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Second Chance Dad
Moving back to her Texas hometown after her divorce seemed like a good idea at the time. Until Hanna Rosser's usually well-behaved son gets into trouble at school. The single mother knows exactly who's to blame-Vince Keegan, father of her son's new best friend. Vince may be the most irresistible man on the block, but he's got a lot to learn about parenting.All right, so Vince's daughter is a little high-spirited. Hanna's downright overprotective of her precious boy! Unfortunately, she's also far too appealing for this widowed dad's peace of mind.Maybe it's time Hanna and Vince let go of their pasts and gave in to what's happening between them. Just because they're parents, doesn't mean they can't have a second chance at love!
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2011
4 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 28, 2011
A very good American Romance story althought I had a few problems with it! Don't get me wrong, the writing style was terrific and the story was interesting because the bringing together of two families is rough and it's hard to believe that people even attempt it sometimes.
My problem was with the heroine, Hanna, and her overprotectiveness of her son Ashton which, imho, was crazy and the way she treated Vince's daughter Kenzie bordered on horrible.
I can't believe she argued with Kenzie and pronounced judgement on her behaviour. Do mature, grown women even argue with 10-year-old girls anymore? Is there any point? Why doesn't her son listen to her? I just don't get it, he's 10, his friend, Kenzie, is 10, how do people lose their control in front of 10-year-old's so easily? She should have kept her mouth shut and spoke to Vince directly. That was just rude.
Second, her kid, Ashton, was fighting in school and Hanna had a problem with Vince's daughter who didn't fight in school and was much more socially adept. Kenzie's freedom was obviously a problem with Hanna because she wanted to control her son. If she had controlled her ex-husband as tightly, she probably wouldn't be divorced now, or maybe that's what caused her divorce, who knows. Either way, it was easy to see that Hanna was a boring person with no life.
The final problem I had with Hanna was her up and down relationship with Vince. She's going out with him, she's not, she is. Blah, blah, blah. No small wonder Vince's ex-mother-in-law treated Hanna as an outsider. I would have because next week you knew it would be off, then on, and then off again.
To his credit, Vince was a great guy raising a sweet kid alone and doing a good job of it. Hanna should have begged much harder to get him back after the way she treated him. And, why, oh why, do people care what the neighbours think? That's old. Get over yourself, Hanna, for pete's sake.
She obviously didn't deserve Vince and that's what makes it a bad romance.
My problem was with the heroine, Hanna, and her overprotectiveness of her son Ashton which, imho, was crazy and the way she treated Vince's daughter Kenzie bordered on horrible.
I can't believe she argued with Kenzie and pronounced judgement on her behaviour. Do mature, grown women even argue with 10-year-old girls anymore? Is there any point? Why doesn't her son listen to her? I just don't get it, he's 10, his friend, Kenzie, is 10, how do people lose their control in front of 10-year-old's so easily? She should have kept her mouth shut and spoke to Vince directly. That was just rude.
Second, her kid, Ashton, was fighting in school and Hanna had a problem with Vince's daughter who didn't fight in school and was much more socially adept. Kenzie's freedom was obviously a problem with Hanna because she wanted to control her son. If she had controlled her ex-husband as tightly, she probably wouldn't be divorced now, or maybe that's what caused her divorce, who knows. Either way, it was easy to see that Hanna was a boring person with no life.
The final problem I had with Hanna was her up and down relationship with Vince. She's going out with him, she's not, she is. Blah, blah, blah. No small wonder Vince's ex-mother-in-law treated Hanna as an outsider. I would have because next week you knew it would be off, then on, and then off again.
To his credit, Vince was a great guy raising a sweet kid alone and doing a good job of it. Hanna should have begged much harder to get him back after the way she treated him. And, why, oh why, do people care what the neighbours think? That's old. Get over yourself, Hanna, for pete's sake.
She obviously didn't deserve Vince and that's what makes it a bad romance.
August 24, 2011
Newly divorced and now single mom, Hanna Rosser is having a hard time adjusting to small town life again. After living in luxury with her now ex husband, Richard, she's now living with her mom and went in together to open a book store.
On top of all that, her son Ashton is beginning to rebel over her protective measures. After getting a call from the school about a fight, Hanna learns the blame goes to Vince Keegan's daughter Mackenzie.
After the death of his wife and son 9 years ago, Vince teaches 'Kenzie' how to take care of herself and gives her a lot of freedom. When he begins having multiple confrontations from Hanna over his parenting style, he can't help but notice the beautiful mom.
As the kids become closer friends, they both push boundaries and Vince and Hanna both learn how to mesh their parenting styles together.
Despite the heat that is between them, Hanna is fresh from a divorce and is very flaky on her feelings. She's still having to deal with Richard and his repercussions from cheating on her.
All of them make the adjustment to becoming a family and learn sometimes life gives you a second chance.
On top of all that, her son Ashton is beginning to rebel over her protective measures. After getting a call from the school about a fight, Hanna learns the blame goes to Vince Keegan's daughter Mackenzie.
After the death of his wife and son 9 years ago, Vince teaches 'Kenzie' how to take care of herself and gives her a lot of freedom. When he begins having multiple confrontations from Hanna over his parenting style, he can't help but notice the beautiful mom.
As the kids become closer friends, they both push boundaries and Vince and Hanna both learn how to mesh their parenting styles together.
Despite the heat that is between them, Hanna is fresh from a divorce and is very flaky on her feelings. She's still having to deal with Richard and his repercussions from cheating on her.
All of them make the adjustment to becoming a family and learn sometimes life gives you a second chance.
June 19, 2017
3.5 Stars
December 5, 2021
love story
March 21, 2011
Sometimes kids get it a lot faster than adults and in this story, the kids steal the show with their antics throughout this adorable story.
Hannah is the heroine who is just recovering from a divorce; her self-esteem is low and her having to come back home to live with her mother isn’t the best situation. I liked that Hannah has a good relationship with her mother and she understands the pitfalls that come from moving back home. She’s an easy character to respect because in almost all of her decisions, she puts her child, Ashton, first. The author did a good job of balancing motherhood with fledgling romance and danced the line just right between reality and fantasy. The story didn’t get morose and it didn’t feel unbelievable so I was able to enjoy myself. Here was a woman having to learn how to be a single parent while being discombobulated by her young son.
Vince is the man who tries so hard to be everything to and for his daughter, Kenzie, that he’s forgotten he’s a man with needs. He has a huge guilt chip on his shoulder and he does a good job of hiding it until the author had him spilling his guts to Hannah. It took her and me by surprise. I thought he had it all together. It’s easy to accept men at face value when they seem so capable and in charge, so much so that we forget that they are human too. They have to deal with feelings and have the added pressure of being the one that everyone looks to, to fix things. His daughter has a situation that comes up that truly put him out of his comfort zone. That scene really depicted how hard it is for men to raise daughters alone just as much as it must be for women to raise sons. There are challenges inherent in both that are a mystery to the other. Second Chance Dad explored that a bit and it was very sweet.
The author threw in a few environmental developments that helped depict the colorful small town life that Hannah grew up in, escaped and had to come back to. I also got a kick out of how the author started the story and how she ended it – like bookends. The conflict is definitely internal with two people at different stages in their life finding common ground to find happiness together. It was a nice romance.
I guess the only thing that kept this book from getting a perfect score was the lead in to the ending. I had to reread it twice to find the transition from struggling to accept that this might be real love to the “I love you” part. The book was meticulous in buildup and characterization and good dialogue but the pinnacle of the moment where it comes together and validates the happy ever after didn’t seem to match, and I missed it. Of course this is my opinion but I think at least an extra page of true self revelation from either Hannah or Vince with a solid conviction of love being expressed would have made it a tad smoother. As it was, Vince’s declaration seemed like being pushed into a pool - I never saw it coming when it came.
Even so, Second Chance Dad is a very sweet and well written romance spiced with hijinks from the kids and a bit of idiocy from the ex-husband. I enjoyed the fact that both Vince and Hannah remained responsible adults even when passion rode them hard. When they did manage to express themselves in the physical sense, it was quite romantic and vividly expressed. For readers who are looking for a simple romance focused on the emotions and trials of falling in love between two people healing from hurt and loss then this book should fit the bill. It’s entertaining and it’s easy to care for the characters.
Originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
Hannah is the heroine who is just recovering from a divorce; her self-esteem is low and her having to come back home to live with her mother isn’t the best situation. I liked that Hannah has a good relationship with her mother and she understands the pitfalls that come from moving back home. She’s an easy character to respect because in almost all of her decisions, she puts her child, Ashton, first. The author did a good job of balancing motherhood with fledgling romance and danced the line just right between reality and fantasy. The story didn’t get morose and it didn’t feel unbelievable so I was able to enjoy myself. Here was a woman having to learn how to be a single parent while being discombobulated by her young son.
Vince is the man who tries so hard to be everything to and for his daughter, Kenzie, that he’s forgotten he’s a man with needs. He has a huge guilt chip on his shoulder and he does a good job of hiding it until the author had him spilling his guts to Hannah. It took her and me by surprise. I thought he had it all together. It’s easy to accept men at face value when they seem so capable and in charge, so much so that we forget that they are human too. They have to deal with feelings and have the added pressure of being the one that everyone looks to, to fix things. His daughter has a situation that comes up that truly put him out of his comfort zone. That scene really depicted how hard it is for men to raise daughters alone just as much as it must be for women to raise sons. There are challenges inherent in both that are a mystery to the other. Second Chance Dad explored that a bit and it was very sweet.
The author threw in a few environmental developments that helped depict the colorful small town life that Hannah grew up in, escaped and had to come back to. I also got a kick out of how the author started the story and how she ended it – like bookends. The conflict is definitely internal with two people at different stages in their life finding common ground to find happiness together. It was a nice romance.
I guess the only thing that kept this book from getting a perfect score was the lead in to the ending. I had to reread it twice to find the transition from struggling to accept that this might be real love to the “I love you” part. The book was meticulous in buildup and characterization and good dialogue but the pinnacle of the moment where it comes together and validates the happy ever after didn’t seem to match, and I missed it. Of course this is my opinion but I think at least an extra page of true self revelation from either Hannah or Vince with a solid conviction of love being expressed would have made it a tad smoother. As it was, Vince’s declaration seemed like being pushed into a pool - I never saw it coming when it came.
Even so, Second Chance Dad is a very sweet and well written romance spiced with hijinks from the kids and a bit of idiocy from the ex-husband. I enjoyed the fact that both Vince and Hannah remained responsible adults even when passion rode them hard. When they did manage to express themselves in the physical sense, it was quite romantic and vividly expressed. For readers who are looking for a simple romance focused on the emotions and trials of falling in love between two people healing from hurt and loss then this book should fit the bill. It’s entertaining and it’s easy to care for the characters.
Originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
January 3, 2012
This charming story is one for the keeper shelf. The romance between Vince and Hannah unfolds in a believable way, boosted (and sometimes vexed) by their children. The story is not written to the annoying, contrived formula of breakup to makeup for no plausible or apparent reason - with a sincere thank you to the author, who keeps the conflict real while the pages turn. Most highly recommended!
May 12, 2011
This is a well-written read with tension, a sense of family, and enticing romance.
October 28, 2012
This would have been a four star book but the last couple of chapters bordered on ridiculous for me.
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June 30, 2016Miniseries: Fatherhood
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews