A sweet (pun intended) story of a pastry chef with internalized shame about "having a big mouth" who gets a chance to redo a year in which maybe she spoke up too loudly, too quickly, or too often. Or maybe she didn't? Wiesner's story centers around sexism in male dominated industries (mostly the culinary world, but also touching on academia and finance) and the challenges of speaking up about harassment and discrimination when systems reward those who play along and punish those who call out bad behaviour. It's a challenge this reader related too all too well, and I enjoyed watching Sadie's journey toward accepting that speaking up can be a good thing, even an essential thing, despite how often the results aren't ideal. We also get a lovely found family story with a group of new coworkers in a charming coffee shop, a strong central friendship with some ups and downs, a look at the difficulties of meeting parental expectations when those expectations are deeply out of line with personal goals and strengths, and a lightly threaded romance with a shy composer harbouring a lifelong crush. A perfect read for anyone who wrestles with choices about when and how to speak up under difficult circumstances, told with warmth, joy, and a well-deserved triumphantly happy ending.

Normally I'm not a fan of the groundhog day/do-over trope but I loved The Second Chance Year! It was nice because when Sadie went back in time, it went month by month and each month would feature a situation that happened previously then it was wrapped up and it just helped things not feel long at all.

I LOVE Sadie and I LOVE Jacob and I LOVE THEM TOGETHER. What a sweet romance!!

I love FMC's who are honest even if it causes problems because I'm just such a stickler for speaking up and saying whatever you want even if you probably shouldn't. It was crazy to watch Sadie's journey and her learning to remember that she's great as she is. I never once stopped rooting for her and felt like I really understood her!

All of the side characters were perfection. I miss them already!

There were definitely some heavy topics - sexual harassment, lots of gaslighting and misogyny - that all really ticked me off. I thought everything was handled really well though (thank you Melissa Wiesner!).

Thank you Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a sweet romance where the main character struggles in her career and love life and gets a chance at a do-over from a fortune teller. It was an enjoyable, low pressure read.

When a magical New Year’s Eve wish sends Sadie Thatcher back in time one year, she vows to do things differently. This will no longer be the year that she lost her job; it will no longer be the year she lost her apartment; and it will no longer be the year she lost her longtime boyfriend. But here’s the catch: maybe some good things did happen in that original year—like her job at a local coffee shop, her time at her brother’s best friend’s apartment, and that searing kiss she had with him on New Year’s Eve before she was sent back in time.

As Sadie learns during that time loop, though, it’s best to be true to yourself and to live up to your own expectations, not those imposed by others. Even when things don’t go as planned, maybe they still happen the way that they are supposed to.

What a cozy read! There are aspects of misogyny, gaslighting, and harassment portrayed, but those are countered with true friendship, found family, and the love of someone who cares for you just the way you are. Sadie learns some life lessons in this one, but they are handled in such an affirming way.

Jacob is a shy, sweet, cinnamon roll of a hero that any reader would love to cozy up with, and the food and drink descriptions make me want to park myself at a table at Higher Grounds.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Sadie lost her job, her boyfriend and her apartment all at the same time and has been having a rough time ever since. She finds herself stuck at a job she doesn’t love, alone, while living with her brother’s best friend. While attending a New Years party, Sadie is given the chance at a do-over, but at what cost? The Second Chance Year is an exploration of second chances, regrets, and the concept that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

While the cover gives off “look at me, I’m a romance vibes” I’d actually have to say this is more of an exploration of self-happiness. Sadie’s second chance offers her some wisdom as well as an alternate viewpoint of her life. She grows in ways she might not have were it not for this fantastical opportunity. The book tackles sexism and harassment in the workplace in a way that nary a female would not be able to relate to. When combined with a spicy personality, it’s a tough thing for Sadie to navigate.

Sadie’s relationship with Jacob was dull. He was sweet as a cinnamon roll but their connection was lackluster. Apart from kindness and nostalgia, I’m not sure why they connected or how they last long-term. His only real purpose was to offer up a comparison and the alternative was so unappealing I’m not certain this quiet little introvert needed to parade out in such a way. Despite the romance not quite landing, overall the Second Chance Year was a cute and quick read.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Romance, Time Travel Romance, Women's Fiction, Magical Realism
Spice Level: Medium (mostly fade to black)
Theme: Be true to yourself

I've run across several romances with the basic idea of wanting a do-over. This one is fun, and here's why:

Sadie has a big mouth. (Her words, not mine.) I loved how she would stand up for herself—too often women are pushed into a box that they're "too much" or "brassy" or any other negative adjective when they don't accept being treated poorly.

I adored the fact that she kissed her brother's best friend right before the do-over! This added a new layer of trouble.

The unwritten conversation of what's going on in Jacob's head is sublime.

This is a novel of personal growth, which is why I'd place it in women's fiction with a healthy dose of romance. I don't love the bed scene and think it could be trimmed.

If you love love and personal life chaos, you'll love this book.

Happy reading!

I thought this one was a cute story and came with some great life lessons. For some reason I seem to really enjoy time loop storylines during the holidays. I did find the romance aspect to be a bit lackluster as I really didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters. There was also bit too many food/baking puns for my liking. Overall I enjoyed the read and Sadie’s growth as a character.

Read if you like:
✨ Magical Realism
⏳ Time Travel
🥐 Baker FMC
💋 Brother’s Best Friend
❤️ He Falls First

What would you do when faced with a fortune teller telling you that you can have one wish, at the end of one of the worst years of your life?

For Sadie, she asks for a do-over and a second chance at her worst year where she lost her boyfriend, her job, and her apartment and ended up living with her brother’s best friend.

When she takes advantage of the wish offered she ends up a year prior on New Year’s Day and now gets a chance to redo her whole year and see if she can come out ahead with her second chance knowing the mistakes made and what she can do to avoid ending up in the same spot after her re-do year.

This story was fun, lighthearted, and heartwarming watching Sadie live through her second chance year and seeing how she made different decisions but how sometimes those decisions led her to just a different path that still led to similar outcomes despite her attempts to “get it right”. All in all, if you are looking for a lighthearted romance with some magical realism I recommend checking this one out!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review of this great audiobook!

Sadie Thatcher gets the chance to relive a rough year through the magic of a fortune teller. She thinks by not being her loud, reactive self she may not lose her boyfriend and job. The story follows her month by month through the year as she chooses a different response to situations she encountered previously. A constant through the year is her brother’s best friend Jacob. He is there as a sounding board and a friend whenever she needs him.

Who hasn’t wished for a do over moment? But as this book shows maybe do overs aren’t a magical fix. It is also a feminist book as much of the drama comes in the form of workplace harassment. Examples come from her workplace, hiring practices in finance where her boyfriend works and more. She also has issues with her parents who don’t value her job compared to education and more traditional options.

This is a quick and easy story to read. It leans towards general (women’s) fiction to me as the focus is on Sadie and not on the romance itself. (It is appropriately labeled this way.) It is also closed door for intimacy and gets around the awkwardness of waking up next to the boyfriend with whom she is no longer involved. With such a cute cover I wasn’t expecting the main topic to be such a heavy focus of the story. I enjoyed the book and like the idea that it may be more important to focus on the present and future than on the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC and I leaving a voluntary review.

4/5 ⭐️ So, I binged this book in a day. I am such a sucker for a good time traveling romance.

What to Expect
✨ Time travel
✨ Brother's best friend
✨ Friends to lovers
✨ Slow burn
✨ He falls first
✨ Single POV
✨ Found family
✨ Be careful what you wish for

Synopsis
Sadie has had a VERY BAD YEAR. She lost her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend of 3 years and spent half the year wallowing and reflecting on her mistakes. The cherry on the top of her awful year is kissing her brother's best friend on New Year's Eve, which he definitely seems to regret. There's a wish from a fortune teller in there somewhere and what do you know? Sadie wakes up the next morning on Jan 1st of the year she just finished! She gets to do it all over again and has the opportunity to fix all of her mistakes.

What I Liked
I loved the time travel aspect of this book and the fact that it takes place over an entire year! I've read other plots like this that only cover a few weeks or months. There are a few chapters dedicated to each month, which moves the story along quickly while also conveying that the main character isn't making rash decisions with her do-over. She's really trying, for months, to make things better. There are a few times where she recalls events that she has been through before, but also plenty of new situations brought on by the consequences of her altered decisions.

I adored the side characters in this book. There is a small cast of quirky characters that Sadie comes to know and love, and they are all great. This includes Jacob, her brother's best friend. While he is a love interest, I would consider him mostly a side character in this story. The romance takes a backseat to the other lessons Sadie needs to learn. I think it was done very well. We get little glimpses of romance throughout (enough to keep you wanting more), but it isn't always what matters most in this book, it's about Sadie accepting who she is. That being said, I did enjoy the slow-burn, friends to lovers. I was downright giddy in the last few chapters.

What I Didn't Like
Like I said, the romance takes a backseat, so you don't get a lot of conversations, banter, or fundamental moments that may get you more invested in the couple. He shows up for her, so cute, but that's not all someone falls in love with. I would have loved to see more sides of Jacob's personality.

I do support the themes in this book, like speaking out against sexual harassment. However... you get bombarded with conversations about sexism and how misogynistic nearly every line of work can be. I personally work in one of the industries mentioned in this book (not in NYC, but that shouldn't matter). I feel like things were overdone to make a point, women are respected way more than what this book portrays.

Overall, this is a fun, quick read. This comes out in December, but it's the perfect book to start out your 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is posted to Goodreads, Barnes & Noble and my Instagram (_bookish.brittany). It will also be posted to Amazon on release day.

Sadie is having a terrible year, she broke up with her boyfriend, lost her job and her apartment. At a New Years party she speaks to a fortune teller who gives her the chance to relive her terrible year to try and make it better.
This book was really cute! I loved the do over story line, and fell in love with the characters. Melissa Wiesner shows that you might need to go through tough times in order to get to where you are supposed to be.
Looking forward to more from the author in 2024.
Thank you to Melissa Wiesner, Forever(Grand Central) and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun read! I hadn’t really heard much about this book until I picked it up, and I was so pleasantly surprised! To me, this is a love story in two parts, one part of two characters falling for eachother, and one part the protagonist falling in love with herself despite the ways people have made her feel as if she’s not enough or too much. I’ve read a lot of romance books that end up reading a lot more like women’s fiction with romance as more of an afterthought, but I think that Wiesner manages to balance the character growth with a steady building of romantic tension so well. The character writing in this book, even outside the protagonist, was really strong for me. I was so genuinely invested in Sadie and Jacob’s falling for one another, and I think this book works really well as an example of great romance books that are fade-to-black. If you’re looking for an enjoyable romance with characters you’ll want to root for as they grow, I would definitely recommend picking this one up!

I’m always a fan of a second chance romance, and this book definitely gives that concept a new look. Sadie is so unsatisfied with how her life has turned out that she asks a psychic to go back and redo everything, not expecting it to actually work. When it does, she’s left with the memories of a year gone wrong and a desire to fix everything. So she does, while thinking about the New Year’s Kiss (and 10/10 cockblock by her brother tbh) and beginning to wonder if the second chance isn’t exactly all she chalked it up to be. Sadie’s character was interesting from the beginning, but it was such a joy to watch her learn and grow over the course of her second chance year, not to become perfect but to be more aware of what’s going on around her. And, there’s something beautiful about two characters who like each other just as much even when all the circumstances change.

Truly, both Sadie’s character growth and the satisfaction of watching shitty men get what’s coming to them are stunning to watch happen. Melissa Wiesner weaves together a realistic landscape for the real world in this romance, while still giving it that tinge of hope I’ve come to expect in a romance where maybe not everything works out, but we still get to see the main characters win. The romance itself fits perfectly into all of it, where we can see what the best choice is from the beginning, but the second chance year becomes the place where the romance grows from a crush into something real. It was a joy, and leaves me with a little hope for whatever may come next, psychic to turn back time or not.

This is a fun romance that leaves you thinking about your own regrets in life. When Sadie gets a second chance to redo her horrible, no good year, she jumps at it, but will her new year live up to her expectations?

I enjoyed the thoughtful premise and love any book that involved time slips. Sadie is an easy character to root for, and I loved her relationship with her brother, best friend, and her found family at the coffee shop. And the love story she is involved in was so sweet and nostalgic.

This is a cute romance that everyone will enjoy. It makes you think about the times you’d like a do over and if that would really be for the best. This is a great read for end-of-year introspection as we plan a crisp new year!

This book was perfection!! Ohhhh my gosh, I’m obsessed! I loved everything about it. I was rooting for Sadie the entire time and when the book I ended I literally yelled
out loud “yess!” The characters, the plot, the pacing, the writing, the friendships, the found family and everything in between was so well done. If you’re looking for a book that will make you feel all the feels and leave you smiling from ear to ear then I definitely recommend this one! I need another book by this author immediately!!

Sadie had a Very Bad Year and on a New Year's day party she finds a fortune teller that lets her relive her Very Bad Year again and change it to make it her best year. She thinks that by changing herself, she will get the promotion she wants at her job, get recognition from her parents (where the definition of successful is staying with her boyfriend, lower her head and go back to school cause cooking is not a real job), and stay with her Wall Street boyfriend that wants to shape her to be the perfect Wall Street wife. In reality, she realizes that she has lost her essence, her voice and the real love of her life and at the end her Very Bad Year was in fact a year of liberation from the chains imposed by herself, her parents and what a macho society demands from a woman. I loved this book so much! It is a Rom-Com for the ages! with an amazing message: We should not change to please others, we should be who we are and fight for what we want.

Thank you. Negalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

After a terrible year, Sadie makes a wish with a fortune teller for a redo on New Year’s Eve, and wakes up in the past with an opportunity to fix her mistakes.

This was a charming story that reminds us that everything happens for a reason. When Sadie gets a second chance at fixing her life, she risks ruining some of the things that were going well for her.

Over the course of a year, we see her try to keep her relationship on track and not rock the boat with her sexist boss at her job. Along the way she keeps running into her brother’s best friend Jacob, creates a community among the local coffee shop, and determines her career aspirations.

I really enjoyed this one overall and recommend if you need a feel good story around the new year. I liked the found family elements and connection with Jacob (though I would have cranked the tension up further).

4 stars

what a sweeet feel good romance! perfect to pick up on one of those slow nebulous holiday nights~

a pastry chef who wishes to re-do her terrible year, one where she lost her job, her boyfriend, her cute house.. making different decisions will surely create a better outcome, right?

- NYC setting
- brother’s best friend trope
- story moves quick! filled with lots of lovable side characters and found family
- this will be a dessert + pastry lovers dream! so many cute and apt food comparisons hahah a lil overboard but sure I can always relate food to my feelings

this was a heartfelt romance and I definitely will be looking out for Wiesner’s next book in 2024!!

The Second Chance Year is a delightful story that asks, what if you could have a do-over? Melissa Wiesner creates realistic characters who sometimes misstep while trying to get what they think they want.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Pastry chef Sadie thinks everything in her life during the last year has been a disaster. She lost her job, broke up with her boyfriend, moved out of her apartment, and is at loose ends. So when she meets a fortune teller at a New Year’s Eve party, she wishes for a do-over. She takes it in stride when she wakes up to January 1 of the previous year. If she makes changes to her decisions and behavior, will she end the year in a better place? Or will she end up where she was supposed to be all along?

The Second Chance Year is written in Sadie’s single POV, which makes sense, since it’s really her story. This book straddles the line between women’s fiction and romance, and the romance isn’t front and center. I found myself completely drawn into Sadie’s story, though, when in other books I just lose patience when the romance is secondary.

That said, Sadie’s brother’s BFF Jacob is a sweetheart. There is plenty of evidence Jacob has crushed on her forever, even if Sadie’s been too self absorbed to notice. I also like the way the story dives right into the do-over year, and doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on the bad present. Another plus for me was the way the plot completely skips over the magical specifics, which keeps it from getting bogged down in justifying the premise.

During her second chance, Sadie spots the abundant red flags that she missed during her first try. It’s tough to make readers root for someone can be difficult with the people and situations around them, but Wiesner pulls it off. Even while she’s struggling with things not turning out the way she expected, Sadie remains completely likable.

I really enjoyed The Second Chance Year. In this engaging novel, Melissa Wiesner shows that that sometimes you actually do have to go through crappy things to get to where you are supposed to be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a good "what if" storyline and this one did not disappoint! After pastry chef Sadie's Very Bad Year, she gets a chance at a do-over to live that year over again. I liked seeing her consciously change her reactions to things and seeing how it played out. I think all of the characters added a little something to the storyline, and I loved them all! Would definitely be interested in reading more from this author! I was able to read this advanced copy thanks to NetGalley.

My full review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book is exactly what I needed at the exact right time. I loved it so much and I even got a little teary eyed at the end as I had become so attached to the characters.

Sadie is a little lost after a rough year where she has made a mess of her life. She lost her promising job as a pastry chef, her boyfriend has broken up with her, and she's living in her little brother's best friend's guest room until she can get it together. Most of this she blames on her loud mouth. She is opinionated and stands up for what she believes in, even when it gets her in trouble. When she gets a chance to redo the past year again, she is skeptical but goes for it anyway, hoping to correct the mistakes she made.

This story is about love but it's also about found families, acceptance from others as well as acceptance of one's self. So many people live their lives with regrets and what-ifs, and this book explores what could happen if we could go back and change the mistakes we made in the past.

I could relate a lot to Sadie with the golden boy successful brother and the parents that seem to only celebrate and acknowledge his accomplishments, the obliviousness she has that people are crushing on her, and the insecure feelings of low self-worth when her life seems to be going nowhere. And the pastries, oh the pastries, all I wanted to do was eat the cakes and treats she created throughout the book!

Overall a heartwarming and funny read and I'll definitely read more of Wiesner's books. Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC! The book releases on December 5, 2023.
5⭐️
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