Molly is in dessssperate need of therapy. Honestly, they both could use some, but Molly to a very high degree. I do appreciate that there was very little “I never stopped loving you” talk, especially since they never actually dated. That’s my main ick about second chance, especially when it has been years and years between. People change and grow!

If I never see either of their last names again, it will be too soon. I know they were using it as a pet name, but it is excessive. Karl said “Dearborn” over 150 times in this— TOO MUCH!! We do not need name calls multiple times every conversation. It almost felt like a crutch so you know who’s talking at some points. My eye started to twitch about half way through every time I saw it.

I very much appreciate the friends emphasizing communication, but was so annoyed it took them so long to listen because of pure stubbornness.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A second chance romance, one of my favorites romance tropes. It was so heartwarming and the banter between the two characters was hilarious! I loved how real it was and the plus sized aspect, especially on both sides. It was written extremely well and such a sweet romance story. Highly recommend

I love that this is a series! The characters are well-developed. Olivia Dade writes relationships between imperfect people well.

Olivia Dade is one of my auto-read authors, and it was such a joy to return to Harlot’s Bay—especially for grumpy baker Karl’s story. His romance with Molly is a tender, hopeful second-chance love story, full of heart. Both characters carry emotional wounds, fears, and self-doubt, and their journey toward trusting not just each other, but themselves, was deeply moving.

It was also a delight to revisit familiar faces like Athena and Matthew, and—as always—the Nasty Wenches book club added plenty of charm and laughs. Lise, in particular, absolutely stole the show, and I truly hope we get to see more of her in a future book. I’d love to read her story next!

This one was a tough one to love for me. Within the first few pages, we get to know our main characters from the past. It was cool to get to see characters pop up from Harlot's Bay prior. The toughest part for me to get over was that I didn't feel like there was much of a connection between the two love interests in the past or the present. While there was clearly some growth on the page, it lacked sincerity and the relationship fell a little flat for me.

After 20 years, an accidental obituary, and not so great life experiences, Karl and Molly have a second chance to connect. Except Molly isn’t interested in a longterm relationship, and Karl is stuck in their high school hometown. I enjoyed the premise, and the characters were enduring. The “trust building” activities seemed forced, and Karl trying to build maximal trust in minimal time was a bit inferiating. The spice scenes were detailed and longer than normal. Overall, it is a cute and fun story.

DNF @60%

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Spice: 1/5 🌶️spice at 60% when I DNFed

The Catalog: F/M, second chance romance, high school friends, grumpy baker MMC, competence porn, forced proximity, trust exercise dates, emotionally immature MCs

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

Thoughts:
I have to say that I have read one other Olivia Dade book and enjoyed it enough to finish, but there were issues with that one as well. Like this book, it too suffered from 0 to 100 sexual attraction and tension, poor pacing, and an unorganized, unfocused plot.

In terms of Second Chance Romance, the main issue is that I don’t feel the plot matches what was advertised in the blurb. I wasn’t expecting this bizarre, overly repetitious, story line involving two extraordinarily emotionally immature 40 year olds completing stereotypical trust exercises.

The FMC’s emotional conflict felt SO forced and unrealistic.

I love that Olivia writes fat characters, and I really wanted to love this one because fat MMCs are my absolute favorite body diversity representation, but I could not continue when, at 60%, the story nor the MCs relationship had not progressed in any meaningful way.

At this point I might need to accept that Olivia Dade is not the author for me, as I find her storytelling style to be quite dry and tedious.

There were a lot of aspects of this that I enjoyed! I loved the FMC, she was cynical and guarded which I love in a woman. I loved the physical representation of both main characters and the way their blatant lust and desire for each other was written. I really understood each of their internal struggles and I don’t mind when the main problem in a book is just two people standing in their own way so that didn’t bother me!

I think perhaps I would have liked the setting more if I had read the first book? It was just a bit too kitschy for me, and the ridiculous of it kind of took me out of the story at times. I also really struggled with the MC talking in sentence fragments for most of this entire book. I understand how it fit with his character, I just don’t think it was necessary for so much of the book

At first, I didn't like this book. There was way too much profanity in it. However, after a couple of chapters, I realized the profanity was part of the MMC's POV & personality. I truly adored this book! The banter was cute, the side characters were fun, and I loved the slow-burn of the main characters! I definitely want to read more by this author!

Communication is the key. And the lack of it a lock. In Olivia Dade’s book “Setting Chance Romance”, the second in her Harlot’s Bay series, this is a major theme running throughout it. Molly Dearborn returns to Harlot’s Bay, Maryland, at attend the funeral of one of her classmates, Karl Dean. Only Karl is still alive. Another classmate, Lise Utendorf, then challenges Molly to a bet. Lise wins, so Molly is committed to stay in Harlot’s Bay for their 20th class reunion in a month. And so starts the renewal of high school friendships, a chance to redevelop a romantic relationship, the continuation of many miscommunications and the resolutions of those communications.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked that both of the main characters had history and miscommunications that they needed to work through. The fictional town of Harlot’s Bay is a hoot with all of the businesses and historic sites using the “Harlot” imaginary, associations and meanings as inspiration for their names. This is a stand alone book, but I wish that I had read the first one in the series so I could more easily clue into some of the previous plot lines. Readers of mildly spicy romance and unfiltered language will enjoy this book.

I wish to thank Avon and Harper Voyage for the complimentary eARC of this book and for selecting me to review it on NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#SecondChanceRomance
#AvonAndHarperVoyager
#NetGalley
#RomCom
#FriendsToLovers

That’s NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC. This was cute. Some of the dialogue was a little clunky and I wish the author did a bit more telling than showing, but I liked the distinct character voices and the way they helped each other overcome their emotional hang ups.

This is a fun new installment in the harlot Bay series of Olivia Dade‘s books. It features some of the same characters from the first book and continues with the themes of prickly outside gooey cinnamon roll inside heroes and heroines. I thought the concept of the book was really interesting, although not entirely believable, and the characters were very enjoyable, although again not entirely believable. I also enjoyed all the side characters and friends. It is a fun read. I also enjoy that Olivia Dade’s characters are often men and women of a larger size, which gives visibility to many of us who do not often see ourselves in romance books. I would recommend this book.

This is a cute HEA rom-com that is told is mainly in 2nd and 3rd person. Not my fav way to read a book but it was ok. It’s was my first Olivia Dade book and it was hard to connect with the characters since it was narrated the way it was. I got about 68% into this book and had a hard time picking it back up. Once I was able to get back into it, I flew through it again. It was a simple easy read. Cute story just didn’t like the way it was written but I think she did a great job building tension through out the book especially at the end. 3.5stars out of 5.

I really enjoyed the first book in the Harlot's Bay series, Love at First Spite, and fell in love with the characters. I couldn't wait to dive in to the 2nd installment, especially based around Karl, the closet monster romance audiobook lover. Second Chance Romance delivered just as well as the first book. Plenty of humor and plenty of spice to keep me reading. Olivia Dade helps the plus size woman feel worthy and sexy with her characters and that alone makes me love and instantly read all her books. Thank you to the publisher, Olivia Dade and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this delightful book.

Second Chance Romance is a heartwarming and witty love story that proves some connections are simply meant to be. Olivia Dade masterfully blends humor, charm, and emotional depth as Karl and Molly navigate missed opportunities and rekindled feelings. Their chemistry is irresistible, making every interaction sweet, funny, and heartfelt. A delightful, feel-good romance that will leave readers smiling long after the last page.

I found this book to be absolutely adorable! I love a well written second chance trope, and the author absolutely delivered.

A Harper novel, heart-filled romcom in Second Chance Romance. Molly thought she’d lost her high school crush forever, until she shows up at his funeral and finds Karl, very much alive, standing there with a tray of baked goods. What follows is a grumpy-meets-grumpy, slow-burn reunion full of snarky banter, tender moments, and second chances at both love and self-forgiveness.

The small-town setting is quirky and warm, the side characters add just the right touch of chaos, and Dade’s signature body-positive, inclusive storytelling shines. While the prologue drags a bit and the miscommunication trope plays a big role.

Love Olivia Dade and the Harlot’s Bay Series! Second Chance Romance is book two of the series, focusing on Karl the grumpy baker and Molly his love interest. You don’t need to read the first book, At First Spite, to understand this book, but you should read it anyway! This is obviously a second chance romance. They were in high school and didn’t get together, now twenty or so years later they want to get together. In general, I’m not a huge fan of the second chance romance trope, but I love Olivia Dade’s writing. She has such witty moments and develops her characters so well.

The author just had to keep reminding me over and over and over again that he was wearing Crocs....................

I've always loved how Olivia Dade can write books centered about plus sized individuals, but not make their story revolved around it. While second chance romances are one of my favorite tropes. This story didn't connect that well with me. While I did enjoy various parts, I feel like her stories aren't speaking to me the way they used too.