Last Chance Book Club

Last Chance #5

by Hope Ramsay

"Last Chance captures the essence of Southern charm and quirkiness. I'm totally captivated!" --- Sherryl Woods, New York Times bestselling author

After a painful divorce, Savannah White wants nothing more than to find her happy place. So when she gets the chance to pack up her life -and her son - and move to the idyllic town where she spent childhood summers, she jumps at the opportunity. Last Chance is just as charming as she remembered. She's even invited to join the local book club, where talk soon turns to Savannah's plan to bring the ramshackle downtown movie theater back to life. A new challenge is just what Savannah needs to move forward.. . .
Dash Randall wants to put his fortune to good use, but he remembers Savannah as the bratty "princess" who descended upon him each June, causing no end of trouble. But the teenager he remembered has grown into a gorgeous and generous woman, and it isn't long before Dash finds himself wanting to make brand new memories with Savannah. But first, Dash and Savannah will need to make peace with their pasts to find a new chance for love.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Friendship, Book Club

359 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2013

About the author

Hope Ramsay is a USA Today bestselling author of heartwarming contemporary romances, set below the Mason-Dixon Line. Her children are grown, but she has a beloved fur baby, Daisy the Cockapoo who keeps her entertained. Hope lives in the medium-sized town of Fredericksburg, Virginia and when she’s not writing or walking the dog, she spends her time knitting and noodling around on her collection of guitars.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Chance Book Club by Hope Ramsay is a touching contemporary romance set in the fictional small town of Last Chance, South Carolina. It’s the fifth book in the Last Chance series, but the only one that I have read. Savannah White decides to move herself and her son to a place where she was happy as a child and away from her ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law. She plans to live temporarily with Aunt Miriam, but doesn’t know that Dash Randall is also living there. They are only related by marriage, but had a dynamic and argumentative childhood when they were young.

Savannah wants to restore the old theatre that her grandfather had left her, but she doesn’t know anything about construction, restoration, or business plans. She seems easily influenced by her mother and ex-mother-in-law, but she has finally taken a step to get out from under their grip. Dash had a successful baseball career until he had a drinking problem and an accident caused him to leave baseball and return to Last Chance. Both main characters become more likeable over time.

While this is a charming and sweet story, it wasn’t elevated beyond that for me. The pacing seemed slow throughout the first half of the novel. Based on the title, I thought the story would feature a book club. While there is one in the book, it only plays a minor role. For some reason, the story line did not grab my attention like I thought it would. Despite this, it was somewhat interesting and the conclusion pulled together most of the threads.

Overall, this was a light and entertaining story. It was a reasonably quick read between other books, but it was very predictable.

Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars! These Last Chance books are fun! Perfect for summer.

[Jac (For Love and Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I’ve never picked up a Last Chance book – until this week! And wow, was I missing out! (That seems to be a trend with me lately, I stumble upon a series late and fall madly in love.)

I started this book out a bit annoyed, I’ve got to be honest. See, Dash and Savannah are cousins. Well, sort of. Not really. Dash is sort of an orphan who just got shuffled into the family and thus was treated like a cousin, but is actually no relation. Which is fine. Except that Savannah keeps calling him “Cousin Dash” right up until a steamy seen in roadside motel room.
That small gripe aside? I can’t tell you how much I adored this book and every aspect of it! (Again, that gripe did cause me to give it 4 stars/hearts instead of 5 – but I guess it’s just one of those things that jumped out and bugged the heck out of me!)
Really, this book had everything I absolutely adore in a romance novel. A hunky bad-boy hero! (The fact that he’s from the south AND an ex-baseball player are just the sprinkles on top of the icing on top of the fantastic cake!!) Then there’s the awesome, kitschy small town! (And a book club!!) And the cute kid, and a dog. And all the fun people that go with the small town series romance!!
So, now that I’ve rambled and gushed? I loved this book and I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the Last Chance series!!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky, light and fluffy summer read.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last Chance Book Club By Hope Ramsay I won this book through Goodreads. Going back home where you are loved and needed is the best thing to do when a person wants to start over. Old dreams are fulfilled and old relationships are better than they were before. This was a good story with a hopeful ending.

[Mum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first four but still enjoyable. The paralleling of Pride and Prejudice was not my favorite theme because the original exceeds any attempt at imitation.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely return to the town of Last Chance, South Carolina. Savannah really wanted to get herself and her son out of Baltimore, so when her uncle died she and Todd left to go to his funeral. What she didn't tell anyone was that they were going to move there permanently. Both Savannah's mother and ex-mother-in-law were very controlling and she has had enough. She also wants to get Todd into a healthier atmosphere. Savannah is planning to renovate the old theater that she inherited. She doesn't expect to run into her old childhood nemesis Dash. The two of them had never gotten along, but now he's living with her aunt also. They start out with sparks still flying between them, but now there's a different kind of heat in those sparks. Savannah is very independent and very stubborn. When Dash offers to help her out with the theater she resists. One thing she can't resist is the interest he takes in her son. Dash becomes just the role model and father figure that Todd needs. I really enjoyed seeing Savannah take more control of her life once she got to Last Chance. She had really let her mom and ex-in-law get to her before, but she develops a good amount of self-confidence once on her own. I liked the slow building of the romantic relationship between Savannah and Dash. The more time she spends with Dash the more she starts to feel for him. Just as their relationship starts to take off her new life in Last Chance is threatened.

Dash came back to Last Chance after his baseball career ended. He had partied too hard, gotten drunk too often, and messed up his knee in an accident. He has finally gotten sober and is now heavily involved in life in Last Chance, owning a business and doing a lot of volunteer work. Ever since he was a teenager he has been in love with Hettie, who had a brief teenage thing with him then moved on. Now he has a tendency to moon over her and do things he thinks she'd like. He's really not happy to see Savannah move back to Last Chance. He remembers her as a spoiled brat who was constantly getting him into trouble. It doesn't take too long for him to realize that she has changed and for attraction to start him taking a new look at his life. At first he doesn't really want to help Savannah with the theater but he eventually wants to give her a chance to follow her dream. He also realizes, being a few years older now, that his problem with her had been plain old jealousy of having to share his aunt and uncle with her. I loved seeing him let go of his obsession with Hettie and pursue his attraction to Savannah. It was interesting seeing him compare her to an addiction and try to fight it. Another thing I liked was seeing the changes he goes through as he helps Todd settle in at Last Chance. I loved seeing the way that his feelings for Savannah change and grow. His desire to help her is something new for him and I loved the way it made him feel. His feelings for her really came out at the end when he was there for her and Todd.

I loved seeing more of the characters from previous Last Chance books. Savannah's aunt is the matchmaker that has been so important in earlier books. In this one we get to see more of her and learn about her methods. She also has quite an interesting plan for Savannah. Hettie, "The Queen Bee" has an important role in this book and has an interesting twist come her way at the end.

As usual there are some pretty funny moments in this book that can shed some light on various characters. In this one, the dinner that included the minister, Aunt Miriam, Dash, Savannah and Todd turned out to be pretty funny. Todd was great as the rebellious teenager and gave Dash one of his early chances to influence Todd's behavior. I loved seeing Dash be semi-parental, but he also showed his fun and empathetic side.

The havoc created by Todd's dog at the frog jumping contest was great too. Besides the confusion we also got a more up close look at Savannah's mom and ex-in-law who showed up unexpectedly. This gave Savannah a chance to show her newly developed backbone. I loved seeing her tell them off, though there was also some indication that there could be trouble ahead.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.

This book was a sweet southern charmer. Full of southern ways, passions, food, and gossips. Savannah and her soon come to Last Chance for a chance to start over and for Savannah to go back to her roots. What she didn't count on is that her immature and hated-since-childhood "kissing cousin" was Dash was currently residing with the aunt whom she had planned to live with. This new arrangement sets the gossipers in the town tongues wagging, even more when Savannah's aunt proclaims Savannah is destined to be with the minister. Because she's the town matchmaker.

This novel was full of sexual tension between Savannah and Dash but also a nice reflection on small town southern ways. Everyone wants to know everyone's business sometimes taking extreme measures to do so which made the book even more fun.

I liked Savannah and how determined she was to raise her son right and restore the town theater her grandfather had left in her possession. She was proud and wouldn't accept charity which made sense since her character never had anyone to count on. I really liked that the author eventually let Savannah and Dash figure out how similar they've always been even when they were always fighting as children and thought the comparison between lots of drama in the novel to Pride and Prejudice (which Savannah was reading in the book club) humorous and appropriate.

I'd say the only real complaint I had was that this book was never a religious novel, but a love story. And yet toward the end both characters prayed once or twice and thought that prayer would answer all their problems. I wouldn't have minded if this novel had been religious the whole time but throwing that in there at the end didn't seem true to the novel or the characters.

[Honeypie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one. Not really, really good. But definitely a good one. (Am I making sense?)

Anyway, on to our couple: Savannah comes home to Last Chance, the only place she 'considers' home, with her 12-year old son. Divorce and fed up with everyone else. Dash is a recovering alcoholic and injured baseball player. And Savannah's not-so-cousin cousin.

At first, I was a little bothered, trying to remember if they were really related. Because marriage among family members (even though it's legal in some countries) is still weird for me. But thankfully, they're just related by marriage, and never really spent many years with each other.

I like the lack of love at first sight in the story. It has more of the "The more you hate, the more you love" concept. It wasn't frustrating though.

But one scene that was really, really (really!) frustrating was when the Social Worker was talking to Savannah. She was questioning Savannah's capabilities to raise her child, even AFTER Toby (Savannah's son) has answered the social worker's question that he has no problems. Seriously!!? If I were Savannah, I'd have a big problem keeping it in. Some characters are just downright... exasperating. Close-minded. Shouldn't these types of work roles be taught how to be neutral? Anyway, I just hope that I'd never cross a similar person.

Affected talaga ako!! Hahaha!

[Willow Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Enjoyable installment in the Last Chance series. This is another fictional small town that you wished really existed with lots of quirky, good hearted and amusing characters. Both Dash and Savannah must overcome their histories of loss/abandonment as well as a long standing dislike of each other to achieve their HEA.

The ending felt rushed to me with answers to mysterious goings on provided, as well as news regarding a problem with Savannah's ex husband. However instead of fully resolving those plot lines, the information felt tossed out for the reader to put the resolutions together in a DIY fashion. So that knocked my rating down a bit, but still a good read and I look forward to spending more time with the good folks of Last Chance in the future.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just loved my adventure in Last Chance. Can't wait for the next adventure. It made me laugh and made me cry.I loved getting to know Dash and Savannah. I just love the way Aunt Miriam matches people up. She really has the gift. It is so funny the way people interpret her predictions. Savannah's ex husband Greg is a jerk and he doesn't know what he is missing in his wonderful son Todd. Her ex mother in law is like a nightmare and her mother doesn't seem too swift either. Glad it all worked out in the end. Thanks to Hope Ramsay for another great adventure in Last Chance. Hope there will be many more to come!

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes. I couldn't get into this book. Although I finished reading it, it was tough because I just had I found liking these characters a challenge! My interest in reading it relates to the title because I always think books about book clubs are fun. However, the book club in the book only met a few times during the course of the book so there wasn't enough about the club itself to keep my interest.

[Katie Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always find it weird when people who call each other "cousin" get together in a romance--even though the book says they're not really related, it is still very odd. Other than that, I thought the story of Savannah and Dash was very sweet, especially Dash's willingness to be there for Todd, Savannah's son. 3.5 stars.

[Anjula · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are very few negative reviews of this book and I can't figure out why. I grew up in the South and I still felt like the main characters were caricatures. On top of that, Savannah seemed awfully quick to judge both Dash as a bad person and Miriam as addled. I forced myself to the halfway point, then threw in the towel.

[MELISSA *Mel Reader* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 6th book I have read in the Last Chance series. I really enjoy Hope Ramsay's books about a small town with southern charm. I was glad to see Dash finally find love & get his story!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy visiting Last Chance. This was again a great read by Hope Ramsay, and I'm glad to see there is another book to come. If you need a great summer read start here!

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was SO bad, but I kept reading until page 292 (out of 358), when a new plot element, as predictable and dumb as all the others, is introduced, and I just . . . wasn't . . . interested. For one thing, the books title is misleading. By page 292 the "book club," which is really a knitting club and people sometimes read books, has met exactly one time. Yep. During which our protagonist, Savannah, convinces them to read Pride and Prejudice instead of all those books with depressing endings that the librarian keeps suggesting (I mean, who would want to read that crap when they can read books like this one?? Literature?? Why?).

In the note at the end "From the Desk of Hope Ramsay," the author says, "I'm sure Jane Austen fans will enjoy searching for the Easter eggs I've sprinkled through the book." Uh-huh. Jane Austen fans aren't going to enjoy anything about this book. It's just so terrible. There were plot devices that were mildly entertaining, but I kept thinking that this was a 100-page story turned into 358 agonizing pages.

You may wonder why I gave it 2 stars; I only give 1 star to books I genuinely feel should never have been published. Holocaust denial stuff, self-published books that make no sense at all, that sort of thing. There's a place for Hope Ramsay, but there are lots of books in the same easy-reader chick-lit category that are much better; even Debbie Macomber is better. I had saved this book for a time when I wanted a quick, light read. Next time I'll grab my David Baldacci.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't go to bed until I finished the last part of this book....it was great reading...relationships between relatives, kids and parents, relationships themselves, self-worth....so many relevant parts to this story. It's a story about the town of Last Chance, South Carolina and the community that lives in it. It is part of a series of books about Last Chance, but this is the only one I've read, although I intend to read more of them now.
Savannah White is a divorced mother of one son, Todd, who goes back to where she spent her childhood summers; Last Chance. She joins the local book club, and begins to feel like she's part of the community. She is also helping her Aunt Miriam, who is elderly. She's also left Baltimore to go to Last Chance, and has no intention of returning. Her ex-husband doesn't visit their son, nor does he pay the court-ordered child support.
Savannah meets up again with her "cousin", Dash Randall, who lives there with Aunt Miriam. He's a former all-star baseball player who was injured, and had to leave the game. He turned to alcohol, but is now a recovering alcoholic. He and Savannah used to argue constantly when they were kids, but as adults they learn to get along.
But...many things change, and that includes the characters.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story about Last Chance, South Carolina and about Savannah White and her kissing cousin Dash Randall. When she was growing up and spending the summer with her Aunt and Uncle, Savannah did not get along with Dash at all. He called her princess because he thought she was better than everyone else and after he put a snake in her bed, the war was on. After her divorce, Savannah was tired of her mother and ex-mother-in-law telling her what to do and how to raise her son. She needed a break and her Uncle had left the old run down movie theater to her after his death, so she came home for good. Of course no one was happy with the move but she knew she had taken the right step. Great read.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Chance Book Club by Hope Ramsay - book # 5


This is the fifth novel in a series about the little town of Last Chance in southern USA. The town itself and the people in it are all very interesting and full of character. I guess I am enjoying stories about people who are trying to figure out how to do life together. What brings people that happen to live in the same town to want to work at actually being a real community of people who care about each other - warts, excentricities and all.
I think Miriam, the town matchmaker, said it well "Last Chance is a homey kind of place. Mark Twain would have felt comfortable here."

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book. Savannah White returns to her home in South Carolina with her teen son, Todd, after the death of her uncle. Feeling frustrated living in Baltimore after her ex doesn't spend time with her son, doesn't pay child support, she is thinking of rehabbing the old movie theater left to her by her grandfather. But Dash, her kissing cousin, also lives there. They had tangled a lot as children, but now they're both grown...will the sparks fly?

[Denise Kulesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time reading anything by Hope Ramsay. I read this in a few hours and could not put it down.

Savannah and Dash are "kissing cousins" and haven't seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies, Savannah comes home with her son and ends up staying.

Savannah and Dash eventually come to realize they love each other and overcome the interference of her ex mother in law to be together

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining read in Last Chance. There were some difficult topics dealt with but as with all these books it ended up with a happily ever after. This one had a bit of a mystery and a few dispicable characters to make it more interesting. Love Miriam in all the books and this one she had a much larger role as it was her family. Great to see Dash and Hettie sorted out.

[Judy]

Written with her usual humor, yet you always know where it's going. romantically speaking. Zeph Miller, though a minor character, is extremely poignant. I wonder if Ramsay is going to develop that story. I was surprised at what happened to the movie theater. Not the best in the "Last Chance" series.

[Maridele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I wasn’t real excited about the story line when I started the book. But once I got going it had me captivated and I couldn’t put it down. I love this series. This book may have been my favorite so far but I cannot wait to read the rest.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartwarming visit to Last Chance, with a plot loosely based on Pride & Prejudice. Laugh out loud moments with some of my favorite characters, and some teary moments with new folks. I love Ramsay's small town and its inhabitants!

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series!!!

[Lynn Speer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll read more by this author.

[Penny Mcbride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story. Really enjoyed everything about it.

[Suzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fast read, love the small town stories.