Marian Vere

http://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot.com/

Julia is a girl down on her luck. She actually brings herself down and always needs advice from her sister who was not only the best sister growing up, she was also her mother growing up doing everything for her. This might be why she went to her for "support" when she was proposed to eight years ago and why she took her advice and let him go. Immediately she knows she made a huge mistake but of course she does nothing about it. She does sound like a take charge kind of girl sometimes but other times when she actually needs to do something about her love life she walks away.

Most of the way through I thought that Nick did the dumping. That's what I get for not reading the whole summary on Goodreads. When I do find out that it was her who left him I am thoroughly confused. She acts like her world is being crushed when he's around and that his nonchalance about her being in the same room as him is such a betrayal. You broke his heart. Deal with it. Here sister sets her up on all these dates. She always has a problem with all of them even when a hot guy is crushing on her. Seriously? I want to throw a shoe at her. If a hot guy liked me I wouldn't be trying to find problems with him.

There was reference a lot to fairy godmothers. It was a childhood dream to have her fairy godmother find her and give her, her own Prince Charming. It was a really sweet part of the story that I didn't expect to actually be kind of a big part of the story. But duh! Look at the cover woman. I think most girls can relate to wanting the fairy tale fantasy of meeting your one true love so I liked how it was incorporated in and at which parts.

I might sound like I was frustrated with Julia but I was really not. I could not put this book down (in this case computer). It had me reading all night. It was killing me to know the secret (now I know anyone could have found out) of what happened to them all those years ago and what would happen in the end. Would the author be cruel and let her never have a happily ever after again, would she fall for another guy, or would she get her Prince Charming from eight years ago? I loved reading about Julia and I could understand why she was so timid in fighting for what she wanted. Nick might have been a little cold towards her but what do you expect? The added people coming into the home brought upon a lot of new possibilities to take the story and I wanted to know where it was going to take me. This book will keep you up at night just dying to know what happens especially if you are like me and love fairy tale romances.… (más)

Have you ever wished for a “Do over” in your life? Well, that is just what happens in this fairy tale like novel. The author tells the amusing story of a true love surviving all obstacles after eight years apart.

Julia had it all until she let her older sister whom she looked up to as a second mom, give her advice. Now, eight years later, broken and a shadow of her former self, A chance meeting with the “one” she let get away has Julia rethinking her life. Can she change her destiny and finally have the life and love she’s longed for or is it really too late.

Once Upon a Second Chance is a light-hearted and enjoyable read. This novel will have you believing that dreams do really come true and maybe, just maybe, fairy Godmothers really do exist.

The book was very well-written and I absolutely adored Vere’s take on the classic tale.

I really enjoyed the characters journey in trying to find their way back to each other and I absolutely fell in love with Nick! At first, I had my doubts about Nick but my heart just melted for him pretty early on. Julia, on the other hand, really had to grow on me. It amazed me how she was willing to let others control her life and her destiny for such a long time. When she finally decided to become responsible for her own happiness I all but cheered out loud for her.

The supporting characters were all wonderful in their own right..even Bree. As much as I tried to dislike her, I just couldn’t do it lol and Susan was the........Read More… (más)

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

When I started reading Once Upon a Second Chance, I was only expecting a light love story with a few cute moments here and there, but what I got was a captivating tale of a woman who had finally decided to take charge of her life.

At first glance, Julia Basham seemed happy. She had a nice job and even nicer co-workers, a supportive older sister, and a life that she was living the way she wanted to. But she wasn't. For eight years, she'd secretly been regretting following the advice of Lisa - her older sister - to break up with Nick Kerkley, her ex-fiance from college who, back then, had an uncertain future. And for eight years, she'd been following his journey to success, right up to Forbes' Top 10 Richest list. Julia thought those news articles would be the closest she'd ever get to him again... until the day he was to be her personal finance consulting group's newest client.

Honestly, when I first read the summary, I felt an immediate dislike for Julia. I mean, breaking up with your fiance just because your older sister thought he wasn't matching up to your foreseeable successful future? Really? But then I realized this story's not so far-fetched; I'm sure it's already happened to someone out there, so I quickly overcame that dislike and dived into her story, and she even more quickly made me regret that initial dislike!

Being inside Julia's head was really fun. She was witty and rational - well, most of the time - and her inside jokes with herself had me burst out laughing. But at the same time, I really felt the pain and regret she had in her, a weight she'd been carrying around for almost a decade when, if not for her one mistake, she should've been happy. I also pitied her when she was trying but failing to turn her love life around. When she wanted to give up, I also wanted to give up. When she saw a glimmer of hope, I also saw a glimmer of hope. Yes, this book took me on an emotional roller coaster, and I regret nothing.

Another thing I loved was how the characters all breathed life through the pages. There were quite a lot of them, but Vere developed them all very well, becoming their own selves.

Though the plot was slightly predictable, I still got surprised. Like I were expecting to see a bridge but instead, what I see is a fallen bridge. Get it? No? Well, no one said I'm good at metaphors. *sigh* Also, I almost always got tempted to skip over Julia's internal monologues, or maybe that's just the constant anxiety this book brought me. The pace was brilliant and made this a real page-turner.

Overall, reading Once Upon a Second Chance was a great experience, and it is now one of my favorite contemporary reads! Sadly, I haven't read Jane Austen's Persuasion yet so I can't compare the two, but I'm sure that, like this retelling, it can only be good. Also... someone find me my Nick Kerkley!

MY FAVORITE PART was after the rehearsal dinner thingy ♥… (más)