The narrators for Wes and Addie are great, they bring the story to life and I really enjoyed listening to them, highly recommend!

I absolutely loved reading this series and this story is fantastic. I loved Wes and Addie’s story. They were childhood best friends and then sweethearts. When they were supposed to get married at 18, he disappeared. They married other people and their spouses die bringing them back to Adelaide Springs, a town that sounds fun to visit. Wes had a lot of apologies to make to the town for leaving and never returning. I loved how Wes and Addie had the connection from long ago, the fun banter they had with each other. I loved the updates on the friends from the other books, I enjoyed seeing how their lives were going and how they still supported each other. This is an absolutely delightful story that drew me in from the beginning so much I didn’t want to put it down, there were some twists and turns I didn’t expect which is always fun in a story, great book that I highly recommend!
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this copy of this story, the review in only my opinion.

What can I say beyond Bethany Turner is a superb writer? Every one of her books will entertain. She weaves the story in such a way and with just the right amount of comedy that its a thing of beauty.

I loved the reconciling journey Addie and Wes travel. I loved the healing, the understanding, and the forgiveness.

There are no swears or alcohol and level 1 kisses only. Dual POV. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were wonderful.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from @netgalley and @thomasnelson. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 I love listening to enemies to lovers/second chance books because the sarcasm and sass is just top tier when listened to rather than read. I loved this. Wes and Addie went through a lot to get to where they could reconnect and Wes did his part in trying to explain why he left her at the alter to begin with. Also loved how their friend group found their way back to each other too after having grown up and grown apart for a bit

Oh, this book was a sweet second chance romance, but it seriously requires you to suspend your skepticism and just read for the characters.

Wes left Addie at the altar at 18, and decades later, they are in their hometown, both widowed.

Wes is a successful presidential candidate but is really questioning his life choices. Addie collapsed after her husband's death and was thrown out of the CIA for being an alcoholic. She is on a recovery program.

Old wounds are opened, but I felt this was handled very well through some fights, some heart-wrenching but real dialogue.

The reconciliation is kind of a whirlwind, but again, folks suspend....


I liked the narration. Nothing exceptional, but nothing bad either.


#WesandAddieHadTheirChance #NetGalley

I was really excited to read this one. I've read other politics based romances before, so I knew I enjoyed this subgenre. It was cute, heartfelt, and had really amazing narrators.
There were just a few things that stuck out and made it a little weird. For example, very Shakespearean in the amount of death. It felt like it was added just for more background on the characters that needed. It through me off.
But, it was a nice little listen that I finished in a day, and I would dive into this authors other books.
This is the third in a trilogy but can be listened to/read as a stand alone with no problems.

Dual narration - Talon David; Patrick Zeller; Bethany Turner


Very enjoyable listen. Relatable and like able characters.

Writing style is easy to follow and enjoyable. Different style of romance. Uniquely written a fresh view on a love story.

I feel so conflicted about this one. On one hand, I absolutely loved the narrators here. I thought they did a good job bringing the characters to life, particularly Patrick Zeller who narrated the MMC. I also really enjoy a story with adult characters, because these characters had full lives, careers, and a backstory. They also had both done a lot of introspection, so weren't in that 20-something haze of bad decisions that somehow just work out into finding the absolute love of your life. It is also always nice to read characters closer to my own age. I enjoyed the jokes, and I thought the writing was good and the story flowed easily. I read and listened to this in an afternoon.

On the other hand, this story and it's plot (18 year old's try to get married, MMC leaves FMC at the altar, both get remarried and both become widowed, one is trying to become the president and the other is ex-CIA recovering alcoholic, fall back in love in a 3 day whirlwind trip) is just... a lot. It was very hard for me to suspend disbelief that these characters would ever get back together. I also did not like the nods to Christianity, and I didn't realize this would have religious undertones.

I would definitely try stories by Bethany Turner again. This had a lot to like and a lot I didn't mesh with. 3 stars.

I love any romance in the world of politics so this story was right up my alley- and it was very fun, although I can be picky on timelines and this was rough. 20 years apart then in the span of 3 days of reuniting things were resolved. I think if the gap between their original break up to now was shorter and their getting back together was longer this would’ve had me at 5 stars! Still enjoyed it and would easily recommend for anyone who enjoys a (~complicated) presidential run!

For a novel about a presidential candidate x ex-CIA, there was no actual politics in the storyline. Which I can understand from an unbiased standpoint but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more politics!

Dual narration - great narrators but this would’ve benefited from duet, it always throw me off a bit when it’s dual pov and dual narration.

Thank you net galley & Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for this ALC!!!

. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for an advanced listening copy of Wes and Addie Had Their Chance in exchange for their honest opinion. Wes and Addie Had Their Chance was released to retailers on July 15, 2025.

I loved this second chance, small town romance. Even though it features a politician and an ex cia operative, it’s not about politics. It’s about finding love after loss, with your first love. There are some heavy themes in here: jilted bride, death of spouses, and alcoholism. I really loved the romance of 40 year olds, with being being 40 in all!

Even though it says this book is the third book, it felt like a standalone. I also LOVED the narrators! Now I want to read the other books in this series!

“He has more of a chance to be accepted by Hogwarts!”

WesAndAddieHadTheirChance
by BethanyTurner is a 4.75 ⭐️ read.

Oh how easy it was for me to fall in love with the world Addie came from, I didn’t know before reading this that there are two other books in this world: Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other and Cole and Laila Are Just Friends. This book has spoilers for those ones, so yeah please read those first if you want to keep it all in check.

For me, it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of this story at all. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Favourite Quote: “Have you brought me here, to kill me, and dispose of the body?”

Spicy Level - 🌶️

Note: Please read and review all trigger warnings before reading any recommended book. We love to read for our pleasure, so keep your mind, and emotions safe!

Audio Book Available
Publisher: ThomasNelsonAndZondervanFictionAudio
Narrator: TalonDavid, PatrickZeller, and BethanyTurner
Publication date: 15Jul2025

4.5 stars
────୨ৎ────

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the story. The plot was engaging, and the characters were so well-developed. Even the side characters had their own unique charm.

The writing was beautiful. Both Wes and Addie had such rich, emotional journeys, not just together, but individually as well. Their relationships with grief were so honest which definitely made me tear up.

I was especially touched by Wes’ understanding of Addie’s love for Joe. The fact that he never wished for their past to be different, if it meant she wouldn’t have met Joe, was so tender. He only wished she didn’t have to carry that sadness of their previous heartbreak.

And even after all the time and change, Wes still loved Addie. He respected that she fell in love with someone else after healing from their breakup, and when they found their way back to each other, he wanted to start clean, knowing they’d both grown into different people. I loved that they took the time to get to know each other again and didn’t just throw themselves into a relationship because they knew each other when they were teenagers. I felt like all this made their reconnection feel real and earned.

The narration by both voice actors was incredible. Their performances brought out all the emotions.

The only thing that threw me off a little was the POV shift….Addie’s chapters were in first person while Wes’ were in third. It felt a little ugh at times, but it didn’t take away from how much I loved the book.

Second-chance romances are definitely growing on me and I definitely recommend this book!

this wasn’t listed at Christian lit so I was unaware going into it. it’s a cute premise. no spicy scenes. deeply disappointed in the ending and the amount of background characters was hard to keep up with, since I haven’t read the other books in the series.

Second chance romance for small town teens who once fell in love and then fell out? My cup of tea.

Except this did not work for me.

After Wes leaves Addie at the altar, they don’t see each other for two decades. But once Addie returns home, her husband dead and her CIA career over, she also runs into recently widowed Wes. And he’s ready to run for president. Fate has brought them back together.

Except, no.

I had so much trouble with so many aspects of this one. Gaslighting, alcohol abuse, anticlimactic excuses, and an unlikable main character? I probably should have DNFed.

There will surely be an audience for this one, but it wasn’t me.

This is the third and last book in the Adelaide Springs Love Stories series. Each can easily be read as a standalone. There are many funny and light-hearted moments, a caring community, and unique friendships.

As with the first two, I found myself enjoying the second half but not the first. I’m not into the pop-culture aspect and I didn’t find Wes’s first marriage believable or appropriate. Therefore, my review is in the middle at 3-25 stars. I really enjoyed the standalone books (that came before this series) a lot more.

Narration: The regular narration and main character voices are really good. I didn’t care for some of the main character voices, especially the male narration for Laila.

*** I’d like to thank Thomas Nelson and Net Galley for an advanced copy of the e-book and the audio. My honest review is in my own words.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Bethany Turner for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you've read the first two books in this series of interconnected standalones- you're ready for this one. The illusive Wes AND Addie get their story! And boy is it a story! I do think this would read perfectly fine as a standalone- but in the prior two books our setting, Adelaide Springs, is almost its own character and that carries into this book but isn't as prominent. From having read the first two- I didn't need more charm from the town- it's already in my heart and brain!

In this story- we do a LOT of wading through grief, addiction, life's woulda coulda shoulda's, AND the "well, we didn't and this is our story."

It's not a spoiler to share this really- but I LOVE how Addie found TRUE love in Joel after Wes left her at the altar. And nowhere in this story does the author make any effort to make Joel be any type of placeholder for Wes & Addie's second chance. No ma'am and sir- Joel and Addie's love is honored and appreciated- and Wes does NOT try to take that away. I find in many second chance widowed stories we are given some ick reason why that marriage or partnership was "bad" and that does NOT happen here. Even Wes' prior marriage was unconventional but not BAD.

This is a political story as our MMC is a front runner for President. But the politics are very neutral. Really the only issue we hear him talk about at all is campaign reform. Outside of that we have the typical pushy campaign manager AND Wes' estranged Governor of Connecticut father that comes back into the picture after 18 years.

The resolution left me with some questions. But maybe if we ask Bethany nicely she'll give us a bonus epilogue???

The narration was done very well. Both narrators were perfect picks for the characters.

WES AND ADDIE HAD THEIR CHANCE is a small town second chance romance. The MCs were childhood sweethearts whose relationship ended when Wes left 18-year-old Addie at the altar. They haven’t spoken since.

More than two decades later Addie returns to her small Colorado hometown after the mysterious death of her husband and the end of her illustrious CIA career. She’s there to pick up the pieces of her shattered life; never expecting one of those pieces to be Wes, the man who deserted her and broke her heart. Wes has been busy in his time away from Adelaide. Married and now widowed, he is a United States senator eying a run for president. What will happen now that fate has brought them back together?

Let’s be real here. Decades of no contact after ghosting the bride on her wedding day and you want me to believe she’s going to forgive him after a half hearted “I’m sorry” and some lame explanation as to why he hightailed it out of town? I’m sorry, I’m not buying it. And let me tell you, the explanation is anticlimactic and felt a bit like gaslighting to me. Other than that and the fact that I didn’t really like the characters (maybe it’s an aversion to politicians in general), this book was fine.

I alternated between the digital and audio versions of this book and found myself speeding up the audio because I did not find the MMC’s narrator appealing. Again, perhaps it’s the politics thing.

Ultimately this book was a bit of a miss for me, but hardcore second chance romance fans may find it more appealing. I did like a few of the side characters because they were not falling under that slick politician spell.

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

3.75⭐️s, rounding up : so I did take a bit off for the narration. It wasn’t bad, but I guess I’m getting more discerning as many audiobooks as I listen to these days. Anyway, back to the book — had more than one narrator which really fit this book. My personal challenge was the voices for the non-main character no matter who was narrating seems like all the same voice. So if the main character had dialogue with more than one other character it was harder to differentiate who was says what. Small, but noticeable.

First, I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series, and didn’t even know it was part of a series until I started listening. The story hit all the marks for me, a little bit political, a little intelligence adjacent, a little Colorado, for a lighthearted “beach read.” It moved quickly & the characters were likable. I kept listening (& finished quickly) because I really wanted to find out what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for a free ARC of the audiobook.

A Harry Potter reference? In the year of our lord 2025? DNF at 7%………………………………………………………………………………………..