Olivia Dade

Second Chance Romance
✨5⭐ Gorgeous Stars!! ✨💫

So I fking love this book, a whole entire lot and forgive the obscenities that might be in the review because I've been very much influenced by Karl and his penchant for very creative obscenities, and overall dislike for the human population except ofcource Molly and the people in the town, everybody except anyone who hurts Molly obviously! 😉

• This is so perfectly amazing and great that I just don't have enough words to encompass all show more the love that I feel for it.

• The momentum and the feelings that were evoked in the very first chapter carried out until the end.

• I laughed, giggled, squealed got all teary as this book just made me fall in love and holy WOW !

• The characters are approaching their forties, very guarded and the way they overcame all that shit, grew and developed was executed so perfectly!

• And the reason for the second chance was so understandable, it didn't feel like any of the characters fault and I loved that.

• Their relationship progressed slowly and I'm amazed the way this book emphasized and blatantly showed the need for communication in any relationship.

• It clearly mentions how act of services does work, actions matter for communicating your love, your feelings but you need to put it in words too. This part of the book was what that really really made me fall head over heels with it and also Molly & Karl.

• The writing is witty, easy to read and entirely very charming, it was definitely after my heart and it very much claimed it as I'm very much in love with the writing, the character development?! my god it was absolutely amazing !

• And also Sadie Brazen and her books, I love when stories have books in them.

• The cake incident courtesy of Karl?yeah Molly, me too! I also couldn't love him more.

• I love love how Karl would always ask Molly before making any decision, how much he respected her and would take everything she said into consideration, he'd listen to her, be attentive and remember everything about her ! Ugh A man after my heart.

• The banter between him and Molly, the dynamics? Pls lord.

• I love Molly fking Dearborn! She's amazing gorgeous. I loved how she grew, how entirely eloquent she was and the way she loved Karl? And how she was soo supportive and understanding? Kill me now! the confession, the epilogue?! Ugh yea plssss.

• The body positivity this book got? Yes gorgeous amazing I loved it!!! Aghhh wow freaking wow!

• The town? It got rival sex toy stores that send cakes with threatening msgs to each other? (I'd eat up their story), The reporter and false obituary of Karl ( huh?! I need to get to Harlot bay!)

• I loved Molly's relationship with Lise so so much, the clear communication between them, the love and support!

• Karl with his Cadbury Creme heart, how he acted and loved ppl despite obviously hating evryone and communicating in grunts and obscenities? His relationship with Charlotte, how he treated her like his very daughter, how his bestfriend and Athena behaved together, the dynamics were absolutely amazing!

• When Karl realised the importance of communication and how necessary it was, and how the same realisation came to Molly? Abso-freaking-lutely-lutely gorgeous.

💌Overall...
I totally, irrevocably and with all my heart love this book and will continue to do so.
✨❤️✨
If you love reasonable second chance romance with main characters approaching their 40's, small town filled with busy bodies, and a book club named Nasty Wrenches where they'd discuss Monster smut? And Karl was obviously a part of the book club!

AND Since Molly came back two decades later on Karl's obituary, uh fake obituary, Karl has to convince the woman who took away his heart when she left to stay, because...OFC!

❤️I'm seriously giddy for getting this ARC, thanks Netgalley!!
1 like show less

This book has all my love and some more.

A very relatable fat rep. The man who loves her, respects her, and doesn't want to change her. And for this, I am ready to forgive his choice to lie by omission. (They are absolutely valid though.)

I love this book for so many reasons. Let's start with April. She is fat and she knows it. All these years, her parents, her friends, and her exes have advised her on what kind of clothes she needs to wear to mask her body, the dieting pills she can take, the show more diets she can follow, all well-intentioned, but it hurts, it hurts so much to think that her appearances matter a lot. (Mind you, she doesn't have any health issue because of her body.) Her mother raised her saying that if she was fat, boys wouldn't take notice of her or wouldn't treat her well. And her string of exes always proved her mother right. It makes you question yourself and your credibility and makes you wonder if you would ever be loved and desired for your body.

Marcus is amazing, making sure that he doesn't hurt her with his insensitiveness that is inevitable when one grows up in a society where being fat means you're undesirable, means you're meant to be pitied. He is respectful to her, doesn't badger her, gives her her space, and treats her the way she deserves to be. I was bristling about the fact that he was keeping a vital information about him from her, as the story progressed, I can understand why he did what he did.

There were many moments in this book that tugged my heart. April is trying to get out of the vicious web of hiding that she has been inadvertently pulled into by her peers and family and the way she slowly tackles it, revealing her private persona little by little to people around her is exhilarating, for a lack of better word. April's accepting new co-workers (who didn't do so magnanimously, they didn't even say they accept her interests, they reacted the same way one would when someone tells them their favorite ice cream flavor), April's heartfelt post on the fanfic website about making it an inclusive place, and finally the way she gloriously bared herself to the public, challenging them to try and mock her... All of them gorgeously written.

The chemistry between April and Marcus is beautiful too. Each respect the other, give the other their space, but also help each other navigate through their personal battles. A couple dependent on each other with their individualism intact.

And, also, communication IS the key. show less

Peter and Maria had a one night stand, and when Maria left the hotel room while Peter was sleeping, he expected to never see her again. Except then he did at his audition that afternoon, where they were both cast in the television series, Gods of the Gates, for roles that required the two of them to work only with each other and a small crew on a small Irish island. For years. For everyone's sake, they decided not to pursue a relationship but after 6 years, the show is ending. As Peter and show more Maria explore the idea of dating, they'll have to determine if they can overcome their past experiences to turn their outstanding chemistry into a real relationship.

The third book in the Spoiler Alert, again overlaps in timelines with the previous two books, although almost half of this novel takes place before the previous two books. Peter and Maria's relationship is supposed to be a slow burn and the book struggles a bit with the pacing of it. I feel like the structure of the book didn't quite do justice to Peter and Maria's relationship, but I'm not entirely sure what edits would make it better. That said, their relationship is lovely and it's wonderful to see Dade writing a romance where both leads are fat. It's also steamy as heck; I can't remember the last time I picked up a romance novel that opened on a sex scene. While Peter and Maria both have their own traumas, their miscommunication issues are realistic and watching them grow as people is really rewarding. Plus the book is full of excellent banter. While not the strongest of the three books set in this universe, I still recommend it, especially for the epilogue where every character has a bow put on their happy ending. show less

Karl and Molly were friends in high school and while they both were interested in more, they missed their chance. The only connection Karl's had to Molly is listening to erotic monster romance novel audiobooks she narrates. Now twenty years later, when a mistaken obituary for Karl has Molly traveling across the country to attend Karl's funeral only to find him alive, Karl knows this is his chance to convince Molly stay in Harlot's Bay and with him. With only a month to try and convince the show more guarded Molly that there's more between them than just sexual attraction, Karl may finally have to communicate beyond his favoured grunts and four letter words.

I have been looking forward to this book for most of 2025 and it did not disappoint. Karl was my favourite side character in Love at First Spite and getting to watch this grumpy softy find love with the one who got away is an absolute delight. Molly is an equally charming character and seeing her and Karl overcome their own issues is a particular highlight. Dade also includes many comedic notes throughout the novel, my personal favourites being the titles of the erotic romances Molly narrates, the warring sex shop operators, and the truly unhinged decorating theme for the high school reunion which is the major final event of the novel. If you like a funny, spicy romance, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. show less