to what happened to make him leave his bride to be in the first book. Jennifer is back, the woman who turned his world upside down in book one, his old flame and bringing with her her daughter. When tragedy strikes, Adam reevaluates his life, his casual love them and leave them attitude and how things ended with Jennifer. For Jennifer, she has never quite got over Adam and being this close to him isn't easy, she cannot allow herself to get caught up with him again and risk having her heart broken again. Her daughter is her main concern not what her heart is telling her, will Jennifer listen to her head or follow her heart?

I would absolutely recommend reading book one guys, you get a better feel for the character and it is always good to know the background history. The timeline splits between current events and every now and again flips back to the past to give some more insight into the Adam & Jennifer dating period. The chapters are well marked so you can follow the time sequence easily and differentiate between the duo timeline.

There are a lot of emotional aspects within the tale, grief, loss, personal growth, family, cause and effect. It was interesting to learn more about the characters of Adam and Jennifer which gives a bit more insight into what happened in the first story. I wasn't as captivated by the tale as I was the first book, I think because being jilted at the alter is on a very different scale to the in depth story examination of relationships & personal growth. There was a bit of the story with a spikey character that I thought was going to go in a very different direction and create havoc and lots of drama, however it petered out leaving me feeling it was a tad unfinished, for that character. The author creates a scope of characters that holds your interest and leaves you wanting to read more about them and see where their future heads. 3/5 for me this time, I would read this author again and I believe there may be more to come in the New Beginnings series. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book, all views as always are my own.

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Author giveaway - Second Chances by Connie Stephany

This is an additional giveaway (January's comp is now live), thanks to Connie for offering a personalised signed copy of her debut novel. You can find my review here http://www.alwaysreading.net/2015/01/arr-second-chances-by-connie-stephany.html The competition will run for approximately one week, it is open to the UK and US only.

As always, entries are via the Rafflecopter, the more options you fill in the more chances you have of winning. Good luck and thanks again to Connie for providing a copy of her book for this giveaway. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Second Chances by Connie Stephany

Second Chances by Connie Stephany
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - <5 hours

Pages - 163

Publisher - Lulu

Blurb from Goodreads

A year after being dumped on her wedding day, Abby Simon was still left wondering what had gone wrong. It made Adam almost impossible for Abby to get over. Since then, Abby had been on a series of dates that usually ended in disaster, and she was ready to just give up on men entirely.

When Abby unexpectedly runs into an old crush she hasn’t seen in thirteen years, she can’t help but notice he’s hotter than ever. Max wouldn’t give her the time of day back then, but to her total surprise, he seemed very interested in her now.

Just as things are heating up with Max, Adam shows up claiming he still loves Abby and leaving her was the biggest mistake of his life. Adam finally gives Abby answers as to why he left and is asking for another chance.

Abby must now make the biggest decision of her life…which man deserves a second chance?


My Review

Abby Simon is our main character, left one year ago by her fiance Adam, on the day of their wedding she is now getting her life back to normal. She has her own cafe called "Dessert first", proud to call her own and mouth watering desserts made by her own hand. Kept busy with the job, surrounded by good friends and family, things are going well despite being talked into a blind date by well meaning loved ones. The last thing Abby is expecting is a blast from the past and someone who makes her considering dating again. Just as things warm up nicely with Max, her out of reach teen crush, when Adam shows up and may be finally ready to tell Abby what happened to break her heart and cancel the wedding!

It has been a while since I have had a book from a self published author, due to time constraints and education commitments, as well as being burned in the past from it. I picked up this book with trepidation, you never know what to expect with a new author, self published or otherwise. However Mrs Stephanie was lovely from the first contact and I could do with a change so accepted.

It isn't the norm for me to comment on the cover however, I feel I must. Pink loving girlies, you will love the cover, it is screaming pink and has a wee fabby cupcake, one on the front and one on the back cover. The book is chick lit, fluffy and fairly light so the cover is a good representation of this, I believe the author also created it herself which is something to be commented on.

The story itself goes from mostly present time, to back in time to either Abby's younger years or meeting Adam or the wedding morning. The time jumps are done well, clearly signposted and relevant to the chapter you are reading when it goes back. Second Chances is about a woman broken hearted, left with lots of unanswered questions, now one year Abby is moving on and a blast from the past is just what she needs. Typical, just as things are going good and moving on, Adam is back on the scene and Abby may get the answers she has wanted to hear for so long, but how will this impact on her new relationship?

Oooh I always say chick lit is not my genre at all, I would much rather horror, crime, gore and thrillers. However, this is yet another chick lit I have devoured and really enjoyed! For a debut author and self published without a professional editor, Connie Stephany has done really really well with this book. The characters are really easy to get on board with and for the most part, like, although I dislike Adam!

I would definitely read this author again and look forward to her next book in the series, 4/5 for me this time. Thanks so much to the author for introducing me to her work and sending me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review. This book is available to buy from Amazon or directly from the author.

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