After 20 years in the music business, Tracy McCoy was wondering if it was time to call it quits.
Since her divorce from country music superstar, Logan Shields, five years ago, the words had stopped flowing, which meant no new album, no reason to go on tour.
Tracy's star was fading and if she didn't get over the rut she was in, Tracy knew she would have to call time on her career.
She was so desperate to turn things around that she even let her manager talk her into writing songs with someone else, something she'd always refused to do.
At 25 years old, Payton Edwards was living the dream.
Splitting her time between San Diego and a cabin tucked away in the Colorado mountains, Payton spent her days turning her thoughts into songs, her guitar never too far away.
And those songs were sung by some of the biggest names in country music.
But Payton never could have imagined working with her idol, the woman she'd spent years crushing on, Tracy McCoy.
One week writing songs together only intensifies Payton's crush, and Tracy has to wrestle with feelings she'd locked away so many years ago.
An all-time favorite singer, a songwriter, writer's block, a sacred space in Colorado, a longtime crush, age-gap and keeping your real feelings locked away for years. I loved Second Time Around. The characters, the chemistry and the storyline makes this a wonderful sweet romance. No real drama and that's definitely okay for me. I can highly recommend it.
This was short and fairly straightforward (gayforward?). The story kind of skims many of its elements (like the age gap) to concentrate on the singer/songwriter aspects of their collaboration. Which works well-enough. I mean, I can't speak to the details of how collaborations like that work, but it felt engaging and I liked how it connected the two enough for me to go with the really fast attachment and the confidence-sharing intimacy.
But most of the other elements of the story were surface, at best. I mean, I have no idea what either of their backgrounds actually look like, where their families live or what they consist of, or why neither one seems to have any real friends at all. Or what they're doing with Noah as their shared manager when he turns out to be a major jackball.
So this is three stars, but on the really wobbly side of the scale. I was totally into their collaboration and shared confidences and that kept me skimming along with the author.
A note about editing: The editing on this is seriously bad. I mean, one of the leads changes names mid-paragraph a time or two (Lara? Who is Lara? Did she mean Tracy?)
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes, but in my personal definition where it counts as the same scene if all we have are stage directions between (so picking up the morning after is just a really long scene). For a book this short, that's on the edge of exceeding my steam tolerance, though not quite going past it. Some of my tolerance for the steam length is because Conway does a pretty good job with Tracy's complete lack of experience, for all she's by far the older partner.
3.75 stars, this is a short hea that seemed ti grab you right away. I'm normally not a fan of age gap, but this was done well. The mcs seem to gel even though they are worlds apart in their life journeys. Give this a go.
Loved the premise and the story wasn't bad but it never really took off for me. Not quite sure why but neither character was 'important to me. Still good.
This was a great book for a coming out story for an older woman with a struggling career in the music industry. Reluctant to make changes need but did and love struck Tracy with a bang!
Tracy McCoy hasn’t released a new album in 5 years. She’s blocked & can’t get the words out. Her manager advises her to try co-writing with successful young songwriter Payton Edwards to try to get the juices flowing again. Tracy goes to stay with Payton in her vacation cabin & the two women get a lot more than they bargained for. The chemistry & connection in this book is beautiful. Don’t delay reading this.
Songwriter Payton cowrites a song with her long time crush, country star Tracy and sparks fly. They met thanks to Tracy's agent to help with writers block and they got more than they sign for.
I liked the MC's chemistry, the sex scends were steamy and just a little bit of angst. You can see the character development in both the MC and as a couple.
This was the first book I read by this author and I’m blown away. It was such a sweet story. Normally I don’t go for age gap romances, but I loved this one! I’ll definitely read more books by this author.
I had never heard of this author before I got this book but the summary was intriguing. And I'm so glad I did! This is a wonderful story about love and being true to yourself the second time around. Both Payton and Taylor are such caring, emotional women. To see their relationship evolve was a wonderful thing. I can't wait to see what other stories this author has in store for us!
This book checks all the required boxes for a romance novel! It is sweet, very sexy and has a happy ending. The only way it could have been any better was if we had gotten an even longer glimpse of their life together but ending was still GREAT! BUY IT YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
I totally loved this book. It has all the elements for a great HEA! Tracy was a singer in semi retirement because of writers block for the past five years. Payton was an out and proud songwriter. They both have the same manager who wants them both to collaborate in writing songs for Tracy’s upcoming album. They meet in Payton’s magical cabin in Colorado. From that first night on, their Chemistry was off the charts. Good plot, great characters overall, great story!
Tracy had been in a love less marriage for twenty years and with her divorce she decided to out on her own. But best laid plans do not pan out, she could not think of the words. Payton is a song writer for many singers and the two ladies meet. What follows is a start for both and coming out for one of them. Follow along while the two ladies make a big decision. Firing the homophobic manager and finding a new generation of listeners! Enjoy!
Second Time Around is a sweet age-gap romance set in the closeted world of country music. It’s really well written, with an enjoyable low angst plot. There is an honesty to Laura Conway’s writing that is really engaging and I found it hard to put down.
I really loved this story. It's a really sweet love story. It's a dream come true story. It's a second chance story, and it's a coming-out later in life story. And I felt like it wasn't nearly long enough. That being said, Laura Conway doesn't waste her words. That’s very enjoyable in itself. Read this book, you won't regret it.
This is a cute romance between Tracey and Payton as they collaborate on Payton's return album. The two women write beautiful music as their hearts fall in love.
How awesome would it be to get to work with your idol? That's what happens to Payton, the famous songwriter. Tracy is a famous singer who's been hiding her true self and is suffering from a writer's block..
When they are brought together, sparks fly, and they write amazing songs together.
The reluctant coworkers both find their dream come true. Recommended for anyone looking for a sweet romance.
A very romantic and beautiful story about second chances in love and second opportunities in life. Nice dialogues, intense moments and very likeable characters. I have become a huge fan of Laura’s Conway books as are romantic and you can travel with them as a reader.
This book had a great rhythm and flow to it which was perfect for a story about the music biz. I love music and this story captured me from the very beginning. A country music star, Tracy McCoy hasn't released an album in five years. She's at a real impasse with writing new songs so her manager sets her up with Payton, a young song writer who has written for many stars, hoping to restart her career.
This story is so good. Unbeknownst to Tracy, Payton has had a crush on her for the past ten years. They did fall for each other fairly fast, but the characters were likeable and believable. It was interesting how they collaborated on the music and lyrics - a fun insight into the music business. Of course there's some spice, Tracy found her muse and the epilogue was top notch! I enjoyed every bit of this book. Brava, Laura!
Laura Conway has written an inspiring, romantic tale about Tracy, a nearly 40-year-old successful singer songwriter who’s been out of the spotlight for a few years.
Ready to revive her career, Tracy’s been trying to create a slate of new songs for a new album. But a bad case of writer’s block is preventing her from conceiving the tunes and lyrics she needs to reengage her existing fans and attract new ones.
Her manager Noah urges Tracy to co-write with his client Payton, who already at 25 was enjoying a stellar songwriting career, albeit offstage. Payton had made the deliberate choice not to perform her own songs in order to live her life authentically as an out lesbian.
4 stars. A very sweet and romantic read. A popular country artist and a successful songwriter work together and fall in love. This ticked all of my boxes. Closeted famous person and age gap yes please. It’s well written and so swoony. I liked the characters a lot. Tracy and Payton had great chemistry and yes they fall into bed really quickly but I didn’t mind. It was romantic and just a very cozy read.
Not a unique trope for a romance but a good read anyway. I would have happily given this story four stars but for the many typos. It is a shame that the enjoyment of a good book can be because of missed words that turn the readers attention from the story and more to the writing technique.
I really don’t understand how so many people liked this book. It felt so bare-bones and in need of some editing. The third and fourth fifths (sorry can’t think of a better way to describe it) of this book were much better than the beginning and abrupt end. I guess I would compare this to a mediocre Hallmark movie- it’s not terrible but it just barely holds your attention.
This was such an enjoyable book. It came at a time I had read some “ not so interesting” books. Laura Conway developed a fun spicy story. This was totally believable has good humor and interesting insights into the music industry. Highly recommend!
Laura Conway has created two wonderful main characters. Even though there is a fifteen year age difference between Payton and Tracy, you know they are meant to be together. Their love story will keep you reading until the end!