4 Stars for this second chance romance

Mia is a strong young woman who took on the obligations of her family, but had to sacrifice her dreams in the process. I'm glad that Ethan got away from his father and brother because who knows what would have happened to him if he hadn't. I thought that the 7 years Ethan was gone was stated over and over as a really long time ... and I don't think that's a really long time. Especially since in that time Ethan went to college, started his own company and became very successful ... it seems to me that should have taken a lot more years. I love it when there are kids in a story and I loved Ethan's neice ... kids are so resilient. 

Mia and Ethan were high school sweethearts and planned on going away to college together. But when Mia's dad dies unexpectedly, she stays home to run the family restaurant. Ethan leaves for college and breaks Mia's heart. Seven years later, Mia is still running the restaurant and she is dating Ethan's old best friend Troy. Ethan is back in town bidding on the old lighthouse, which he plans on restoring. He's also hoping to get back together with Mia, but he wasn't expecting that she would be dating Troy. As a twist of fate, Ethan becomes guardian of his brother's 4 year-old daughter. 

I received a copy courtesy of BooksGoSocial through NetGalley.

Mia Reynolds and Ethan Carter were going to graduate, attend college together, return home and get married. When Mia’s father unexpectedly passed away, she stayed home to help her mother at their café and Ethan left for college. Ethan’s earlier years were spent trying to survive his abusive father. He believed that leaving for college was his only hope to follow his dreams far away from his father’s reputation. He has now returned to purchase the town’s lighthouse, which was a special place for him and Mia. Would she welcome him home, or has she moved on with her life? He gets his answer when he learns that she is now dating Troy, a local police officer. His plans to restore the lighthouse comes into conflict with others who want to tear it down. Has he arrived too late? Just as he feels that he can move on with his plans, he is asked to take custody of his young niece, Molly. He was unaware that his brother, who is back in prison, had a daughter and that her mother had passed away. With the help of Mia and her mother, will he be able to complete his dream while becoming a father to a little girl who has lost so much? A beautiful and heartwarming story of a second chance love! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

This is a win-win in my opinion. A sweet clean small town romance and I found actually two new authors. I was surprised this was #3 in the series, definitely can be read as a standalone. After 7 years Ethan found away to makeup for a mistake in his past, leaving behind his heart to his first and only love. He needed to escape his dysfunctional family and had a free ride to college, but his girlfriend had just lost her father and made the choice to stay behind to help her family. Now with the chance to renovate the town’s lighthouse which happened to hold special memories for Ethan and Mia, will also hopefully bring them back together. But life happens and Mia has moved on with her life and is now in a relationship with his old best friend Troy. Still as their paths cross there is still an undercurrent of their past feelings.
The pacing of their story was fantastic. Coming to grips with miscommunications and misunderstanding of their past, learning to trust again. I just loved the characters and Molly is adorable. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

The story itself was interesting enough, I don’t particularly like books where they finally get together and then other drama happens at the end. But overall it was a good story, it followed several different point of views.
Sometimes it was too much going on, especially when (what I felt was unnecessary) drama was added. It’s an easy read so if you like predictable romances this is a book for you!

when i saw there was another bloke involved in this second chance romance ive got to admit i was wondering(part with proper romance book fear) how this could work out ok? but i just needed to wait. it was so full of heart and well paced emotion. and i was obviously and definitely rooting for the right guy. and yes, yes yes there was definitely a right guy.
but can you really come home after so many years away hoping to show, find the love that was there, and never ever left. and with so much more to contend with now your older, and returning home again. and some shocks and twists to come that mean there is more than one heart and soul on the line. and more futures to think of.
a gorgeous read. i just wanted to be immersed into this book, the characters and the plot from the beginning to end.

this book was it for me. very drawn to it and wanted to read more of it. Didn't get the first book in the series, but now i will read more.

September Sunrise is a light, contemporary romance with a set of likeable characters and a well-paced, relatable storyline.
Mia and Ethan were each other's first love and they had so many dreams and plans for the life they would build together after leaving their hometown. But things changed when a tragedy struck and Ethan left to pursue those dreams, leaving Mia behind. It's been 7 years since they broke up and now he's back.
Mia has moved on and is content with the life she's built for herself. Seeing him again makes her realize that she never stopped loving him but he hurt her too much for her to be able to trust him again.
Mia is the only girl Ethan ever loved and now that he is briefly back in town, he hopes for a second chance;however, she is now with Troy (his once best friend) and he knows he can't blame her for moving on with her life.
Both the lead and supporting characters get enough attention in the story and the flaws and emotional struggles of the characters make them relatable. We see the characters struggle to move on after loss, deal with difficult family members and situations, work hard to become bigger than their circumstances, avoid talking about painful stuff, refuse to let people in to avoid getting attached and/or hurt, and not see that those closest to them might prefer to be told difficult truths rather than be protected by being kept in the dark. So basically, they are like most of us.
The plot is definitely predictable and includes familiar tropes (nothing excessively dramatic, forced, or unrealistic), but it is still enjoyable and you could pick up this book when you need a palate cleanser.

Content triggers
The following are mentioned in the text: death, dysfunctional family, terminal illness, accident, prison, surgery, alcoholism, vandalism, adoption, miscarriage, dementia

I thank the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book via Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback.

September Sunrise is the third title in the Secondhand Hearts series, and brings us Mia’s and Ethan’s romance. They were high school sweethearts with plans to head off to college and their future together. Ethan had a very volatile home life, and he couldn’t wait to leave. Mia was a hard worker, had a loving, supportive family, and was ready to branch out to the future she and Ethan had planned. Life had other plans for this couple. When tragedy struck, it caused those plans to crumble as Ethan had to leave town for his own sanity, and Mia chose to remain and support her family through a very difficult time. Several years passed before Ethan returned home for a major project… and to bring Mia back into his life, a second chance he had hoped, yet so much has changed for them both, even if the love was still there, it was also hidden beneath hurt, anger, and fear of trusting again.

September Sunrise by Charlene Tess and Jodi Thompson is a well-written, emotional, and intense romance that easily caught my attention and never let go until the final page. Mia and Ethan were believable and faced the consequences of their decisions years ago. I liked them both, individually and as a couple, even if I did want, at times, to step into the pages and give them a stern talking to. I enjoyed myself in this world, and if you love a good, realistic hard fought for second chance romance, then this one would be perfect for you.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

this was a moving story and it was enjoyable. it was an interesting story, with heartwarming connections in families and a town. loved the connection between Ethan and Mia, they had such a strong love between them and were so cute. it was such a sweet story and different to other second chance books, a special book. can imagine it as a film!

This was a surprising fun read. I actually thought, at first, that this was a book by Tess Thompson, a writer of bestselling books. Imagine my surprise when I read the fine print! 🤣 In this book, high school sweethearts meet up again after years apart. This was a nice romance novel.

A sweet romance. Second chance in a small town. Lots of history for the couple. I do think a lighthouse should be on the cover as the story does revolve around it. I do love lighthouses. Several surprises with heartwarming results. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Set in Haven’s Reach, the story follows Ethan and Mia’s reunion seven years after he left. Can you really pick up where you left off after all that time? The setting, the characters, the storyline, I loved everything about this book. All of the characters were loveable, from Mia and her reluctance to get her heart broken again, to Lyle and his hidden feelings for Patty. This book contained friendships, true love, hope and a sense of community. There was just the right amount of anticipation, and the ending rounded it all off perfectly. A truly uplifting, heart-warming read.