I love the title. I really liked that the main characters were older, but this book was a little too much: too long, too much info on the secondary couple (that could have been a spinoff book or novella), too many sexual innuendos for the typical Christian fiction book. I liked the characters and I liked them together. The ending was sweet.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book.

I’m sorry, but this book just wasn’t for me. I found the humor to be lacking and just wasn’t feeling the characters. I hope that other’s find it delightful, however!

I absolutely 100% recommend this book if you like to giggle and laugh out loud. If you enjoy lovable, zany, and crazy characters, romance, and sweet poignant moments with Biblical inspiration, then this book is for you. I couldn't put it down, and when I had to, I kept thinking about the characters in the story. Because after just a few pages, they became my people. Now, after finishing the happy-ever-after ending, I'm still thinking of them. I have a huge book hangover, for crying out loud. I loved everything about this book and hope you will too. *I was given a copy of this book by the publisher, and this is my honest opinion.

DNFed at 24%
I just could not do it. She’s an author that writes very personal book and something I don’t know if this is an author self insert. I don’t like her in the tiny bit I read and I don’t like him.

I really didn’t like this book. The humor felt very forced and slapstick. The heroine is just too pitiful as she faces severe writer’s block and injuries from falling off a coin-operated child’s rocking horse. Her ex-husband, a famous baseball pitcher, shows up to try to win her back and help her recover from her injuries. More slapstick encounters follow.

He’s been released from his team on the eve of the World Series because his arm had given out. Weeks pass and suddenly his manager shows up to ask him to come pitch in the Series. What was going on all that time in between? And why would the manager believe that his arm was suddenly healed?

The heroine’s prickliness makes her rather unlikeable. And then what was an attempt at a humorous romance suddenly turns rather dark and depressing. Add in unbelievable and it was almost as much a mess as the time-traveling mess of a romance the heroine was writing.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This was an awful book.

The plot line was confusing, the characters were unlikeable and the romance was annoying. Nothing made sense.

I don't have much to say regarding the book besides that it should've stayed in the draft.

“For five years, he’d been praying for a way to walk back into Gracie’s life. Now he just had to figure out a way to stay in it.”

I loved this.

First of all, what you need to know — it’s a clean romance, and that’s when kisses are enough to make me giggle if it’s a good clean romance.
This one made me giggle a hundred times.

🫂 First Love, Second Draft 🫂 is:
• green flag MMC
• second-chance romance
• short chapters
• cute side couple (I was rooting for them even more than I was for the main couple)
• caring

TW: ❗️SPOILER❗️ pregnancy loss

Gracie is a fun and self-critical romcom writer, who accidentally gets an injury and can’t move by herself. Noah is her protective ex-husband who keeps making her heart melt every time he makes a joke (and he makes a lot of jokes) while caring for her during her trauma. She needs to write a new romcom after years of writer’s block. Will she succeed now? Will the male character in her romcom win the female heroine’s heart? Or will it be Noah taking Gracie’s heart back?

It was a lot of fun to read about Noah and Gracie. They are an old couple who never really stopped loving each other. The way Noah supported Gracie in her every struggle and helped her solve her every problem was really cute and worth reading about.
The side couple was really nice and teenage-love-coded, even though they are not teenagers. I loved them as much as the main couple.

4 ⭐️


Thanks NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for providing me this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book!

I found this to be a very fast read, it went by so quickly. While there were some heartwarming moments, I found a lot of the banter too cheesy even for romance books!

Not really sure how I feel about it.

I also found confusing the fact that there’s multiple romance storylines with different characters, so at first I struggled to understand who was the main character!

I gave myself until Chapter 5, but I wasn't really into it. The summary sounded really interesting, but what I read felt a bit dry :/

Love, Love, Love First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer.

It’s such a charming romcom. It’s a clean romance with lovable characters and great back & forth banter.
I found myself pulling for the reconciliation of the main characters, Gracie & Noah.

This story kept me laughing and I found my self not wanting to put it down.

Thank you NetGalley & Tyndale Fiction for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge sucker for second chance, so the basic premise of this book was appealing to me. Also, the banter between the main couple, and even between secondary characters, was great!

Unfortunately, I didn't feel like I really got to know the characters at all. Even the main characters felt one-dimensional. I have no idea what they love about each other. Don't know really any personality traits beyond their ice queen vs. trying to win her back dynamic. Maybe the b-plot couple POV could have been cut to make room for character depth?

I wasn't sure about this book at first with it being 1 book with two Romances. But I am so glad I continued as I ended up loving this book!🫶🏻 the main story Is about Gracie and Noah and how they try to fix their marriage. Then we have Gracie's nephew's love story too! I flew through this book! I loved the banter between the main characters and the many humorous scenes❤️ and Buck! I loved Buck! The whole story just had me hooked and I was rooting for Gracie and Noah throughout! It was awesome to see Gracie's nephew get his happy ending too🥰 It was a Really great read! Thank you to Becca and netgalley for this ARC⭐️

3.5⭐️ rounded up!
This second chance romance was a cute read. The banter between all of the characters was cute and witty, although I didn’t love the friends to married aspect for two of the young characters.
I do feel like at times it was confusing whose point of view each chapter was trying to convey, because some of them seemed specific and some seemed mixed. But overall cute story!

Some elements felt a bit too convenient, and the shift in perspectives didn’t flow as effortlessly as in other books.
Thank you Tyndale House and Netgalley for this arc!

Romance writer Gracie has a huge problem. Well, problems may be more accurate. Her deadline is racing her way, but all her ideas are running in the opposite direction. Not to mention the small issue of a fractured pelvis from falling off a horse (sort of), her sister skipping town and skipping out on helping take care of her, and the fact that her ex-husband has taken up residence in her cottage and seems determined to play nurse. Gracie may be down on her luck, but we readers are lucky enough to benefit. I laughed out loud more than once as this sweet rom-com unfolded.

First Love, Second Draft was a quick read for me. I was drawn into the characters' stories and eager to discover what happened next. A few small things caught me by surprise, most notably the heavily Christian theme that popped up in the final few chapters, but I enjoyed the book. (To be clear, I don't mind the religious references or overtones; it simply felt out of place when 90% of the book thus far did not have those same themes.) I appreciate the banter between characters, the fast pace of the lot, and the chance to read this ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Tyndale House.

As much as I love this author, I DNfed it. It felt annoying to consistently hear the negativity in the first chapter and it’s supposed to be a rom-com.

OK girl I actually really enjoyed reading this.

We’ve got this ultra fun set-up with our lovely main characters Gracie and Noah, in their early 40s, divorced, meeting a bump in their careers, within baseball and as a romance writer. He's still in love with her! She's hurt because he chose his career over her time and again.

We’ve got a sideline story between high school besties who grew distant. I won’t say more but they are indeed sweet, albeit silly (in a lovingly, endearing way!).

Light-hearted and fun story that just makes for an easy enjoyable read. I got behind the characters and even got attached Gracie’s dad – we stan Buck!

While the storyline has its flaws, it’s also so utterly human which I can appreciate, although do we really need another romance based on miscommunication? Otherwise, you’re in for a treat of some great banter and sweet and humorous scenes!

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with the eARC and the opportunity to read and provide an honest review!

3.75 stars ✨


“ ‘If one of you even thinks about fluffing this pillow again, there will be blood. Now leave. Both of you.’ [Gracie said.] ”


Take me out to the ball game. 🎶 Calling all sports romance and non-spice second chance lovers! ⚾️

This story is wholesome, and the humor is witty and ridiculously wonderful. Gracie, oh, I wanted to give her a hug but I’m sure she’d decline the hug because she suffered an injury. But no injury can stop writer deadlines. She must finish her manuscript for her last novel in a series and nothing is popping in her imagination. I can relate to her (being a writer) and wanting to write when something isn’t clicking or doesn’t feel right with the plot.

Then her ex-husband, baseball player Noah shows up to help her during her recovery. He tries and tries, and she deflects and deflects. The pacing for this novel was great. I didn’t feel like the characters rushed to win each other back. Time in the story elapsed given the weight to the heavy and emotional decisions of the past and soon present.

There’s one aspect, and this is a personal element, of the story I wanted less was the nephew’s love life. Matt is amazing. He helped get Noah back into his Aunt Gracie’s life. I was hoping he’d have a happy ending, I personally wanted to focus on Noah and Gracie because I was interested in their relationship more.

I wanted to share Matt is a third main character. The audience gets a close third-point of view with him. He gets his own plot. I didn’t know until I started to read because he’s mentioned once in the summary.

Thank you Becca for writing an amazing story! In the author’s note, Becca said, “With Jesus, there’s always reason to hope.” You are right. There is always a reason to hope. I believe that describes the heart of this story. Thank you!



Tyndale Publisher House provided me with a complimentary copy of this ARC. The release date is Tuesday, April 15th, 2025. Check out your local library or you can get it at your favorite local bookstore. 😊

DNF

I felt like there were too many POVs
I wasn’t a fan of the skirting around the past
Like just tell me why things went wrong and maybe I could give this second chance romance a shot

"First Love, Second Draft" is really two books in one. I loved Becca Kinzer's first two books so much but this one left me wishing she had made two novels, with this one concentrating on Gracie and Noah and the other featuring her nephew Matt and his love interest Rachel, rather than combining the two stories. In this book you see 3 perspectives - Gracie, Noah and Matt's. I could see what she was doing, but just wish she had developed each story more in the separate novels and added Christian faith to the stories, especially at the ending. I feel that could have added so much richness to the story since without the faith, the story to me fell flat.

What I liked:
* Witty Banter
* Gracie's father
* Strong family ties on Gracie's side
* Noah's backstory and how he grew from his experiences
* Writer + Athlete Romance

I want to encourage the author to keep writing because I loved her first two books so much and feel she has such a fun storytelling style. I also want to thank the publisher for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
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