Second Time’s A Charm by Kay Blake
Romance Contemporary
March 28, 2016
Self Published

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “ I loved her and I wanted to spend the rest of my life trying to prove it. ”

Liz Alexander left New York six years ago with a broken heart and never returned. When her best friend passes away, Liz heads home to face her past and the man who almost destroyed her.

Liam Parker hasn’t had any contact with Liz since she packed her bags and left. He never stopped loving her and when he sees her again, he knows he will do anything to get her back into his life.

Can these two star-crossed lovers forgive the past and celebrate the future? Or is their second chance doomed from the start?

Liz, Liam, and Sam were best friends growing up in a small town in New York state. In high school, things changed between Liz and Liam. Their relationship changed from friends to a couple in love. Both were happy and making plans for their future. In college, things changed. Racism from Liam’s friends and family, along with some carefully constructed lies, pushed Liz and Liam apart and Liz fled across the country after graduation. Six years later, Liz has come  back for Sam’s funeral and to face what she choose to run from.

Second Time’s A Charm is a smooth paced, character driven novella that speaks of love, loss, and second chances between a couple who were torn apart by lies and racism. Blake does a good job setting up the storyline, staying mainly in the present while giving us glimpses of the past to understand the  events that led to their break up. The grief and pain experienced by both parties is heavily vocalised though I felt Liz was the more honest of the two. She was utterly devastated by Liam and you can feel it in every word and internal thought monologued. Liam acknowledges his pain and  part played in the breakup but as this is from Liz’s point of view, we don’t get the same intensity. Also, he seemed more upset that Liz ran away rather than stayed and fight for their love. I would have agreed with his assessment more that if Blake had gone more in-depth as to why he choose to act as he did. We are told what happened but the why was missing. I wanted to see more emotion and understanding from him.

Sexual tension permeates the story as Liz and Liam begin their journey towards understanding and  forgiveness. Liz has to deal with that fact her running not only cost her Liam but also hurt her friendship with Sam. Liam has to deal with his own feelings of guilt and the ramifications of some of his decisions. I liked that Liam gives his all this time around and Liz isn’t one to just fall back into his arms with a simply uttered, “I’m sorry.” He has to prove he’s serious with his intentions and she needs to learn to trust him and herself. The attraction between them is still strong and when they choose to act on it, the sparks fly. You never doubt these two loved each other and Blake writes some nice love scenes that sizzle and pop.

While I did enjoy the story overall, my main issue was the glossing over and easy resolution of the problem at hand. Racism and lies broke them up but it’s not really addressed beyond a superficial level. Liam’s father hated him dating Liz and was very vocal about it. To the point of being offensive and ugly. Liam also seemed rather blase about the snide comments made by others while he and Liz were dating. I understand they were both young and a parent’s/peer’s opinion holds a lot of weight but I expected a deeper look into these issues. When push comes to shove, the two worst offenders are dealt with in two separate 10-minute conversations. Liam tells them like it is and suddenly everything is okay. In fact, Liam’s father has a miraculous change of heart. It felt like too easy of a way to bring closure to the story without having to exert much effort.

Grade: C+

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