That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn

Contemporary romance

Publication date: 05/07/19
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

This really pains me, because I do ADORE Meghan Quinn. I’ve 5-starred LOTS of her books, and added them to tons of “best of” lists. But this one just didn’t completely resonate with me.

But, because my mom always taught me to start with the positives, here are a few things that DID work for me:

1. Griffin is a true nice-guy hero. He’s hard working, respectful, not a manwhore or even a reformed manwhore, and he’s a family man. He’s pretty much perfect.
2. Ren’s a decent heroine, too. She was smart and kind and the type of person you’d like to be friends with in real life. You could call Ren and ask for a ride to the airport on short notice and she wouldn’t even mind taking you. She’s that nice.
3. It’s a slow burn romance. I do love me some slow burn romance.
4. Griffin’s brothers are obviously sequel bait, but they’re interesting, and their banter is fun, so I’ll probably check out their stories.                 

Now, for the not-so-glowy stuff…

The plot
I’m sorry, but the whole “I was cursed by a palm reader” thing didn’t work for me. I can see why Griffin might think he was cursed after what happened to his wife, but I’m supposed to believe that everyone in his hometown, everyone who knew what a great, nice guy he was, wouldn’t want to date him or set him up with someone they knew because of a supposed “love curse”? I’m not buying it. I don’t know a single woman alive who wouldn’t be willing to overlook a possible love curse in order to find a nice, sexy, hard working man who isn’t afraid of a little commitment. Pfffttt. Curse smurse. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Glacial pacing
The beginning of the book flows nicely, and the ending flows nicely. But all the stuff in between moves soooooooo slow. There were several chapters where not much of anything happened at all. I have a pretty short attention span. I need some important stuff happening in every chapter to hold my interest, and there were parts of this one that almost lost me. I considered skimming at several points in the story.

Too nice?
Griffin and Ren were bordering on TOO nice and perfect. They didn’t really have any flaws at all, which made them a little hard to relate to.

But, like I said, I normally LOVE this author. I’m going to chalk this one up to a case of “it’s not you it’s me” and forget about it. I’ll definitely read the other books in the series.       

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one’s clean and sober.

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Other reading suggestions

Toe-curling, slow burn romances

Heartwarming second chance romances

Laugh out loud contemporary romances