I love a journey of rekindling married love and I wanted so desperately to fall in love with these characters -- their self discoveries and how to better love one another -- but I couldn't quite get there. There was a lot that was covered but I was never invested in the characters or their relationship and it felt a little like an aimless, long trudge to the finish line. Their passion for one another didn't seem to be there and as a result, I spent the book almost as bored with them as I felt they were with one another. I would try another book by this narrator and appreciated some of the quieter moments that seem to be lacking in a lot of contemporary romance, I just hope to have more to cling onto, follow, and root for in future books.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an opportunity to review this ARC.

This was different from just about any romance book I’ve ever read, and there is a lot to love about it!

This is a second chance romance about a marriage that is on the rocks, and it gets pretty intense and sad at times. Liz feels like she is perpetually living in the shadow of her charming, outgoing husband Tobin. And not only that, she feels like no one at all, including Tobin actually sees her. She sets out on a mission to find the “magic” Tobin has by changing her whole social persona, and doing it via improv.

This book covers a lot of ground, and Id even argue that it’s covering too much. We’ve got a rocky marriage, a suffering MC (who is learning about her own neurodivergence), extremely difficult family dynamics on both sides, deep dives into Improv as a self-help and almost therapy-like practice, a toxic workplace, a diverse and charming cast of side characters, honestly I could probably go on. For what it’s worth, this story does tackle a lot of these with grace, but I felt that because of the sheer number of topics within it was hard for any of them to feel terribly fleshed out.

I did really enjoy the improv bits, and I found the re-kindling of Liz & Tobin’s relationship to be really beautiful and touching, and full of lessons that are so important to relationships. I wished I got to know Tobin more, as he felt a bit one dimensional despite us learning from afar about his childhood family dynamics and how they are effecting him now. The humor did make me laugh out loud a few times, and I did really especially adore the side characters in Liz’s improv class. There is just still the feeling that things fell flat come the end, only because there wasn’t always enough space to flesh things out.

I will likely give this author another try, and I did still enjoy it overall. I’m ultimately giving this 3.5/5 stars, and I hope Maggie North’s voice continues to grow as I see a lot of potential. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley for this eArc copy!

Like the title says, Rules for Second Chances is a second chance romance. This book was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be. Liz and Tobin are a married couple that is going through a rough patch. Liz decides to go to an improv class to learn to communicate and gain confidence in herself. Throughout the book, Liz didn’t feel seen but she also wasn’t fully seeing her husband Tobin. Quite a lot of problems could have been solved if they had just spoken honestly to each other. Not quite so sure about the ending of the book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Liz Lewis has just turned 30 and has started to feel like she doesn't really know herself. She feels very lonely despite having a husband who loves her and a successful job. She decides to separate from her husband and try to find herself. I love the second chance romance/ marriage on the rock trope because it shows past the typical happily ever after in a book. Readers get to see the rough patches and the work it takes it to make a relationship successful. This book gets a little.heavy throughout while also balancing humor with many improve scenes as Liz and Tobin try to find their way back to each other. This book is beautifully done and was a joy to read.

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

Second chances....

Liz is neurodivergent, quiet, and likes to keep to herself while her husband, Tobin is gregarious and sociable. At her thirteenth birthday party, she decides it is time to make a change in her life after being mistaken for a server and not the birthday girl. Her solution is to move out of their home and in with her sister, work on herself, and take an improv class. She wants to work on her confidence which is a worthy thing to do but I did find some of her actions to be a little abrupt and dramatic. What happened to communication? Okay, okay, that is one of the things Liz needs to address.

The tips on improv were fantastic and applied to relationships as well. I loved these tips and the messages that were shared. While I appreciated the emphasis on Liz's desire to make changes and her bravery in doing so, the conflict at work and home didn't work for me. It is obvious that Liz and Tobin have things they need to work on in their marriage, but I just had a hard time connecting with them.

I enjoy second chance romances, but this one didn't work for me that way that I had hoped. What worked for me was Liz's journey, her courage to make changes, her acceptance and realization of her own issues, and learning to speak up for herself was the best part of the book (besides the improv tips).

Unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. While the premise of combining the spontaneity of improv with a love story was intriguing, the execution fell flat. The characters lacked depth and their chemistry felt forced, making it difficult to root for their relationship. The improv scenes, which should have been lively and entertaining, were too awkward. I didn’t really like either MC and the writing was a bit hard to follow.

Throughout the book I often felt frustrated with Liz for being less open to working with Tobin when she clearly still loved him, and he loved her. However, by the end I could see the process Liz went through as an autistic adult. It definitely reads differently, as it should. I didn’t care for the Improv, but found the work conflict interesting. Overall, I was impressed and would recommend.
Thanks #Netgalley for the ARC e-book.

This book was written for me. I could so relate to Liz, and her husband, Tobin, reminded me a lot of my husband. It was interesting when Liz decided she didn't want to be who she was, she wanted people to see her, she wanted friends, a promotion at work, and she set out to change who she was. Not only did her life changed, but it also changed her husband. But like any journey, that starts a new path, there are going to be ups and downs, twist and turns, mistakes, and frustration. Liz and Tobin, kept trying to get it right, but they were missing one key factor. You will have to read the book, to see if they figure out why things are happening as they are. It was nice to find someone that is so much like me, and seeing how she did things, that I had already tried. Thank you, Maggie North, for writing Liz and Tobin's story.
I received an ARC from St. Martin's Griffin through NetGalley.

4.5

Maggie North took my heart on a JOURNEY with this marriage in trouble story that left my heart feeling tender but full of hope and tears welling up in my eyes. In most romance books, we get the beginning stages of a relationship, the butterflies and warm fuzzies that all lead to the HEA, but there aren’t many books that focus on the after. Sure we might get an epilogue, but this is a curated peek that doesn’t show the messiness and struggles of longterm partnerships. What I appreciate about a marriage in trouble/crisis story is how it dives into life following the HEA and explores the characters’ shared history, the hurt they’ve inflicted on each other, and the massive decision of whether they will fight to mend their hearts and relationship or whether loving the other means letting them go… these moments don’t show up on the highlight reel, BUT they are the moments so many of us can relate to. North does an exceptional work of bringing these emotions and threads together seamlessly that leave you holding your breath and turning the pages quickly because you have to find out what happens.

Liz and Tobin were incredibly relatable characters and there were countless times I personally felt seen in both their personal and relationship journey. My heart ACHED for them as they floundered in their efforts to communicate, listen to, and bare their souls, struggles, and desires with each other. Their story was heart wrenching and North didn't hold back in exploring the cracks that developed in their marriage, BUT she gave us incredible moments of beauty, bravery, and some laughter that left you with a renewed sense of hope. I also appreciate how the themes and discussions in the story are applicable to all forms of relationships - romantic, familial, friendship.

This book is so very special and even though your heart will fracture into a million pieces along the journey, I promise that North will expertly piece it back together in the end. If you want a book that will reach right into your soul and leave an imprint on your heart, Rules for Second Chances is a must read. I cannot wait to read what North writes next!

This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. I sort of just felt indifference after finishing. The book was all over the place and the dialogue felt very stilted to me.

Marriage in conflict can be a great trope when done well. The conflict between Tobin and Liz felt very contrived and unrealistic to me. Plus all the references to Liz’s vagina were just odd. I did enjoy Tobin and thought he was a sweet MMC. Liz was a mess and I just couldn’t connect to her.

Overall, this just wasn’t the book for me. I couldn’t get behind this marriage and the FMC.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Great second chance romance story!

Just not for me; I couldn't connect with the characters or get into the story despite trying, I wish I could rate it higher; it had a great premise.

Maggie North debuts with this gorgeously written second chance between Liz and Tobin as they work to save their marriage. It’s heartbreakingly introspective and honest with meaningful conversations around growth- personally, professionally, and within relationships. The concept of using improv as a relationship tool was really clever and I enjoyed the way this brought Liz and Tobin together. I also felt that the representation for late diagnosed neurodivergence was very well done. This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Liz is so tired of not being seen in her life. Her husband is charismatic and lovely and she’s the quiet shadow in the background. Her family isn’t near as kind as they should be to her.

Tobin is baffled that things were actually bad. He thought they were just ok which isn’t good enough anymore. When they finally started talking to each other, you could really see both sides.

The thing I cannot forgive is improv class karaoke that was sung as a cat. I cannot do secondhand embarrassment.

I liked Gail Shalan as the narrator in this.. The nuances of her performance added to the book really well.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in advance.

I enjoyed this book very very much. Liz and Tobin were endearing yet complicated characters, and my heart was deeply affected by all the ups and downs of their emotions! There is such depth to this novel, so many complex situations, so many confused feelings. I was all in as Liz sought to be heard and seen, and the same was true with Tobin, as he struggled with his own issues. I love second chance romances, and this one is fresh and original and wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Story Rating: 4.5 Stars rounded up

Some of my favorite authors have hyped this book up so much, I was sold on it even though ‘marriage in trouble’ is not one of my go-to tropes to read. I’m grateful I listened to them because this book made me feel so many things and I very much enjoyed it.

Liz was a character I had so much empathy for and also so much admiration for her bravery. No one could possibly say she handled everything in her marriage or how she confronted it ‘correctly’, but it was easy to understand where she was coming from and why she felt the way she did. It was also understandable that it was difficult for her to see where she was going wrong until it was almost too late. There is no discounting the effort that she put into what she thought was the right path for her though. As unconventional, scary, and out of her comfort zone it was for her to open up her world with improv and her approach to social situations, she went all in and really committed.

I didn’t feel as connected to Tobin until later on in the book when we started to see more of who he was beneath the perfect people pleaser exterior he tried so hard to project. Given that the book is entirely from Liz’s POV, this is to be expected. It was easy to feel her frustrations with him because we were experiencing her emotions alongside her. As Tobin’s character got to be explored more and he began facing the difficult conversations and outcomes to his relationships that he’d avoided in the past, it became easier to see the real man that he was and how he and Liz fit together.

The idea of improv as a way to reconnect with a partner when a relationship is struggling is not something I would have ever thought of, but it actually seemed to be fairly effective. I think what I liked most about it was the each time Liz and Tobin began a scenario, they would adopt their characters but eventually the ‘scene’ would inevitably shift to them talking authentically to each other. Some of the scenarios I didn’t entirely get and combined with the amount of time spent in the improv group scenes it did venture into a bit much for me, but I liked the originality of that part of the plot.

The secondary characters added a lot of depth to the story and to Liz and Tobin’s characters, whether that was in a good way or a frustrating, infuriating way. There were a lot of players but they each served a purpose. That is something I always appreciate in a book and always try to highlight it when I feel it.

In my first instinct initial rating as I finished this book, I went with 4 stars, but as I’ve sat with it and worked through my thoughts while writing this review, I’m changing my mind to 4.5 stars rounded up. It is an incredibly impressive debut novel. I look forward to what Maggie North delivers next.

Second chance is definitely one of my favorite tropes and this was a sweet (even though a little more complicated than it needed to be) story. I love thar authors are starting to include neurodivergent characters into their stories! In general, I would recommend this book :)

Rules for Second Chances
Maggie North
Pub: 6/25/24
4.5 ☆

This book was such a surprising read. Surprising in a good way. I’ll admit, I almost didn’t read it due to some of the reviews, and I am so glad I didn’t let them sway me.

Second chance romance is one of my favorites, but Rules for Second Chances was so much more. It was a unique and heartwarming story full of humor, hope, and healing. It was an open and vulnerable look at the messy sides of relationships/marriage we don’t always see in romance reads. I think anyone who’s been in a long-term relationship will relate. And maybe learn something from it.

North created some of the most realistic and beautiful characters in Liz and Tobin. I felt fully invested in their story and was routing for them every step of the way. I related so hard to Liz. I felt like I was constantly nodding in agreement and smiling while reading her struggles. I just saw so much of me in her. It was kind of eye opening. What a beautiful debut. I look forward to more from North.

What I adored;
✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Marriage In Crisis
✨ Real/Relatable Characters
✨ Gorgeous Setting
✨ Yeti

For the romantics out there who like feeling all the feels and truly believe in second chances, this book is for you.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copie in exchage for my honest review..

Rules for Second Chances may be a second chance romance story but I found it to be a story of exploration and healing for our main character Liz. The story starts with Liz ready to give up on not just her marriage but everything. She is tired of being overlooked and unappreciated by everyone. I liked the premise that she will get out of her comfort zone by doing Improv classes. This created some unique and interesting situations for her and her husband Tobin to share. I felt like this second chance story was unique because the couple was trying to save their marriage. Admittedly, Liz is not committed to saving it at the start of the book. Seeing her learn about herself and open up, made the couple's reconnection pleasing.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced reader copy.