The Second Chance is a beautifully written, original and life affirming novel that I loved. It’s an original premise, told with a light touch and I really loved the character of Nell. The supporting characters are all wonderfully drawn to and I was completely immersed in this novel over the course of 24 hours. A recommended read and I look forward to more from the author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Picture this - you're 19 years old, spending time abroad in Australia with the boy that you love. You and your friends hear of a psychic who is able to predict the date of your deaths and, intrigued, you seek her out. Everything is fine until you realize that this might be more serious than you're bargaining for. 19 years. That's how old you are. And that's how much longer you have to live - 19 years.

Nell takes this news to heart and chooses to live her life to its absolute fullest - traveling from country to country to see all that there is, never settling down anywhere. Her death date is coming up and she's making all sorts of arrangements to relieve herself of all her worldly belongings - after all, she won't be needing them where she's headed. Except....her death date passes....and she's still alive.

This book is a wonderful story of "What would you do with your life if you knew when you were going to die?" mixed with "What would you do if you were given a second chance?" It was a great read and I look forward to more from Charlotte Butterfield!

The Second Chance takes you on an emotional journey full of highs and lows. Nell knows the exact day of her death and decides at nineteen when she finds out that she will live her life accordingly. One of her last encounters, when she sells her possessions, is when she meets Tom. When things take an unexpected turn, Nell is not sure how to act, even though her life has outwardly been living in the moment. When she doesn't die as expected, how does she live what remains of her life? It is engaging and thought-provoking, with an insightful look at relationships and family. I like Nell; she is believably flawed, and you invest in her life.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A very clever book! Nell and Greg are travelling round the world, and in Australia they have their fortunes told. Nell is given a date she will die... 20 years in the future, whereas Greg is told he will live to be over 100. Nell starts to obsess about this, and it splits them up. She goes on to live a wild and carefree life, but keeps away from family. Then the dreaded date arrives and she sets herself up in a hotel, having discarded all her possessions, even her phone, and written farewell letters (with a few home truths) to her loved ones.

Nell wakes up the next morning, alive, single, penniless and in an expensive hotel wearing a rented ball gown. As she tries to sneak out she meets Greg, who has also lived his life according to the prophesy - carefully amassing sums to see him comfortable in his very long old age.

The result makes you think how people behave, and what makes for a happy life. Its told in a humorous and entertaining way, as Nell comes to terms with a longer life span and has to handle the fallout from her frank letters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Live life to the fullest. Nell and Greg are two carefree lovers, traveling together in their gap year, living the bohemian life. They stay in hostels, work odd jobs, meet a variety of people and "go where life takes them." During their travels, Nell is told by a physic that she will die on a certain date when she is 36. Greg, though, is told that he will live to be 103. Nell continues to travel after her gap year is over while Greg goes home, finishes his studies and becomes a successful banker/investor. Nell lives a life that could be considered as "very full" because she figures she will be dying young. She does not get attached to anyone for more than a short time, she does not make long-term decisions. She distances herself from family and loved ones. Greg on the other hand, believes that he will have a long life and needs to amass his fortune early on, to be able to live well in his retirement. Initially I did not like Nell. She comes across as very selfish, living only to please herself, everyone else be damned.As I read though, it became apparent that rather than selfish, she was weaving a protective shell around herself and her loved ones. Greg I saw as materialistic and a boring workaholic. As the book continued, I began to see how a predictable date of death could influence a life, whether the person believed that prediction or not. It was funny. I laughed through the book but at the same time, it was a theme with depth. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the digital ARC This review is my own words.

What a fun story! I’ve never read a story with a second chance at life like this one and I really enjoyed it! The characters Nell, Tom, and Juno were my favorites; I loved that they were just unapologetically themselves! I really appreciated that it wasn’t just the author that got a new lease on life, but everyone around her did as well. Would recommend if you’re looking for a fun, easy, read with a life lesson mixed in!

I found the premise of this book incredibly interesting and thought provoking

Nell finds out the exact date of her death. She is flawed and at times a bit frustrating but overall a character I really grew to enjoy and made me think a lot about things.

There are deeper topics explored but ones that are incredibly relatable and are balanced well with humor and adventure.

This is a pretty bingeable book that makes you think about life and the choices you make and I really needed to know what happened to Nell.

heartwarming, reflective and thought provoking read. The messages ' what would you do if you know when you will die?'

It have dark humor, and love the character development. But I don't understand why we spent a lot of time with her exes.

Overall, it is entertaining. Thank you netgalley for the review copy.

When she was 19 and travelling on her gap year, Nell was told the date of her death.. She has been preparing for that moment all of her life and when it doesn't happen she is stuck. She has sold all of her possessions and has no money. A chance meeting with an ex-boyfriend helps her out and helps her decide on a way forward. On the journey to her enlightenment, she meets some lovely people and none more flamboyant that Juno, an octogenarian, with a lust of life equalling Nell's own. Juno, in her own way, helps Nell find what she is looking for in more ways than one.
A lovely book and a delightful read.

This was a very heartwarming and thought provoking read that I would recommend to absolutely everyone.
It’s so well written, it has some really funny moments and the ending had me in tears. It’s a complete rollercoaster of a read!
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Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to review this book.

Very funny and desperately needs to be on a screen soon. There is one scene in particular which was so comically well written, I couldn't help but laugh.
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A physic told Nell she was going to die, the exact date - so of course she believed her. To be fair the other person she said would die, did die, you can see why Nell was so convinced. As Nell arranges for all her worldly possessions to be sold, cancelled and given away I was worried. I understand she didn't want to leave a mess for anyone to have to clear up, but when she doesn't die - what a mess! Not to mention all the letters she's written, will anyone still speak to her, even if she is is back from the dead?

At times Nell did grate with me a little, when she lost her ability to make decisions, and stick to them. That actually just added to the plot and the interest though. My favourite character was the fabulous Juno, I will not explain why, as she needs to be discovered all on her own.

I was so intrigued by the concept of this book and the author really did it justice in her writing and character development. Even after I finished reading the book I was wondering what was going to happen next. Then I remembered I hadn't got it to read anymore …

I’d say this was a pretty decent read. Except for some weird behavior from the main character that is. Nell definitely wasn’t as good of a person as others thought. She did some nasty things at times in the book. The premise was fun though

What an absolute whirlwind!

If you knew the date you were going to die would you live your life like Nell too?

Would you write letters to loved ones, making big statements knowing you wouldn't be alive to live with the consequences?

What about if you did live passed that date, now what are you going to do?

I had so much fun reading this, Nell is such an exciting character and blows into everyone's lives like a force to be reckoned with. I'd like to think I'm friendly like Nell and make similar impacts on people's lives and outlooks in life.

I loved this so much!

What a beautiful ode to the one life you have. To the life you want to live. To the people you want in your life. To never being too old, too inexperienced, too scared or too anything to do what you want to do.

"Just promise me that you'll say hello to strangers."

A book can be good in many different forms. But one of them, and one that I like the most, is when a book is relatable and teaches you something about life. And oh, how was this perfect for it.

"It was the same reason she ever left anywhere she'd been for too long. She'd started to care about people and them about her."

Nell was told by a psychic at age eighteen that she was going to die in 20 years. She lived her life like she wanted to. To the fullest she was able to. But that also meant being scared of getting attached to people or them getting too attached to her. Because when the inevitable day comes, the hurt caused by her would be inevitable as well. So she travels alone. She does any reckless thing and anything without thinking it through.

"It was much harder to miss someone you never saw. For them and her."

And then... she does not die.

"She had got something.
She had a second chance."

This is the funny, emotional, and relatable story of Nell, her family, and the lovely people she left behind, met in the week of her long-expected death or while trying to live a life without an expiry date.

"Dou you want me to call you a cab?"
"That would be weird, my name is Nell."

This was the perfect 4.5 star book for me and an arc that caught me by surprise.

Second Chance was exactly the book that I needed in 2024. A book that called me out in some parts, taught me new things in others, and made me appreciate life on a new level.❤️

"So shall I book the two rooms then, or ..." He coughed. "The one?"

For anyone running away before it gets too serious.
For anyone ignoring problems instead of facing them.
For anyone being scared to love or being loved.
For anyone yearning to travel the world.
For anyone scared of taking the next step.
For anyone stuck somewhere.
For anyone who saw the title and went, I want that.
For anyone who is not perfect but is simply living their life the best they can.
For anyone needing a reminder that life is short but also long. Because it is never too late. And a decision from the past does not have to determine your whole life.

"Bye Tom."
"Ooo say it again."
"Bye Tom." (This is sooo cute in context 🥹)

Life can be short, but it can also be long. It can end tomorrow, next week, in 10 years, or in 80 years. But we only have one, however long it may be. This book is an entertaining reminder of such a devastating fact at times.

So here is to life and endless possibilities. ❤️🥂

Thank you, NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Charlotte Butterfield for the arc in exchange for an honest review. "The Second Chance" will be out in a couple of days on May 9th!

I thought this book was fine. The premise is pretty interesting, but I thought it was a bit pushy with the themes and didn't really connect well with the characters. It's a light read that really tries to impart a message, so if you like that, you will love this!

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book!

Ahh brilliant, heartwarming relatable in places and thoroughly entertaining read. I loved the concept of knowing exactly when you’re going to die and the way that everything would fixate around that fact. We’re all a bit obsessed by the concept of our own demise but there are also good things about that like remembering to live every moment to the full and not wasting opportunities. Our main character gives lots of food for thought, partially in her determination to have lots of experiences but also in her reticence to put down roots or become too grounded because of what she believes is to come. She’s a great reminder that you don’t always want to commit and that big life decisions aren’t always easy to make and you never quite know for sure if you’ve made the correct one but being nice to strangers is definitely a good option and feeling you’re doing the right thing is good for your conscience and karma. A really lovely read and some refreshing life lessons.

Thank you Avon Books UK for this really great read! I had so much fun diving into Nell's story, her humor and boldness, how she lived life to the fullest because she thought she didn't have a long life ahead... I was surprised by how much I wanted to fully know the details of the letters she wrote, waiting to find out what it was and how those letters would oddly enough become not the marker of the end of her life but the beginning of her really perhaps living. Isn't that such a cool idea? The writing is bold, upfront, and witty, refusing to take the idea of not living past 38 too seriously but also taking it very seriously in terms of how it becomes a symbol of accepting adulthood is actually going to happen, of becoming a reason to have to address the past in order to have a future.

Solid well developed secondary characters (Tom was my favorite I think) and deftly used humor, even with tough topics and a plot that works more than you might think it would... Charlotte Butterfield has a new fan in me!

What would you do if you were told the date of your death... and then woke up the morning after you were supposed to die, still alive, having got rid of all your worldly possessions and sent a last letter to five people?

That's Nell's predicament - half a lifetime of adventure and living in the moment (and not letting herself get close to people), but what happens now?

I loved the premise, and I'm so pleased that the execution did it justice. Nell's a flawed character and very relatable; it's lovely to see her journey and how she changes her views on life (as well as how she changes other people's lives). The minor characters are good, too - they're layered, which is good. The standout for me was Juno.

This book makes you think a lot about deep questions: how do you measure/judge the success of your life? How do you deal with relationships - family, friends and lovers? Add in the kindness of strangers, a comedian who really is funny (sharp and witty, rather than slapstick), putting yourself in other people's shoes to make sense of the world... it's a joy of a book. Worthy five stars.

Great premise and well written characters made this a very good read. Nell's lived large because she was sure of the day she would die but she didn't and now she's got to claim herself back from that attitude. And she's got to deal with the impact of the letters she sent. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's funny and thoughtful.

Wow! What a cool book! The concept of the book was super awesome - a woman thinks she’s going to die on a certain date, writes sure honest letters to those closest to her and then she doesn’t die.

Seeing her figure out how to pick up the pieces was so interesting and oftentimes very funny!

The only downside of the book for me was it was maybe 50 pages too long. A pretty significant character was added later on in the story and I wish they were brought in early.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.