I love that Carlson writes inspirational books without being overtly preachy. They are about faith, about life's challenges, and about rising above them to strive for better. In this book, we have a woman entering a new phase of her life. With two men, a few good friends, and a cast of quirky supporting characters, this is a clean, witty book that will leave you wanting to do a little renovation project to romance your own home. There are many different meanings to the title "Second Time Around,' making it a perfect fit.

Melody Carlson is a favorite author and she doesn’t disappoint with her newest book. Second Time Around. Has a captivating plot and believable characters. Loved this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC. This is my unbiased review.

Second Time Around by Melody Carlson is an engaging and entertaining story. I can always count on Melody Carlson to provide a story that will capture and hold my attention. I like the author’s friendly writing style. I was quickly drawn into Mallory Farrell’s story. After the wedding of Mallory’s daughter, Mallory’s home is feeling empty. She loves the house that she spent years lovingly restoring and Mallory likes her interior decorating business. Mallory feels that everyone is moving on but her. When Mallory learns that she inherited her grandmother’s shop in Seaport, Oregon she feels this might be the answer. Mallory decides to turn the business into home décor shop as well as offering her interior design services. The contractor Mallory hires completes the shop portion of the project, but he ignores the apartment above which is desperate need of a makeover. Mallory opens her store with rave reviews. She is surprised when a design show host wants to feature her shop and her apartment on the show. Mallory must swallow her pride and ask for help. Can the project be completed before the television production crew arrives? Second Time Around is a clean, inspiring story. I liked the characters (well, most of them). They are friendly and relatable. Mallory has some contentious relatives. I like how she dealt with them. I appreciated the life lessons in this story. The setting was delightful. A small, coastal town with friendly residents. I understood why Mallory did not want people to see her colorful, rundown abode. She is ahttps://www.walmart.com/ip/Second-Time-Around-Paperback-9780800739768/602083230n independent woman which made her reluctant to ask for help especially from someone who wanted to demolish her building for a mall. Second Time Around came to an end much too soon. Second Time Around is a cute coastal tale with a wonderful wedding, a hollow home, an unanticipated inheritance, construction quandaries, design dilemma, a tv predicament, and a man with a plan.

I have loved every book of Melody Carlson’s that I have read, and this delightful story is no exception. Her characters are always relatable and soon feel like friends.
As the result of buying an old fixer-upper Victorian many years previously and renovating every bit of the beautiful old Victorian herself, Mallory has turned her design/decorator skills into a profitable business. She raised her three grown children alone, after her husband left and now that her daughter is married, she is making changes to her own life. She inherits a “tourist” shop in a small coastal Oregon town from her Grandma Bess. As a child, after her mother died, Mallory spent many summers with Grandma Bess.
After driving to the coast, Mallory makes a rash decision to sell her lovely Victorian home and move to the small town of Portside, Oregon, and re-open Grandma’s shop as a design shop. Mallory falls in love with the beautiful countryside, loves being near the ocean and is making friends in the friendly small town.
The shop and the apartment above it, however, need some serious updating. She finds a contractor to help with the renovations, however, although the job is not complete, he moves onto a new project. Mallory can make the shop work, but not the horrific, disgusting mess the apartment above the shop is in, that she plans to live in. Unexpectedly, relatives she has not seen in years claim the shop and apartment above it should have been left to them and threaten to dispute Grandma’s will.
There are many interesting, intriguing situations that arise while preparing to open her new “Romancing the Home” shop and when the apartment must be renovated quickly in a few short weeks, the town rallies around Mallory determined to make it work. This is a beautifully written, charming story that managed to get right into my heart from the start.
Thank you to NetGalley and Revell for a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Having been left her Grandmother's tourist shop Mallory returns to a place from her youth. She considers selling up until she learns of the plans for the site. This encourages her to sell her family home now that she is divorced and the children have left. She decides to pursue her childhood dream of opening an interior design store. Her belief is that everyone can live in a haven of love by romancing the house and it's furnishings. There are many sides to this story which I thoroughly recommend.

Melody Carlson doesn’t disappoint readers of her new novel, Second Time Around. I found it to entertaining, unpredictable and original. I was totally drawn into the book and loved all the characters and the story line. One thing I really appreciate about Melody Carlson’s books is that they are all clean read. They are inspirational but not preachy. The Author is very knowledgeable in restoring and decorating her own homes she has lived in so she is well researched in home decorating. The books ending leaves readers with a feeling of satisfaction with this well written novel.

When home decorator and designer Mallory Farrell inherits her late Grandma Bess’s tourist shop in Portside Oregon her first thought is to list it with a realtor. After going to Portside to check the shop out she feels the it has the potential to be renovated into a home decoration business . She also meets an old friend from her teen years who is interested in buying her shop for its prime location. If she keeps the shop it would need a lot of work and restoration and a considerable amount of money to invest in this new business. Would the community be interested enough in home decorating and design to make it turn into a profitable venture ? Portside Oregon is a seaside beach tourist attraction and maybe not so much into Mallory’s talents. Could this work for her or would it be best to sell the shop to Grayson Matthews?

I recommend this book to readers of Contemporary Romance and Fans of Melody Carlson. This is a standalone novel . This book is scheduled to be released on 3/7/23.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of Second Time Around . All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are my own.

#SecondTimeAround#NetGalley

Second Time Around
by Melody Carlson
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
Revell
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! Carlson is a very popular author at our library and I jumped at the chance to read this one!
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.
The setting of the quaint coastal town and also a quaint tourist shop only enhance the novel. I could easily imagine myself in the thick of the action. I highly recommend this book! Make sure you grab it as soon as you can!~
5 stars

I enjoyed this sweet story about Mallory Farrell, a 50+ lady, and her attempt to create a new life for herself in a small seaside town in Oregon. She's inherited her grandmother's shop at the perfect time for her new dreams to come alive. She reunites with Grayson Matthews, but the relationship is prickly. Regardless of the roadblocks she hits, Mallory is one determined lady. Carlson's books are fun to read. This one is no exception. She does a great job creating tension and writing about the remodeling of the shop. If you enjoy sweet stories with good endings, you'll like Second Time Around. I received a copy from Netgalley and opinions are my own.

Melody Carlson is fast becoming my favorite author writing older, empty nest characters who reinvent themselves. I loved Carlson's take on tiny house living in Home Sweet Tiny Home, but she's outdone herself in Second Time Around. 5 fabulous stars!

Mallory Farrell inherits her beloved grandmother's seaside souvenir shop in Seaport, Oregon much to her aunt and cousin's chagrin. She spent her childhood summers with her grandmother there and has fond memories of the town and the friends she made including her crush, Grayson Matthews. Beachside settings are always a good choice, and it couldn't have been a more perfect setting for this story.

I love how Mallory uses her skill as a designer to turn the touristy shop into a charming home decor shop called Romancing the Home. The apartment upstairs is another matter and it's going to take a miracle to pull off that renovation. I loved the quote Carlson came up with to define the feeling Mallory's shop wants to foster,
"Romance: A quality or feeling of mystery, excitement. remoteness from everyday life."

There's a host of interesting characters and I enjoyed the variety, friends and rivals alike. Second Time Around checked all the boxes for what I look for in a good story, and I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. I appreciate Revell Publishers making a copy of Second Time Around available for review. All thoughts and opinions are my very own.

Melody Carlson writes such fun books, that any time one of hers comes up on my potential reading list, I jump at the chance to read it. This fits that exact mold of being a fun read!

Mallory has inherited her grandmother's tourist shop and thinks about selling it until she finds that the buyer wants to tear it down and build a strip mall. That's something Mallory can't abide. The fly in the ointment is that the buyer, who is also a contractor, is Mallory's high school crush.

This book has all kinds of characters: the entitled people, clueless men, the supportive people, the unhinged people, and the true friends. Some of the funniest characters are Mallory's Aunt Cindy and cousins Valerie and Marie. They just KNOW that Granny meant for them to have the shop and that Mallory usurped it from them. When Mallory details all the repairs that needed to be done and at what cost, they slink away saying that Mallory can keep the shop.

Melody has such a unique writing style that brings the readers into the world she is creating through her words and makes them feel at home. With the undertones of this book being about home design and décor, the readers are doubly comfortable while reading this book.

The setting of the quaint coastal town and the also quaint tourist shop are only enhancers to the novel. Readers can easily imagine themselves in the thick of the action and enjoying the town's amenities.

This is a five star book with two thumbs up and a multicolored apartment to refurbish.

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

We follow Mallory, an empty nester, as she uproots her life and takes on a new adventure: renovating her Grandmas seaside souvenir shop.

This was an enjoyable and easy read. Whilst there is a little bit of romance, I loved the emphasis of friendship and community coming together and working towards a shared goal.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a perfect, happy story that upon opening the very first page, made me feel as if I was walking the scenic streets in Seaport, Oregon.
I could almost smell the beach, ocean and feel the sand on my feet at times!
Mallory has inherited her grandma's old, run down beach store building.
Spending summers in this shop brings forth many memories.
Life has a way of moving folks on the right path, and Mallory decides that this is exactly the change she needs for herself.
She will renovate the entire place and her business will resume here!
Who knew just how much she would learn and where she would be as time goes forward?

This is a light, romantic,interesting read that can be read anytime and anywhere! You will never go wrong with a Melody Carlson book! Well done as always!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Revell for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

Mallory returns from her daughter’s wedding to a big empty house and very busy business. When she received new of inheriting her grandmother’s shop in a small town in coastal Oregon, she decides to take a week’s vacation and get the property taken care of. Grayson Matthews offers to buy her place, but she decides to revive a dream of hers. We also meet her 3 kids, Louisa, Micah and Seth, Grayson’s daughter Lindsey, Sandi, Corrina, Caroline, Thomas, Kara, Amy and a few others. Fun story, following the progress in the renovated store, and developing friendships. A beach story is always a plus.
A complimentary copy was provided by Revell. A review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think that this is one of Carlson's best novels yet.
I loved the small beach town feel that immediately made me feel like I fight right in with these lovely characters.
I love that Carlson will pull you right into the book from the beginning and you'll not want to put this book down until it's finished!
These characters have quite a story to tell too.
My favorite thing is the friendships that were formed. I wish it were that way in real life. That's the joy of reading for me.
I like no love the idea of being in Mallorys shoes. She's so lucky! In more ways than one! It's the reason she's my favorite character.
Mallory really couldn't ask for better friends or neighbors.
I did want to wring Thomas's neck along the way.
"Sigh" I can definitely relate to Mallory about the ocean view since I have one myself. Love it and this sweet book.
I highly recommend!
5 stars for a job well done!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.