"Second Chance Grill" is a heartwarming, comical and romantic start to Christine Nolfi's Liberty series. This book will have you in tears - either from laughing too hard or crying along with each of the characters you will come to know and love. I highly recommend this book and anything this author writes. ( )

Part romance, part drama, part social commentary, Christine Nolfi’s Second Chance Grill is a feel-good novel of small-town America, where a doctor takes a sabbatical to run a restaurant and definitely finds much more than she bargained for.

The romance is tasteful. The dialog is hilariously natural (with just the occasional swear-word used in a family-friendly way). The cast of characters is wonderful and fun. And the underlying drama of a young girl in remission from leukemia is heart-rending in all the right ways. It’s also hard for someone to read who has seen the pain of loss. But Second Chance is a delightfully hopeful tale, where strangers once at odds learn to pull together, and where the inequities of medical insurance meet the generosity of friends.

I came to the States from Britain, and I’ll probably suggest any friends back there read this book before they complain about the British medical system. But social complaint is nicely underplayed in the novel, as are question of doctors who pray, children who play, and more.

Second Chance Grill is a novel of recovery from loss, restarting after giving up, and re-trying after failure. I really enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I was given a copy and I offer my honest review. ( )

A young doctor inherits a restaurant in the small town of Liberty Ohio. She decides to take a sabbatical from medicine to run the restaurant before taking over a clinic in Cincinnati as promised to a dear friend who has to retire. Of course many obstacles threaten to upset her plans. The author demonstrates her writing skill by creating a variety of interesting characters and situations. Dr. Mary Chance deals with grief, jealousy, gossip, love, loyalty, life threatening illness, guilt and a few other problems along the way. The exploration of the character's viewpoints provides valuable insights and empathy. The story flows easily and there are many twists and turns that kept me reading. Everyone deserves a second chance.
I received my copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. ( )

Rating is based more on my preferences than on the book itself. If I were into romance novels it would probably have gotten 5 stars from me. Since they are not really my thing I do want to acknowledge that I DID like it in spite of that - hence the three star rating.

You can read my full review here:
http://abshepherdsreinventedreader.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/second-chanced-grill-... ( )

Contrary to common wisdom I often judge a book by its cover, or at least admit to being drawn to it because of the cover image. Here, the checkered black-and-white tile floor, the shiny metal barstools is so familiar, that the figure seated in the restaurant on one of them, casually holding an American flag, can be anyone of us--an impression that is strengthened by the fact that the face is cropped out. This figure is you, it is me, and so is the story--its universal appeal is a direct result of the well fleshed out characters, and the details that are so specific to the small Ohio town where it takes place.

Here, for example, the author sketches the local scenery in words: "Swatches of pink light brushed the newly plowed fields. Up ahead a farmer on a tractor kicked up dust as he tilled the brown earth." The description is brief--just a quick sketch--before going back to the heroine of the story, Mary: "She drove past with her thoughts wending back to Blossom."

Blossom Perini, the precious girl Mary cannot help but becoming attached to, has Leukemia, which affects the wellbeing of her father, Anthony. Given Mary's background in medicine, as well as her compassionate nature, the interaction between the three of them creates an endearing, warmhearted story, illuminated by a touch of romance.

At its core, this is about second chances, the fact that happily, things happen not according to plan, thus allowing Mary--whose last name, cleverly enough, is Chance--the opportunity to explore new, exciting twists and turns in her life.

The language is masterfully weaved by Christine Nolfi, in both dialog and exposition. Here, for example, is how she introduces Anthony, who thought a lot about dying: "She supposed it was natural given all the pain, blood tests, and hospital visits they endured. Going through it, years of it, had changed him. It put lines on his forehead and doubt in his eyes." With this you immediately see and feel for the character, his past and his present.

Five stars. ( )