Review of Second Time Around by Melody Carlson

 

Who doesn't love a second chance?

When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless, cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home decor shop called Romancing the Home--all while trying to ignore the depressing and decrepit apartment she's living in on the second floor. When the shop catches the eye of a popular renovation TV show producer, Mallory is thrilled--until it becomes clear that her apartment is to be part of the segment as well.

She's tempted to abandon her dreams and the town under a cloud of shame. But perhaps there's more to Grayson than meets the eye. Can he swallow his pride, change his plans, and help Mallory romance her own home--and possibly her life?

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MY REVIEW

Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's tourist shop and bites off more than she thought. Moving to Portside, she decides to remodel the shop and upstairs apartment but things don't go as planned. With a television crew coming to film the shop, she is racing against the clock. Grayson Matthews, a contractor and one who has the town's best interests at heart have past memories to deal with.

The characters are well-developed with layers of vulnerability. The quaint seaside town descriptions bring the story to life. The storyline is about relationships, starting over, and second chances. The ending wrapped everything up nicely and there were some suspenseful moments as well as building tension that kept me engaged in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the humor of the main characters.

Another great read from the author and highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and voluntarily choose to review it.