This is the first book I read by this author. I definitely like his writing style. I loved his humor. Many times I was just reading along and then wham! I read a sentence that had me laughing out loud and carrying on, and it was a great feeling! I honestly do not laugh out loud often. I find things funny, but do not laugh. This book had me laughing so many times.

I love the quirky, odd characters. I love that they all have issues, but are dealing with them and have become the champions of their world. They have dealt with their issues and have become a unique people. They are flawed humans that do not always make the correct decisions and also carry their baggage with them, but they go on and for that, I adore them. While I do not agree with all the character's decisions in this book, it is a book of fiction, so I go with it and enjoy the story as it unfolds. One character is truly awful, but most stories need one villain, and that is Laura in this story.

Nathan (Laura's husband) is hit by a bus and is assumed dead and sent to the Edinburgh morgue where Kat works. She find him and sees he is fully alive, and also very cute and is taken aback by how strongly she is bonded to him in that moment.

The story is about second chances, friendship, forgiveness, betrayal and making the most of your life - whatever situation you happen to be presented.

This is a light-hearted book with many serious issues going on it in. I enjoyed this book so much.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Impulse & KIller Reads for allowing me to read the Advanced Reader's Copy. This review is my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

Nathan Jones life ended after he was hit by a bus that is where his story should have ended, but when he woke up in a morgue, he left everyone baffled. But, now his world has been turned upside down as his wife has left him to be the father to their three kids.

I didn't get in far enough to really judge the characters, but from what I saw none of them really left me with the good vibes that left me eager to support them. Nathan was adjusting to his life now that he was alive and now a single dad to three kids. He struggled, but was trying to make the best of what had happened to him. Laura, his estranged wife, was... hard for me to like. While I don't feel like anyone should stay in a relationship that has made them unhappy for so long she just consistently rubbed me the wrong way. Kat... I honestly don't know what to say about her other than she was just a no from me.

From the title of this book, and even the summary, I thought we would get Nathan's POV and maybe Kat's, but we also get Laura's which from that first 30% was completely unnecessary. The couple of chapters from her added nothing to the story. I don't know if the author was trying to make her more understandable or likable, but I didn't need those chapters at all. The chapters also weren't labeled. It could take a number of paragraphs or even a page before I realized whose POV I was in.

The dialogue shifted from moments of being believable to so forced it hurt, especially between Nathan and Kat. From the couple of interactions there were between them it was all so forced and insta-love (at least on Kat's side) that I wanted to scream. In their first interaction this is how her introduction goes:

'... What's your name?'
'Kat.'
'What, as in pussy? Sorry, that sounds rude.'

I'm sorry, WHAT??? There is so much about their interactions that didn't make sense. As Kat pulls him out of the morgue, she's not concerned that he had been dead and was now alive, she just thinks he's cute. When they meet up again, she continually ask him personal questions about his life which felt like a forced way for her to get more information about him. Information that she seemed to already known based completely on intuition.

There was another small scene that rubbed me the wrong way too. One of Kat's friends used to be fat. As the author talks about her losing weight, he talks about how these features that were previous hidden such as her blue eyes and blonde hair were now visible now that she was skinny.

There was so much disappoint early on in this book that I couldn't enjoy a single moment of it.

I had a few issues with this book. I found some of the vocabulary choices offensive and there were a few procedural things that just wouldn’t happen.

It’s a meandering tale of romance but it never really goes anywhere. I didn’t particularly like the main characters, though I felt the children were well portrayed. Not my cup of tea overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Nathan Jones was killed by a bus but then he wasn't killed after all and wakes up in the morgue. I liked the idea of getting the chance to start with new beginnings but did absolutely not like the way Nathan handled things. He made such a mess of everything I just wanted to kick him. I did not like the guy at all and could not get past this feeling enough to really like this book. Sorry!

I found the beginning of the book a little confusing at times. The point of view is from three different characters but there is nothing to tell you who’s head you are in, so occasionally I would be a page into the chapter before working out who was talking. Later on it’s mostly from Kat so it’s much easier to follow. I thought the story was a little far fetched in places, and I must admit to skipping over some pages to hurry the story along. I was curious to see how the story would end though, so it did pull me in. If the synopsis had mentioned children I probably wouldn’t have read the book, and they really play a big part of the story so ultimately this book wasn’t for me but i’m sure it will appeal to plenty of others. Thank you #netgalley

The adorably quirky Second Life of Nathan Jones will do well in collections where offbeat romances are popular.

I was expecting a quirky kind of Nick Hornby at his best story here, but unfortunately this wasn’t quite up to scratch.

The characters - brilliant. Well written and developed, they made the book for me. Terrific.

Unfortunately the pacing of the story wasn’t quite right. I found much of the story itself very, very slow and speed read the last quarter of the novel. For me, it wasn’t an unputdownable read.

I enjoyed this book. 3.5 stars. A quick, smart read that was humorous at times. It had a great ending which, for me, is important! A great book to read at the beach on vacay!

#netgalley #thesecondlifeofnathanjones

Nathan is hit by a bus and declared dead in the hospital. Leaving his wife and two children behind.

However he baffles doctors when he is find wide awake in the morgue by Kat. Quickly taken up to the wards to be examined. He realises all might not be well with his marriage. His wife Laura does not drop everything to come and see him. Plus when he is released to go home he opens up a letter that contained his death certificate! Not many people can say they have read their own death certificate.

When his wife moves out and starts a new life, will Nathan do the same or take her back?

This story flicks from Nathan to Kat. I thought this book would be centered around Nathan but then Kat seems to be a main character too. I feel sorry for Nathan as he wife does not seem to treat him very well.

Sadly I could not get on with this book. I thought Kat finding him in the morgue would be a lot funnier than what it was. The story dragged on and I wasn't sure where the plot was going. I assume Nathan would end up in someone else arms as a typical romance.

This novel would suit someone who is well into romance books and loves a heartwarming tale. However this book was not for me.

A quirky read set in Scotland.

Nathan is hit by a bus, and declared dead, but he wake up in the morgue, where he meets Kat.

He soon finds out his wife was releived when she thought he was dead, so do they have a future together? As events unfold and he spends more time with Kat they fall for each other, but will he give his wife a second chance.

I did not like how quickly Kat forgave him for how he hurt her.

I am trying to read books just now without looking at the genre or the blurb. So this was a lovely surprise. I expected it to be about the title character Nathan Jones, and focus on his personality and feelings. He was the focus, the centre of what was going on; marriage break up, new romance, custody battle; but there was so much more. From the minute Kat found him in the morgue she was the central character, and we learned more of her feelings and background. She was hilarious - I'd love to meet her parents, what good fun they sound, and obviously love and care for their daughter. Millie, the oldest daughter was a great character, she made me laugh out loud with her bagel test, and interrogations. Laura, Nathan's wife was a horror on the surface, but really just someone who wanted to live the life she would have chosen had she not become pregnant very young. She loves her girls, but she wants to pursue her career. Can she have both? I loved the romp through life that this became, and I devoured it in a couple of sessions. #nathanjones #netgalley #thesecondlifeofnathanjones

A humorous book filled with great characters.. especially Kat. A quick and funny read that had a lot of unexpected events. Had me guessing right to to the end, thankfully in my eyes the book had the right outcome. A recommendation for anyone wanting something to read on holiday.

This book was way better than I was expecting! Surprisingly cute, funny, and heartwarming! Even the clueless hero don’t annoy me while I was reading; I felt he was hapless, but charming. And I loved Millie! She could have easily gone the spoiled brat route, but they made her smart and the voice of reason; such a lovely surprise!

While I did finish the book because I wanted to know what happened, I felt there were times where the story dragged on and other points where it moved too fast. This made the book feel a little choppy. I found that I was not too invested in the characters. I was hoping for a light hearted, funny book but I do not think the book quite hit the mark.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started ok but got worse and worse as I turned the pages
I was expecting a quirky and sweet book but what I got was a creepy and inappropriate read

This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

The title is misleading, as it seems like the book is mainly about Nathan Jones, but the author focused more on the character of Kat. Other than that, it was an ok read for me. The writing was good, but it just wasn't something that I couldn't put down.

I think I enjoyed this book more in the beginning than the middle and end. From the title I figured this book would be all about Nathan, but it is actually more about Kat which confused me. Kat was mostly the narrator and I found that a bit strange. Overall the story is fine but there are just too many strange things going on to really connect with the reader.

The terrible relationship between Nathan and Laura was barely touched on. Laura's actions after Nathan's accident were appalling sure but so were Kat's actions after finding Nathan. Creepy and inappropriate. I was expecting a cute and quirky read, but that was not what I got.

My copy was provided by NetGalley for review, all opinions are my own.

The Second Life of Nathan Jones by David Atkinson is a lighthearted rom com that I would recommend as an ideal beach read. This is a novel about second chances, both in love and life.

Nathan Jones is hit by a bus, presumed dead at the scene, and is taken to the local morgue. Mortician Kat receives the shock of her life when she discovers that, in fact, Nathan is very much alive, in probably one of ther most bizarre 'meet cutes' ever written. Nathan is married with three daughters at the time of his accident, and his wife, Laura, is not only unsympathetic to his trauma, but decides that the time has come to call quits on the marriage. Nathan is distraught, but knows in his heart that the love has long been gone from his marriage. Kat, meanwhile, has set her sights on Nathan, and is determined to turn his 'second life' into a second chance at happiness. Will love find these two lonely souls following such an unconventional beginning?

This is a humourous take on modern dating and romance that will have you rooting for both Nathan and Kat, and laughing out loud at their numerous foibles.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads, and One More Chapter for this ARC.

Good light reading. I enjoyed this book. It has a nice hook and premise at the beginning, with well-drawn characters and plenty of everyday conflict. The backstory of one of the characters got a bit tedious, but it all came together in the end. Recommended for summer beach reading.