Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

A well written and nice easy to read story. One I could relate to, Husband having a mid life crisis and Divorce etc. Story a little unrealistic in how she got a second chance quite so quickly and easily. The ending was a bit disappointing in that all of a sudden the story was over and I had finished the book!! However I would recommend the book if you want a nice quick easy read.

4☆ Fun, easy read.

Second Chances is a book about exactly that second chances.

When happily married Sarah and husband Dan hit a bump, she had no idea he was about to trade her in for a younger model.
Which is literally what he did.
He decided that a younger women is exactly what he needed.
It Screamed midlife crisis to me!

Poor Sarah was devestated. Dan was the father to her children. He was all she has known for so long.

So when Dan starts pushing Sarah to sell their home to fund he's new younger lifestyle.
Sarah learns quickly she needs to stand on her own two feet.

The story is fast enough to keep the reader engaged.
However for me the main character Sarah really isn't likeable. To be honest I can't even see myself relating to her. She comes across to be weak, I was wishing her to stand up for herself. After all it was Dan's fault not hers. I wanted her not to give in!

I did enjoy this book. It felt a little predictable at times. However it is an easy read. It's a perfect read to get lost into without having to think too much.

A great chick lit read. Would recommend this book for readers who enjoy Chick Lit.

Imagine after years of marriage, you are faced with a divorce because your husband is going through a midlife crisis. Not only dealing with the needy ex-husband, but having to face an annoying neighbor, who insists that she 'stole' her new townhouse from him. This book allows you to tune out the world around and enjoy someone else's drama. What a fabulous book for the beach!

Written with insight, sensitivity and aplomb, Second Chances is a believable, realistic and engrossing contemporary tale from Minna Howard.

After 24 years of marriage, Sarah Haywood thought that her life was sorted. Her marriage to Dan was rock solid, the kids were all grown up, she had a great social life and money in the bank. Sarah thought that life didn’t hold any further surprises for her – until Dan pulls the rug from under her feet and announces that he is leaving her and walking out on their marriage to be with a much younger woman! Sarah is absolutely distraught. Left alone to pick up the pieces of her life, Sarah finds herself with no other option but to look to the future and try and make a new life for herself. But being a single woman after so long soon proves to be anything but easy…

Sarah soon begins to be pulled in a hundred different directions. As she tries to establish herself as a dress designer, she finds herself having to do all sorts, however, she is determined to make her own way in the world and to prove to everyone that she does not need anyone else in her life to call the shots. But just when she is about to move into her new home, she finds that there is a further shock in store: her new house was apparently promised to her dashing but rather aggravating next door neighbour, Robert Maynard! What is Sarah going to do?

The one thing she is sure of is that she does not want to get involved and entangled in another relationship ever again. But fate seems to have other ideas in store for her…

A fun, enjoyable and entertaining read that makes for ideal summer reading, Second Chances is a fantastic tale about finding the courage to be yourself, picking up the pieces after an unexpected twist of fate and new beginnings that readers will find absorbing and emotional. Readers are sure to relate to and empathize with Sarah, who is a wonderfully realised and multi-layered character and they are bound to love the cast of supporting characters that make up this gripping read!

A must-read guaranteed to brighten up any reader’s day, Second Chances is a fabulous book I highly recommend!

This is a wonderful book. I really liked Sarah, the central character, and was full of sympathy for her. She was suddenly thrust into this strange new world, where she was single again and having to deal with fending off unwanted admirers, moving house, and worrying about money, and her new neighbour.

It moves at a gentle pace, but is so enthralling at the same time. The descriptive language is lovely, and you get a real sense of her life and her surroundings.

It’s a subject matter that’s been dealt with before in other books, but this is dealt with in a refreshing and realistic way. It feels like a glimpse into a real person’s life.

A book to leave you with a smile on your face and a warm, feelgood glow.

Sarah thought that her life was settled - kids grown up and away at college, a nice house and a part time job - but her husband had other ideas and ups and leaves taking off with a younger model!

Sarah is totally at sea with no man to rely on and when her husband starts pushing her to sell the house to fund his new lifestyle and sports car she moves to a duplex. There are still problems here though her new neighbour wanted to buy it and so makes life difficult for her - can she ever move on and have a second chance!

A good light hearted read ideal for the beach but I did find Sarah somewhat frustrating - she really does need to get a life and start relying on herself instead of men!

So this book was a little different for me, why? I hear you ask. Well, I really enjoyed it but I detested the main character. For me, it was like watching a reality television show where you dislike one of the participants, but their behaviour actually makes the show a hit.

Sarah is an opinionated, judgemental, feeble snob. I didn’t like her from chapter one. But she makes the book brilliant. Her actions had me cringing, she is just so annoying. But I didn’t want the book to end. She’s just not your typical book heroine and that in itself was refreshing for me. Minna Howard made the impossible possible. I can’t recall reading a book where I didn’t gel with the lead.

This is not your average chick lit, it’s got a twist. This was my first Minna Howard book and I wonder if her other books generate unique characters.

The storyline is well thought out and the pace is perfect. It constantly moves forward.

Again I know I say this often, but I like the cover because it gives nothing away. It’s fresh and vibrant. Encouraging for those summer days spent at home in the garden or on a far off sunny beach.

I recommend Second Chances by Minna Howard

Had been looking forward to this book as I loved the author's last book. But was disapointed. It was good in its own right, just not fantastic. Just a easy read, somewhat predictable. Didnt have the wow factor, but not bad either.

A very fun quick read that I really enjoyed

Minna Howard is back with a brand new book, Second Chances, which fits in well with the author's style of her previous novels. I have to admit, whilst I enjoyed the majority of this book, I finished reading it with mixed feelings.

Sarah Haywood had her life turned upside down when her husband decided to trade his lifestyle in for a younger model. Yes, I am talking about his car, AND his wife. As far as Sarah was concerned, their relationship was no different to other married couples, so Dan Haywood's change of heart came as a shock. Sarah had the chance to make a new life for herself, but, thanks to a bit of neighbourly assumption with their genitalia, Sarah has reached her limit.

How many of you agree with second chances? Are you a once chance only type of person, if they screw that up then everything is done for? Or do you believe that every single person deserves a second chance? Just to be difficult, I believe in a mixture of both as it all depends on the circumstance. However, I don't agree that EVERYONE deserves a second chance. As for Sarah Haywood, do I believe that she deserves a second chance at happiness? Of course I do.

The storyline itself wasn't overly original, I'll be honest, BUT, whilst that didn't annoy me too much, it did mean that I hoping to be wow-ed by the book. To a point, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Second Chances', it was such an easy and straightforward read with no serious surprises. I managed to finish Minna Howard's book in a couple of hours so it mustn't have been that bad!

All of the characters made me laugh in their own individual ways. Well, except Robert. I didn't really warm to him that much - an acquired taste! I liked how the pace flowed rather nicely and did its own thing without too much weighing it down; that meant that I could switch off and just enjoy the storyline without a care in the world. Bliss!

As I said above, I really did enjoy this book, but there was something within the storyline that made me wince on a personal level. Sarah Haywood's job is a dress designer and she works in her friends shop, selling said designs. However, both Sarah and her friend seemed to zoom in on slim people, making quite harsh comments about women with slender figures. Whilst I fully appreciate that this is a work of fiction, as someone who always gets belittled due to their slender size, I felt that those comments in the storyline weren't really warranted and were a bit uncalled for. Maybe I am being a little over sensitive, but I personally didn't like those parts. 

'Second Chances' didn't blow me away due to the above, but, I did enjoy the lightness of the storyline as a whole.

Thanks Aria.

This book was okay, it was well written and not a hard read but I found the main character frustrating and really wanted to watch her grow and learn to stand up for herself. While it wasn't bad at all it was, I feel, a wasted opportunity and could have been executed much better.

Sometimes a second chance doesn't mean immediate romance after a husband leaves. Although this is nicely written and a light read, Sarah really doesn't stand up for herself. Robert might be a nice guy but why not spread your wings on your own for a while. I'll admit I did read all of this quite greedily, as it's entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher. I really enjoyed this book but not sure about the ending

Sarah is noticing that Daniel, her husband of 24 years seems to be changing. He is always busy with work and seems irritable and bored. Finally, he simply leaves Sarah. He tells her that he needs to experience more things before old age catches up to him..and, of course, his girlfriend, Nina.

His leaving is hard for Sarah and she questions their marriage and how she will be able to cope. She has always thought they would be together forever. She has a job at a dress shop where she does some dress designing and seamstresses at the shop sew them up. Sarah’s two children are away at college and come home to visit when they can.

When Daniel starts to push Sarah to sell their house so he can have some cash to fund his new lifestyle of a red sports car and Nina, Sarah soon realizes that if he withdraws support from her, she won’t be able to afford the house. Therefore she sells the house and finds a duplex type of home. It’s in a good location and she fixes it up to suit her. The problem is the next door neighbor wants to buy her side of the house and is very pushy about it.

Sarah finds herself aggravated not only at Daniel but at her neighbor. She just wants to be able to live her life and not have some man telling her what to do. But, events happen that make her decide to get involved with making these decisions and she has to learn to step up and be strong.

This is a good story, but I did get frustrated with Sarah at times because she has a spine like cooked spaghetti. I wanted to give her a little smack and tell her to stand up for herself. However, the story is one that I know readers will enjoy.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved the idea of this book - a writer actually dealing with the feelings of a woman abandoned by her husband of 24 years now their children were, more or less, all grown up.
Sarah seemed to have lost her identity to marriage - as many do. She regarded her work as a designer as pretty much a part time job, which irked me. She did bravely step forth and take control of her life, but she remained in the 'little wife' mindset which really annoyed me. It's not easy to be a single woman again (yep, been there, done that) but the inner strength most can dredge up from somewhere just didn't seem to be present in Sarah at all.
This is a good enough romance but it didn't set the heather alight for me. I found the ending quite abrupt with no mention of her career but everything abandoned for a man. Not a read for feminists, but if you're looking for a nice, easy romance then this is probably for you.
I received an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Lovely warm and funny book by a favourite author. I really enjoyed it. You never know what's round the corner. Fans will love it.

I really couldn't get into this one. It just didn't seem to go anywhere in particular then suddenly jumped to another part of the story. I had to keep going back to read the previous chapter which got very frustrating!

A lovely easy read, perfect summer read when you fancy a bit of chick lit. It was written in an easy to read style with characters you could empathise with. There was a nice pace to the book and held a certain amount of intrigue with some expected turns and some less expected turns. Recommended as a light hearted read.

I'm sorry I'm struggling to get into this at the moment will try again another time and post review to Amazon ect