The Second Time We Met

by Frances Mensah Williams

With another chance at love, what could possibly go wrong?

Recovering from heartbreak, unlucky-in-love events manager Cara has vowed to avoid relationships. That is until fate throws her into the path of handsome and kind Henry, who is worlds apart from the men she’s dated before. Unfortunately, this encounter is short-lived when Cara misses her coach home—and with it, any chance of seeing him again.

But fate is not finished with the mismatched couple. When Cara quite literally bumps into Henry a second time at a work event, the run-in leaves them with feelings instead of bruises, and they can’t wait another day before seeing each other again. Yet it soon becomes clear how deeply different their worlds are: Cara’s drama-filled African and Caribbean family couldn’t be further from Henry’s family of wealthy lords and ladies.

With interfering relatives, problem friends, and an inconvenient ex-boyfriend attempting a comeback, everything seems stacked against the two new lovebirds. This is no straightforward love story—Cara and Henry will have to get creative with romance if they stand any chance of beating the odds to win their happy ever after.

The Second Time We Met is a hilarious and heartwarming romance, perfect for anyone who believes in second chances.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Contemporary

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2022

About the author

Born in Ghana, Frances spent her early childhood between the USA, Austria and Ghana before settling in the UK. After building her career in London working in Human Resources Management for international companies, she moved to Ghana where she worked for several years before setting up Interims for Development, an award-winning London-based consultancy to manage skills and human resources development projects across Africa. She is also the Managing Editor of ReConnect Africa.com, an online careers and business publication for the African diaspora and works as an Executive Coach.

Reviews

[b.andherbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Women's fic in a rom com wrapper, with the majority of the vast plot points focusing on Cara's nosy, annoying, and also sort of shitty and selfish friends and family. With tinges of Bridget Jones' Diary with a fish out of water romance (he's a rich, titled, and white English aristo), plus a sort of love triangle and SECRETS about Cara's past breakup with the former love of her life and her love interest's own secret he just "doesn't want to talk about," this all felt pieced together. The premise, "the second time we met" is completely resolved after the missed connection in the prologue and Chapter 1 when they've already reconnected. This is more of a let's try to make this work story with a late third act breakup versus a romance.

Ugh. Also, there's unfortunate Harry Potter references, and a whole thing with a friend's aspiring music career getting derailed by legal woes, and more. I was bored, sorry. This is not a b book, but I listened to it for work. The narrator was charming and did a great job on the voices, and may make the book for those who go through audio at a quick clip.

SPOILERS BELOW, stop here if you don't want to know.

.
.


MY BIGGEST annoyance were the 'secrets' as we are in Cara's POV and she's determined to not discuss at all why she and her ex Nick broke up (and why she was so destroyed by it). It turns out SPOILER that he wanted her to faff off and roam the world, she wanted to settle down, and then she told him she had gotten pregnant and he left, after asking her to get an abortion (which she refused). and then she had a miscarriage, which left her with massive depression. She refused to tell anyone, and has lived with this while her family and friends get pushing her to get back with the ex.

Also, I'm sorry but a white man, THE LOVE INTEREST, telling Cara his secret is (a Black woman second gen immigrant) that his life is ALSO SO HARD because he had an accident that left him paralyzed for a few months, that upset him so he talked about ending his life because of it, didn't sit right with me.

Why these secrets? Overall the tone was silly and campy, and then these were like big, traumatic things that just felt off tonally.

Anyway, not for me. The writing was lovely. The pacing was poor and the topics were not for me.

[driza where the wallflowers grow❀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️
I was so intrigued and looking so forward for this second chance warm cute and fluffy read. But this was unfortunately was not it. Don’t get me wrong there were sweet moments but I found myself cringing majority of the time. I’ve never been a fan of instant love or the fact that I pretty much knew what was going to happen next. Sadly that’s where this book has led me to.

[Caroll-Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars

Honestly I expected more from this, sure it‘s „just a romance“ novel but it lacked depth, in the characters as well as in the story itself. For what it was it could be shorter than it actually is. You wouldn‘t have needed that many pages for how much depth was missing from everything. Was it the worst book ever? No but it could‘ve been so much more with a little more to everything. It was so cliché but not good enough to overlook that.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise was good but this whole book was just really awkward. None of the characters felt believable or natural. There was no real romance, just a bunch of weird encounters. Cara had rude entitled selfish friends and family. I just felt bad for her.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

I did not enjoy this story very much because it felt packed with over-used stereotypes. It starts off as a classic girl-meets-boy story and when this initial romantic connection is pulled apart by life, fate happens to cross the paths of Henry and Cara once more.

[Emily Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Second Time We Met
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.2
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook/ Audiobook
Date Published: 8/1/22
Author: Frances Mensah Williams
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 344
GR: 3.82

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased. *I obtained the audiobook through KU for review.

Synopsis: Recovering from heartbreak, unlucky-in-love events manager Cara has vowed to avoid relationships. Then she meets Henry, unfortunately, this encounter is short-lived, doubtful she will see him again. When Cara quite literally bumps into Henry a second time at a work event, the run-in leaves them with feelings instead of bruises. Yet it soon becomes clear how deeply different their worlds are: Cara grew up poor while Henry had the best of everything. Cara and Henry will have to get creative with romance if they stand any chance of beating the odds to win they’re happy ever after.

My Thoughts: This was such a cute, quick story that I very much adored! The chapters are short, which makes stopping easier. The story is narrated by Cara, from her POV. Williams has a way of blending humor into the book that makes you laugh out loud. Meet the same man twice + your ex shows back up + interfering family = a quirky sweet romance! The narrator was amazing, you could feel what the characters felt and you went along Cara’s journey. The characters are well developed, with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and just worked really well for this story. The author’s writing style was complex, humorous, swoony, and kept me engaged throughout the story. This book is already out and on audiobook, a quick listen, I would highly recommend!!!

[LaShawn Wiltz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the premise of the book.

But it was just ok.

I think its because I wanted more backstory of HOW their first date went, HOW they developed feelings for each other in those three weeks that are just mentioned in the book.
It's like we got no development of the relationship on page and I felt cheated and it didn't make me feel invested in the characters at all.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own. '

[Janesa Townsend · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at pg 174

I hate to not finish. I even found the audiobook on KU and I don’t know which was worst the physical or audio. It was missing the connection. It’s like Cara meets Henry(instant love) they part, run into each other and then all of a sudden they’re in a full relationship. No backstory no character development. I was so lost on what was going on.

[Marietere T · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I am gonna say I loved Cara and Henry. This story is about two people that didn't get a chance to know each other the first time, but casually got a second chance to meet and fall in love. If only being in love was so easy and perfect. This story is mostly about Cara figuring out how her life will click with Henry's. It's really cute and a fun read.

3.5 stars.

[Ames · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at 18% - couldnt get into it. it seemed like a fun concept but just not really my cup of tea

[Anni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sweet second chance, opposites attract romance… for the most part. Quite multicultural, with a blended English and Ghanaian family (the author being from Ghana, herself).

A shame about how much the main character’s ex kept popping up, making it such a love triangle. Would have been a great storyline, if he’d only appeared once, they’d had their conversation and he disappeared, but he basically became a thorn in the reader’s (and the main character’s) side, sticking in there.

If it weren’t for Ryan - or was it Bryan? I couldn’t tell because the narrator seemed to say it 50/50! - I would have rated this so much higher, because the love story was going so well, and the families and side characters were great.

Narrator did the accent changes great, but would have been nice if she said Ryan/Bryan the same way each time. I still don’t know what his name actually was!

3-star only because Ryan/Bryan character utterly ruined it for me!

[Cassondra Perea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but was sadly let down.

It is hard to explain as I felt that the book dragged on a times, but then also moved too quickly without enough build up. In my honest opinion if this book had been a duo or trio I would have loved it.

In addition, too many characters were introduced with storylines that were quickly resolved or left open ended. What happens with Rosie and the Spaniel? Did the grandmothers staying under one roof turn out ok? Did Ozzy and Imogen’s relationship continue? All of these questions saddened me as I wanted to dive deeper into the world of Cara and Henry.

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and Amazon Publishing UK/ Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Vittoria's Readings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Frances Mensah Williams for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The second time we met is a sweet romance with instant love plot and despite that I liked it.
The first part of the book was perhaps a bit boring but when the story got going I finished it in a few hours.

Cara has a sad past marked by her breakup with her ex Ryan. However, he seems to find happiness again when he meets the charming lawyer Henry.
But when Cara’s ex returns to London after being
disappeared for three years, things only get worse.
Will the protagonist be able to understand who she really loves?

I gave the book 3 stars because I didn't find it particularly innovative, but still I recommend it to those who want to read a sweet love story.

[P.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a few words: this didn't really capture my interest until near the end. I found the theme (an inter-racial relationship with a class divide) rather tired, and the characters behaved like teenagers despite being described as aged around thirty - hard to believe.

Three and a half stars, rounded only because the last 20% felt much better written than the rest.

Would I read it again? No.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best bit about this was wondering if the Nightingale-Grant family was a nod to Rivers of London. This hits several beats that really piss me off - trailing "What Ryan did" for 2/3 of the story, lack of communication on both sides, never really showing WHY the main couple should be together. And Cara is tedious and juvenile.

[ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 31% (page 100)

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I am just quite bored. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but the characters don’t have much depth, and the relationship felt really rushed. The entire first three weeks of their relationship are just skipped over so we get none of the cute moments or development of Cara and Henry actually starting their relationship. I don't know about anyone else but when I'm reading a romance book, that is one of my favourite parts, and as I said before it makes the romance feel a bit like it just came up out of nowhere.
I probably could have kept reading, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. Having checked some other reviews to see if it was worth sticking around, it seems as though boredom was a relatively common theme.

[Nock Leighton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Bridget jones type book except very little focus on the relationship and more on friends and family drama. I kept thinking this is more like a soap opera than a book where you’re waiting for the drama to unfold except it didn’t happen.

[Moni · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10%
1/5
Moved way too slow, confusing, nah.

[Ildikó Connell · Rating 2 out of 5]

sadly quite boring

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

This was good. Funny and heartwarming. I knew it was more to the Ryan story. 3 years. Imogen needed to be slapped. I will definitely read something else by this author.

[Leila Denning · Rating 1 out of 5]

a bit iffy

Lacking emotional depth, the story was adequate but I never really had empathy with the, albeit charming, characters. I think a good bit of editing is in order

[Andrea ☾ [is inconsistently consistant] · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️

This book was not for me.

From the writing and the pacing to the story itself, this book did not engage me at all. The characters felt immature, judgemental, and unreasonable most of the time and their inability to talk to one another was incredibly frustrating. The protagonist, Cara, reads like a teenager, unable to think or feel for herself unless it’s to prove just how emotionally stunted she is. I also believe the blurb and title to be a bit misleading. – The second time they meet happens within the first two chapters of the book. It’s just a tiny detail, drowned within a relationship that, to be completely honest, feels like a background storyline within the mess that is Cara’s life problems. Honestly, the only reason I’m rounding up to two stars is because at least it tries to portray some of the difficulties inter-racial couples face, especially when they’re also part of so blatantly different social classes and cultures.

*Thank you so much Net Galley for the ARC*

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sat down the morning after the night before having finished the book and really couldn't remember much about it at all.

I wanted to like it and think it has potential but when I think of some of the great literary classics there must be sitting gathering dust on an authors shelf because a publisher hasn't taken it up, and then I read a book like this, it makes me wonder what these publishers believe we want to read.

It's easy, it's predictable and would make a good episode for a soap opera.

[Rasheedat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nearly DNF

I bought this book and was excited to read it because it had good reviews. I guess maybe the writing style isn't for me. I thought this was a love story (and it kinda is) but there was wayyy too much faffle about loads of characters that really didn't add to the main storyline.

[Ms Jeni Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet? Or saccharine?

It was kind of a sweet story, but very predictable. I also found it weirdly immature, as if it were written by a precocious teenager, so much so that it was literally shocking when it emerged that the central character, Cara, was meant to be thirty. I'd have been less surprised if she was supposed to be thirteen.

[Amanda Cotroneo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Being the fixer had become what she was known for, but what no one, Cara included, had realized was that beneath the capable exterior was a little girl living in fear of life moving beyond her control and terrified of a day when there would be a problem she couldn’t handle."

From the hilarious family antics to the HEA we all came for, this story had everything I was searching for and more. Our MC, Cara, is incredibly relatable, witty, and interesting. I loved the support systems she and Henry had in their messy but loving families and friends, loved the character development and growth, and especially loved how the author balanced a funny second-chance romance with a deeper storyline. This was my first by Frances Mensah Williams, but I'm already eager for more!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

First we meet two strangers in the first chapter. Fast forward to chapter two and their already in a relationship. What the actual heavens? Why would you skip out on all that romance? I don’t want to see that. I want to see the build up that’s the point in these romance novels you know?

The novel didn’t really have that spark for me. There wasn’t much personality in the characters to make me excited about it.

[Ulee ☄︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not pulling me in. The book is about Cara, who after a devastating break up, was forced to go to an event where she meets Henry. They had instant attraction, but because of bad luck, they couldn’t make anything of it and didn’t see each other for months. That is until one day, they meet again at another event. They slowly learn about each other’s worlds and try to see if they can make it work between them.

That’s it. No high stakes, no ambition toward achieving something. No big event to prepare for towards the end of the book. It doesn't have a plot. Cara doesn't have a goal or task she is trying to achieve. Henry isn't trying to win Cara’s heart. They are just dating and we follow Cara around as life happens. It almost feels like a vlog. I don't know why there is a subplot about the music deal. There is also a side quest about the grandmas. I got bored when we visited her event planning office.

I don't feel the love and romance in this relationship. It's not an emotional relationship. The second they met, he threw out a pick up line and she fell for it. For someone who swore off love for 3 years, she fell for it so quickly. Seeing how the title of the book is about them having a second chance encounter, I expected there to be a big build up during their first meeting. I mean pages and pages of them getting to know each other, and then something happens that caused them to split up suddenly. Then they both go on with life thinking about each other and just when they are about to forget each other, they meet again. Instead, they met, split up, and meet again all within a few pages ANNNDDD they are in a full on relationship. There was no courting phase. I don’t know what Henry’s personality is like, he seems so flat and a “perfect” boyfriend. All the side quests seem to exist just to make Henry look amazing.

So at this point I thought the book would be about the family dynamics. She is from the inner city and from modest means and he is from an estate and aristocracy. Their families will meet and not get along well, or not like the partner. It’s mentioned, but it’s not really a problem. They try to make it a problem later on, but it feels made up. It doesn’t feel organic based on everything that happened and the little bumps of personality that is shown in the characters .

So now lets talk about the accents. I listened to the audio book.
The majority of the cast is British and the narrator is British, so those accents were fine, at least to my ears. Other cast members were Jamaican, Ghanian, Irish, Spanish, and Bajan (from Barbados).

The narrator can NOT do a Bajan accent.

Ghanaian accent, yes
Jamaican accent, passable
Irish accent, sure
Spanish, accent, sure
Bajan accent, NOPE

Her Bajan accent sounds like a generic West Indian accent and it kept throwing me off. Bajan accents have sing-songy sound that sounds amazing and this wasn’t it. If anything, she should have mixed the Irish accent with the Jamaican accent to get closer to Bajan. Some Irish accents have a sing-songy quality to them. They both pronounce their Rs in a similar way when the Rs are next to vowels.

It’s an okay story. The big reveal at the end was touching, but I wanted this to be better. I almost DNFed it, but because it was an audiobook, I just increased the speed and took it like a champ. I think some of my upset was because I thought it was a romance book and it was labeled as a romantic comedy. In actuality, it’s more like women’s literature.

[Céline · Rating 2 out of 5]

{Livre lu en anglais}

Oh mais quelle déception ! J’ai vraiment essayé d'apprécier ce livre, vraiment, vraiment, vraiment !

Quelques mots sur l’histoire : Cara rencontre Henry lors d’un événement quelque temps avant le présent du roman. Immédiatement, elle se sent toute chose en sa présence et espère sincèrement le revoir le soir même. Manque de chance ils se ratent de peu… Un peu après dans le futur (et le présent du roman), Cara travaille dans une agence événementielle et tombe par hasard à nouveau sur Henry à un événement qu’elle organisait !!!! Waouh la probabilité que ça arrive dans la vraie est quasi nulle mais c’est pour ça que j’adore lire des romances 😊 

L’histoire aurait pu être mignonne et super jolie (après tout c’est une romance et j’ai besoin de divertissement), mais on se retrouve projeté plusieurs semaines après la rencontre sans savoir comment les deux personnages se sont retrouvés et ce qu’il s’est passé pour que cela fonctionne instantanément entre eux. Ils ont aussi visiblement passés plusieurs semaines ensemble, pratiquement coupés du monde sans jamais discuter de leurs familles respectives ou ami•e•s. Dommage. Ça fait perdre en crédibilité au livre, je trouve.

Par la suite, les chapitres assez longs tout en n’apportant que peu d’éléments intéressants pour le lecteur. Les personnages ne sont suffisamment pas assez décrits à mon goût (surtout quand j’arrive au chapitre 6).

Ça aurait pu être un excellent livre, surtout au vu des personnages : Cara vient d’une famille recomposée pas forcément très riche, elle est noire et travaille dans la communication. Tandis que Henry est blanc, riche, vient d’une famille d’aristocrates anglais et est avocat.

Mais ce n’était pas fait pour moi et c’est pas grave !

Je remercie NetGalley et Amazon Publishing UK / Lake Union Publishing de m’avoir permis de lire ce livre ✨

[annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

they meet for the first time -> meet again and become infatuated-> after three weeks, meet her parents/ week after, no contact -> meet his parents -> ruin his parent’s prized possession -> brother gives sister number -> break up -> alcoholism and then reunite

is it bad that i was more interested in the side characters than the main romance? henry and cara are great and all but what really charmed me was the description about cara’s culture and upbringing and I would love a book focusing on that.

i think there is potential for more books explore side characters briefly mentioned as the focus really was henry and cara’s romance and the others were just thrown in for flavour.

i felt that henry and cara’s romance was quite cute but i wasn’t personally invested in it. perhaps it was because we had no reason to invest in it due to the frequent time skips and the fact that we didn’t really see the relationship grow. after meeting for the second time, they were basically obsessed with each other and moved very very fast. after a month, they had already met each other’s parents? that seems awfully quick. plus the fact that they had awful communication, there wasn’t a lot of reason to root for each other. i don’t even think that henry knew that ryan, cara’s on and off ex of twelve years, kissed her while they were still together.

my favourite character of them all was uncle julio. his wild antics really made the book a delightful read. i would love a short story or collection of his wild antics. and exactly why does paula insist on hiring him even though he constantly messes things up? and why is paula like dave so much?

the mother-daughter relationship dynamics between cara & bev and fleur & isobel was explored quite well. through interaction and interaction, i was really rooting for them all.