When travelling in Australia, 19 year old Nell visits a psychic who gives her the date of her death. She lives her life knowing the date is looming, and she plans for it in the smallest detail, sending incredibly honest letters to family and friends for them to open after she passes. However, Nell wakes up the morning after the date - can she stop the letters being opened, and can she handle a life she didn't expect to lead?

An entertaining story, with a great cast of characters. I would have liked certain ones (Tom especially) to be examined in more detail, but it was a fun read, perfect for summer.

This was a really great story set in the most wonderful sounding islands! The author really brought both her characters and her setting to life. I enjoyed the thawing of the main characters and felt the additional slightly quirky cast really added to the plot. A lovely read for summer.

What an amazing story about living your life to the full and making the most of every moment, This book made me laugh but also made me cry. I felt so sorry for Nell at times as she had always thought she was living with a countdown of her life.

This story felt very new and exciting to me and I highly recommend!

This was a great book and so different. While Nell is backpacking with her boyfriend in Australia they list a psychic who forecasts nineteen year old Nell's death when she is thirty-eight. Although Nell laughs it off it then shapes her life. Never settling, never allowing herself to get close to anyone. She plans the day of her death down to the smallest detail, only to wake up the next day! And then while grateful to have a second chance of life, she has no money, no clothes, no place to live and she has sent farewell letters to her nearest and dearest.
Nell soon discovers, she has inadvertently set the recipients of her letters off on new trajectories and now she has to deal with the aftermath.
The book is just delightful and a reminder on practising gratitude and grabbing life with both hands. It was funny, heartbreaking and engaging. I really look forward to reading more by this author.
Thank you Netgalley and Avon UK for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

I liked this book. The premise was fun and the characters were likable. It makes you think a lot about what you would do if you only had a few years to live. Nell’s decisions were interesting - I don’t know that I would have made the same ones. The second half of the book fell more flat for me; I disagreed with some of what Nell was doing. Overall it was a fun read.

This would not be a book I would choose browsing the shelves of a bookshop. However, I am glad I received an ARC as it is totally different to what I had expected. A very well written and enjoyable book.

It took me awhile to get into this story - I had some difficulty in connecting with the characters - but eventually I came around to Nell and her predicament. She initially came off as really selfish and self-absorbed, not really caring about anyone or anything else as she tried to live her life to the fullest ahead of her predicted death date. But when that date comes and goes, and she’s still around, she’s forced to deal with the fallout of all the years she looked out for just herself as well as the farewell letters she wrote to her mum Jenny, dad Tony, sister Polly, ex-boyfriend Greg from 20 years prior, and latest fling Tom. She reconnects with Greg the morning after, as a total coincidence puts them in each other’s paths, and while he’s completely changed from who he once was, they basically pick up where they left off - him out of this entitled idea that she is there for him, and her out of necessity, having donated everything she owned before her supposed death. She has to deal with the fallout of her honesty in the letters she sent to her family, especially her sister, who did not take her grand reveal with the same gratitude that Nell hoped she would. And despite her regret in sending a letter to Tom, who she barely knew, they seem to find themselves continually thrown into each other’s paths and have a hard time denying their chemistry, which leads to a bit of a love triangle between the herself, Tom and Greg. Add in her motley crew of found friends along with way, like Juno, Willa and William, and Andrea, and what started as a story of a selfish woman living for herself evolves into a story of self-discovery and growth, and figuring out how to rebuild a life that has meaning.

This was one of those books that grabs you straight away but then is a bit of a slow read... but in a good way.
It's a book you can have simmering in the background, read a bit here and there, but you keep thinking about.

I enjoyed spending time with all the characters, and felt a tad bereft when I finished. It had the ending I was wanting, but I'd spent so much time with the characters I feel like I will miss them.

The Second Chance is a beautifully written, original and life affirming novel that I loved. It’s an original premise, told with a light touch and I really loved the character of Nell. The supporting characters are all wonderfully drawn to and I was completely immersed in this novel over the course of 24 hours. A recommended read and I look forward to more from the author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Picture this - you're 19 years old, spending time abroad in Australia with the boy that you love. You and your friends hear of a psychic who is able to predict the date of your deaths and, intrigued, you seek her out. Everything is fine until you realize that this might be more serious than you're bargaining for. 19 years. That's how old you are. And that's how much longer you have to live - 19 years.

Nell takes this news to heart and chooses to live her life to its absolute fullest - traveling from country to country to see all that there is, never settling down anywhere. Her death date is coming up and she's making all sorts of arrangements to relieve herself of all her worldly belongings - after all, she won't be needing them where she's headed. Except....her death date passes....and she's still alive.

This book is a wonderful story of "What would you do with your life if you knew when you were going to die?" mixed with "What would you do if you were given a second chance?" It was a great read and I look forward to more from Charlotte Butterfield!

The Second Chance takes you on an emotional journey full of highs and lows. Nell knows the exact day of her death and decides at nineteen when she finds out that she will live her life accordingly. One of her last encounters, when she sells her possessions, is when she meets Tom. When things take an unexpected turn, Nell is not sure how to act, even though her life has outwardly been living in the moment. When she doesn't die as expected, how does she live what remains of her life? It is engaging and thought-provoking, with an insightful look at relationships and family. I like Nell; she is believably flawed, and you invest in her life.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A very clever book! Nell and Greg are travelling round the world, and in Australia they have their fortunes told. Nell is given a date she will die... 20 years in the future, whereas Greg is told he will live to be over 100. Nell starts to obsess about this, and it splits them up. She goes on to live a wild and carefree life, but keeps away from family. Then the dreaded date arrives and she sets herself up in a hotel, having discarded all her possessions, even her phone, and written farewell letters (with a few home truths) to her loved ones.

Nell wakes up the next morning, alive, single, penniless and in an expensive hotel wearing a rented ball gown. As she tries to sneak out she meets Greg, who has also lived his life according to the prophesy - carefully amassing sums to see him comfortable in his very long old age.

The result makes you think how people behave, and what makes for a happy life. Its told in a humorous and entertaining way, as Nell comes to terms with a longer life span and has to handle the fallout from her frank letters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Live life to the fullest. Nell and Greg are two carefree lovers, traveling together in their gap year, living the bohemian life. They stay in hostels, work odd jobs, meet a variety of people and "go where life takes them." During their travels, Nell is told by a physic that she will die on a certain date when she is 36. Greg, though, is told that he will live to be 103. Nell continues to travel after her gap year is over while Greg goes home, finishes his studies and becomes a successful banker/investor. Nell lives a life that could be considered as "very full" because she figures she will be dying young. She does not get attached to anyone for more than a short time, she does not make long-term decisions. She distances herself from family and loved ones. Greg on the other hand, believes that he will have a long life and needs to amass his fortune early on, to be able to live well in his retirement. Initially I did not like Nell. She comes across as very selfish, living only to please herself, everyone else be damned.As I read though, it became apparent that rather than selfish, she was weaving a protective shell around herself and her loved ones. Greg I saw as materialistic and a boring workaholic. As the book continued, I began to see how a predictable date of death could influence a life, whether the person believed that prediction or not. It was funny. I laughed through the book but at the same time, it was a theme with depth. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the digital ARC This review is my own words.

What a fun story! I’ve never read a story with a second chance at life like this one and I really enjoyed it! The characters Nell, Tom, and Juno were my favorites; I loved that they were just unapologetically themselves! I really appreciated that it wasn’t just the author that got a new lease on life, but everyone around her did as well. Would recommend if you’re looking for a fun, easy, read with a life lesson mixed in!

I found the premise of this book incredibly interesting and thought provoking

Nell finds out the exact date of her death. She is flawed and at times a bit frustrating but overall a character I really grew to enjoy and made me think a lot about things.

There are deeper topics explored but ones that are incredibly relatable and are balanced well with humor and adventure.

This is a pretty bingeable book that makes you think about life and the choices you make and I really needed to know what happened to Nell.

heartwarming, reflective and thought provoking read. The messages ' what would you do if you know when you will die?'

It have dark humor, and love the character development. But I don't understand why we spent a lot of time with her exes.

Overall, it is entertaining. Thank you netgalley for the review copy.

When she was 19 and travelling on her gap year, Nell was told the date of her death.. She has been preparing for that moment all of her life and when it doesn't happen she is stuck. She has sold all of her possessions and has no money. A chance meeting with an ex-boyfriend helps her out and helps her decide on a way forward. On the journey to her enlightenment, she meets some lovely people and none more flamboyant that Juno, an octogenarian, with a lust of life equalling Nell's own. Juno, in her own way, helps Nell find what she is looking for in more ways than one.
A lovely book and a delightful read.

This was a very heartwarming and thought provoking read that I would recommend to absolutely everyone.
It’s so well written, it has some really funny moments and the ending had me in tears. It’s a complete rollercoaster of a read!
———————
Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to review this book.

Very funny and desperately needs to be on a screen soon. There is one scene in particular which was so comically well written, I couldn't help but laugh.
.
A physic told Nell she was going to die, the exact date - so of course she believed her. To be fair the other person she said would die, did die, you can see why Nell was so convinced. As Nell arranges for all her worldly possessions to be sold, cancelled and given away I was worried. I understand she didn't want to leave a mess for anyone to have to clear up, but when she doesn't die - what a mess! Not to mention all the letters she's written, will anyone still speak to her, even if she is is back from the dead?

At times Nell did grate with me a little, when she lost her ability to make decisions, and stick to them. That actually just added to the plot and the interest though. My favourite character was the fabulous Juno, I will not explain why, as she needs to be discovered all on her own.

I was so intrigued by the concept of this book and the author really did it justice in her writing and character development. Even after I finished reading the book I was wondering what was going to happen next. Then I remembered I hadn't got it to read anymore …

I’d say this was a pretty decent read. Except for some weird behavior from the main character that is. Nell definitely wasn’t as good of a person as others thought. She did some nasty things at times in the book. The premise was fun though