Review of Second Chances

[Dana Youngblood]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Second Chances" by Helen Baxter & Pat McCubbin.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Second Chances by Helen Baxter & Pat McCubbin is an intriguing and entertaining read. Sophie quits her job on the same day that her fiance, Mark, decides to leave her. She is completely shocked and left utterly alone. She has no idea how she will be able to stay in her place and what kind of job she will find now. Grant, one of Mark’s friends, gets her a job and home in Seacove Bay, a small town away from where she is now. She decides to go and take this offer, leaving behind the life she was living. She meets many new friends, including Irene, Jon-Jon, and Lucy, and "fur friends" Archie and Scamp. She is there for a few months when things start to happen that are dangerous and scary. Sophie does not understand what is happening or why she finds herself at the center of it all. Sophie also finds out that she is connected to the assassination of an important politician. She leans on Grant and her new friends in these tough times, but she is not sure who she can truly trust.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 rating. This book had a lot of potential, but it did not live up to its full potential for a few different reasons. There were multiple editorial mistakes throughout the book that were incredibly distracting. When Sophie met the couple whose house she would be staying in and whose shop she was taking over, their names were Ashley and Blake, but later in the story, they called them Ashley and Brad. They were inconsistent with their usage of quotes as well. The story also has off-page rape, mugging, and kidnapping, but there is no warning or indication that these would happen. Also, from chapters 23 to 33, the content was borderline unneeded. Some chapters had important information, but others just seemed like filler and repetitive. There were parts of the book that did not seem realistic based on the way the authors would describe certain people, but then nothing major would happen. The concept of this book was intriguing. I wanted to know what was going to happen and who was involved in all of the danger. I liked that it was a quick read with shorter chapters. I finished the book fairly quickly because I wanted to know how it would end. This is not your typical romance story where the main concept is romance and the other parts of the story are just an additional bonus. I was expecting a happy, romantic story, at the forefront of this book, however, that was not the case. This felt more like a mystery with some romance added in.

I would recommend this book to people who like mystery books. As stated above, it did not seem like a romance book, but more that it had some romance mixed in. Readers should note that there are explicit scenes and some triggering content. This book is good for those who find second chances and starting over entertaining to read about.

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Second Chances
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[Amy Luman]

I think that I will enjoy this book. I don’t like romance novels, but since you said that this is more of a mystery, I will try it. Thanks!

[Terri Castillo]

I'm going to read this book and see what you discussed and get a feel for the plot in the story. Sounds interesting to me and I do like stories about second chances. So thank you for your review!

[Nati Jiniya]

Thank you for this beautiful review! The book sounds interesting and unique, I'd love to give it a try. I don't have much experince with this genre, so it would be adventurous.