Liz is the polar opposite of her husband Tobin. They work for the same company and while Tobin is the life of the party, Liz is often overlooked or ignored. Their marriage is beginning to suffer, too, because instead of communicating, they are increasing the space between each other. Liz has decided that she needs to be more proactive and become a main character in her own life and decides upon a plan to do so, including taking improv classes. Her relationship with Tobin is also at stake because he will help her with the role playing.

For a marriage on the rocks, I liked a lot of things about this, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Liz separating from Tobin without offering him a chance to remediate before she went on her own path. Otherwise, the individual journey did prove to be valuable to her, branching out and making new friends while also taking more initiatives and discovering her own self worth. It was also cute to see how doing improv exercises would reconnect her with Tobin and they were finally having honest conversations. For as much as Liz grew, she and Tobin needed to be on the same page and seeing their commitment to support each other as a team is what marriage is about. I don’t think the improv route was necessary, but Liz did need to explore something on her own and spread her wings and the networking did prove to be beneficial in the end.

An interesting, busy journey of self-discovery that wasn't quite what I expected. I was excited to read this, as several of my favorite authors have championed it as one not to miss, and was intrigued by the concept of a marriage in crisis, a romance trope that seems to be rarely explored. While this contains several romantic elements as Liz and Tobin find their way back to each other after slowly drifting apart, it falls much more within the genre of women's fiction, which is not a complaint but more of a quibble with how it has been marketed. The plot is fairly packed, as it also focuses on Liz seeking a promotion at work, her participation in an improv class, her partnership with Tobin to act out scenarios in an effort of marital healing, and her complicated verging on toxic relationship with older sister Amber; it always felt like there was a lot going on to follow. I felt a little cheated out of getting to know Tobin better thanks to the single perspective presentation, especially since the complexities of his family end up playing an important overall role. However, I liked the idea of improv comedy converging with social anxiety and couples therapy to serve a valuable purpose as well as the subplot of Liz discovering that she is neurodivergent later in life, the latter of which many readers are sure to relate to and the visibility is extremely important. North's writing is often rather evocative with touches of humor throughout; I hope her next book pares things down a bit for a fully satisfying story.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of Rules for Second Chances.

I was looking forward to this book, but unfortunately it was not for me. It tried to do too many things, and as such everything felt a little half baked. There was not enough character development, and the ending felt incredibly rushed.

I was particularly putoff by the handling of the character's autism diagnosis. It felt like an afterthought, just tossed at the end and not handled with enough care.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I can totally see why so many people are loving this book and seeing themselves in Liz, who I think is a really unique heroine and relatable. I thought the writing was absolutely incredible, especially considering that this is a debut. I'm really excited to see what Maggie North writes next.

This book had an uphill battle for me because marriage in trouble is really a trope that is *not for me*. I did actually like this more than I anticipated and do think that this is a fairly unique take on it which I appreciated. I got a teensy bit frustrated with Liz not listening to Tobin and not recognizing that she too had things that she needed to work on for their marriage. I did like the ending though it felt like everything happened so rapidly at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own. This debut by Maggie North is so good!! As someone who shares some of the neurodivergent tendencies with the MC this one hit me in the feels. In the beginning Liz decides to stop being a minor character in her own life. Her journey of “yes, and” just felt so relatable. It wasn’t as lighthearted as I was expecting and actually felt heavy at times, but I think that’s because I related so much to Liz in some ways. If you enjoy second chance romance, a little family drama, some funny banter, and hard difficult conversations, this has it all! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future releases by Maggie North!

Rules for Second Chances was by Maggie North and the audiobook was narrated by Gail Shalan.
I read over half of this and then switched to the audiobook to the end. I’m not going to lie I struggled getting through it. I thought Gail Shalan was good and I enjoyed her part. But I think it was the story itself. Liz was difficult to follow. I couldn’t see what she was so upset about. I just couldn’t draw a connection to her and her plight. But besides that I enjoyed Tobin and many of the side characters. I guess I was just wanting a better reason to struggle with. I’m only giving this a 3 ⭐️.
Thanks Macmillan audio and St. Martins Press via NetGalley.

Now THIS is this best book I’ve read in quite sometime. I must admit that marriage in trouble is my favorite trope. Top tier second chance and there simply aren’t enough available at this time. This one is extremely well done.

Liz is shy, socially awkward, and spends most of her life in the comfortable shadow of her outgoing people pleading husband Tobin. He is the star of the show in all things, even at their shared workplace. But at Liz’s birthday party when she realizes most of the attendees hardly know her she decides it’s time for her to get some of Tobin’s magic and step into the front for once. Enter: improv comedy.

My favorite part about marriage in trouble is the rawness and emotional depth and this one is written EXTREMELY well. So much pain (but not irreparable hurt) and both sides working to love each other better. Also autism representation!!!

Five stars for Maggie North!

The book has a serious tone, and you can feel the heroine’s frustration with her inability to fit in. I appreciate the neurodivergent representation.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Tropes:
- Marriage in crisis/ second chance
- Small town (in Canada!!!!)
- Bi rep
- Autism rep
- Slow burn

"It's midday, and my eyes are full of stars because he put them there."

This book really does go out to all the late diagnosed Autistic women out there. To all of us who feel like we can't be ourselves, those who feel like our identity is tied to the more outgoing people around us and to those of us struggling to find our own voice in a world created for and run by neurotypicals. Liz will start to heal you. Tobin will start to heal you. This story is beautiful written and full of the representation we need in modern literature.

"I edited myself down to one square inch, and then couldn't figure out why I was so furious, trapped in this tiny box."

As much as this story was a beautiful romance about two people finding themselves and then finding their way back to each other, it was even more a story about friendship, family and finding yourself in a world that may seem terrifying. Maggie North has created a world that so many of us can relate to; a wonderful insight into the minds of those of us who struggle to find our own voice. If you are neurodivergent, or you have neurodivergent loved ones (or even if you don't) I highly recommend this book.

Maggie North's debut novel is a gem, and I eagerly look forward to reading future books by this author. Rules for Second Chances is the story of a marriage that is struggling, with two very different people who love each other but have not been communicating clearly with each other. Liz and Tobin both work for an outdoor adventure tourism company, and Liz's dissatisfaction with the role she plays at work and in her marriage leads her to an improv class, new friends, and discovering a new relationship with Tobin and her employer.

I love a book in which a character grows emotionally, and Rules for Second Chances explored Liz's and Tobin's emotional growth in so many different ways. Readers will fall head-over-heels for Tobin, the perfect man, and, like me, will wonder why in the world Liz left him in the first place. Secondary characters are wonderful, with personal faves of Lyle (McHuge) and Sharon. There were a lot of layers to the story, with the marriage relationship, Liz being overlooked socially and at work, and the way improv skills were used to improve both her relationship with Tobin and her chance for promotion. I felt like the story had much more substance than a typical romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the digital ARC of Rules for Second Chances. The opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and listen to this book.

I was given the ebook and the audiobook of this book and I loved it so so much. This narrators were amazing. And truly brought the characters to life. I’m so glad I was able to listen to it.

This was my first marriage in crisis book but I thought it was very well written. I thought this was excellently written and while there was some miscommunication, there wasn’t a lot where I felt like I needed to shake the characters and say what are you doing.

I will definitely read more by this author in the future! Her writing style is incredible.

This one was an interesting spin on the second chance romance trope. Instead of of two people re-meeting later in life to reconnect, we have a currently married couple trying to save their failing marriage. And they're doing it via unconventional means as well. By working though a romance rescue book based on improv tactics. And I loved that we get a book by a Canadian author that actually got to keep a Canadian setting.

Unfortunately I had trouble connecting with our MC's. The relationship between them was just awkward, especially as they forced themselves through the scenarios. I did like when they actually separated from the scenarios and just real talked. It was refreshing. The miscommunication trope was just overdone. I also found Liz's narration a bit of a struggle to slog through. Sharon on the other hand was lovely. She's the strong minded female I want as a main character. As well -I did appreciate the neuro diverse rep, coming from an own voice author.

Over all it was an enjoyable book with some laugh out loud moment once I got into the voice of the story. I would still recommend this book to romance lovers, and would pick up another book from the author.

Thanks to Net Galley and SMP for my advanced copy.

Overall, this book wasn't for me. While I sympathized with Liz's tendencies to put herself in a box, I found the writing style distracting. Frankly, it had a LOT going on that detracted from the relationship between Liz and Tobin. Her relationships with her sister, Tobin's mother, her boss, her friend Stellar, all while trying to advance her career and save her failing marriage. Not to say women cannot be multi-faceted, because they absolutely are. But there is limited space within a romance novel and when you try to do too much, some of the pieces slip through the cracks. I would classify this more as women's fiction than a traditional romance. I also found the writing style distracting

I picked this book because it had a beautiful cover and I loved the premise of the book but unfortunately I could not get over the annoyance of the main character. Just seemed like it was a little too much.

Do you ever have a book and after reading you're like wait........this can't be a debut it's FANTASTIC?! That's Maggie North's Rules for Second Chances for me.

Liz has wanted a promotion and to be valued by her work for quite some time. Sadly, she's pushed to the sidelines as she's not a man. She's okay sticking to the sidelines elsewhere. Heck, she's a homebody and loves spending quality time alone...even with her husband, Tobin, around. One faithful night, her world gets thrown on its axis and she's had enough. Enough of others mistreating her and enough of Tobin being well....Tobin. So, she does what she does best, runs down the street.

Thrown into a messy situation, she's told she may be up for that promotion if she takes some improv classes- the one thing she ABSOLUTELY can't do. Yet, it'll be in these classes that she makes friends, finds her true self and finds love again. Who says there needs to be rules to give someone else a second chance? Maybe you need to give yourself that second chance first.

I was OBSESSED with Maggie North's debut (especially the last 25%) because of how relatable it was. It's 2024 and time that neurodivergent readers see themselves on the page. I admired the journey that readers got to take as Liz discovered her voice! The improve scenes were hilarious and I was anticipating each one with bated breath. As a huge fan of The Little Mermaid, there was a scene that North writes that had me squealing with delight and cackling at the end result. I just can't wait to discover where Maggie takes these characters next and really am rooting for some other "found family" members to find their happy as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I really really really wanted to like this story as neurodivergent representation is so lacking in romance novels. However, this book was just too repetitive and the improv stuff was too corny for me. I wish some of the endless silly “scenarios” were cut to make the book move along faster.

I love second chance books and this one did not disappoint! I highly recommend this book! You won’t be able to put it down, so clear your schedule and make room for it!

Rules for Second Chances was a sweet, endearing, and a little spicy second-chance romance that reminded me of You Deserve Each Other, Old Flames and New Fortunes, and Love and Other Words. It takes place in the mountains of Canada between a married couple - Liz and Tobin - who both work for the same expedition company. He’s an extroverted, easy-going guide that is always the life of the company and she’s the reserved, shy operations girl. Over the course of their few years of marriage, they’ve drifted further and further apart - he’s always been the ‘yes’ guy that everyone loves, and she’s had to be the one that always says ‘no’ and everyone completely ignores and forgets about. When she’s mistaken for the catering staff at her own birthday party while cutting her cake, that’s the last straw. She wants to find her “magic” and actually be someone on her own, and not just the overlooked person that happens to be married to Tobin, and she wants to win this year’s pitch competition at work to put all her ideas into motion, after being shot down year after year. Needing space from Tobin while trying to decide if they can even salvage their marriage, Liz moves in with her sister, and reluctantly signs up for an improv class to work on her social skills. Problem is, the instructor is Tobin’s best friend and Tobin is the only person willing to be her improv handbook practice partner. As they run through various scenarios, they find new ways to communicate and begin to see each other for who they are. But it’s up for them to figure out if it's too late to fall in love with each other a second time. Both tender and heartwarming, with some moments of humor, its a love story between two flawed and complicated people who need to work out who they are amongst their personal issues and determine if they are still capable of falling in love with each other again as they rediscover themselves.

Although this book was difficult to follow at times, it ended up being one heck of a story. Tobin and Liz are a complicated couple that loses sight of what's important...each other. This book is interestingly enough a multiple subject read, romcom meets marriage help. There's definitely angst with the characters and an undiagnosed disorder which makes things difficult to follow at times, but everything comes together in the end. Everyone wants an easy going Tobin in their life, so reading this complex story with this couples misunderstood relationship play out was definitely interesting. Really loved the ending, very heartwarming. Well worth the read.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

I am a fan of romance second chance books. Rules for Second Chances had my hopes up for a book that had characters I would like and the path for them to find each other again. I really wanted to like Liz and Tobin but I never felt the spark between them and the chemistry was missing as well. I finished it but it will not be one I would keep on my book shelf.
Thank you NetGalley and Maggie North for the ARC of the book Rules for Second Chances. This is my personal review.