This was a very cute book. Really enjoyed the characters and story arc! I love a second chance romance and this one hit all the cheese moments

While I love a second chance romance and the setting of this novel seemed picturesque, unfortunately this book was a miss for me. For starters, the pacing was slow and the story was missing key info. Issues would be raised and then basically ignored. It had a lot of potential but just wasn’t executed well enough for me.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my very own.

This didn't work for me. At all.

Disappointment one: despite the marketing and cover, this is not about the outdoors helping a couple stay together. It's about improv. That's almost the entire plot, which also feels a bit like improv in that it bounces from scene to scene without much character logic.

It was very hard to root for the narrator (this is first person single POV) who seems to create obstacles for herself out of thin air and can't take yes for an answer (even though the book keeps reminding you the point of improv is "yes and...").

I'm not even going to touch on the very heavy-handed and poorly-framed attempt to make a point about people who are autistic. I leave it to those with more expertise to criticize.

Somewhere around the 80% mark, I started sighing deeply as I read because the plot kept getting worse and I started hoping there wouldn't be a happy ending for this couple. Everyone in this book is so mean to each other, and the people who occasionally are kind are rewarded with more poor decisions by the narrator.

This book about a couple trying to work on their marriage for a second chance was just meh for me. It was slow and not my cup of tea. The author did a great job of making you feel what the main characters were feeling.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins press for this eArc in exchange for my review

Liz and Tobin realize that their marriage is at a breaking point and is in desperate need of saving. Between personal issues, work, and family dynamics - they are left needing and wanting more from each other. Needing to prioritize communication and understanding, Liz and Tobin commit to working through their marital issues and find themselves along the way.

Let me start off by saying that I have never resonated so much with a romance book before. I was truly taken aback at how this book made me feel seen and how real it felt. I could clearly picture Liz and Tobin and was invested in their story from the first page. This story was so unique and clever, keeping me engaged the entire time. I saw myself in Liz and I think anyone who has been in a long term relationship will resonate with the issues that her and Tobin experienced. North does an incredible job tackling heavy and hard topics in a tactful way. Overall an amazing read and would highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

This book ended up being a little heavier than I expected, but maybe that's because the FMC was a socially awkward introvert, something which I can completely relate to.

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.

But I liked the dynamic between the FMC and MMC, especially when they took the time to have real conversations about their relationship instead of not communicating about it which is what fucked them the first time around.

Solid effort for a second chance romance.

Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North is a charming story about a women who is questioning who she is, in a world she feels left out of. Lizzy or Dizz is the FMC who is turing 30 and qustioning what she wants, her future, and her relationship. She joins an improv class, directed by her boss, to gain strength for a leadership role she is gunning for. She is dealing with a sister that has a chip on her sholder and a husband who is spends more time dealing with his family issues, than communicating and connecting with Lizzy. This story was truly sweet and as somemone who is questioning her own possibilty of having austism, it felt like a very close connection with my heart. I adore Lizzys strenght and her determination to go change and challange herself. There were a lot of characters in this story and sometimes it felt like there was so much going on, it took away from her the romance or the repair of her marrige. I adored all the characters, but for me personally it took away from parts of the story that their could have been more focused on. I felt it was difficult to love the MMC because they never addressed his relationship with his mother, he spent years puting his mother before his wife and I feel like it was brushed away too much. Lizzie never really said what was truly bothering her, she just danced around it. I really loved the idea of using improv and comedy to connect with your spouse. It is something that could definitely open people up and being more vulnerable with eachother. I was not fully on board with the merman situaiton because I just did not get it, but that is most likely an antic I don't fully get or connect with. Overall, this was a great story with a ton of heart and I plan on reading more from Maggie North in the future.

This was such a unique twist on contemporary romance! the marriage in shambles/marriage under construction tropes can be difficult to get right, but I felt like Maggie did a fantastic job! Plus, the setting and their jobs were so cool!

I went into this with a preconceived notion based on the summary of how the book would play out. I was totally and joyfully wrong! From the moment I started reading until I finished later that night, I couldn't put it down. It was so tightly woven with beautifully flawed characters and the journey they took. Everyone knows a Liz and Tobin couple and getting a chance to peek behind the curtain into their growing pains was a revelation. Liz beginning to try and understand her complete self, grappling with a new perspective on her husband, and their relationship with the help of McHuge had me cheering them on every step of the way. The author does tend to get a bit wordy and too lost in descrptive details in some chapters but overall a fantastic, absorping read. Well done!

Heartwarming story of family, friends and yes, second chances. Liz and Tobin have been married for a few years, and Liz feels that she is living her life in the shadow of her outgoing and very popular husband, Tobin. So she goes on a journey of self-realization through improv. Some parts during the middle totally lost me. I came so close to putting it down, but after pushing through a few more chapters it was SO CUTE. So, stick it out and you won't be disappointed!!!! Also, a stunning backdrop for the story!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

What grabbed my interest in this second chance romance was that it was about two characters who were already married. Usually, romances end with a marriage/engagement/commitment and we readers just assume it all works out. This book dumps us a few years into Liz and Tobin’s marriage and it is not going well. Feeling unseen and unheard and a little lost, Liz decides the marriage has run its course and leaves Tobin. Tobin, however, is not done and suggests a unique way to try to work through things - improv. In addition to the story of them discovering if their marriage is salvageable, we also get to see Liz work towards some career goals she’s been wanting for awhile and tackle a toxic family relationship.

In the first half of the story, I was honestly fairly annoyed. I think part of the problem was that the story needed a stronger set up. We needed to have a bit more of a vision for who these two were when they met, when things went wrong, etc right in the beginning. Instead, we’re just dumped into Liz’s misery and what seems like an impulsive decision to jump ship. Consequently, I just kept thinking that I didn’t really understand what was so terrible that she wanted a divorce. Also, I felt like she was so stubbornly stuck on absolute independence that it came across as unnecessarily selfish.

However….without spoiling anything, I do really appreciate where their relationship ended up. Despite improv feeling like a kind of silly way to unravel complicated and sensitive emotional issues, the issues addressed were relatable and realistic. There was definitely clear character growth and increased maturity demonstrated in both main characters. I think the lessons they learned were valuable and a good positive message to send to readers. For the first half of the book, I was sure I would be rating this 3 stars but the character growth in the second half bumped it to 4 stars. If you’re looking for a little bit of a unique second chance romance, give this one a shot!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and to the author, Maggie North, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This second chance, marriage in trouble trope wasn't my cup of tea, it could possibly be that it was just hard for me to follow. I think fans of this trope would enjoy and may be a better fit for them.

I was excited about this spin on second chance. It was just too slow for me and I couldn’t find my groove. I thought the writing was well done, it just wasn’t for me.

I didn't love this one but I also didn't hate this one. However I'm not sure how I feel about this one. And eventually I'm going to learn that I don't enjoy second chance romance that much.

Slow start but wow I fell in love with this novel. The character development was amazing and I loved the support and love from the female friends. Cute dialogue and a little spice to make the heart flutter

What do you do when you turn 30 and you realize that no one sees you? How do you open the eyes of the world to what you can offer when your own spouse's light is so bright that it can't help but outshine everything around them? Maggie North's debut novel follows Liz as she answers this question for herself and goes on a search to find her "magic."

Liz and Tobin are a husband and wife who, on the outside, seem to have a solid relationship, but Liz finds herself in a rut. She has few friends, her boss is content to keep her behind the scenes with her spreadsheets (despite the fact that she is itching to spread her wings and contribute more to the company), her co-workers look down on her, and her relationship with her sister Amber is tenuous at best. Adding to this is her crumbling relationship with Tobin. He obviously loves her, but their marriage lacks a firm foundation. Her one bright light in her life is Eleanor-her adorable niece that she babysits from time to time. After Tobin throws her a party for her 30th birthday and she is not only ignored by the guests, but is mistaken for one of the wait staff, she decides that she has had enough and that it's time to "get magic." She leaves Tobin, moves in with Amber and Eleanor, and joins an improv group to help improve her public persona in order to win a pitch competition at work. Her fellow classmates are a delightful group of individuals (except for her co-worker, "Dickhead" because he's...well...a dickhead) and the instructor (hilariously nicknamed 'McHuge") has a larger than life personality. Despite Liz taking a step back from her marriage, Tobin is not content to accept that it's over. He offers to be Liz's improv practive partner and as a result, Liz and Tobin are forced to examine why their marriage wasn't working.

"Rules for Second Chances" had a great premise and promise for an engaging story, but it just didn't work for me. I LOVE an underdog, both in books and in real life, but I couldn't connect with Liz. I empathized with her struggles, but her treatment of Tobin and her internal justification of said treatment, was frustrating for me. Tobin was an absolute gem of a character. Was he perfect? No, and you could absolutely see how his parents and his upbringing molded his psyche in adulthood and affected his relationship with Liz. My disconnect with Liz was that she didn't see Tobin past the surface and was cold and standoffish to him. I get that there was more going on with her (and thankfully she decides to explore that), but her actions toward him were off-putting to the point where I didn't buy it when she did finally understand him.

My other issue with the story was how the diversity of the characters felt forced, as if the author had a checklist she was going off of. There is a popular book series (I won't name names) that is a great example of a book that has an obvious diverse cast of characters, but the descriptions don't take me out of the story. Instead, it's woven in seamlessly, in a way that makes each character seem like a real person, instead of a 2D picture. Unfortunately, the diversity in "Rules for Second Chances" felt forced-as if it wasn't enough to have heterogeneity in the story, but that it needed to be shoved in the reader's face at every corner.

My review is not to discourage anyone from reading this book, in fact I think that if the premise sounds interesting to you, please give it a shot! While I wasn't a fan, I do think that Liz and her struggles would speak to someone else and help them to feel seen. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book as an E-Arc through Netgalley... This review is solely based on my opinion and taste .

This book was probably a perfect example of "I liked it, but I didn't like it at the same time." I am normally a sucker for a second chance romance, but I struggled with this book as I truly felt like Liz, the FMC, was incredibly selfish, and her husband, Tobin, deserved so much more. Tobin definitely made his mistakes, too, and was equally responsible for their troubles, but I felt like his reasons for why he did certain things and handled things certain ways were much more understandable. I actually liked Tobin a lot and even had a couple of moments where I felt like he should walk away.

I enjoyed the improv as a marriage counseling idea, and it was fun watching those mishaps and seeing them grow back together. I thoroughly enjoyed the improv class scenes and the friends Liz made through the class....ESPECIALLY SHARON!

I will say as far as some of the technical aspects of the book I really enjoyed the way that the author wrote the dialog it felt very smooth, very natural I almost felt like I was sitting in front of them listening to their conversations. I quite enjoyed the authors writing skills, and the story itself wasn't bad. The FMC was the downfall of this book for me.

I will end by saying I despised the way the author went about bringing forth Liz's Autism realization, the use of that and the way that it was thrown in haphazardly at the very end felt like a cheap way to excuse her selfishness and expect forgiveness.

I love a marriage in crisis book. this one about Liz and Tobin was okay. I felt is hard to connect with he characters, and I don't think its really for me. I think that this would be a great book and writing style for someone else. but I personally didn't enjoy it. the idea and plot of the book was a good concept and I normally I would like this type of book, but it was a miss for me. I would totally read something else from this author and give it another shot in the future.

RULES FOR SECOND CHANCES is a truly unique love story that deserves high accolades for being honest, unbiased, and truthfully written. It follows the story of a lady, Liz, who feels like a bystander in her own marriage. Her husband, Tobin, can mesmerize a crowd, with them hanging on his every word, while she feels invisible. They don't seem to share anything together or do anything together anymore. They have chemistry and she does love him, but Liz walks away from her marriage and takes a stand. They both work for an outdoor tour company. Tobin is a popular tour guide and charismatic. Liz is on the quiet side and is good at spreadsheets. She is dying for a promotion at work, but falls short of obtaining it. She's to quiet, to insecure, to good at her desk job, to this and that, her boss says. So, Liz never gets a promotion that she has worked so hard for, that she joins an improv class. She wants to learn how to project herself brightly and gain that elusive magic just like her husband. Can she do it?

Liz is determined on discovering who she is and getting the world to see and respect her. Improv teaches her to let down her barriers, good and bad. So, she can recognize her own self worth. As Liz does improv with partners and Tobin, they learn many things about each other. Do Liz and Tobin get back together?

RULES FOR SECOND CHANCES is emotional, introspective and incredible. What an engaging, thought-provoking story! Who would think that improv can sustain a story, let alone a relationship, between two lost souls who need to find their way back together and really understand one another. The author does an outstanding job using a truly unique way to learn about a person in-depth. As Liz and Tobin battle through their hopes, feelings and dreams, I wondered if they would ever get back together. You have to read to find out what happens between them. It's a struggle, woven with a vast cast of characters who sometimes confuse and steer them in the right direction. But, who is to say what is wrong or right in a relationship? We all must decide for ourselves what feels right. This story comes together with the right touches. A fascinating tale with a powerful message.

This BOOK! A sparkling debut with relatable and lovable characters and stunning prose. Tobin and Liz feel so real to me, like if I was ever in town, I could stop by for a beer. I loved this marriage in crisis story with such heartfelt and relatable moments to anyone who has been with a partner for a long time. And then the improv subplot added so much humor and levity and openness and trust to this story. I loved going on this journey with Liz where she really came into herself and started exploring what she wanted out of life and who she wants to keep in hers. Love love love!