Thank you for allowing me to read and review.
I really adored sage. She didn’t have the easiest time growing up and I can relate towards that. It did break my heart that nobody did anything but judge her. I enjoyed it

From the description of this book I was very excited to read it! I thought I was really going to enjoy it.. but it just fell a little flat for me.

I think that the story idea was really good but the execution was lacking. We never really got to know why Leo’s family had all of this money. There were many characters just thrown in and it was almost a game of “will you know who this person is or not?” There was rarely more than a line or two description on a new character. I felt like people were just dropped in as fast as the settings kept changing. We were bounced from scene to scene with such little transition that I’d have to go back sometimes to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.
I always felt like I was missing something, like there was information I should have had for the entire book but didn’t. If that makes sense?

I did enjoy the characters even though we were rushed into knowing them.
I felt like Leo’s mental health was handled very well. Some authors tend to make their characters need for medicine as a disability or something negative, and Holmes did not do that.
I felt so much sympathy for Sage but also very proud of her in the end.

Overall it was a quick and easy read if you want something in under two hours.

Here's the thing: I am a giant snob when it comes to reading and I am also an absolute sucker for romance novels. There are times when I want to read a story and know within a chapter who's ending up with whom, and even though there will be complications and obstacles, we are going to get a happy ending, and Juliet Holmes' Third Time's a Charm delivers on that.

Great things about this book: fantastic dialogue and endearing background characters, who I sincerely hope are getting their own books. Sage and Leo were great but I'd love to read more about Leo's brothers, not to mention John and Hazel (who star in Small Town Charm, which I'm absolutely adding to my to-read list). The story doesn't shy away from some serious issues, including Leo's mother's early onset dementia and Leo's own mental health and I don't think those issues are minimised.

It is well written, and tightly written; we are spared exposition but I think maybe, in places, it was too sparse. The pacing wasn't perfect and though I believed the outcome, I would have liked to see more about how we got there. There were some time skips, some of which are flagged and some of which are not, which was mildly confusing. Overall, I enjoyed it; an undemanding read with characters to root for.

This is a story about finding your place in the world.

Sage had a difficult childhood with an abusive father but is on to better things. She got accepted into Yale and on the night she leaves, she has to escape from her home with the help of her friends. She returns to her hometown briefly because her father passed away and has to deal with the run down house. There, she runs into Leo again after not speaking to him over the years.

Leo was a troublemaker as a teen and hasn’t left the small town that they both grew up in. He didn’t tell Sage he loved her when they were kids because he knew she was leaving and didn’t want to hold her back.Now, he’s a small business owner who employs people who have been to jail to give them a second chance at life. In his own way, he’s trying to change the world.

Although the book was okay, I really liked how no one was trying to hold anyone back. They wanted their friends to success and move on to bigger and better things even though it means leaving the town. I did like the support that Leo and Sage’s friends gave them over the years. There wasn’t much plot-wise and I couldn’t really connect with the characters but my favorite part of the book is the fact that they’re all living their separate lives and becoming adults but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t be able to join each other in their lives again in the future.

2.5 stars rounded down
This was an ok read. It wasn't so bad I wouldn't be able to finish reading it or that I'd dislike it very much but it wasn't great either, it was just ok.
This is another romance book full of really heavy, dark stuff--which, I kind of knew to expect, so it wasn't a shock but I was still hoping it would be handled differently. I think that the book should come with a trigger-warning, mostly because the blurb doesn't specify the negative stuff the book deals with. If the writing had been stronger the heavier aspects could have felt more supported. I’ve read other romances that dealt with darker themes and serious issues that managed to work for me even if I had anticipated something frothier, because the relationship was swoon-worthy and the character work was excellent. Unfortunately in this book that did not happen. The dialogue had that stilted quality that draws attention to its own artifice.
I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. The beginning was interesting but the more I read the less interested in the book I was and towards the end I was skipping pages to get to the end sooner (and the book is already quite short). The characters were bland, but mostly fine. There was no chemistry between Sage and Leo, the main characters, and I didn't feel their love at all.
Honestly, the synopsis was more entertaining than the book itself. I don't think reading it was a waste of time but I was hoping for more.

Sage didn’t always have the happiest of childhoods until one day she was able to leave because of help. Now back in town to get her dads house in order she comes face to face with Leo again. Needing his help after all this time was exactly what she needed. I enjoyed this story over all. I liked the back story of where it all began to get a sense of the reason why both were the way they were.

I have very mixed thoughts on this book.

On the plus side it was a sweet romance with characters that I liked.
On the other hand, the angst felt a little manufactured - maybe because I could not relate

I liked that this was a friendship first and this journey took place over years.
On the other hand, I felt like it jumped around a bit and didn't give enough information. They are all in a bar, wait, now they are all at her house a week later? I get a little lost here and there.

I liked that there were so many stories going on at the same time - the main romance, a side romance, his mother's illness, family drama, etc.
On the other hand - it almost felt like there were too many stories going on.

If my review left yo confused, that's pretty much how I felt.

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

Sage is back in her hometown after the death of her father.
Leo wants to help her restore the house she is left, but he has his own issues to deal with.
He messes up his second chance with Sage, but will he get a third chance?

Hoping Leo's brother Cal get his own book too.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

Sage and Leo are a high school crush that never got the chance to become anything more. They both have trauma and a lot to deal with. Leo is angry and Sage has emotional trauma.

I enjoyed the angst between the two of them as they fought their romance. They both had a lot going on in their life so it was understandable they weren’t jumping into a relationship. I also liked that Sage realized she shouldn’t ask Leo to change. And she would build her life without him.

I do wish we got to see a little bit more of Leo’s past so we could understand him even more. It would have been cool to see a therapist session. I also would have liked to see Leo visiting his mom with Tristan. Or visiting abroad like he did for 6 months. There was a lot of telling things in the book where I think the author could have showed us instead.

Also would have enjoyed seeing them together for another chapter. As we never got to really see them coexist as dating. They were either separate or boom engaged.

It all starts out a little confusing with friends, siblings and parents all involved and named and all over place, then it all settles down! The main plot takes a little time to start and there are several sub plots of couples and Alzheimer’s and even thoughts of a presidential campaign to keep on top of. The romance between Leo and Sage is developed and they work out what they mean to each other and whether they can make a go of things, having been each other’s first innocent love. With so much going on, there could be more time for the relationship to grow and be shown to grow, but a very cute story,

A small town where everybody knew what was happening and most of them didn’t do anything to stop it or to help her. But when she comes back, people keep judging her and her choices.
This one is a story of friendship, love, family, choices you have to make in life, second chances, new opportunities... Highly recommended.

In “Third Time’s a Charm” we meet Sage, a young woman destined for greatness, escaping her small-town limitations and abusive childhood. She didn’t have it easy growing up, with an absent mother and a father with a temper. Thank goodness she had a few close friends, John, Hazel, and Leo, to nurse her and feed her when her father would not. Leo, her childhood friend and the one that could be, or at least… could have been. These friends are the only reason she escapes - to college, to her future. Never to come back to Lyndale, TX… not if she can help it.
But the death of her father brings her back to town, back to the critical glares and small-town whispers demeaning her daughterly efforts. With her return, it kicks up all the old feelings - not just in her, but in Leo too. But Leo has his own struggles. Leo’s got a wrap sheet as long as his tattooed arm. He’s got an older brother who’s soberly boring, a younger brother to help raise, and a mom who’s dementia onset gets worse day-by-day. Add to that Leo’s roofing business and their bustling foster care responsibilities (mom loves every lost soul), and anyone can see how Leo feels stuck in his life. Well, at least he didn’t realize he felt stuck until Sage blew back into his life.
Third Time’s a Charm is a refreshing take on a romance story. There is authenticity in the characters: they have flaws, they seek out therapy and acknowledge their issues, and they struggle with their emotions and decisions. Leo especially, you can feel the weight of his problems and empathize with his choices - very refreshing for a MMC! The struggle between Sage and Leo feels grounded in truth - I think anyone from a small town with a first love crush will connect with Sage and her conflict in returning, in opening her heart to rejection, and at trying to make it work one more time.
**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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