A Second Chance at Forever

by J.M. Stewart

Recently divorced and working two jobs, Angela Lewis has no room in her life for love. Yet when her childhood crush finds her at the nightclub where she works as sexy stripper Candy Cane and expresses his interest, Angela can't resist. She only wants one night to live the fantasy her alter ego provides.

Alex McKinley is still trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, and one night with Candy is exactly what he needs. He gets more than he bargained for, however, when he discovers she's the little sister of his best friend. Suddenly little Angie's all grown up and driving him crazy.

The more time he spends with Angela, the more Alex finds himself falling for the woman she's become. She makes him want to live again. But can he convince her to take a chance on him?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Amazon

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

JM Stewart writes heartfelt contemporary romance. Whether the heat level is sizzling or sweet, her stories are always deeply emotional. Her heroes are strong but sensitive (no alpha jerks here!), and her heroines are more Cinderella than Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Recently transplanted, she now lives in a small town in Texas along with her husband, two sons and two very spoiled dogs. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking and playing computer games. As a sensitive soul with a romantic heart, she believes in angels and hopes everyone finds their happily ever after.

Reviews

[Dixie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story and strong characters who keep the sexual tension at the highest threshold and keep the reader turning the page. I highly recommend this book.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Second Chance at Forever opens with our heroine, Angela, working her second job as a stripper on the Vegas strip. By day she is a mild mannered tech support worker but by night she is sexy, uninhibited Candy Cane. Angela revels in the freedom dancing on stage in front of men gives her plus the extra income helps her support her mother who is recovering from cancer.

One night a unexpected patron shows up: her childhood crush, Alex. Alex doesn’t recognize Angela so she takes a chance and gives him a show and lap dance. His attraction is immediate and she decides to fulfill a dream of one night with him. That one night results in additional dates before Alex flies home to New York leaving Angela with something completely unexpected: a surprise pregnancy.

The story continues with the two of them wrestling with demons from their past: for Angela the devastated self esteem thanks to her ruthless ex-husband. And for Alex: moving on from the tragic death of his wife and four year old daughter in a car accident a year ago. Angela doesn’t want to open herself up to love again only to be destroyed. And Alex wonders if her could ever love anyone again.

I loved that the two characters didn’t fly back into a passionate relationship. In fact, besides the few sexual encounters at the beginning of the story, I don’t think they are intimate with each other beyond a kiss or two. Considering the issues they had to overcome I think their relationship was much more realistic.

My only quibble with this story was the ending. Yes, there was a happily ever after but I was expecting an epilogue to resolve the pregnancy issue. I guess I’ll just have to imagine my own ending ;)

4 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book for an honest review

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay, but it wasn't what I expected. This was a free read and for those who love sweet heartbreaking romance, will love this. I for one wasn't looking for a heartbreaking romance, with a long drawn out back and forth plot and a blah ending. I felt like I wasted my time putting up with something that just depressed me for that kind of ending? Anyways this wasn't for me but I can see where others will like it. The author says she writes sweet and spicy, I'd have to say this had 5 mins in the very beginning but the middle and ending was rather flat on the spice!

[Pat Harrell]

Great Read

JoAnn has done it again, this is a great read. It is a great story about second chances. From the heartbreak of death and divorce, these two people find each other.
I love anything this author writes.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

By day Angela is an average person with a normal job but weekends she is known as Candy Cane. She is a stripper. She took the job after her divorce to help her express herself and earn money to help pay for her mothers medical bills. Up until now, Angela hasn’t run across anyone she knows until her brother’s best friend and childhood crush is seated in the audience. Alex has come back to his hometown of Las Vegas to celebrate his friends impending marriage. The last thing he expects is to want to spend time will a sexy stripper that has a familiar feel. When in the heat of passion Angela calls out Alex’s childhood name her cover is blown and he finally knows why she feels familiar. Though Alex initially feels like he should stop everything with his best friend’s sister he can’t get past how she feels. Plus, he’s only planning to be in town for the weekend. That is until Angela finds herself pregnant. Alex insists on doing the right thing, but after suffering the loss he has only a year ago he’s not sure he will every be able to give Angela what she needs or deserves. Can two wounded people fall in love with the gully of grief that lies between them or will they just be co-parents?

This was a great little read. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I thought that the idea of Angela being a stripper was definitely something I hadn’t read lately. Angela and Alex’s budding relationship was really well written even if it was a bit fast. I personally would have enjoyed a bit more back story of their childhood around each other. I think that would have given everything a bit more depth. For a quick read and a sexy love story it was a good one. It is definitely worth a read if you are in the mood for strippers, sex, pregnancy and love

[Cynthia O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I snagged this ebook as part of a freebie read. The story is good, but a tad drawn out and the ending weak. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! There is enough intrigue there, that I had to see what happened to the characters. Sadly, it ended happily, but with a lot of questions left unanswered. It would have been nice to see what became of the characters and their lives, maybe with an epilogue of sorts?! Ending it by stating they will have a future together, without all the details, is just wrong. Overall, the emotion of the characters and their inability to trust, due to the hurt and loss each has experienced, is heartfelt. If you enjoy romance and you want your heart strings pulled, definitely get this book. Just be prepared to have many questions unanswered.

[Katherine Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages. When I first sat down to read "A Second Chance At Forever" I planned on reading for an hour or so, I ended up reading the first half of the book in one sitting.

Angela and Alex are characters you root for from the very beginning. The author is very good at creating empathy for her characters so that you feel their hurts, their needs and wants, and their happiness.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romance with a bit of spice.

[DCT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a precious love story, that flowed sweetly and really made you connect to Alex and Angie. There was some self discovery and growth for both as well as a sad history that left them both broken. Through fate and a little fancy dancing, they were brought back together; "Candy" was able to strut her stuff and Alex could not resist. It was a lighthearted read that I enjoyed. I love when intimacy is written in such a way that is not so in your face and graphic, this was told just right. Thank you

[Henry Le Nav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent romance by J. M. Stewart. She again incorporates her strong character development and her unique ability to write love scenes with almost an innocence into a heart warming and at times heart wrenching story. Innocent but not boring! This book had a slight departure from her usual wholesome girl next door heroine. The heroine is a stripper...but really a wholesome girl next door at heart.

Excellent third book!

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything was there but why did I feel like I was missing something :( I didn't fall in love with them as much as I wanted to ... would have liked to know about their HEA, kinda just ended but left me hanging.

[Tracie Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

lived it. I was lucky enough ti get this as a free book. I would have paid for it. it was such a good love story. I wished the ending was a little more detailed but all in all would recommend this one.

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out great but somewhere around the middle, it lost it's momentum and trudged to a lackluster ending. Given that this book combines my favorite two tropes, I was hoping to like it a lot more than I did.

[Poonam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and heart-wrenching story!! The ending was quick.Was a bit disappointed.was expecting to see them getting married in front of the family and them having twins . A longer epilogue would have been nice.Anyway I simply enjoyed reading it. :)

[Danielle Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally fell in love with these 2 people! Their story was one that made my heart ache!

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It was cute. Only 2 sex scenes.

[Michele McMullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book but the ending left me needing more.

[Laura Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive at times but a sweet and heart wrenching lil love story!

[Nataly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have to say that this book was a sweet story that was also heartbreaking. The ending was a little upsetting because I expected more. But overall I enjoyed it.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this, just the right amount of angst, feel good, spice and heartwarming with the ending I needed.

[Stacie Marquart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book that I have read by this author and fell in love with her work. This was a great book. Well worth your time to read.

[Hopeless Romantic Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story

It was naughty, romantic and full of lessons in life, self confidence, acceptance and love. Love it! Good job to JM!

[Jennifer Wilck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Fantastic read, great pacing, fabulous characters.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive.

I felt it was very repetitive... saying how they can't do this, how it would be selfish, etc... There wasn't much chemistry between the main characters really and it seems as if a lot of the struggles resolved itself - (ie, her mom's medical bills)...and speaking of her mom's medical bills, why wasn't the brother helping out with that, that Angela had to resort to stripping? That's the beauty of not being an only child! You don't have to shoulder all the family hardships on your own... and she's pregnant! That's another financial burden!.... but it wasn't discussed again in the book after they got together.... Also, it's hard to believe that being her older brother's best friend, the H and h hadn't seen each other in 20 years. Don't Brock and Alex get together to maintain their friendship every so often a year??...I mean the little girl recognized uncle Alex to run to him. To be honest, it doesn't make much sense to me. I liked that the characters are not promiscuous and actually had poured their hearts into their previous relationships. I've read too many books about reformed manwhores and/or sluts that it was refreshing to see that not everyone had a long list running. Overall, this book is slightly below average for me at 2.5 rating..

[Charlisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Interestingly enough the heroine who was allegedly stripping to pay her mothers medical bills was able to stop stripping without a hassle about those bills once she met the hero the struggle to overcome baggage from past relationships was not overplayed

[Lindsay]

Amazon Freebie 11/7/2012

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, likable characters, but a tad drawn out and anticlimactic ending.

[Rose Helg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book

This was an good book. Had some types o's but was good. The ending could have been, what happen in a year.

[Adriana]

Free 11/10/12 at Amazon