The Museum of Second Chances

by Jo Leevers

Every morning, Evelyn Silver walks the shoreline before the rest of Portheast wakes, gathering what the tide leaves behind. Broken cups. Lost trinkets. Objects others have discarded. In her small Museum of Maritime Curiosities, each one earns its place—because to Evelyn, every forgotten thing deserves to have its story told.

At the heart of the museum lies her most precious a fragment of Cornish lace, found pinned to her blanket when she was abandoned as a newborn. For over sixty years, she has kept it close, hoping someone might one day recognise it and tell her who she really is.

So when the local council threatens to close the museum, Evelyn stands to lose far more than her livelihood. Forced out of her solitude, she rallies the community around the museum’s curious collection—and as the objects begin to give up their secrets, lives start to intertwine in ways nobody expected.

Because sometimes, the most precious things aren’t lost at all. They’re simply waiting to be claimed.

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 1, 2026

About the author

Hello there. My debut novel, Tell Me How This Ends, was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick and my second novel, The Last Time I Saw You is out now. Both are published by Lake Union (Amazon Publishing). In Germany, my books are published by Droemer, as Café Leben and In den Augen Meiner Mutter.
I've also written an interiors book, Victorian Modern, out with Thames & Hudson. You can find me on social media as @joleevers and my website is joleevers.com

Reviews

[Jenée · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really beautiful and well told story. Initially, I wasn’t sure what to make of Evelyn. She’s quirky antisocial very withdrawn, and I wasn’t sure if she could hold the story. The nice thing is a story is not just about her. It also centers around people in her community and that some of the items that she holds in her museum have a history tied to them. What I really enjoyed the most was how the author gave each person their own individual story and told it in a way that was thoughtful and meaningful.

I received this as a e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a masterfully written book, I had trouble putting it down to go to bed. Our first meeting of Evelyn I wasn’t sure what to make of her, and I was surprised at first when we started getting perspectives & storylines for characters other than her. Over the course of the book though we get to learn who they all are now, and get to follow along as they make discoveries about their pasts, all of which tie back to Evelyn and her museum.

The histories of the museum pieces were told so wonderfully, at just the right pace to keep you hooked, and to let the characters learn & grow. I absolutely loved seeing how Evelyn changes and blooms by the end of the book. Seeing she and her friends getting a chance to reconnect with their pasts, and change their futures for the better, had me on the edge of my seat at times, literally gasping out loud and even crying a bit. I highly recommend this book.

I received a free e-ARC and am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

[KDRBCK]

The Museum of Second Chances by new to me author Jo Leevers published by Lake Union Publishing is a full length, stand alone novel.
Heartwrenching, teary eyeing, and heart warming at the same tme.
I loved spending time with story and characters, loved the pace and the beautiful writing, 5 stars.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Museum of Second Chances is one of those gentle, quietly luminous stories that feels like stepping into a seaside morning before the world wakes — soft light, salt air, and the sense that something long‑lost might finally be within reach.

Evelyn Silver is the beating heart of Portheast, even if she doesn’t quite realise it. Her dawn walks along the shoreline, gathering the broken and discarded, give the town a kind of quiet magic. In her Museum of Maritime Curiosities, every object earns a story, every forgotten thing is given a place to belong. And at the centre of it all is her own mystery: a fragment of Cornish lace, the only clue to the life she was denied as a newborn.

When the council threatens to close the museum, the stakes become far more personal than a lost livelihood. Evelyn is forced out of her solitude and into the arms of a community she’s spent decades observing from a distance. As the museum’s odd little treasures begin to reveal their secrets, the people of Portheast start revealing theirs too — tenderly, unexpectedly, beautifully.

What Jo Leevers captures so well is the quiet ache of longing: for identity, for connection, for a place to call home. The story unfolds with warmth and a touch of whimsy, but always grounded in the very real truth that sometimes the things we think are lost are simply waiting for us to be ready.

A heartfelt, hopeful novel about belonging, community, and the stories we carry — and a reminder that even the smallest found object can change a life.

With thanks to Jo Leevers, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, The Museum of Second Chances, by Jo Leevers, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Evelyn Silver runs the Museum of Maritime Curiosities. I found Evelyn to be a lovely character, I really enjoyed this book.