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Love Awaits at The Hollow: A Sweet Small Town Second Chance Romance
I came home to figure out my future. I didn’t expect my high school sweetheart, Max Turner, to be waiting behind the counter.
One minute I was planning rooftop galas in Manhattan. The next, my job was gone, my apartment was packed into storage, and I was on a train heading back to the small coastal town I promised I’d never call home again.
I told myself it was temporary. A reset. A way to help my brother with his failing restaurant while I found something new.
Max, my brother’s grumpy and brilliant best friend and business partner, and my deceased best friend’s husband, is still raising his son upstairs, still making my pulse skip for all the wrong reasons.
Now I’m sleeping just one floor above him, trying to ignore the tension, the history, the heat that’s still very much alive.
If we don’t save this restaurant, we all lose.
I’m willing to fight to save it. And us!
One minute I was planning rooftop galas in Manhattan. The next, my job was gone, my apartment was packed into storage, and I was on a train heading back to the small coastal town I promised I’d never call home again.
I told myself it was temporary. A reset. A way to help my brother with his failing restaurant while I found something new.
Max, my brother’s grumpy and brilliant best friend and business partner, and my deceased best friend’s husband, is still raising his son upstairs, still making my pulse skip for all the wrong reasons.
Now I’m sleeping just one floor above him, trying to ignore the tension, the history, the heat that’s still very much alive.
If we don’t save this restaurant, we all lose.
I’m willing to fight to save it. And us!
379 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 19, 2025
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 13, 2026
Spoiler!
I got this book from a list of free books by various authors. I don’t like 2nd chance books, just personal preference, but thought I would read it to see if I liked the authors way of writing and find other books of hers to read. I had to stop reading the book just because of the storyline. The actual writing technique wasn’t bad, like someone else mentioned, the author is great at descriptions you can feel, she is just repetitive in stating similar if not the same phrase, characters are written well and easy to engage in.
The storyline just wasn’t one I could finish reading, it felt like a sister wives episode. Ava comes home to help her brother Owen’s restaurant(which gets called a bakery and a cafe within first couple chapters, also confusing) he owns with his best friend Max. It is hinted that Ava and Max have feelings and history but in barrels Lucas, Lilly’s son, Ava’s best friend, calling her Aunt Ava, ok so Owen’s son. No he gets called Uncle Owen and Lucas is described as Max’s some physical feature and Lilly’s some physical feature. I’m sorry what is happening? You want me to get emotionally involved in a story that implies Max and Ava have a history but he married Lilly, Ava’s best friend, had a kid with Lilly, who then died and this is a second chance for Max and Ava? Uh that’s a bit too twisted for me. Would have kept going if, like I said, it was Owen’s kid with Lilly and Max and Ava had history never explored due to him being brother’s best friend.
It also feels like this is a second story that you have to read the first to truly know what’s going on. A lot is implied and stated as if you should already know certain things. people show up looking coldly at Ava like she is the reason Lilly died and they do say she didn’t come home the last couple months but need a bit more info if people are shooting daggers. I made it 22% into the book which is sad as it was a good long story I just couldn’t give my time any more.
I got this book from a list of free books by various authors. I don’t like 2nd chance books, just personal preference, but thought I would read it to see if I liked the authors way of writing and find other books of hers to read. I had to stop reading the book just because of the storyline. The actual writing technique wasn’t bad, like someone else mentioned, the author is great at descriptions you can feel, she is just repetitive in stating similar if not the same phrase, characters are written well and easy to engage in.
The storyline just wasn’t one I could finish reading, it felt like a sister wives episode. Ava comes home to help her brother Owen’s restaurant(which gets called a bakery and a cafe within first couple chapters, also confusing) he owns with his best friend Max. It is hinted that Ava and Max have feelings and history but in barrels Lucas, Lilly’s son, Ava’s best friend, calling her Aunt Ava, ok so Owen’s son. No he gets called Uncle Owen and Lucas is described as Max’s some physical feature and Lilly’s some physical feature. I’m sorry what is happening? You want me to get emotionally involved in a story that implies Max and Ava have a history but he married Lilly, Ava’s best friend, had a kid with Lilly, who then died and this is a second chance for Max and Ava? Uh that’s a bit too twisted for me. Would have kept going if, like I said, it was Owen’s kid with Lilly and Max and Ava had history never explored due to him being brother’s best friend.
It also feels like this is a second story that you have to read the first to truly know what’s going on. A lot is implied and stated as if you should already know certain things. people show up looking coldly at Ava like she is the reason Lilly died and they do say she didn’t come home the last couple months but need a bit more info if people are shooting daggers. I made it 22% into the book which is sad as it was a good long story I just couldn’t give my time any more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2026
This is a really cute romance book! I absolutely adore Ash Harbor and I would love to visit there sometime! The story centers around The Hollow, a restaurant owned by Ava's brother and his best friend, Max. The author's creative writing allowed me to smell the wafting bouquet of delicious garlic, meat and wood smoke.
The characters are very real and raw. Their emotions are not fully on display, but also not hidden. Ava is amazing! She returns to a place that holds enormous memories for her; some that are painful and some that are joyful. She is super compassionate and has a likeableness that draws friends and strangers. Max is a bit of a grump. He holds everything close to him; his anger and his happiness. His life revolves around the restaurant and his son, Lucas. Lucas is adorable and sweet. He has so much love to give and lots of super fantastic ideas!
The main point of the story is for Ava to help Max and Owen give new life to The Hollow. There's a lot of talk about all of the repairs and things that they have to fix in order to pass the inspection. I did find some of this redundant. I loved how the whole community came together at the end to help keep the neighborhood shops from being bulldozed.
The love story is all about a second chance. Max and Ava had spent most of their adolescence together but fate had other plans. As they reconnect, they realize that they love each other and they're willing to make it work.
I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The characters are very real and raw. Their emotions are not fully on display, but also not hidden. Ava is amazing! She returns to a place that holds enormous memories for her; some that are painful and some that are joyful. She is super compassionate and has a likeableness that draws friends and strangers. Max is a bit of a grump. He holds everything close to him; his anger and his happiness. His life revolves around the restaurant and his son, Lucas. Lucas is adorable and sweet. He has so much love to give and lots of super fantastic ideas!
The main point of the story is for Ava to help Max and Owen give new life to The Hollow. There's a lot of talk about all of the repairs and things that they have to fix in order to pass the inspection. I did find some of this redundant. I loved how the whole community came together at the end to help keep the neighborhood shops from being bulldozed.
The love story is all about a second chance. Max and Ava had spent most of their adolescence together but fate had other plans. As they reconnect, they realize that they love each other and they're willing to make it work.
I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 24, 2026
This book was so repetitive. At times I had to look at the page number to see if my e-book scrolled backwards. It was almost like reading duplicate Word for Word.
I felt like I was missing something. Nothing seemed to connect properly for me.
On a positive note, I do say the characters are mostly likable. The author is descriptive and you can feel yourself in the story. However, I didn’t find myself wanting to be in the story.
I will give this author another try. I don’t ever want to judge an author based on one book.
I felt like I was missing something. Nothing seemed to connect properly for me.
On a positive note, I do say the characters are mostly likable. The author is descriptive and you can feel yourself in the story. However, I didn’t find myself wanting to be in the story.
I will give this author another try. I don’t ever want to judge an author based on one book.
February 8, 2026
A cute read! I enjoyed it quite a bit. I noticed some repetition throughout the chapters, but it was nothing to ruin the book. Ava and Max put in hard work with their team to save The Hollow, a family restaurant. A good amount of will they/won't they, NO smut!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews