I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Published by Berkley on July 16, 2024
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Source: the publisher
Format: E-galley
My Rating:

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Blurb:
Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance from the USA Today bestselling author of You, with a View .
Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago.
With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized.
What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.
As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.
My Review
I loved the sound of this second chance romance when the publisher reached out to me and so I was very excited to read it. And it did not disappoint!
I really got Georgia’s feelings about losing friends as they went on to different stages of their lives. I think I had this same connection with another character just recently in another book. But in a way she kind of was letting them, or expecting them to do that. She didn’t want to need them. Based on her past with her own mother, and even things with her father, she knew it was just better not to be needy. In her mind and experiences, it had made people leave her because she was too much. In fact that is part of what she felt split her and Eli up.
Eli was someone you could tell from the first actual point he showed up at the airport had made some changes in his life. It wasn’t just that he seemed so different to Georgia, I mean, yes, it was, but there were just a lot of clues laid into his actions that definitely kept me thinking about what had probably been going on for him. It was also obvious he was coming to make amends, not only with their friend Adam, but also with Georgia.
I loved how they finally gave in. How both of them supposedly handled keeping it just for that short time. But Eli stepped up, he really did prove that he was there and was there to be part of her life again. And the paper rings, those were the neatest thing. I loved that she’d kept them all that time. It’s totally something I would do. I even have silly notes from high school from people, so I got that. But what those rings turned into, what the surprises that came with them at the end were, I didn’t see that coming, but oh did I love that! This romance was so good. It didn’t work out perfectly without any mistakes or any heartbreak or trying to figure things out. But it worked out with the characters having to figure out where they’d went wrong on their own, and make their own lives ready.
I can’t finish this review without talking about the hilarious wedding curse that their friend Adam and his fiance Grace were dealing with. So many hilarious things, and you can’t even imagine how insane some of these things that went wrong were! The crazy DJ they went to check out to replace the original one they had. The cabins they stayed in for the wedding, the cake tastings and then incidents, TWO!, with the final cake. Not to mention the way they got their HEA and the epilogue of the story was so unique and fit perfectly.
This is my first book by this author, I’d wanted to read the first one, but didn’t get around to it, now I know I will have to, so I’ve added it to my audiobook wishlist to enjoy as well. And I’ve seen there is a novella to read, so that is on my TBR too now!
Oh, I love second chance romances and this sounds like fun. Thanks! I’ll add to my library wish list.
I read a few right in a row!
It’s nice when you can relate to the main character’s history. I do enjoy a good second chance romance! Happy to hear you loved the story!
I love when I connect with a character in some way. I do like second chance romances a lot too!
This sounds so goo. I love second-chance romances. I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as you did. I’ll be putting this on my radar. 😀
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!