This is for all readers who wonder what might have been! Scarlett is a well drawn character who I suspect many can relate to. Her decision to rejuvenate herself and take a road trip=- terrific. A good read.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A nice light summer read for those who are looking for something easy and light.

I absolutely loved this book. It didn’t take long to be engrossed within the pages of this novel. Scarlett is a divorced mother of two older children who stumbles upon a bucket list she made when she was 17 and sets out to cross as many things off her list as she can. Between joining the gym, moving downtown in hopes of starting her own business and taking a trip with her best friend, Scarlett proves it’s never to late to fulfill your dreams. Along with her list she meets a man she quickly falls for. A well written novel that makes you laugh and cry all wrapped into one.

Enjoyable. An easy read for a long summer's day. The plot was good and the characters likeable. Would recommend this book. I'd read this author again.

A Year of Second Chances sounded like a great redemption story, and light enough to help me bust out of my reading slump. The story starts off with Scarlett having a cancer scare, and then finding the bucket list she wrote in high school. When she looks at the list, she realizes she never did any of it. She decides there's no time like the present, and sets out to complete her list. 

Unfortunately, while A Year of Second Chances was a light, fun read, it was also completely...shallow. I'm not even sure how to describe it, other than to say that Scarlett just picked something on her list and magically accomplished it. There was very little description of struggle or obstacle, and very little insight into what she was thinking or feeling. The whole thing felt entirely too superficial. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - it just wasn't the read I'd hoped for.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in return for a voluntary review. I thoroughly enjoyed Andrews' story. What started out on a total down note, going in for a secondary diagnostic mammogram because something showed up the first time, turned into a life affirming, fun and funny tale about life and living life to the fullest for an almost fifty year old divorcée. Finding her 17 year old self's bucket list and working off of that, Scarlett goes on a life changing adventure, from little things like joining a gym, to big thing like a three week road trip with her best friend. Through it all she comes to grips with the big and little upsets she's dealt with and life, and enjoys her year of second chances.

Around the time empty-nester Scarlett gets called back for a suspect mammogram, she finds her bucket list from when she was 17. With items ranging from marrying her high school sweetheart to dancing in the rain, she realises most of her plans have gone unfulfilled. So she decides now is the time to start ticking them off. From selling up the family home to driving Route 66 with her best friend, Scarlett gets a new lease on life.
While the overall message of the book is uplifting, the writing is a tad bland (the missed opportunity to really immerse readers in the Route 66 trip was one example) and the ending is rather abrupt. I especially would have liked to have seen more about the challenges of setting up her new business.

This is a good story about a woman facing an uncertain future. While Scarlett is waiting for the results of a breast biopsy she finds a box of high school memorabilia in her parents attic. In the box is a list of goals she hoped to achieve as she grew older. To her amazement she hasn't accomplished any of them and sets out to complete her list. Some are easy, some are not but with the help of her grown children she forges ahead. It's nice to watch Scarlett grow into a more amazing lady as she sets goals and steps out of her shell.

When Scarlett finds a lump in her breast she is convinced that she has cancer and starts to revaluate her life. Finding a list she made when she was 17 of things she wanted to do in her life she is determined to try and make some of them happen - and when she finds out that she is fine she is still determined to carry out what she can.....she is only a little overweight surely she can run a marathon!

Driving route 66 is one of the items on her list with her best friend Shonna and still best friends after 30 years they decide to go for it - even if Shonna's husband is not happy.....especially as he is left looking after the puppy he never wanted!

From dancing in the rain to selling up her house and moving into the city and buying a shop to run is Scarlett biting off more than she can chew or can she really turn her life around and starting to live again.....perhaps life begins at 50 rather than 40 for her!

A lovely light warm hearted read, perfect for the beach.......and those of us in our 50s who can still try new things!

4☆ Emotional but Fun read!

I really enjoyed A Year of Second Chances.
It's a story about grabbing life, making changes and being who you want to be.

When Scarlett has a health scare she is determined to turn her life around.
With her Ex husband a cheat, her children left home she now lives alone.

When her parents call her to clear out her childhood things she finds a list she wrote with her best friend Shonna. On that list was things she aimed to do in life. But didn't quite achieve them.

This inspires Scarlett to tackle her childhood list and so her crazy, fun, exciting journey begins.

Starting with joining the gym!
Where she meets Renee.
Renee is such a beautiful person, she makes Scarlett feel at ease about joining the gym. She supports her every step of the way. They become really close friends.
We all could do with a Renee in our lives she didn't judge, she too had a personal journey with the gym.

I really liked Scarlett's best friend Shonna. Their bond was so close and warming. They laughed, cried, had fun and supported each other 100%.
Shonna was Scarlett's rock. She knew how to calm her down and rationalise.

There wasn't any character I didn't like. Even Scarlett's Ex grew on me. They were all very relatable characters with real every day problems.

My only slight critiscm is the amount of cancer talk involved in the book.
I find any books that have cancer in them very hard to read. As it sparks back very painful personal memories.
Normally I wouldn't of finished the book because of this. But I'm glad I persevered with it. As I did enjoy it.

Also the book ended rather suddenly. Although it was fast forward 1year later and things were concluded, it just felt a little rushed.

Buffy has taken me on a journey of emotions, i laughed, got choked up, i was angered, then I fell in love with the characters.
This book really sums up not being afraid to take risks and to make changes to make you happy.
There is plenty of emotional parts, romance, fun, a journey of self discovery and a great friendships.

I definitely recommend this book to readers who love Chick Lit, Rom Com, friendships, women's literature.

The premise of this book was great: Scarlet, a middle aged empty nester finds a list of things she wanted to do with her life that she wrote when she was 17, and decides to do as many of them as possible.
Ideally this would have led to a book that was uplifting and redemptive. Unfortunately, the characterisations were wooden, and the secondary characters were two dimensional. The book read more like a series of incidents than a cohesive whole. I also found it tedious that an incident would happen and then Scarlet would ring her best friend Shona and repeat the story, when we, the reader, had just witnessed the incident. I found it frustrating, because I wanted to like the main character, but ultimately found her a little dull.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher who provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of this author and always get excited when I see a new book coming out. She has a tendency toward writing stories which pull at the heart strings and on more than one occasion had me in tears with her words. Thankfully, although this is a heartwarming story, it was not one of those ugly cry books.

The story revolves around Scarlett whose life hasn't turned out the way she envisioned. Finding a list she wrote in her teenage years she strives to fulfil the dreams she held back then. Some are easier than others, she even manages to rope in her family and friends to help in her endeavours. However others, such as marrying her childhood crush, prove more difficult. But that one in particular actually brings another side to the story which I thought was just lovely.

Scarlett's marriage goes through some issues throughout the story, her husband having his own issues to deal with which aren't in line with hers. The way the whole story ends up was, I think, the perfect ending. I love that although it doesn't quite go to plan, it finishes with the author tying up all the loose ends really well.

This story is proof that the author continues to produce stories which are gutsy yet easy to read. I will continue to follow her in the future as she is definitely on my list of 'always to read' author's. Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the author herself for providing a copy.

3.5 Stars
A solid, moving, yet entertaining read that also makes you think about the choices we make in life and the what-ifs.

This is a story of Scarlett, 49, divorced with 2 grown-up kids. Her grey, humdrum life is suddenly shaken up by a diagnosis that she may or may not have breast cancer. Of course, this places everything in a new perspective and when she accidentally (or is it?) comes across a bucket-list her 17-year-old-self wrote, she forces herself to face what she has become since, the road she took and the choices (good or bad) she made. She realises that she rather stood by and let others write her story instead of making it happen for herself and she decides that this time she will take control over her life. She sets out on a journey - both literal and figurative - to complete as many things on her list as possible and find the way back to her true self.

I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars while reading the book as I enjoyed it a lot. There were many positive vibes and emotionally uplifting moments, but sometimes the writing was a bit bland and the story a bit too straightforward for my taste. Sometimes I felt there were no real stakes to Scarlett's decisions: everything went smoothly without many hitches, bumps or setbacks. And the ending was a bit abrupt: it could have been just slightly bit more detailed.

Nevertheless, it is still an emotionally rewarding, easy read. Recommended.

Scarlett is nearing 50, has two adult children and is still healing from a divorce that happened years ago when we meet her. While going through items from her childhood she comes across a list of goals she wrote as a seventeen year old. Scarlett decides to complete as many items on the list as she can; including taking a road trip that she’s dreamed about since she was a teenager.
I loved watching Scarlett grow and develop an identity for herself other than mother and wife. Her transition into a confident woman is beautiful and inspiring. This was my first book by Buffy Andrews and I really enjoyed her writing.

This book gave me sleepless nights.....I had to stay up late to keep reading and see what was going to happen next! I loved the main character and her best friend - life may have dealt some bad cards, but they roll right along and take whatever comes next. I admired the strength and grace with which she handled a situation toward the end of the book, and am not sure if I could have done the same, in the same position. Anyone facing bad luck could learn a lot from these ladies!

I enjoyed the book and could identify with the main premise - how many of us have become side tracked from our dreams by real life? I enjoyed the relationship between the main character and her best friend.
Some of the descriptions and segues were a little awkward or unnecessary. There was some repetition I felt slowed the story and jarred me out of the world that had been created.
I will read more books by the author in the future.