Second Chances by the Sea

Echoes of Camano Island #5

by Kimberly Thomas

Two women. One island. A lifetime of secrets—and the chance to begin again.

Nelly Collins has spent decades haunted by the boy who never came home from war—and the life she built in his absence. When her estranged daughter Kathy returns home, buried wounds rise to the surface, just as a familiar face from Nelly’s past reappears, stirring up emotions she thought long forgotten.

Meanwhile, Amy—on the verge of graduating culinary school—is torn between her long-distance love affair with a celebrity chef and an unexpected connection with a local firefighter. As she contemplates reaching out to a family she’s never known, Amy finds herself at a crossroads between the past she's never understood and the future she could finally claim.

Poignant and heartwarming, this is a story of two women finding their way—back to each other, back to love, and back to themselves. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Camano Island, this emotionally story explores the power of love, loss, and second chances.

Genres: Womens Fiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2025

About the author

Kimberly Thomas has a passion for writing heartfelt stories that resonate with her readers. With two adult children and a loving husband, she understands the complexities of family dynamics and uses this knowledge to create relatable characters. When she's not writing, she loves to travel and explore new cultures. She finds inspiration in the people she meets and the places she visits, and often incorporates her experiences into her stories.

Kimberly specializes in feel-good women's fiction, clean and wholesome contemporary romance. Her stories focus on love, loss, and the everyday situations that families face. Her writing style is engaging and relatable, and she has a talent for drawing readers in and keeping them hooked until the very end.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in this series is about love - finding their way back to a past love as they learn the power of love, loss, and second chances.

Nelly is a widow with an estranged daughter. Her daughter, Kathy, is going through a divorce and asks if she can come home to Camano Island. Nelly hopes that they can re-kindle their mother/daughter relationship and have a future together. Nelly has always kept a big secret from her family - she still thought a lot about her first love - a young man who proposed to her when she was 18 right before he left for Vietnam and who never returned. She had a happy marriage but still grieved over her lost first love. Surprisingly, he is still alive and wants to re-kindle their romance. Is it possible for her to take a chance and have her happily ever after?

Amy is getting close to graduating from culinary school. Gabriel, her boyfriend and a celebrity chef, has been gone for weeks making speeches in Europe and trying to get investors for the restaurant he wants to start. The phone calls between them have gotten shorter and Amy is sure that she is losing him. Meanwhile, she makes a new friend and even though there are some sparks between them, she wants Gabriel. Will Amy get her happily ever after with Gabriel or will the sexy fireman make her realize that he should be part of her future?

This is the last book in this series but hopefully sometime in the future the author will take her readers back to Camano Island to visit all of the characters that we've come to know in this series.

[Renee Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a great reminder of how important family is. Nelly has had more than her share of heartache. 50 years ago, she lost the one man that was supposed to be forever hers. Forced to move on, she once again found love, only to once again be left lonely. This time it was more than the love of a man that she lost. Family can cause hurt but can also mend the broken heart as long as they take a chance, and sometimes a second chance. I loved this book and how unexpected emotions flow. And how family doesn’t have to be blood kin to be family.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nelly has had 2 loves but experienced much heartbreak. When her daughter calls and asks if she can stay for a few weeks, she doesn't hesitate, despite how awkward it may be. When Kathy arrives, Nelli must confront past hurts in order to mend her relationship with her daughter.

Meanwhile, Amy is gearing up to graduate and hopefully open her own pastry shop. Distracted by her lack of relationship with Gabriel, Amy starts to develop a friendship with Josh. Could her and Gabriel be over?

Last book in an amazing series about love, friends and family.

[Pam Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life has dealt Nelly some hardships. The book has themes of past hurt and lost love. Nelly’s daughter Kathy comes to visit and the mother-daughter pair have hurts from the past to deal with. Kathy is getting divorced from her husband, so she has her own hurts to deal with.

Meanwhile Amy is getting to know her birth mother. Struggling to deal with the separation from boyfriend, Gabriel, Amy looks ahead to a future and graduation from culinary school.

Thank you to the author for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

???

I’m confused. Some characters are introduced never to return. Nelly’s granddaughter Evelyn made a big announcement but she never was heard from again. She didn’t attend the wedding. Why did the bride wait until the day before the wedding to discuss the wedding cake? For that matter why did the bride visit the fisherman the day before the wedding and then go the restaurant? Extremely confusing.

[Jennie Fortna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Chances by the Sea is book 5 in the Echoes of Camano Island by Kimberly Thomas and is the final book in the series 4.5 stars

Two women each on an emotional journey of second chances, estranged family, lost love, lifetime of secrets, crossroads to finding answers and the HEA they deserve.

I voluntarily read a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick moving story. Once again we’re on Camano Island following an emotional journey of two women. Both surrounded by friends and ready to start a new chapter in their life. It’s a nice romantic story, perfect to lose yourself in

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, easy series.