If you've had the worst year ever and are given one wish, would it be to do that year over? Be careful what you wish for. This quirky novel was a fast-paced and fun-to-read novel about choices and their possible outcomes. The Second Chance Year, by Melissa Wiesner, is worth the read. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook to review.

Sadie has had an awful year. Like the worst year of her life. After her perfect life fell apart she finds herself living with her brother’s best friend. After Sadie’s best friend convinces her to go out for New Years Eve, Sadie finds herself waking up on New Years Day. Except it’s her second chance at the worst year of her life.

I love the found family trope in this book. As well as the journey of self discovery that Sadie goes on. It’s the perfect amount of heart and food network vibes.

When Sadie Thatcher is presented with the opportunity to redo her Very Bad Year, she goes for it. Hoping to rewrite history so she doesn’t lose her boyfriend, job, and apartment, Sadie learns to be careful what you wish for and the value of being true to yourself.

I absolutely loved this book! Sadie was a relatable MC and her issues were realistic, well minus the time travel. I enjoyed watching her struggle with staying true to herself while wanting to right all her previous “wrongs” as she navigated her do over year. Watching her come into her own was a joy and I was rooting for her from start to finish.

The supporting characters were wonderful too. Jacob was swoon worthy, Kasumi didn’t let Sadie get away with too much, Owen definitely felt like a little brother, and the Higher Grounds crew were so welcoming and funny.

The relationship with her parents was a bit over the top for me and the resolution felt a bit too tidy.

As the disclaimer states, there is discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace but I thought it was done tactfully and without dismissing or diminishing the impact it has.

I’m so happy I found this book and will definitely be recommending the heck out of The Second Chance Year.

"If you need to be anything other than exactly who you are - for anyone - then the problem is with them, and not with you."

The Second Chance Year follows Sadie who has been having a very bad year. She lost her job, her boyfriend, and has been living at her brother's best friend's apartment. Convinced that because others have called her "abrasive and outspoken", she makes a wish at a New Year's Eve party to re-do the last year. Unbeknownst to her, the wish comes true and she uses the opportunity to fix everything that went wrong: keeping her job and boyfriend.

I really enjoyed this book. What is a very foreseeable "go back in time and change things but things go badly" plot line had a refreshing take. The story had great pacing and I adored all of the side characters we met along the way. The characters felt fully-developed and added depth to the story.

I think my favorite aspect of this book was the personal growth that Sadie experienced. We could feel her internal struggle with wanting to be the "loud, outspoken" woman that she truly is, but feeling that she can't be that woman because she had already dealt with those consequences and wanted to avoid said consequences. The slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance unfolds in a very natural progression that is believable. Jacob, our MMC, is sweet and someone we can easily fall in love with.

Additionally, it is important to mention that this story deals with workplace sexual harassment. Wiesner does an amazing job of dealing with this very difficult topic sensitively.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for quick, fun read!

Star Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:
0 / 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 (All fade-to-black)

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it in a day because I could not put it down!! I adored the characters and got swept up in the storyline of going back and trying to fix mistakes in hopes of a better outcome. A perfect New Year’s Eve read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Melissa Wiesner for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Any fans of Sophie Cousens or Josie Silver will want to read this book! Great story telling, insights and character development. A little heavy on the food metaphors but completely forgiveable in relation to the sweet relationships and witty dialog.

I am so happy I read this ARC because I absolutely loved this story. Sadie has had the roughest year yet (losing job, boyfriend, and apartment) and just wants a chance to redo the year. On NYE, she makes a wish that comes true but not before kissing her brother's best friend right before midnight. When she awakes the next day, it's the start of the previous year and Sadie has a chance to make changes (except she remembers EVERYTHING from the bad year, including the kiss). As Sadie goes through the repeated year, she learns from her mistakes and creates new memories along the way. I cannot wait for this to come out so I can buy the book.

Such a unique book, I loved the plot, and oh my god the characters were so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!

The moment I started The Second Chance Year, I knew it was going be amazing and I knew I was going to devour it! The quick short chapters and loveable main character made this a solid 5 star read! There are baking analogies sprinkled through the book, so cute! Don’t wait! Buy it where you buy you books!
This is the romance novel that you need to get your hands on when it comes out in December. The book follows Sadie, a baker who dreams of opening her own bakery. But everything goes wrong. She loses her job, her apartment and her boyfriend. She would do anything to redo her bad year. On New Years Eve she runs into a fortune teller and her wish comes true. The book spans a year. The chapters are do-over months. The chapters are short. The pace of The Second Chance year is perfect!

2.75/5 Stars

**Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read the digital advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!**

This was a cute story, with tropes like friends to lovers, brother’s best friend, chosen family, and slow burn.
I don't usually like friends to lovers, but I've had such good luck in my recent reads, I decided to give this one a try!

The story follows Sadie, who is nearing the end of an exceptionally difficult year. She broke up with her boyfriend and she lost her job. Due to her financial instability, she had to move into her brother's best friend's apartment. Convinced that her tendency to speak her mind led to these calamities, Sadie attended a New Year's Eve party with a single wish; to somehow reset the year and undo her missteps. Through the intervention of a fortune teller, she was granted this wish, only to wake up once again in Jacob's apartment on New Year's Eve. When the clock struck midnight, an unexpected kiss was shared between Sadie and Jacob. However, upon awakening the following morning, she found herself back in her ex-boyfriend's bed from the year before.

The narrative is endearing, and the protagonist is affable, yet it follows a highly foreseeable trajectory and bears a resemblance to rom-coms I've encountered numerous times before. For example The 7 Year Slip, is one I recently read and ADORED. Unfortunately in comparison this book wasn't as strong as that one. The writing style was engaging, and I found it very easy to understand. I will mention though that there was an unnecessary amount of baking talk, it almost felt like a prop in order to make the story feel sweeter. I didn't mind it at times, but could have definitely been scaled back a notch.

Overall, a decent cute/ sweet read and I think many will enjoy it!

This is easily one of my favorite books for the year now! My top so far being Emily Henry’s happy place.
We’ve all seen every time travel movie and know that messing with the past is almost always destined for failure, so when Sadie gets the opportunity to redo her “very bad year” we just know everything is going to go wrong. I like how although this book takes place over the span of a year it doesn’t drag at all! Sadie’s character development throughout this whole book was immaculate. And I was routing for her every time something came her way. It addresses the topic of workplace harassment and sexism in the work place with sensitivity. This book will have you feeling for all the characters and by the end I was crying all the happy tears. It really makes you think about what you would do if given a second chance. If you want a cute and sweet romance, this one is for you!

I've read many books with the classic do-over tale but this one was a refreshing take. I loved all of the quirky characters and they did a great job adding to the overall story. Sadie had the opportunity to re-do her Very Bad Year and sometimes the things we wish for are not the things we need.

I would recommend this book for a quick, fun read.

Refreshing take on the much-desired do-over! Who hasn't wanted to change the past and do things differently? Sadie gets her wish, but soon learns getting what you think you want and figuring out what you really want aren't one in the same. A great soft romance, well developed characters and a story I just couldn't put down. Highly recommend!

this was such a sweet time travel/ brothers best friend romance. i loved jacob as a character, I love how he was sadie's biggest supporter even when she didn't realize and i loved sadie's personal journey in loving herself and choosing to be in the environments that make her happy. the end romantic gesture was everything. thank you netgalley for this arc.

Such a sweet, swoony romance. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie just had the worst year of her life. She’s lost her job, her home, and her long time boyfriend. She’s spending all her time on her little brother’s best friend Jacob’s couch. But New Year’s Eve is a time for new beginnings and Sadie meets a fortune teller who performs actual magic and offers her a wish. When Sadie wakes the next day, it’s January 1st of last year.. and she’s in bed with her ex in the apartment she lost, late for work at the job she still has. But she can’t stop thinking about Jacob. Sadie spends her second chance making herself smaller trying to hold her life together even though she’s seeing everything through a new lens, and she keeps running into Jacob making her question if the worst mistake she’s made is asking for a second chance.

This book was so cute! Sadie is an outspoken, protective, and fierce FMC. Jacob should be protected at all costs, which Sadie’s little brother Owen, tries so hard to do. There’s such a sweet dynamic between Sadie and Owen as siblings you’d expect to be pitted against each other thanks to their crappy parents.

The story has great pacing. It makes a quick but relatable introduction to Sadie’s heartbreak, her current living situation, and why in the world she’d be wishing so hard for a second chance to get it right. Every additional character is introduced so well and they’re easy to connect with. The slow burn romance is broken down in a way that the story never drags. It unfolds over the course of Sadie repeating her Very Bad Year and what happens each month. I truly enjoyed getting to watch Sadie grow as a person and learn so much from her do-over.

This dares to ask the question of how much happens to you is fate and how much is choice; if it’s better to speak up or stay quiet in your personal and professional life; and is a second chance really all you’d expect it to be.

I loved the concept of having a “second chance year” before I picked this book up and it definitely delivered! The title is exactly what this book was, a woman’s chance for a do-over from her “worst” year ever.
I loved how things panned out for Sadie and it goes to show that everything happens for a reason. Great, quick read with great messages sprinkled in.
Now to explore other titles from this new to me author.

"Quit fiddling around in the past. Quit trying to change things that don't need to be changed. Figure out what you want. And go get it."

Sadie, a pastry chef who is outspoken and and unafraid to stand up for what's wrong, finds herself unemployed, heartbroken, and living on her brother's best friends couch with unsupportive parents after being who she is. Her best friend, Katsumi, drags her to a New Year Eve's party where she meets a fortune teller who gives her a chance to re-do her entire year over.

What a pleasant surprise! I knew I would enjoy it after reading the synopsis and divulging on what the potential tropes would be: second chance, brother's best friend, friends to lovers with a touch of magic realism. As someone who can relate to Sadie, there are often times when I wish I could change actions/conversations/events that have already happened in my past but I think the author did a great job in executing that sometimes it's better to live in the present. Stop hyper fixating on what's already happened (the what-ifs of life) and the things you can no longer change.

Lots of moments to laugh out loud. Many tender moments between the romantic interest and Sadie. Found family - friends that become family. The author handled the topic of sexual harassment in the workforce and as someone who has recently watched Barbie... couldn't help the honesty in a male dominated society and how women are still viewed in this time and day.

There were many tender moments, and I loooooooved Jacob as a MMC. There's something about a quiet nerdy shy man who's affectionate that just gets me every time. Overall, really enjoyed it! I can't wait for what's next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read the digital advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

This book was terrific! So many tropes that I loved, including second chances, brother’s best friend, and coffee shop antics.

Sadie was a great heroine to root for, and I swooned over Jacob. He’s one of the best love interests that I’ve read about in a long time. You cannot help but fall in love with him along with Sadie.

Thanks to NetGalley for this wonderful ARC.

Overall, I liked it. I didn't adore it but I didn't dislike it either. For me, it took me a little too long to warm up to the protagonist Sadie. I understand that the first half of the book was her figuring out her mistakes but it wasn't terribly enjoyable to read her being so unhappy. Those brief flashes of goodness with Jacob or Higher Grounds just weren't enough to carry it for me and that made the book very easy to put down for a while. But, the writing was solidly good. I stuck around.

Eventually, it picked up. Around the halfway point I started getting interested again and by the last third I was sucked back in. It felt good to finally see Sadie being Sadie and the author kept me guessing in terms of the when/if with Jacob until the last minute. The ending was very satisfying and the concept in-general of redoing a year was neat so all-in-all, as I said at the beginning, I liked it.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

Sadie and Jacob were such a delight to follow along with in their journey! I really enjoyed Sadie’s strong character, and it was nice to see her progress and come into her own. Her story was like a warm hug; she’s someone you’d want to be friends with and you care about how her life is going. Jacob was the perfect counterpart, and is the prime example of chivalry in a modern world! I loved this story!