TJ’s books feel like I’m talking to a friend. I love books about being trans, especially set in places that I live in/have lived in! This book was a delight.

This is was a fun and light hearted Christmas romance. There is some family angst tossed in so it’s not all sugar plums but for the most part I laughed more than I didn’t in this book.

Such a sweet second chance love story that touched briefly darker themes but not so much as to make this story dark. It was fun and light and sweet, even with one of the MCs being a bit annoying. I know I can't like everyone, but in some parts I really wished the MCs didn't end up together. It has happened to me sometimes with books where one character is the sweetest and the other feels like they don't care about the one they're supposed to love. But even with this detail, it was a very sweet not very christmassy story of second changes, and big changes.

This is a heartwarming and humorous tale that will captivate readers who adore lighthearted, feel-good stories about family, love, and self-discovery, particularly those who appreciate romance, LGBTQIA+ representation, and second-chance love stories.

The main character just wasn’t for me. All he did was complain and take no responsibility for his own actions. It was driving me nuts. His family was trying and he just didn’t care. Too much of a narcissist and i could stand it. The other characters were so interesting and lovely. He just ruined it for me.

An unexpected and joyful second chance holiday romance set in suburban Florida. Eli and Nick were childhood friends and high school sweethearts but haven’t spoken in years, when they run into each other at the Wine Barn. Eli is back in town after his NYC comedy career imploded, and Nick is running a local restaurant and raising his daughter. The two grow closer over the holiday season, but any chance of a future between them may be threatened by circumstances all around them.

My only regret is that I read this book too fast and now I have to wait for TJ Alexander to write something else. Please hurry.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

There's nothing better than a rom com with a small town and second chance romance! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so cute! I especially loved that the MC was sober because I feel that isn't always represented in books. TJ Alexander does it again!!

2024 Pride Month

While I didn't love Chef's Choice as much as its premise, I knew I just hadn't found the right T.J. Alexander book for me. Until now.

Eli is a trans man that works in New York as a writer. Or rather, he did, until someone very high up on the show got flamed for harassing the women on the crew. He flies home to Florida for Christmas, a place he hates, that has people he loves. This, I felt in my soul.

His ex, Nick Wu, semi-recently divorced, with major DILF vibes, comes flying back into the picture. You know how I said I hate second chance romance? With a fiery passion? Guess I just hate it for straight people. I loved this. Come for me.

So with the backdrop of the South, not that this can't happen anywhere else (because it 100% can), we've got family members that deadname Eli, a little casual racism from Nick's former mother-in-law, and other little microaggressions to boot. Obviously, this won't be for everyone, but the same people that come to hate this will be the same people that hate the Bridgerton changes in race and sexuality.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books

I adored this book! Nick and Eli were excellent characters--both likable and well developed. TJ Alexander's writing style was able to transport me into these characters worlds and gain perspective of the experiences that queer and transgender people go through. The setting in Florida where there has been so much controversy and attempts to strip people of basic human rights was a perfect choice for Nick and Eli's story to unfold.

I have a ton of TJ Alexander books sitting on my shelf that I just haven't gotten to yet and I look forward to reading more of them now that I finally bumped one up my never ending TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and TJ Alexander for providing me with a digital copy of this book. This is my honest review.
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5 gold stars, baby! 🫶🏽 I enjoyed the relationship between Eli and Nick so much. The scenes with Zoe were so sweet and genuine. The trans and BIPOC rep is 🤌🏽 I’m also adding to this to my small, but growing, list of books that touch on demisexuality. This is by far one of my favorite books of the year so far.

I’ve started and stopped this book no less than 10 times in the last 7ish months and I think it’s finally time for me to just put it down at 19%.

I don’t know what it is but I just cannot get into it at all. Eli seems fine, Nick and his daughter are adorable but there’s just nothing holding me on the story.

It’s not you, it’s me.

The trans rep & specifically the 'didn't realize you were trans til fully an adult' rep is fantastic. The demi rep, yes please. These were fully fleshed out characters, you got to really see and feel their relationship develop - no insta-love here, and just so real.

Can we get a sequel where Nick's ex-wife decides to fully explore her clear bisexuality?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I started with that copy, but the bulk of my review is for the published version.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!*

Ugh, why did it take me so long to read this! I absolutely adored it! I liked TJ Alexander's other two books, but I didn't love them. I LOVED this one.

I don't usually like second chance romances, though honestly haven't read a lot of them. But the ones that I've read previous to this one just didn't work very well for me. But this one REALLY did. We have Eli who is trans and living in NYC who is home for the xmas for the first time in many years, and the first time since he transitioned 5 years earlier. On one of the first days back he runs into his ex boyfriend from high school, Nick, and things just go from there.

What I really liked was that both protagonists are a bit older, both Eli and Nick are in their late 30s (despite the description saying that Nick is in his 40s, he's not), and while they generally were doing alright at adulting, they both were still figuring things out. I thought the depiction of Nick's demisexuality realization was really well done. When you think you know yourself pretty well, but then as you're heading into your 40s and oh, huh, that's new. I love the fact that he just accepted it, there was no gay panic or anything, it was just something new he was learning about himself.

I think that it is a testament to how well written the book and the characters are that I didn't try to throw it through the window multiple times, when our two dummies are too dumb to realize that they are both in love with each other. Usually this kind of mutual pining, angst, poor communication drives me wild (in a bad way), but it didn't in this book.

I also loved the Florida Man references, they were so good!

Overall, this was just a really fantastic book with a great cast of characters and checks so many of the LGBTQIA+ identities, I love it. I have Alexander's next book as an ARC and think I will be getting to it soon, after loving this one so much!

Second Chances in New Port Stephen is a sweet second-chance romance. Eli, who returned home for Christmas, is difficult to like at times: prickly, elitist. Some of it's understandable, but he's almost forty (as we are reminded many times).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC! TJ Alexander is one of my favorite authors - their writing is so authentic, the characters were emotional and compelling. The second chance romance trope was incredibly well done here! I absolutely loved this and I cannot recommend this and TJ Alexander’s other books enough!

Second Chances in New Port Stephen is a lovely rom com about relationships, finding yourself, coming to terms with the past, and being open to second chances.

Nick and Eli are exes who haven't seen each other in years. A series of unfortunate circumstances bring Eli back to his home town and his ex-boyfriend's orbit. At times hilarious and at others absolutely poignant, this book gives us two fleshed out characters, with distinct voices and POV, with a gentle and satisfying progression from exes, to tentative reacquaintance, to the realization that the love they had for each other never really dimmed despite the years, and an HEA that felt believable.

You can feel the nostalgia and the yearning in this story. The way these characters who are in their 30s are navigating challenging experiences--divorce, loss, grief, parenting, job loss, bigotry, and more--felt real and heartfelt.

Overall an enjoyable read and secondary characters that felt realistic also. Particularly Nick's daughter, who was a joy to read.

TJ Alexander is an auto-buy author for me and I really loved this book. It has just the right amount of whimsy and silly, but is truly beautiful..

3.5 stars!

Cute read!

I loved the small town feel and the holiday season setting! The second chance was also cute.

TJ Alexander cannot miss! Every single book I have read by this author, has been an instantly loved one.

This book follows Eli, a trans man who returned to his hometown in Florida for Christmas with his family. He very quickly ran into his high school boyfriend, now a single dad, Nick.

I expected this second chance romance to be a light and fluffy romance, but the com in rom com was definitely evident. This book was hilarious!

Thank you to NetGalley, TJ Alexander, and Atria Books for the digital arc.

TJ Alexander has definitely become a must read author for me. Relationships of any type are difficult to navigate and with the characters that are in this book, TJ Alexander does an incredible job having them navigate these uncharted waters with each other. I loved the idea here of this second chance romance also feeling like somewhat of a brand new romance in a whole different way. The characters were incredible and I did also enjoy that they were a bit older and you got to see that dynamic play out as well.

The wit in this book was also incredible and I found the characters and the banter genuinely funny. Nick and Eli’s relationship was great but I thought the addition of Zoe was perfect for this story and added such a charm to their lives together and how she fit into that.

Many Thanks for NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review!