Liz Lewis and Tobin Renner seem to be a happily married couple as the story opens on the celebration of Liz's 30th birthday. And yet, there's so much more going on beneath the surface that emerges as the story progresses. Both Liz and Tobin work for an wilderness outfitter and back country travel company in the Canadian northwest. In fact, the company's name is West by North. Tobin is the charismatic guide whom everyone loves. Liz is the behind-the-scenes operations person who makes sure everything happens as it should, even though she started as one of the guides herself. And as the only woman in the company, she is often overlooked and taken for granted. Add in toxic family on both sides and unacknowledged neurodiversity issues, and it's no wonder Liz wants something major to change. As part of that effort, she signs up for an improv class that also echoes ways to strengthen relationships. Since Liz walked out on Tobin, to think things over, following the disastrous birthday party ,both of them are really struggling. Yet they are both deeply in love with each other. How they work to get back together in a stronger, healthier way makes for a very satisfying story. Add in interesting secondary characters and smoking hot chemistry between Liz and Tobin and you have a story that starts out seemingly happy, but grows into something much more real, and truly happy.

I really wanted to love Rules for Second Chances because I love me some neurospicy main characters, but this just didn't hook me the way I hoped it would and I never really found myself invested in Liz & Tobin's relationship.

DNF at 10%. Honestly, I was just bored and not invested in the MCs at all. And I didn't like the writing style at all.

I like the fact that Rules for Second Chances follows a neurodivergent woman who wants to make changes in her life that reflect who she is and what she wants. It kind of felt like there was too much going on though. She doesn’t want to just be the spreadsheet person at work, so she signs up for improv to gain confidence to pitch an idea that could earn her a promotion. She’s fighting with her husband Tobin because she feels like he doesn’t see her and listen. She’s frustrated with everyone else because they all view her as Tobin’s sidekick. She’s also having relationship issues with her sister Amber. With her boss and with her sister Liz is on point. They’re perfectly willing to box her into a role they’ve designated for her whether it’s what makes her happy or not. In the case of Tobin, they’ve both made mistakes in their relationship, but Liz compounds the situation by expecting Tobin to adapt to her relationship expectations without also learning from him where he has struggles and where she’s creating conflicts. When the two pair up for their own improv, the scenes feel confusing and cringey. They’re role playing but also trying to sort out their relationship issues, but it’s hard to sort out and it feels like they’re going in circles without really making progress. The high point to me is the relationships she forms in the improv class and her willingness to try that gradually allows her to feel more comfortable and confident in herself. I know that when someone makes life changes it affects more than one part of their life, but I wish that this had been more heavily emphasized with the relationships with her husband and sister being more secondary storylines. There definitely need to be more stories about neurodivergent characters, especially when they’re written by neurodivergent authors, but this one had a little too much going on for me to enjoy it as much as I could have.

Second chance romances are usually hit or miss for me! I thought this one had a unique storyline but I ended up just feeling a bit medium on the book overall. The own voices rep was so lovely and handled with care. And that cover? Oh my, it’s beautiful!

A beautifully crafted marriage-in-trouble romance that tugs at the heartstrings. This novel explores the delicate balance between love, self discovery, and the power of improv.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Slightly spicy contemporary romance that centers on a marriage in crisis . I was hooked right away by the female lead's situation (feeling invisible and misunderstood). It was an emotional rollercoaster but I enjoyed the ride. I was surprised by the lack of detail in the few bedroom scenes because the couple's chemistry sizzled. The story dragged a bit here and there (surprisingly improv is a major theme) but, overall, a fun read.

I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t sure about a second chances trope but this one won me over because of improv. I love the growth in both the FMC and MMC. Side characters were a lot of fun too.

I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher.

This book was a bit of a hot mess. The reality is there was nothing inherently "wrong" with the story, but the relationship between Tobin + Liz felt completely shallow and I don't know that this could be considered a romance novel.

I so wanted to love this novel featuring a neurospicy, introverted main character navigating the possible end of her marriage and *finding herself* at the advanced age of THIRTY (major side eye here), but ultimately was disappointed by the really strange extended metaphor of improv that runs through the entire novel and the distinctly unspicy "spicy" scenes. Breezy quick read that ultimately fell flat.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Didn’t love. The writers writing style was not for me unfortunately. I had very high hopes but this fell flat. DNF @23%

I really liked this book. It was refreshing to see someone in a book who just wants people to understand her for her, and be loved and respected for who she is. I also loved the representation in this book. The only thing that bugged me a little bit was it seemed like the arguing between the couple was the same every argument, but I did see growth. I think the sister relationship is very relatable. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

Rules for Second Chances
by Maggie North
Pub Date: June 25, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice...with the same person?
I enjoy second chance romances, but the structure of this one was a little weird. Not sure how I felt about the whole improv storyline, just kind of made some scenes more cringe than they needed to be.
Not one I can recommend.

I thought this was well done. I don’t usually like second chance romances but I am determined to find out that I do and this definitely fits that for me. I liked the style of this book and the author did well with this trope!

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review .

I did enjoy the second chance romance aspect of this book . Also the autism representation and honestly the first time I read the marriage in crisis trope .

I struggled with some of the writing and keeping engaged at times but it was a cute story . I also felt it would have been beneficial to have Tobins POV and not just Liz’s . But that’s a preference of mine .

Rules for Second Chances is perfect if you love the second chance romance trope and stories with representation. Liz is turning 30 but has never felt like she’s had a place in the world. She’s hard to relate to, socially anxious and awkward, and feels like her husband Tobin elevates her because she can’t elevate herself.

Spoiler alert: Liz has undiagnosed autism. Only her sister Amber (who might be one of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever read) has guessed that she may be autistic. And while Liz has become fixated on people “seeing her,” what she really needed to do is just see herself. Unfortunately for her (and for Tobin) she very nearly ruins her marriage, leaving Tobin and placing a lot of the responsibility for how others treat her on the fact that she is married to him.

I am not autistic, so I tried to have an open mind while reading this entire thing from Liz’s POV. But it frustrated me. Even though Liz doesn’t realize or admit she has autism, she knows she has problems, but has done little to try and sort those things out. Her coworkers and her boss and her mother in law walk all over her and she is undervalued. But not by Tobin, and he takes the brunt of all her pain. It isn’t until she signs up for an improv class that she starts coming into her own, but she still almost sacrifices her marriage.

I found the writing beautiful, the love story was compelling. I wish we had been able to see into Tobin’s POV a little however. Because he is going through it too. Maybe this book wasn’t for me. I appreciate what it was trying to do and the story it is telling is important.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the eARC.

I enjoyed parts of Rules for Second Chances but the plot ended up being a bit of a jumble. There were subplots that could have been trimmed in order to improve the flow of the story. For instance, the improv storyline made sense to me but the work proposal competition seemed really forced. It was also abundantly clear very early on that the company both MCs work for is toxic. As the character growth and development happened mostly outside of the work storyline, it seems weird to leave it in. I also would have loved to see Tobin's POV. His character just doesn't have enough depth to really understand his motivations or how he sees his partner.

Rules for Second Chances was overall a good read and I see a lot of potential in Maggie North's writing. I'll definitely check out her future books.

I couldn't get into this book. The female main character was hard to relate to (for me) and I didn't appreciate her reasoning enough to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-copy of Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North, in exchange for an honest review.

Liz finds herself fading into the background, her vibrant spirit dulled by a sense of invisibility. At home with Tobin, her husband, an impromptu birthday celebration left her disheartened when a guest mistook her for hired help. Extroverted and successful, Tobin seemed oblivious to Liz's quiet yearning for recognition. Their shared workplace at West by North, a mountain and river guide service, mirrored the imbalance at home. Liz's aspirations to lead tours and develop innovative ideas were dismissed by her boss, who confined her to the mundane realm of spreadsheets. Desperation propelled her to seek change, both within the marriage and professionally. She separated from Tobin and sought solace with her sister and niece, longing for a life that truly reflected her worth.

Meanwhile, Tobin is determined to win Liz back. He buys her a relationship repair manual called Rules for Rebooting Your Relationship with Improv and asks her to try it with him. Liz is reluctant at first, but she eventually agrees. The improv class is a turning point for Liz and Tobin. They learn to communicate in a new way, and they start to rediscover the connection they once had. With the help of improv, they find happiness and their way back to each other.
If you love Second Chance Romance books, this is the one for you. I gave this one a solid 4 Star rating!

Liz Lewis has tried her whole life to fit in with everyone around her, but she always finds herself on the periphery. Married to outgoing, charming wilderness tour guide, Tobin Renner-Lewis, she tells Tobin that she needs a break. Liz needs to figure out how to stop playing second fiddle to everyone in her life so she maps out a plan to become the main character in her own life. Seeking a promotion in the wilderness adventure company she works at, her boss advises her to try improv comedy to boost her public speaking skills and build that confidence. Turns out Liz also isn’t great at improv, enter Tobin, recruited to partner with Liz to help her through the improv scenarios and hopefully have a second chance at being together.

This was such an unexpected gem of a story. There’s so many things I enjoyed about it, especially the setting (love Canadian representation), the neurodiverse representation, and especially the improv! I found Tobin and Liz’s story flowed so naturally, the improv scenarios that they went through to rekindle their relationship and work through the barriers they faced previously was such an interesting take on second chance romances. I do think this story could have used another round of editing, some of the scenes dragged on longer than they needed to without adding much to the story. I really felt for the journey that Liz went through during the story. It’s relatable to a lot of people that sometimes you just don’t feel like you’re in the drivers seat of your own life. I loved that she took her power back and figured out how to turn her weaknesses into strengths. For a first time novelist, I thought this was a very strong debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.