Book Review and Giveaway: "A Second Chance" by Alexis Goring

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​About the Book

Newly single food critic and newspaper reporter Traci Hightower is done with dating. After the man of her dreams left her at the altar on their wedding day and ran off with the woman she thought was her best friend, Traci resolves to focus on work and resigns herself to being a bachelorette for life.

Marc Roberts is a political reporter who is known as Mr. Nice Guy, the one who always finishes last. However, Marc’s compassion and kindness are of invaluable help to his newly widowed sister Gina Braxton who is trying to raise her two kids in the wake of her firefighter husband’s death.

​Traci and Marc may be the perfect match, but they don’t know it yet. With God’s guidance and the help of Gina’s matchmaking skills honed by her career as a bestselling romance novelist, there is hope for a happily ever after for these two broken hearts.

​My Review

​A Second Chance by Alexis Goring, the first work I’ve read by this author, presents an interesting premise and is a quick read.
 
Traci, the main character, is given a letter from her mother detailing the requirements for Traci to get her inheritance from him: she must be married and her mother must approve of Traci’s spouse. I’ve read this “must get married to get inheritance” in historical novels, but never in a contemporary. And though Traci worries about what to do as she is currently drowning in bills from her called off wedding, she seems to accept this condition without any problem. She’s likable.
 
Marc, the other main character, does not trust women because his exes keep lying to him. Marc was likable enough, though he falls into the “overprotective and I will hurt anyone who hurts you because you’re mine” trope when he meets Traci’s ex-fiancé and I HATE that in my romance characters.
 
The big misunderstanding” is based on Marc finding the letter about the inheritance by looking inside an envelope on the table—which Traci left out because she planned to tell him about the conditions to her inheritance—and assuming she’s dating him to get married to gain the money. He’s also mad because she lied to him about it, which is the only part of the conversation that I can stand. Marc never apologizes for the invasion of privacy and Traci acts as if the entire mess of the disintegrating relationship is her fault. I was so livid about the invasion of privacy and the non-apology that I almost put the book down.
 
The characters are also seriously old-fashioned, with Traci’s passiveness and Marc’s overprotective jealousy disguised as caring for her. Traci spends most of the book waiting for Marc to make the first move, even though he takes weeks to contact her after their first meeting and doesn’t contact her quickly after their dates, either. There was also a case of “insta-love” as these characters are convinced they are in love with each other after one date and so are both of their friends. I did appreciate that both Traci and Marc have friends and families outside of the relationship, which does not always happen in romance novels.
 
These characters needed to seriously talk with each other. At one point, they try a long-distance romance and I couldn't believe it. If they couldn’t even make it work in person, how would long-distance work? It’s much harder and requires much more communication, which neither of these characters do well.
 
There is a lot of telling rather than showing, and much of the romance seems to happen off-screen. Part of the quickness of the romance is due to the length of the book, and I was expecting the romance would feel rushed. However, it also feels incomplete. We’re told the characters love each other, but with both stubbornly refusing to discuss problems and not trusting the other, it was hard to see it.
 
I give A Second Chance 2/5 stars. The characters are overdramatic and uncommunicative, the plot feels contrived, and the entire romance feels rushed and incomplete and as a result I cannot recommend this book.
 
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through CelebrateLit. All opinions are my own.**

​About the Author

​


​Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing.

She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.

Guest Post from Alexis Goring

​“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
~Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

God has good plans for every single person living here on Earth. It’s important to remember to trust Him because no matter how bleak a situation looks, hope is always on the horizon when God’s in the picture…and the good news is that no matter what God is always in the picture.

I thought that it would be a good idea to explore the theme of Jeremiah 29:11 through a fictional story about characters who are in need of a second chance in life and love. So I create Traci and Marc and wrote their story, A Second Chance.

Traci and Marc are entry-level journalists therefore they struggle with the industry’s tough system of paying your dues and they know the conflicts firsthand about struggling to pay your bills because of that system.

But it’s not just the bills that weigh heavily on their hearts. Traci and Marc are facing battles that are unique to their individual life stories but common to people in the real world.

When the reader meets Traci, they see that she is bitter and cynical because she was left at the altar. Her fiancé ran off with her Maid of Honor and left Traci with a mile-high stack of bills to pay for their wedding that never happened. So when Traci’s Mom shows up on her doorstep with an inheritance letter that stipulates Traci must be married before receiving her inheritance from her late grandfather, Traci is closer to destroying the letter and being a bachelorette for life than she is about husband hunting.

When the reader meets Marc, they see that he is smitten with Traci at first sight. But they soon learn that he has trust issues because of his previous romantic relationships with women who would dump him because he was “too nice.” However, his niceness is of invaluable help to his newly widowed sister Gina who is struggling to raise her children in the wake of her firefighter husband’s death. Naturally, Marc wants to help his sister. So he volunteers to babysit her kids and take them out of the house so that she can meet her book deadlines. Gina is a bestselling romance novelist.

All of these main characters go on their own faith journey with God. Some resist His love at first (like Traci), some draw back because of broken trust (like Marc) and some heal slowly from pain (like Gina) but they all realize how much they need God in their life.

Faith elements are a woven lightly throughout this story but also go deep as the characters work toward wholeness and restoration.

If anything, this is a story about how the Creator of the Universe (God) loves humankind and desires to restore broken hearts, homes and lives.

I hope that you will enjoy reading this book!

God bless your heart.

Sincerely,
​
Alexis A. Goring
Author of A Second Chance

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May 17: Avid Reader Book Reviews

​Giveaway

​To celebrate her tour, Alexis is giving away four eBook copies of her book – A Second Chance!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b54b