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Second Chances #1 part 1
Second Chances: Part 1 of 2
*This is NOT erotica* This is a love story and a romance. *This is a two book series* (All of your answers won't be answered in book 1)
Go ahead. Take Charge of your life. Move forward...if you can...
Changing her future means letting go of her past. Karina heads to a weekend seminar and discovers the speaker is the person she needs to move on from. But she soon realizes bigger issues are facing her...
Brian has moved on, at least he'd believed he had... until he sees Karina in his audience...and realizes he's been lying to himself.
Passion pulls them together, love binds them together, but a revengeful enemy determines to keep the two apart...and destroy them both.
Go ahead. Take Charge of your life. Move forward...if you can...
Changing her future means letting go of her past. Karina heads to a weekend seminar and discovers the speaker is the person she needs to move on from. But she soon realizes bigger issues are facing her...
Brian has moved on, at least he'd believed he had... until he sees Karina in his audience...and realizes he's been lying to himself.
Passion pulls them together, love binds them together, but a revengeful enemy determines to keep the two apart...and destroy them both.
154 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2013
37 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
About the author
Dale Mayer
925 books1,646 followersDale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It's a Dog's Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her - and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author. If you like Dale Mayer's books and are interested in joining her street team, sign up here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/40238...
Books by Dale Mayer
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday's Child
Hide'n Go Seek
Maddy's Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock...
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul - fall/winter 2014
By Death Series
Touched by Death - Part 1 - Free
Touched by Death - Part 2
Touched by Death - Full book
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death - fall/winter 2014
Second Chances...at Love Series
Second Chances - Part 1
Second Chances - Part 2
Second Chances - Full book
Novellas
It's a Dog's Life- romantic comedy
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy
Broken Protocols #1
Broken Protocols #2
Broken Protocols #3
New adult/adul crossover Books
In Cassie's Corner
Gem Stone (a Gemma Stone mystery)
Design Series
Dangerous Designs
Deadly Designs
Darkest Designs
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Non-Fiction Books
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1
She honors the stories that come to her - and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author. If you like Dale Mayer's books and are interested in joining her street team, sign up here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/40238...
Books by Dale Mayer
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday's Child
Hide'n Go Seek
Maddy's Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock...
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul - fall/winter 2014
By Death Series
Touched by Death - Part 1 - Free
Touched by Death - Part 2
Touched by Death - Full book
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death - fall/winter 2014
Second Chances...at Love Series
Second Chances - Part 1
Second Chances - Part 2
Second Chances - Full book
Novellas
It's a Dog's Life- romantic comedy
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy
Broken Protocols #1
Broken Protocols #2
Broken Protocols #3
New adult/adul crossover Books
In Cassie's Corner
Gem Stone (a Gemma Stone mystery)
Design Series
Dangerous Designs
Deadly Designs
Darkest Designs
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Non-Fiction Books
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 18, 2018
It was okay; I wouldn't read it again. It was clearly missing something although what its missing, I am at a lost.
February 25, 2016
READ AS PART OF THE HEARTS ON FIRE ANTHOLOGY:
This book's only saving grace was the stalker aspect it eventually comes to. Whenever Ian came into the picture, the book became interesting. Other than that, it was boring and it dragged, plus Karina ...OMG Karina, what in the world was wrong with her? She was an adult pining away for a man who fucked her, during a night of drinking by the way, and then leaves her! For ten years! Then she attends his seminar and acts like a giddy school girl all over again! Are you serious! I wanted to slap her, there was nothing romantic about their one night stand. He was drunk, she took advantage of that and he acted like a man the next day and left, but in her mind she romanticized their entire encounter and years later she does the same thing. Even uproots her life, moves to the same city as him, let's be honest, the whole starting a business thing was just the excuse she needed to move, if that didn't come up, who knows what else she would have done to get closer to Brian. She's pathetic and a bit stalker-ish herself...maybe her and Ian should get together!
This book's only saving grace was the stalker aspect it eventually comes to. Whenever Ian came into the picture, the book became interesting. Other than that, it was boring and it dragged, plus Karina ...OMG Karina, what in the world was wrong with her? She was an adult pining away for a man who fucked her, during a night of drinking by the way, and then leaves her! For ten years! Then she attends his seminar and acts like a giddy school girl all over again! Are you serious! I wanted to slap her, there was nothing romantic about their one night stand. He was drunk, she took advantage of that and he acted like a man the next day and left, but in her mind she romanticized their entire encounter and years later she does the same thing. Even uproots her life, moves to the same city as him, let's be honest, the whole starting a business thing was just the excuse she needed to move, if that didn't come up, who knows what else she would have done to get closer to Brian. She's pathetic and a bit stalker-ish herself...maybe her and Ian should get together!
July 17, 2014
Not at all what I expected. The plot was reasonable but the characters were one dimensional and I found the writing to be flat. The whole thing lacked substance and though I appreciate the amount of work that goes into a book this one really wasn't for me.
July 10, 2014
Part of 'Hearts on Fire' bundle from amazon
September 26, 2014
The story and characters never became interesting. I won't be reading the second book.
April 10, 2018
took me a long time to read both books. the story is too long too flat, has no emotional pull on me. its like reading a C grade composition in high school. not my favourite. would i read another of her books? hmmm maybe not.
April 24, 2015
Read in the anthology (can you call it an anthology if it only includes two things?) Stolen Hearts.
Second Chances is a confusing "romance"*. Confusing, in two senses. Firstly, it's confusing in the sense that there was a huge amount of presumed backstory, which is crucial to the plot and yet never really explained. So much so that, frankly, I'm wondering if it was actually Second Chances: Part 2 of 2 included, even though a) it says book one in the synopsis and b) why would you include part two rather than part one in a freebie sampler (which is surely intended to allow readers to sample your books)? Things that are unclear? Well, it'd be a long list, but here's a few for starters:
- how Brian and Karina met (we are given the impression that they've met some years before, but that's about it)
- who Ian is and how he knows them, other than from university years before
- who his wife is and what his vendetta is about (and, let's be honest, this is pretty much the focus of the whole plot)
- what Brian's job is/gives these seminars about
And... so on. Can you see why I think I was perhaps reading a different book than the one I thought I downloaded? This happened to me recently with "Dare to Love", which actually turned out to be Dare to Desire, so perhaps it has happened again. Even assuming that that is true and that all of this backstory is actually present in the first book, I can't say I'd recommend Second Chances anyway. Here, I come to the second confusion: how anyone can be so stupid and yet manage to, I don't know, breathe. Walk. Get up, get dressed and go to work. That kind of thing.
Even though psycho Ian is hanging around, our two protagonists act like that girl that gets killed in horror films. They remark on it being weird to see the same car several times, for a long time, hanging around, but don't even consider the possibility that it might be their stalker, instead assuming its someone whose car had broken down. Repeatedly, presumably. Karina leaves a spare key in the most cliched spot ever - under a flower pot. It doesn't occur to her a) that that's the first place anyone would look if they were going to break in and b) that there is someone who actually wants to break in. I mean, seriously. Get a key safe. Hide it basically anywhere else. Or, heck, if you must leave it under a flower pot, at least move it when you realise you have a creepy stalker. And then, when said creepy stalker breaks in and she comes home to find the door open and her dog outside, they check inside to make sure nothing has been moved and then decide that clearly the dog opened the door. By himself. Obviously. *rolls eyes* When their house is broken into by creepy ol' Ian, they don't think to get a burglar alarm, either. And Karina flaunts basic security measures in an attempt to cook a romantic meal for Brian, as if that's her biggest concern.
Oh, and Karina's doctor writes poetry about getting married off the cuff.** Perhaps I should add that as Confusion Number Three. Confusion Number Four should surely be why the cover stars use so much fake tan.
*I can't say I ever felt any genuine emotion so I wouldn't really consider it romantic.
**So of course there is love, marriage and a baby (to be) carriage by the epilogue, a mere two months after the events of the story. Gawd, what a cliche.
Second Chances is a confusing "romance"*. Confusing, in two senses. Firstly, it's confusing in the sense that there was a huge amount of presumed backstory, which is crucial to the plot and yet never really explained. So much so that, frankly, I'm wondering if it was actually Second Chances: Part 2 of 2 included, even though a) it says book one in the synopsis and b) why would you include part two rather than part one in a freebie sampler (which is surely intended to allow readers to sample your books)? Things that are unclear? Well, it'd be a long list, but here's a few for starters:
- how Brian and Karina met (we are given the impression that they've met some years before, but that's about it)
- who Ian is and how he knows them, other than from university years before
- who his wife is and what his vendetta is about (and, let's be honest, this is pretty much the focus of the whole plot)
- what Brian's job is/gives these seminars about
And... so on. Can you see why I think I was perhaps reading a different book than the one I thought I downloaded? This happened to me recently with "Dare to Love", which actually turned out to be Dare to Desire, so perhaps it has happened again. Even assuming that that is true and that all of this backstory is actually present in the first book, I can't say I'd recommend Second Chances anyway. Here, I come to the second confusion: how anyone can be so stupid and yet manage to, I don't know, breathe. Walk. Get up, get dressed and go to work. That kind of thing.
Even though psycho Ian is hanging around, our two protagonists act like that girl that gets killed in horror films. They remark on it being weird to see the same car several times, for a long time, hanging around, but don't even consider the possibility that it might be their stalker, instead assuming its someone whose car had broken down. Repeatedly, presumably. Karina leaves a spare key in the most cliched spot ever - under a flower pot. It doesn't occur to her a) that that's the first place anyone would look if they were going to break in and b) that there is someone who actually wants to break in. I mean, seriously. Get a key safe. Hide it basically anywhere else. Or, heck, if you must leave it under a flower pot, at least move it when you realise you have a creepy stalker. And then, when said creepy stalker breaks in and she comes home to find the door open and her dog outside, they check inside to make sure nothing has been moved and then decide that clearly the dog opened the door. By himself. Obviously. *rolls eyes* When their house is broken into by creepy ol' Ian, they don't think to get a burglar alarm, either. And Karina flaunts basic security measures in an attempt to cook a romantic meal for Brian, as if that's her biggest concern.
Oh, and Karina's doctor writes poetry about getting married off the cuff.** Perhaps I should add that as Confusion Number Three. Confusion Number Four should surely be why the cover stars use so much fake tan.
*I can't say I ever felt any genuine emotion so I wouldn't really consider it romantic.
**So of course there is love, marriage and a baby (to be) carriage by the epilogue, a mere two months after the events of the story. Gawd, what a cliche.
May 3, 2015
Second Chances by Dale Mayer
Second Chances...at Love Series Book One
Karina has loved Brian for a long time. When he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees her last chance to get near him before they leave the university and go on with their lives. The night starts out like she hopes but ends with him leaving...without so much as a farewell wave.
Brian Saunders regrets something he did ten years ago. One night with Karina had him so shaken that he left her. And now ten years later he is a well known motivational speaker and of all the women in the world to be sitting in his audience is Karina. As beautiful as ever. Could there possibly be any hope for a second chance?
Ten years ago there was a third person in Karina and Brian's life, only they didn't realize it. As that person's life falls apart a decade later, the blame gets laid at their feet. Can these two have a second chance when the dark shadow of the past is closing in on them?
**Sexual content and language
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
Second Chances...at Love Series Book One
Karina has loved Brian for a long time. When he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees her last chance to get near him before they leave the university and go on with their lives. The night starts out like she hopes but ends with him leaving...without so much as a farewell wave.
Brian Saunders regrets something he did ten years ago. One night with Karina had him so shaken that he left her. And now ten years later he is a well known motivational speaker and of all the women in the world to be sitting in his audience is Karina. As beautiful as ever. Could there possibly be any hope for a second chance?
Ten years ago there was a third person in Karina and Brian's life, only they didn't realize it. As that person's life falls apart a decade later, the blame gets laid at their feet. Can these two have a second chance when the dark shadow of the past is closing in on them?
**Sexual content and language
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
January 16, 2016
Second Chances by Dale Mayer
Second Chances...at Love Series Book One
Karina has loved Brian for a long time. When he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees her last chance to get near him before they leave the university and go on with their lives. The night starts out like she hopes but ends with him leaving...without so much as a farewell wave.
Brian Saunders regrets something he did ten years ago. One night with Karina had him so shaken that he left her. And now ten years later he is a well known motivational speaker and of all the women in the world to be sitting in his audience is Karina. As beautiful as ever. Could there possibly be any hope for a second chance?
Ten years ago there was a third person in Karina and Brian's life, only they didn't realize it. As that person's life falls apart a decade later, the blame gets laid at their feet. Can these two have a second chance when the dark shadow of the past is closing in on them?
**Sexual content and language
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
Second Chances...at Love Series Book One
Karina has loved Brian for a long time. When he breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, she sees her last chance to get near him before they leave the university and go on with their lives. The night starts out like she hopes but ends with him leaving...without so much as a farewell wave.
Brian Saunders regrets something he did ten years ago. One night with Karina had him so shaken that he left her. And now ten years later he is a well known motivational speaker and of all the women in the world to be sitting in his audience is Karina. As beautiful as ever. Could there possibly be any hope for a second chance?
Ten years ago there was a third person in Karina and Brian's life, only they didn't realize it. As that person's life falls apart a decade later, the blame gets laid at their feet. Can these two have a second chance when the dark shadow of the past is closing in on them?
**Sexual content and language
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
September 18, 2016
I knew the end was coming I kept glancing down on my kindle knowing that at any moment now I was going to want to scream because it was the end of the book. Then it happened!! "NNNNNOOOOOOOOO", dang it I hate it when that happens and you will too.
No this is not erotica, there are no burning passionate love scenes but I tell you sometimes it is so much better when it is implied. This story is romance, spite, vengeance, rekindled love and an awesome all around story. While both Karina and Brian have plenty to work on for themselves they are both wondering about the things they can do together.
While Karina is diving head on into changing her life, Brian is still contemplating and running scared, conflicted. While they are feeling each other out things are moving in the background. A wonderful story with cool characters I am enjoying getting to know. Man I want more I really need to finish this with part two.
No this is not erotica, there are no burning passionate love scenes but I tell you sometimes it is so much better when it is implied. This story is romance, spite, vengeance, rekindled love and an awesome all around story. While both Karina and Brian have plenty to work on for themselves they are both wondering about the things they can do together.
While Karina is diving head on into changing her life, Brian is still contemplating and running scared, conflicted. While they are feeling each other out things are moving in the background. A wonderful story with cool characters I am enjoying getting to know. Man I want more I really need to finish this with part two.
June 26, 2014
I got this book free off Amazon, figuring if I didn't like it I could just delete it and not feel guilty having not finished. However, I was pleasantly surprised once I started reading & was hooked immediately!! And, since I got the 'Part 1 of 2' from Amazon, I had to immediately buy part 2 to see what happened next when I was done. The history between Brian and Karina made for a great story line. I believe many of us, unless completely sheltered all your life, have been in a situation such as theirs. The struggles they faced about regrets, fears of moving forward & trust are things most of us face every day and can relate to. Add in the suspense with Ian, the other great secondary characters & the pages kept turning!! Not much more that I can say except ... I truly enjoyed this first part of Brian & Karina's story, can't wait to finish the second half now - hopefully smiling!
February 25, 2015
Edgy stalker tale with a wonderful romance. Karina and her friends have just been laid of so she decide to attend a highly recommended seminar even though she has a little history with the man who created the program and is taking the motivational circuit by storm. It doesn't take long for him to notice her and through the session their relationship warms up, but that isn't all Karina gets from the session. It turns our that Brian reputation as a life evaluation coach is well earned and she uses the time as a springboard for a new business.
Unfortunately for them, there is someone else interested in them and not in a good way!.
Totally loved it! I read both parts of this book in the collection, Romance Superbundle 2: Second Chances.
Unfortunately for them, there is someone else interested in them and not in a good way!.
Totally loved it! I read both parts of this book in the collection, Romance Superbundle 2: Second Chances.
July 19, 2016
This book is only the first half of a novel. The plot was good with a stalker that added interest to the story. Unfortunately I was never pulled into the story enough to feel like I could put put the book down. Most of the story was told rather than shown and just blah. I'm not sure why, but the parts that include Ian and his craziness are more interesting. They show the story and start to pull you in before it goes back to telling.
March 3, 2015
This is the 1st book I read by Dale Mayer. The only thing that kept me interested in this story was Karina & her stalker. I was waiting for the chemistry to start between Karina & Brian but it never came. I didn't like the way this story ended either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2014
Great Author, Great Story
Another great book by a great author. Such a powerful love story. Hoping that Ian doesn't destroy the love birds in the next installment.
Another great book by a great author. Such a powerful love story. Hoping that Ian doesn't destroy the love birds in the next installment.
July 25, 2014
The most loving love story I have read this year. ABSOL0UTELY THE MOST TOUCHING STORY....from a man.
Wow, you are truly a good story teller.
Wow, you are truly a good story teller.
own-under-diff-title-or-anthology
October 6, 2014Heated: 2 Contemporary romances
December 12, 2014
This book had potential but fell short for me. I will not be purchasing the second book because of this.
July 21, 2015
Too slow paced for my liking. I didn’t like as much as I thought I would, either. I will definitely not be reading on, as the story bored me a little.
January 22, 2017
I like second romance and this book is good, but not really different from others I have read
January 22, 2015
Not to keen on this book. I don't like the story line.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews