Amelia, on a whim, leaves her family and friends after getting fired at her job for a mistake and throwing a mug at her ex’s head and heads to Europe. She travels around and after several months, finds herself on a small Greek island staying at the hotel her parents stayed at on their honeymoon.

Amelia meets James, who is also staying at the Ria Hotel and befriends the owner. The owner dies, Amelia and James get married by accident and inherit the Ria. They have to learn to live and work with each other while pay down the debt of the burial. (Side note: it really is a thing in Greece that families “rent” a grave for 3 years and then they get dug up unless big money is paid.)

This is a s l o w b u r n romance. I didn’t really see the chemistry between Amelia and James until the romance really hit (3/4 of the way through). Amelia had a lot of growing up to do because she was definitely the lesser in her relationships.

I loved the Greek setting and the people. I enjoyed the secondary characters as well as the found family trope.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this eARC. The Second Chance Hotel is out now.

The Second Chance Hotel
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
By Sierra Godfrey
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark @bookmarked and @netgalley for the advanced copy. I desperately tried to finish reading it before pub day last month but failed miserably.

Amelia’s boyfriend breaks up with her, and then she throws a mug at his head at work, which gets her fired. She decides to take the money from the vacation they had planned to go on together and travels through Europe solo. She ends up staying at a hotel on a quiet island in Greece and befriends the owner of the hotel and a cute guest named James. Rather than returning to America to work in tech, Amelia ends up staying in Greece. An alcohol filled night changed the course of Amelia’s life completely.

This book is s rom com , so don’t be surprised. It’s cute, funny and has great travel vibes.

Favorite quote: “But you’ve also seen me throw a mug of tea at a colleague’s head.” ☕️

Favorite character: Amelia ☀️
Steamy rating: Would barely make a nun blush 😂
Profanity: No swearing 😇
How I discovered: Goodreads 💻
Method: E-book via NetGalley 📱

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital ARC of the sophomore book by Sierra Godfrey. I was a huge fan of her debut, A Very Typical Family, and really liked this one too - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Amelia is running away from all of her problems - and there are quite a few of them. Her mother is driving her crazy, her ex-boyfriend and coworker deliberately sabotaged her and she got fired for throwing a mug at him; and her best friend isn't talking to her. She travels around Europe and ends up on a small Greek island to figure out what to do next. She's staying at the small hotel where her parents honeymooned and she meets James, another traveler trying to get space from his own issues. But after too much alcohol at a wedding they attend together, they get a blessing from the priest which turns out to be a real marriage. Then they are also gifted the hotel, which has lots of problems on its own. They have to work together to figure out the mess they are in.

While there's some things here that you just have to go along with, in Godfrey's wonderful hands this was a truly engaging read. I loved the whole cast of characters, the beautiful setting, the food descriptions, the community feeling, and the second chance possibilities. It's a light, tender read that is hopeful, funny, and a perfect reminder to be true to your heart and open to life's possibilities.

What a delightful and unexpected story of second chances and taking leaps of faith. The characters were well written and easy to fall for, the storyline was established well and kept me turning pages. I really enjoyed this unconventional love story and it had me wanting to hop on a plane and visit the beautiful picturesque community in Greece. A great read! Thanks for allowing me to read the arc.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey.

Amelia’s life has gone off the rails. She has just lost her job after a humiliating display of outrage at her ex-boyfriend, destroyed her friendship with her oldest and dearest friend, and suffered through yet another conversation with her manipulative mother who is divorcing her father. At her wits end, Amelia does the only thing she knows how to do – Amelia runs away to Europe for a three-month long vacation. She winds up her travels on the small island of Asteri, where her running finally catches up with her. Through an eccentric cast of characters (and one unexpected handsome fellow tourist), Amelia discovers that running away not only hurts the people she cares about, but also hurts her as well.

When I first started this book, I was not a fan. Amelia makes very poor life choices in the beginning, which were frustrating for me to read. However, Godfrey does a good job of using Amelia’s poor decisions to teach her a valuable lesson, and I ended up really enjoying this story! The people Amelia meets on the island of Asteri are hilarious, and I laughed out loud at many of the scenes. This is a fun beach read with some serious themes woven into it as well. You will be mad at Amelia, but root for her in the end!

I tried so hard to like this book, but after 35%, I decided to DNF it. The book was just not grabbing my attention. I’m hoping to find it as an audiobook. If I do, I’ll update my review.

3.5/5

I really enjoyed this classically Greek rom-com and the cheeky narrative of the main character. All of the characters Amelia comes to know in this story are all charming in their own ways (except maybe her parents), but it really brings home the theme of going after your heart's desires and that life is too short to always be too logical.

A really charming vacation read or light-hearted read!

I finished this book in a day because it was so fun and easy to read!
I really liked James' character, he's a very sweet nerdy and handsome guy that probably doesn't know how handsome he is, and seems also very sweet, I'd love to find myself an IRL James.
Amelia is a little annoying throughout the book, especially how much of a pushover she usually is, the whole ordeal with Ella really annoys me because yeah she messed up as her best friend, but it wasn't THAT bad for her to feel the way she does about the situation and all the guilt...
All the bits and pieces about life on a Greek island were so nice!!! I really enjoyed all the Yiorgos characters, Birgitte & Alexandra. It really made me consider leaving everything behind and running off to a remote island. And I could definitely relate to how Amelia runs away from her problems because I tend to do the same thing.
Takis was a really sweet character as well, and I loveeeed his presence throughout the book.
Overall, 4/5 on the story as a whole, the characters, the setting, the love parts & the realness of all their families. Would recommend as an easy read for anyone looking for their next romance book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC in exchange for an unbiased honest review. (I've also published on Amazon)

3.5 stars!

This was a cute and lighthearted read that transported me right to the Greek isles and made me nostalgic for the delicious cuisine and breathtaking scenery from my previous travels there. The plot focuses on a young woman named Amelia, who has a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day that leads her to impulsively skip her bff's upcoming wedding nuptials in favor of backpacking Europe solo. The story focuses on the last stint of her trip, when she stops on a remote Greek island and stays at a run-down resort, having run out of the last of her travel funds. There is only one other hotel guest (James), who conveniently is a handsome, single American tourist. Things take a crazy turn when during one drunken night, the hotel owner tricks James and Amelia into getting married so he can bequeath them his hotel. After his passing, Amelia and James must quickly work together to revitalize the hotel in order to make it profitable enough for them to sell.

If you like a hot and heavy romance, this is not your jam. I'm not typically a romance novel person, however, so I appreciated that this story was focused more on the main character's self-discovery, with a dash of a slow-burn romance added.

My gratitude to the author, NetGalley, and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this arc to read and review.

I lost interest in this story about half way through. The setting was very enjoyable but the characters were a bit meh. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I really needed this book and it was the perfect late summer, I need something light and indeed second chance focused. The Second Chance Hotel from Sierra Godfrey has all the markers of a light escape read that I want: found family, hotel and foreign settings, family "stuff", and maybe figuring life out along the way through some unexpected moments and relationships. What really sold me for this read was the focus on happiness, not just running away from fears and things that aren't working but also realizing you can move towards something/someone or just towards a happier you.
Thank you SourceBooks for my review copy, this was a made me smile read and I needed that.

I REALLY enjoyed this story of starting over, finding yourself abroad and falling in love with both a person and a place in this strangers to lovers, forced proximity, marriage of inconvenience romance that sees Amelia waking up married after a drunken night at a Greek festival and learning that she and her new 'husband,' James have inherited a ramshackle boutique hotel on a remote Greek island.

Forced to work together in order to pay off the debt the former hotel owner owed before they can sell, Amelia and James have a steep learning curve on hotel management and property improvement as they deal with unruly guests and a cast of loveable locals.

A slow burn full of heart, this was great on audio narrated by Ri Paige and perfect for fans of books like Main character energy by Jamie Varon or Lucy checks in by Dee Ernst. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Second Chance Hotel uses a rather far-fetched premise of 2 people accidentally getting married while in Greece, but even so, this was such a great read: lots of humor and characters you will love, all set on an idyllic Greek island. This book would make a great movie!

When Amelia throws a mug at her ex-boyfriend, loses her job, and ditches her best friend's wedding, she takes a trip across Europe to deal with the pain. After three months of partying, she realizes she has to create a re-entry plan, and ends up in Greece, in the Ria Hotel, where she plans to use the quiet to apply for jobs and figure out when to head back to the bay area.

The owner of the hotel has other plans for her, and after tricking her and a visitor named James into a fake wedding, he also dumps the hotel in her lap. Amelia wants nothing more than to flee the island and leave the problems behind, but guests arrive and the hotel owner's family needs money for the funeral. James and Amelia rally together and start to renovate, redecorate, and cater to their guests.

While they save the Ria Hotel, they also realize they like each other more than they thought. Amelia loves being in Greece, but when she gets an offer for her dream job and James rebuts her attempts at having a relationship, she heads back home. A few months back in California is all it takes to make Amelia realize she can have both--so she hurries back to Greece to reunite with James, who planted new olive trees and has been waiting for her to return.

I gave The Second Chance Hotel a four-star rating because I really liked it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again. There are several things I loved about this book: the rag-tag spirit around reviving the hotel, the travel vibes, and James and Amelia's relationship.

This book came so close to getting a five-star rating from me--I loved the pacing, the budding relationship between James and Amelia, and felt the conflict was believable and genuine. The reason I dropped it down to a four star is because the last 20% of the book felt like it was written by a different person.

James and Amelia's interactions feel more stinted and awkward in the last fifth of the book, and the pacing also falls off. It was almost like someone had to pick it up and finish writing it when they didn't want to.

All in all, I did really like this one, and I wish the ending had kept up with the rest, as it came so close to being my second five star read of 2023.

3.5 stars-THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL by Sierra Godfrey is a contemporary, adult, story line focusing on two Americans caught up in an accidental marriage while travelling through Greece.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Amelia) THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL follows thirty-two year old American Amelia Lang in the aftermath of having her work sabotaged, an aggressive retaliation against her ex boyfriend, being fired from a job she didn’t love, and jumping a plane to Europe to escape the upheaval at home. Three months later, Amelia Lang arrives in Greece, to the same hotel where her parents honeymooned but a hotel that has seen much better days. Meeting one other guest, fellow American James, who was also struggling with his direction in life, resulted in an unplanned and surprise drunken wedding, and the receipt of the hotel as a wedding gift in the wake of the death of the current owner. Unable to speak or understand the language, our couple find themselves struggling with the culture, the rules and regulations of running a hotel, a determined land developer, and battling a greedy member of the hotel owner’s family but with the help of some locals, Amelia and James find success where they least expected.

THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL reads like a cross between Mama Mia ™ and My Big Fat Greek Wedding™ with all of the craziness of a large extended family you never knew you had. The world building focuses on the marriage between Amelia and James, a marriage that James is often quick to remind Amelia is fake, a marriage that struggles with jealousy, a lack of commitment, and a definite lack of romance. The premise is entertaining but slow to build-in the early chapters there was more telling than showing; the characters are numerous, quirky and sassy; the romance is limited as the couple battle their feelings and emotions; there is one lone $ex scene near the end of the book.



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I was unsure I was going to like this book at first, the pacing in the beginning was a big off and I struggled to understand the characters' actions and motives, but as the book continued, I grew to love the characters and the relationship that formed between them! The author does a great job of making the setting into a character in the story and the important roll the tiny island in Greece plays in Amelia's life and choices. Made me want to book a trip to Greece!

I just finished Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey and here are my thoughts.

After throwing a mug at her ex-boyfriends head… at work…. Getting herself fired…. Amelia has spiraled. She jumps on a plane and takes a trip around Europe… Upsetting her best friend who’s wedding she missed.

Arriving on the Greek island her parents honeymooned at, Amelia has high hopes of getting her life back on track. Being one of only 2 guests at the hotel her parents stayed in, a now dilapidated state, doesn’t stop Amelia from trying to make the most of her time there.

When the hotel owner invites her and James, the other guest, to his niece's wedding, and after having too much booze… Amelia and James find the hotel owner has died. Then find out he left them both the hotel and they somehow got married that night!

It's all fun and games until you accidentally marry a stranger in Greece and inherit a hotel.
Amelia and James have to deal with the guests that have already booked to arrive and while they bring the tourists in and start fixing up the hotel, they must decide what they are going to do. The more time they spend together, the more they start to warm up to each other, the harder it is getting to return back to the life she left behind.
This book was so funny! Whatever can go wrong on a vacation, usually marrying someone while drunk and getting a free hotel aren’t usually one of the problems. I don’t know what I would do myself haha but a free hotel…. Count me in!
Amelia must have been in a dark place to not wait to leave until after her friend's wedding. I can feel how hard the decision must have been. The book doesn’t just feel like a second chance at life but like fate had a plan for both Amelia and James and every that was supposed to happen, did. The people on the island were such a wonderful community and all came together that I felt cozy and warm after I was finished. Greek hospitality is second to none!
The descriptive prose of Greece made me homesick for Europe and I would love to go home and tour around as an adult again. I love everything about this book. I loved watching them fall in love but try and keep their distance. They always assumed that they would both leave once winter came and the idea of selling at a huge profit was a lot to give up.
I loved the ending and I do hope we get a sequel. I would love a book on some of the side characters maybe!!!


4.5 stars!
Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for my gifted copy

while i read the whole thing, it was a lot of repetition. yeah, we know you didn't mean to get married, move on. it alos annoyed me the amount of borat-like speech in the scenes with yorgos or birgitte.

This book was entertaining and reminded me of a 2000s-style romcoms. It didn't blow me away, but I wasn't looking for anything like that from this book. This is one of those books you should pack in your beach bag and read on a slow day by the ocean.

The writing style is comfortable, if predictable at times. The characters are all well fleshed out and relatable (though i can promise you'll love some more than others), and the romance is cute. There's a lot of pining and a very slight bit of spice at the end. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something light and cute!