Second Chances by Lauren Dane

Publisher: Carina Press
ISBN: 9781426890697

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself-and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.
Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and she brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.
Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

I requested and received a copy of Second Chances by Lauren Dane from NetGalley to read and review. I had seen various blogs lately posting comments about this book and thought it looked interesting. I was not disappointed!

As the marketing blurb for the book says, Rori Simon returns to the small town she grew up in. She left Oakley ten years ago a different person than she is now. In the years since she has left, she has shed some weight, gotten a university degree, done some traveling and is now a published writer. She is recently out of a relationship with a boyfriend who cheated and is done with the lying male segment of the population. She returns to her sister and her husband and two boys, all of whom she is very fond of, and a mother who is on her third husband who she is not so fond of.

Her arrival in town creates quite the stir and within hours she has a date with her high school crush, Jude, and a new apartment in his complex. Jude is well known for his serial dating, but Rori thinks she could have something special with him. Sadly, he’s part of the population that is male and a liar, so he’s kicked to the curb. He’s replaced with Zach, the younger brother of one of her high school girlfriends. As you can tell by the blurb, she falls in love with Zach, and Jude realizes that he has lost out.

I don’t want to spoil the storyline for anyone wanting to read this book, so I won’t give away anymore of the story! I was totally blown away by this story! I’m not sure what I expected. I do tend to gravitate towards the Regency Romance and only read contemporary romance on occasion because I don’t find them as romantic. This book proves that theory wrong! Yes, this book has plenty of sex in it, and most of it is pretty graphic. There is a fair amount of BDSM in this book also. That doesn’t detract from the absolutely heart-wrenching love story that develops. At one point in the book, I actually had tears running down my face when I was reading a particularly touching part.

Zach is a great hero for the story. He is strong, without being overbearing; mature for his age and confident in what he likes. He absolutely cherishes Rori – a beautiful thing to read about! Rori is a confident woman who is open to new experiences and despite her history with a cheating boyfriend, she doesn’t paint all men with the same brush. The character I liked the most was Jude. Although he got kicked to the curb at the beginning of the book by Rori for his lying, he learns from this and grows as a person. The Jude at the end of the book is a much better human being than the skirt chaser that exists at the beginning of the book!

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This book is a keeper, and I am going looking for more written by this author!

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$24.99 (as of September 5, 2024 13:45 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)