Second Chances: the Power of Redemption, Reconnection, and Reinvention
A second chance doesn’t have to be about love (even if that is our favorite kind of story)! A new career, a found family, anything that can provide both redemption and closure to a person, place, or thing in your life.
The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain
by Hannah Brown
Sybil should be on a wonderful honeymoon, enjoying the tropical breeze and incredible sunsets. But things didn’t go as planned during her FOURTH attempt to get married, Sybil and Jamie are NOT married, but the trip is nonrefundable. Spa treatments, drinks, and time alone? Needed desperately.
She is shocked to see that Jamie is staying at the same hotel. He is on a “work trip” with an insanely gorgeous “colleague”, and there is no way she can let him know that she is at the hotel alone. Sybil tells Jamie that she’s with her boyfriend. And when the second of her four ex-fiancés happens by thanks to a photography gig, Sybil convinces him to play along. Is that passion in Jamie’s eyes? Or jealousy?
For discussion: author Hannah Brown starred on The Bachelorette! Do you think that experience influenced her writing?
If You Stayed (Standard Edition)
by Brittainy Cherry
Due to a devastating accident, Gabriel Sinclair has no memory of his first love, Kierra. She made peace with her loss long ago and has moved on. In fact, Gabriel has been hired by her control freak of a husband to design the new house that the couple will share.
Seeing Gabriel again is hard. Kierra quickly realizes that she hasn’t really moved on at all. Gabriel’s brain may not remember her, but his body must, because seeing Kierra FEELS like coming home. Her life is so fragile at the moment. Should she take the chance that it just might finally collapse?
For discussion: would you want your memories of the love of your life back if they had truly moved on?
Bed and Breakup
by Susie Dumond
The Hummingbird Inn has become a trendy spot for queer travelers in Arkansas. That’s thanks to newlyweds Molly and Robin, who imagined running their cozy little inn for many years to come. But when career ambitions drive them apart, they hand management of the inn over to a management company and head in different directions out of Eureka Springs.
Seven years later, both women find themselves in Eureka Springs, both of them want to stay at the inn, and both of them are aggravated that the other one has shown up. Their behavior becomes increasingly immature through a series of pranks, each of them hoping to drive the other one off. When neither will budge, they agree to renovate the inn together, sell it, and never see each other again. But working together at the inn unearths some wonderful memories and the women find themselves drawn together again. Were they really ready to say goodbye all those years ago? Are they really ready now?
For discussion: why do you think neither Molly nor Robin pushed to sell the inn earlier?
Yours for the Season
by Emily Stone
Everyone loves a sweet holiday romance, and this one tells the story of Melanie, who was dumped by the love of her life at his sister’s engagement party. Very publicly.
When her ex, Finn, appears on her doorstep a few weeks before Christmas, begging for her help, she manages to not punch him. Finn’s mom thinks that the two of them are dating again, because she has an idea of the Perfect Christmas and unattached adult children ae not part of that picture. Finn asks Emily to spend the holiday with him and his family in the Scottish Highlands.
Mel hates Finn, but she loves Finn’s mom. She agrees to the plan on one condition: at the end of the week, SHE is going to dump HIM in front of everyone. She can tolerate Finn for one week so that she can regain her dignity. It will be worth it.
The holiday closeness makes Mel start to lose track of which feelings are real, and which are faked for Finn’s family. What will happen on the last day of the trip?
For discussion: what would your ex have to offer you to compel you into a similar ruse?
She's Come Undone
by Wally Lamb - Lamb Lamb
This is an extraordinary book about second chances. Third chances. Any chance at happiness.
Dolores Price had a pretty messed up childhood. Abandoned and alone, she grows up in front of her bedroom TV, eating every bit of junk food she could get her hands on. As a young woman, her weight is 257 pounds, and the world hasn’t gotten any kinder.
Readers may not have as many big life issues as Dolores does, but everyone can identify with family problems, death, divorce, body confidence issues, undiagnosed mental health issues, the relatability to the daily life of a lot of women who just won’t ever feel finished.
Bonus: author Wally Lamb is a big believer in second chances for women, too.
For discussion: was there ever a point in the story where you stopped feeling empathy for Dolores? Did your opinion of her change from the first page of the books to the last?
The Second Chance Convenience Store
by Kim Ho-yeon
Immerse yourself in Korean culture with this lovely book about redemptions. When Dok-go finds Mrs. Yeom’s wallet at Seoul Station, he returns it with everything intact. From that moment, his life changes forever. These two unlikely companions build a friendship fueled by the food that Mrs. Yeom brings him every singe day.
A series of events prompts Mrs. Yeom to offer Dok-go a job at the convenience store she owns. He quickly becomes a neighborhood favorite, who always has time to give a bit of advice to a friend. Mrs. Yeom’s son wants her to sell the store, but Dok-go seems to bring his mother nothing but good luck. He hires a detective to dig into Dok-go’s past. Who is this man? Why is he here? What is he trying so desperately to forget?
For discussion: Mrs. Yeom is a retired history teacher. Did anything in her own history prompt her to extend such kindness to Dok-go?
The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances
by Kevin Fagan
Author Kevin Fagan knows about life on the streets. He himself was unhoused at one time, and his empathy for Rita and Tyson, two unhoused people whose story he chronicled as a reporter.
This is more than one couple’s tale of surviving while homeless. It is also an eye-opening look at the correlation and causation of the obvious link between homelessness and addiction. Fagan calls for a look at housing and equality through a call-to-action commentary that is both powerful and convincing.
For discussion: how did his own experiences on the street inform the way that Fagan told readers about Rita and Tyson?
It's Different This Time
by Joss Richard
It has been five years since June and Adam have so much as spoken to each other. The friendship ended on pretty rough terms, and they wouldn’t be near each other now if the former owner of the brownstone June and Adam lived in didn’t have a bonkers clause in his will. They now co-own the multimillion-dollar property (or they will, once all of the paperwork is done and dusted), which means they have to communicate to some degree.
All June wants is to return to her actual life in LA. Why does paperwork for a super expensive property move so slowly? June learns that it might take up to a month for them to have anything to sign. She might as well stay; she isn’t paying for a hotel.
And now they are partners in real estate, but they have other unfinished businesses. Can the two of them forgive each other? Can they forgive themselves?
For discussion: is there a relationship in your own past that you would like to renavigate knowing what you know now?
Cat Got Your Killer
by Sofie Ryan
Sarah Grayson is working to make sure that the secondhand store that she owns is ready for summer and tourists. When a man who himself was linked to a drowning death is found dead himself in the same area, Sarah knows that the entire town is going to get involved.
It looks like an innocent man might be in prison for a crime he did not commit. Sarah and the Charlotte’s Angels, a group of senior citizens who use Sarah’s store as a home base for a private eye business, are on the case. Luckily, her cat Elvis is able to sniff out trouble. He’ll warn her… right?
For discussion: what do you imagine retirement will look like to you? Does joining a group like Charlotte’s Angels appeal to you?
It’s true…sometimes life does give you a chance to make a different decision the second time around! But how boring would life be if you always KNEW you were making the right decisions?