SECOND CHANCES Blog Tour: Review + Excerpt

Source: Received an egalley from the publisher to
participate in the blog tour and give an honest review.
Publisher: Romance Writers of America, Inc.
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Number of Pages: 399 (Kindle edition)

DESCRIPTION

Do you believe in second chances?

Romance Writers of America® brings together seventeen of today's hottest authors in an anthology of never-before-published tales that reveal true love always deserves a happy ending.

Follow New York Times best-selling authors J. Kenner and Christina Lauren back to reader-favorite worlds.

New York Times bestseller Alyssa Day sprinkles djinn magic in her humorous paranormal romance, while Rachel Hauck brings the enchantment of the holidays in her New Year’s Eve contemporary love story.

And Liliana Hart delivers thrills and adventure in her hero and heroine's search for the impossible.

With characters who find love through tough situations, in elegant 1800s ballrooms, with an old friend who shows up when least expected, at a tender age when cliques and homework get in the way of relationships, or after a random encounter in an unlikely setting, Second Chances delivers romance to strike every reader’s fancy.

Plus tales from:

• Marilyn Brant
• Kerri Carpenter
• CiCi Coughlin
• Cassandra Dean
• Tina Ferraro
• Renee Luke
• Ariella Moon
• Brandi Willis Schreiber
• Lizzie Shane
• Sharon Sobel
• Damon Suede
• Tara Wyatt

B U Y    L I N K S:

Avon | Amazon US | Amazon Canada | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

*N O T E*
Second Chances releases on September 12th, but if you pre-order it early, you can get the anthology at a special price of $3.99!

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REVIEW

I've always been a sucker for a good second chance romance, so when I saw that RWA was putting together an anthology titled, Second Chances, I jumped at the chance to read it! I actually didn't look at the author list until I was about to start reading it...and when I saw that the first story in the anthology was written by Christina Lauren, I was thrilled! :D 

To be honest, I don't typically read anthologies all the way through, but with this one I did! I did it because I wanted to give the entire anthology a fair shot, and I actually really enjoyed the stories and wanted to keep reading it, too. As I've hinted already, the Second Chances anthology starts off with a story by one of my favourite authors, Christina Lauren! It was titled "The Fisher Men: Levi's Story" and it featured, you guessed it!--Finn's brother, Levi! Levi is one of the secondary characters from their Wild Seasons series, and this anthology was worth reading for me for their story alone. I absolutely LOVED Levi's story and I only wish that it had been longer! haha ;) 

Other than Christina Lauren, I hadn't actually read anything by any of the other authors in this anthology until I read their short stories here, but I enjoyed them all. I definitely liked some more than others, but they all had their merits and I think this anthology would be great for all romance readers, especially if you're already a fan of any of these wonderful authors! I was surprised that two of my other standout favourites in the anthology were the historical romances: "Scandalous" by Cassandra Dean, and "The Jilt" by Sharon Sobel. And the last few stories had me tearing up, especially "The Family Tree" by Brandi Willis Schreiber! The final story in the anthology, "Jake's Djinn" by Alyssa Day also surprised me! It's the only fantasy story in the anthology so it felt a little out of place at first, but I loved it (made me want to go back and read the author's books from the same series)!

I think what I loved most about this anthology was that the authors interpreted second chances in different ways. Most of them were what you would expect, couples that had their time together, had some kind of breakup/separation, and they came back together, but they were all still completely unique which I really loved! Other were second chances of another sort, which was interesting! I also loved that there was a mix of genres. Some were contemporary, others were historical, and as I previously mentioned, there was even one fantasy! The age range varied too. A couple of the stories were young adult and were sweeter, light romances, while others were a bit steamier and were aimed at a more mature audience. Most of the stories were m/f romances, but there was one m/m, and all of the stories were definitely adorable! Some of them had me laughing, others had me crying, but they all left me smiling in the end!

Overall, I really loved the Second Chances anthology! I don't think you necessarily have to read all of the stories at once--it would be a great anthology to come back to whenever you were craving a quickie romantic novella, but if you do choose to read them all in one go, like I did, I don't think you'll be disappointed! This is the perfect anthology for anyone who has a romantic side, and loves happy ever afters!

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Did I sell you on this anthology yet?? Nope?!

Well, here's an excerpt to tempt you all....

EXCERPT

From "Under a Burning Sky" by Renee Luke

[Following a tragedy, Mika Montrell turned her back on her family, her friends--and her husband. Three years later he leaves her a voicemail with four ominous words: "We need to talk."]

Mika sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember her husband during happier times. To remember how she loved him once—still—and how it felt to be loved by him. For so long, she’d only been able to remember the pain and horror on his beautiful face. How his light brown eyes had been tortured and twisted in loss and agony. She forced a memory of their wedding day. A memory of his smile—warm, welcoming. Engaging.

Drawing strength from the vision, she opened her eyes and returned the call.

It only rang once. “Mika?” His voice was deep, rough. The same languid drawl she’d adored whispered in her ear. A shiver danced across her skin.

Taking a moment, she replied. “Yeah, Rye, it’s me.”

Silence stretched. She could hear him breathing. Hear her pulse pounding in her ears. After what felt like forever, she heard him clear his throat.

“I wasn’t sure if this was still your number.”

“I was in the shower.”

Her husband remained silent as heat burned on her cheeks, realizing she’d just told him something as intimate as being completely naked. Her nipples beaded up tight, but Mika rolled her eyes at herself and pulled the towel more firmly around her chest. Must have been the air conditioner on full blast. Nothing else. Definitely not hearing Rye’s voice reverberate through her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued, “You said we needed to talk. It’s been a long time, Rye. A long time … I figured I owed you at least a return call.”

“Baby, you owe me a hell of a lot more than that.”

Author bio

Renee Luke has been writing poems and stories since she first learned to write. After getting a box of Harlequins delivered by mistake, her love of romance novels blossomed from an obsession of reading into the desire to write her own stories of the heart. She writes keeping-it-real erotic romances featuring funky (sub) urban characters that get-their-groove-on and give up their hearts. She strives to write stories that both stimulate physically and satisfy emotionally. A believer in happily-ever-afters, she’s definitely found her own, living in Northern California with her children and her own real life her USMC husband. ​

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If you'd like to follow the rest of the Second Chances Blog Tour,
you can find the schedule, HERE!

What do you think?

Does the Second Chances anthology sound like something you'd like? 

Are any of these romance authors your favourites?

And do you have any anthologies that you love?