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My Second Time Around
Ava Zajaczkowski is no stranger to tragedy. After being orphaned as a teenager, her marriage of ten years sadly disintegrated before her eyes. Her last remaining relative, her beloved Aunt Virginia, shockingly dies of a sudden heart attack leaving Ava devastated and alone.
With Aunt Virginia’s death comes an opportunity, as her last remaining relative, Ava is gifted her aunt’s entire estate, a huge Victorian mansion in the center of Syracuse, New York.
With the help of her Aunt Virginia’s best friend Amber and her daughter Fiona, Ava is given a built-in support system and a new job.
This is Ava’s fresh start, a chance to get things right, or is it? She ordinarily makes friends so easily, but at every turn Ava is being treated rather strangely. The women at the gym seem to have an immediate grudge against her. Her coworkers act strangely. Mysterious packages start showing up at her house. She feels like she is being watched. She begins to suspect there is more to Aunt Ginny’s death than meets the eye.
The only place that Ava seems to be getting it right is on the romance front. At work Ava is swept off her feet by the charming Coal Blake who pulls her into a whirlwind romance to rival any Cinderella story. He promises to help her sort out the mystery of Aunt Virginia’s death and the odd happenings, but do second chances at happiness really exist?
With Aunt Virginia’s death comes an opportunity, as her last remaining relative, Ava is gifted her aunt’s entire estate, a huge Victorian mansion in the center of Syracuse, New York.
With the help of her Aunt Virginia’s best friend Amber and her daughter Fiona, Ava is given a built-in support system and a new job.
This is Ava’s fresh start, a chance to get things right, or is it? She ordinarily makes friends so easily, but at every turn Ava is being treated rather strangely. The women at the gym seem to have an immediate grudge against her. Her coworkers act strangely. Mysterious packages start showing up at her house. She feels like she is being watched. She begins to suspect there is more to Aunt Ginny’s death than meets the eye.
The only place that Ava seems to be getting it right is on the romance front. At work Ava is swept off her feet by the charming Coal Blake who pulls her into a whirlwind romance to rival any Cinderella story. He promises to help her sort out the mystery of Aunt Virginia’s death and the odd happenings, but do second chances at happiness really exist?
523 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 25, 2022
Needs to be proofed before publishing!
Could have been a good story, though not really believable in places (Coal just had a feeling the picture was in linen closet, under towels!). Way too many mistakes & misspelled words, i.e.: Coal was her FINANCE, they were in the attic when Ava turned to exit from the BASEMENT, got names mixed up MANY times, Amber was just a little girl in picture with her daughter, etc, etc, etc! You should find someone to edit & proof your next book if another one is written. Hard to believe the author is an educator!
Could have been a good story, though not really believable in places (Coal just had a feeling the picture was in linen closet, under towels!). Way too many mistakes & misspelled words, i.e.: Coal was her FINANCE, they were in the attic when Ava turned to exit from the BASEMENT, got names mixed up MANY times, Amber was just a little girl in picture with her daughter, etc, etc, etc! You should find someone to edit & proof your next book if another one is written. Hard to believe the author is an educator!
April 13, 2022
Jennifer Perkins really know how to tell a story. This book keeps you interested from the beginning. I read this book in 2 days.
From the beginning you really hope the new "love interest" is a good as he appears to be. And you keep saying, I hope he's not the problem. But I won't tell you here how it turns out . you really should read it.
I really enjoyed this book. Love a mystery where you are never quite sure who the "bad" guy is.
Every new character appears to be a suspect. In the end, the one person whom I though was involved in some way, was! But I loved the surprise ending.
I'm looking forward to her next book.
From the beginning you really hope the new "love interest" is a good as he appears to be. And you keep saying, I hope he's not the problem. But I won't tell you here how it turns out . you really should read it.
I really enjoyed this book. Love a mystery where you are never quite sure who the "bad" guy is.
Every new character appears to be a suspect. In the end, the one person whom I though was involved in some way, was! But I loved the surprise ending.
I'm looking forward to her next book.
March 27, 2022
Wowsy Wow!!
I was completely immersed in this book. Can’t put it down!!
I suspected everyone and trusted no one!
And then no one was who you thought they were. Nothing is what you expect and then that happens again. And when you think it’s solved ….. nope - it happens again!
Perkins character development was perfect. It’s like you know the characters and then you worry about them and you hate some of them!
And I loved being wrong about what I thought was right! You will never see the ending coming!
I was completely immersed in this book. Can’t put it down!!
I suspected everyone and trusted no one!
And then no one was who you thought they were. Nothing is what you expect and then that happens again. And when you think it’s solved ….. nope - it happens again!
Perkins character development was perfect. It’s like you know the characters and then you worry about them and you hate some of them!
And I loved being wrong about what I thought was right! You will never see the ending coming!
March 20, 2022
Ava dives into her new life headfirst. Her transition from the old to the new seams effortless, at first... Events start to unfold which make her question everything. You are engaged from start to finish with this story. The ending will leave you speechless! A definite must-read!
March 30, 2022
It's been two days since I finished reading this book and I still can't think of the words to explain my feelings.
Did I enjoy it? Yes
Could I put it down? No Way
Do I recommend it? Absolutely
It was suspenseful, fast-paced and unpredictable. The story and plot kept me engaged. After a failed marriage, Ava is looking forward to starting over. She moved into her late Aunt Virginia's house, started a new job and is beginning to settle in and make new friends. Along comes Cole Blake.. Ava's new love interest who is everything she's ever wanted in a significant other. Things couldn't be better for Ava until... she starts receiving strange, creepy packages in the mail and uncovers alarming letters that were sent to her aunt before she died.
Ava starts investigating Aunt Virginia's past and discovers that she had some secrets of her own that may have led to her death. Ava sets to search for the truth, but tracking down what really happened to Aunt Virginia has become a mission with so many twists and turns and red-herrings you are taken on a page turning mission until the surprise ending.
This book keeps you intrigued and guessing until the end. Love this author and looking forward to her next book. Happy reading!
Did I enjoy it? Yes
Could I put it down? No Way
Do I recommend it? Absolutely
It was suspenseful, fast-paced and unpredictable. The story and plot kept me engaged. After a failed marriage, Ava is looking forward to starting over. She moved into her late Aunt Virginia's house, started a new job and is beginning to settle in and make new friends. Along comes Cole Blake.. Ava's new love interest who is everything she's ever wanted in a significant other. Things couldn't be better for Ava until... she starts receiving strange, creepy packages in the mail and uncovers alarming letters that were sent to her aunt before she died.
Ava starts investigating Aunt Virginia's past and discovers that she had some secrets of her own that may have led to her death. Ava sets to search for the truth, but tracking down what really happened to Aunt Virginia has become a mission with so many twists and turns and red-herrings you are taken on a page turning mission until the surprise ending.
This book keeps you intrigued and guessing until the end. Love this author and looking forward to her next book. Happy reading!
January 24, 2023
I really cannot recommend this book. I love reading well written books, when I can get immersed in the story line and the characters. Where I can feel their pain and enjoy their pleasure, and on occasions, actually read such a good book that I am sorry it has come to an end. Sadly this book evoked more annoyance than pleasure for me, because I feel it is SO badly written. I got so fed up with the author describing what the main character wore when she went for a run (pants colour, sports bra, top, hat, trainers etc), what she wore going to work, what her friends were wearing, what her boyfriend was wearing, what her dance outfit was like, etc etc. Grr. I even said ‘oh shut up’ out loud on one occasion when yet another running outfit was described. It is a shame because the plot was not bad. It had twists in it, but the writing was so immature, and so poor from a grammatical standpoint.
Long and inappropriate words were used to fill up space and that annoyed me too because the meaning of those words did not fit their use in the text. For example, would a police officer actually say, when providing an update to the main character, ‘for your edification …..’ ? I think you should get the drift that I did not enjoy this author’s writing style and I don’t think that anyone above their early 20’s could find this a good read.
Long and inappropriate words were used to fill up space and that annoyed me too because the meaning of those words did not fit their use in the text. For example, would a police officer actually say, when providing an update to the main character, ‘for your edification …..’ ? I think you should get the drift that I did not enjoy this author’s writing style and I don’t think that anyone above their early 20’s could find this a good read.
June 9, 2022
Just wow! I started this novel not knowing what to expect from anyone. From the very first chapter, there is mystery and excitement.
For half of the book, I hope the love interest is as good as he seems to be as I’m very suspicious of him. As time goes on, I become suspicious of each and every character that Ava comes in contact with. Were they really friends or did they have malicious intent for Ava? Throughout the difficulties Ava experiences, she stays an optimistic and strong character.
The ending caught me entirely by surprise. Can I just say, PLOT TWISTS!!!
I’m thoroughly impressed with J.C. Perkins and I am very excited to see what comes next!
For half of the book, I hope the love interest is as good as he seems to be as I’m very suspicious of him. As time goes on, I become suspicious of each and every character that Ava comes in contact with. Were they really friends or did they have malicious intent for Ava? Throughout the difficulties Ava experiences, she stays an optimistic and strong character.
The ending caught me entirely by surprise. Can I just say, PLOT TWISTS!!!
I’m thoroughly impressed with J.C. Perkins and I am very excited to see what comes next!
August 31, 2022
Jennifer is an amazing story teller! The characters are well developed and you easily get wrapped up in their lives and the drama. The story keeps you guessing until the very end! No spoilers!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews