What do you think?
Rate this book
The Second Half
AVAILABLE NOW!
THE SECOND HALF, Billy’s second chance at love.
She’s a Hollywood celebrity, starring on the big screen.
He’s an ordinary doctor, delivering babies.
They live in two different universes.
They absolutely don’t fit…until they must.
Willa “Billy” Conway is a superstar. An actress since she abandoned her family’s political aspirations for her, Billy is still relevant at forty and counting. Her work is her life partner and baby, but she secretly wants a family of her own.
Callum “Cal” Rand is a high-risk obstetrician. A doctor who outran a lousy childhood, Cal thrives on bringing happiness into others’ lives. He works hard but hasn’t found love for himself.
When Billy Conway walks into Dr. Rand’s office, neither expects sparks to ignite with the most unusual suspect—he’s her sister-in-law’s doctor, and she’s the star of his dreams.
Their lives don’t work together, yet they squeeze one another into a bicoastal affair.
It’s not working until biology forces it to—when Cal is called in for the most important patient of his career, he wants more than just the title of “Baby Daddy.”
Can Billy relinquish some control and learn to trust in the man who cares for her more than only as her physician?
Will this unlikely pair find their own happily ever after in the second half?
THE SECOND HALF, Billy’s second chance at love.
She’s a Hollywood celebrity, starring on the big screen.
He’s an ordinary doctor, delivering babies.
They live in two different universes.
They absolutely don’t fit…until they must.
Willa “Billy” Conway is a superstar. An actress since she abandoned her family’s political aspirations for her, Billy is still relevant at forty and counting. Her work is her life partner and baby, but she secretly wants a family of her own.
Callum “Cal” Rand is a high-risk obstetrician. A doctor who outran a lousy childhood, Cal thrives on bringing happiness into others’ lives. He works hard but hasn’t found love for himself.
When Billy Conway walks into Dr. Rand’s office, neither expects sparks to ignite with the most unusual suspect—he’s her sister-in-law’s doctor, and she’s the star of his dreams.
Their lives don’t work together, yet they squeeze one another into a bicoastal affair.
It’s not working until biology forces it to—when Cal is called in for the most important patient of his career, he wants more than just the title of “Baby Daddy.”
Can Billy relinquish some control and learn to trust in the man who cares for her more than only as her physician?
Will this unlikely pair find their own happily ever after in the second half?
Unknown Binding
14 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Blaufeld
27 books939 followersA recent poll of her readers described Rachel Blaufeld as insightful, generous, articulate, and spunky. Originally a clinical social worker, Rachel creates broken yet redeeming characters. She’s been known to turn up the angst like cranking up the heat in the dead of winter. A devout coffee drinker and doughnut eater, Rachel spends way too many hours in local coffee shops, downing the aforementioned goodies while she plots her ideas.
As a side note, Blaufeld, also a long-time blogger and an advocate of woman-run anything, is fearless about sharing her opinion. She captured the ears of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog, BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and running a business, often at the same time. To her, work/life/family balance is an urban legend, but she does her best. Rachel has also blogged for The Huffington Post and Modern Mom. Most recently, her insights can be found in USA TODAY Happy Ever After Blog, where she shares conversations at “In Bed with a Romance Author.”
Rachel lives around the corner from her childhood home in Pennsylvania with her family and two beagles. When she isn’t writing, she can be found courtside, tweeting about hoops as her son plays, or walking around the house wearing earplugs while her other son, the drummer, bangs away.
Connect here 👇🏻
Website: https://www.rachelblaufeld.com
Newsletter: https://www.rachelblaufeld.com/signup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelblaufe...
Facebook Private Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Tunne...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelblaufeld
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rache...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelblauf...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Blaufeld...
As a side note, Blaufeld, also a long-time blogger and an advocate of woman-run anything, is fearless about sharing her opinion. She captured the ears of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog, BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and running a business, often at the same time. To her, work/life/family balance is an urban legend, but she does her best. Rachel has also blogged for The Huffington Post and Modern Mom. Most recently, her insights can be found in USA TODAY Happy Ever After Blog, where she shares conversations at “In Bed with a Romance Author.”
Rachel lives around the corner from her childhood home in Pennsylvania with her family and two beagles. When she isn’t writing, she can be found courtside, tweeting about hoops as her son plays, or walking around the house wearing earplugs while her other son, the drummer, bangs away.
Connect here 👇🏻
Website: https://www.rachelblaufeld.com
Newsletter: https://www.rachelblaufeld.com/signup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelblaufe...
Facebook Private Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Tunne...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelblaufeld
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rache...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelblauf...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Blaufeld...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 20, 2023
Quick Summary: A Notting Hill-esque love story
My Review: The Second Half by Rachel Blaufeld was a sweet, moving, problematic romance between a woman who was a Hollywood movie star and a man who was a high risk obstetrician.
About the Book: This women's fiction romance was about two people who were so different yet shared a longing for something more. When their paths crossed, they couldn't stop themselves from merging. Even as internal and external challenges hindered their relationship, the longing for each other remained.
My Final Say: I couldn't put this book down. I was completely enraptured. The love story between Dr. Rand (Cal) and Billy (Willa) was beautifully complicated. I felt for both of them. I wanted them to find an easy love, but they didn't. It was messy. It struggled under the weight of life, family, responsibilities, and choices. Still, it was heart wrenching, in the best way. This couple's love story is one that I would not hesitate to revisit again and again.
Rating: 4.75/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Status/Level: 💞
Appreciation is extended to the publisher (Rachel Blaufeld Publishing) and to NetGalley. Thank you for providing access to a digital ARC of this work in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own thoughts and opinions.
My Review: The Second Half by Rachel Blaufeld was a sweet, moving, problematic romance between a woman who was a Hollywood movie star and a man who was a high risk obstetrician.
About the Book: This women's fiction romance was about two people who were so different yet shared a longing for something more. When their paths crossed, they couldn't stop themselves from merging. Even as internal and external challenges hindered their relationship, the longing for each other remained.
My Final Say: I couldn't put this book down. I was completely enraptured. The love story between Dr. Rand (Cal) and Billy (Willa) was beautifully complicated. I felt for both of them. I wanted them to find an easy love, but they didn't. It was messy. It struggled under the weight of life, family, responsibilities, and choices. Still, it was heart wrenching, in the best way. This couple's love story is one that I would not hesitate to revisit again and again.
Rating: 4.75/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Status/Level: 💞
Appreciation is extended to the publisher (Rachel Blaufeld Publishing) and to NetGalley. Thank you for providing access to a digital ARC of this work in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own thoughts and opinions.
September 5, 2023
I sometimes have the attention span of a toddler when it comes to reading. When I decided it was time I read The Second Half, I opened it up and discovered I had already started it and was three chapters in...with no recollection of having done so or what was going on at the start of chapter four.
This can’t be a good thing, I told myself. But I started back from the beginning. And promptly realized why it was so forgettable. Regardless, I continued on because there truly is a shortage of romance books written about the 40+ set.
Ultimately, there wasn’t anything I found objectionable about this story. The hero and heroine were both mature people who had a genuine interest in the other but lived on opposite coasts of the US. Add in the extra challenges of navigating a relationship when one person is famous and has paparazzi following all the time, and this could have been a dramatic love story.
Instead, there wasn’t much to the story other than the hero and heroine spending brief periods of time together in which they talk about how much they miss each other. Yet I felt not an ounce of their yearning.
There were also large jumps of time, and a good amount of telling vs showing. For example, the hero’s identity getting revealed - a huge source of contention that caused the heroine to push the hero away because of her concern over what the paparazzi will do to him - happened completely off page and was resolved and all over in a single paragraph. I'm not a fan of ridiculous, over-the-top drama, but some realistic turmoil is good. Please show it to me!
I wanted to like this one. Sadly, it just fell flat. Even with a plot twist (I saw coming from a mile away) that I LOVE in my romance stories, I finished this one feeling meh.
*thank you to NetGalley and Rachel Blaufeld Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review
This can’t be a good thing, I told myself. But I started back from the beginning. And promptly realized why it was so forgettable. Regardless, I continued on because there truly is a shortage of romance books written about the 40+ set.
Ultimately, there wasn’t anything I found objectionable about this story. The hero and heroine were both mature people who had a genuine interest in the other but lived on opposite coasts of the US. Add in the extra challenges of navigating a relationship when one person is famous and has paparazzi following all the time, and this could have been a dramatic love story.
Instead, there wasn’t much to the story other than the hero and heroine spending brief periods of time together in which they talk about how much they miss each other. Yet I felt not an ounce of their yearning.
There were also large jumps of time, and a good amount of telling vs showing. For example, the hero’s identity getting revealed - a huge source of contention that caused the heroine to push the hero away because of her concern over what the paparazzi will do to him - happened completely off page and was resolved and all over in a single paragraph. I'm not a fan of ridiculous, over-the-top drama, but some realistic turmoil is good. Please show it to me!
I wanted to like this one. Sadly, it just fell flat. Even with a plot twist (I saw coming from a mile away) that I LOVE in my romance stories, I finished this one feeling meh.
*thank you to NetGalley and Rachel Blaufeld Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review
May 30, 2023
The Second Half is first rate! A love story that doesn’t revolve around 20 something’s but does not feel old. I have anxiously been waiting for Billy and Cal’s story since they were introduced and Blaufeld did not disappoint. The love and angst are palpable. The supporting characters adding to the story in the best way. I am sad to be done reading.
June 6, 2023
I love this couple!
We met Willa aka Billy in the Back Nine, but this can be read as a standalone. She is Ford’s sister from said book. She’ Hollywood royalty and her career is her top priority and baby in life. When she meets Dr. Rand, who will be bringing her niece/nephew into the world, she is immediately drawn to him.
This couple will have to work through schedules and a bicoastal relationship. Her security detail alone would drive anyone away. But Cal is persistent and wants to see if she is worth the time and effort.
The sparks fly and these two will touch your heart in a way you didn’t think possible. I was cheering them on the entire way.
We met Willa aka Billy in the Back Nine, but this can be read as a standalone. She is Ford’s sister from said book. She’ Hollywood royalty and her career is her top priority and baby in life. When she meets Dr. Rand, who will be bringing her niece/nephew into the world, she is immediately drawn to him.
This couple will have to work through schedules and a bicoastal relationship. Her security detail alone would drive anyone away. But Cal is persistent and wants to see if she is worth the time and effort.
The sparks fly and these two will touch your heart in a way you didn’t think possible. I was cheering them on the entire way.
June 7, 2023
The Second Half by Rachel Blaufield is a quick read for anyone looking for a romance story focusing on more mature characters. This is the second in a series, but you don't need to read the first book to still enjoy this read. Billy Conway is a famous actress struggling with the idea that she is aging out of the roles she once played; she is also seeing her brother start building a family and struggling with what she wants to do in the second half of her life.
As Billy decides to get involved in her niece or nephew's birth, she meets the handsome and charismatic but normal Callum Rand. The two become close by seeing each other's worlds and hiding from the public eye.
I enjoyed this story and thought the pacing was excellent. I think Billy and Callum's relationship moves at a pace that is neither quick nor slow, making it perfect. The problems faced by the characters are mature compared to a lot of romance books which I appreciated since it really fit the characters in the story,
Overall this is a great quick read with cute dates, long-distance, puppies, and babies.
As Billy decides to get involved in her niece or nephew's birth, she meets the handsome and charismatic but normal Callum Rand. The two become close by seeing each other's worlds and hiding from the public eye.
I enjoyed this story and thought the pacing was excellent. I think Billy and Callum's relationship moves at a pace that is neither quick nor slow, making it perfect. The problems faced by the characters are mature compared to a lot of romance books which I appreciated since it really fit the characters in the story,
Overall this is a great quick read with cute dates, long-distance, puppies, and babies.
May 21, 2023
The Second Half by R. Blaufeld is the second stand-alone in the 40s, Love and Romance Series. The first book is The Back Nine, Ford and Jamie's story.
This is Billy and Callum's story.
Billy Conway, Ford's sister, A-List Hollywood actress and superstar longs for a family of her own. But that seems not in the cards for her.
Callum Rand is a successful obstretician. His job is hid calling while his private life is rather lonely. And then SHe shows up in his office, his secret dream woman, Billy.
Their an unlikely pair, but somehow they make it work, long distsnce, different upbringings.
There is no easying in, I started reading and was htrown right in the story and its characters.
Reading The Second Half is like coming home and snuggling up on the couch with your favorite book. A story that gives all the warm and fuzzies.
I just love everything about this beautiful story, 5 stars.
This is Billy and Callum's story.
Billy Conway, Ford's sister, A-List Hollywood actress and superstar longs for a family of her own. But that seems not in the cards for her.
Callum Rand is a successful obstretician. His job is hid calling while his private life is rather lonely. And then SHe shows up in his office, his secret dream woman, Billy.
Their an unlikely pair, but somehow they make it work, long distsnce, different upbringings.
There is no easying in, I started reading and was htrown right in the story and its characters.
Reading The Second Half is like coming home and snuggling up on the couch with your favorite book. A story that gives all the warm and fuzzies.
I just love everything about this beautiful story, 5 stars.
August 24, 2023
So many books in my TBR stack-- so little time to write reviews for the ones I've already read! I'm playing catch-up on a writing a few now. This one is going to be short and sweet and right to the point. Because you know there's a book calling my name insisting I get busy reading!
Quick easy read that's perfect for someone who’s looking for a rom-com focusing on a more mature set of very likable characters (Hollywood actress and an obstetrician). Well-written, good storyline and fun-to-read with an Oscar-winning happily-ever-after!
May 30, 2023
The Second Half is a quick read perfect for someone who’s looking for a romcom that focuses on a more mature set of characters. Thank you Rachel Blaufeld Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews