Literary Titan - 5-Star Review
Jodi Culliney's Second Chances is a warm, emotionally generous romance about people who've already lived full, complicated lives and are still brave enough to want more. At the center are Charlotte Berg, a newly divorced English teacher looking for a fresh start, and Henry Livingston, a small-town auto shop owner carrying decades of regret, loyalty, and loneliness. Their relationship unfolds in Beverley, South Dakota, where family history, old heartbreak, town gossip, and late-life desire all overlap in a way that feels busy, lived-in, and affectionate.
What makes the book especially engaging is the way it gives Henry and Charlotte room to be adults. They're attracted to each other, absolutely, but the romance isn't just about chemistry. It's about hesitation, timing, misread signals, and the vulnerability of trusting someone after disappointment. Charlotte's move to Beverley gives her a new community, while Henry's connection to her forces him to confront the unfinished parts of his past, especially his complicated history with Melanie and Diadema.
The novel also works as a family drama. Henry's son Josh, future daughter-in-law Effie, niece Cait, brother George, and best friend-like town connections give the story a wide emotional circle. The late revelation involving Sophie adds another layer to Henry's life, shifting the book from a simple second-chance romance into a story about forgiveness, parenthood, and what it means to make room for the unexpected. Amy's line to Charlotte, "He's your second chance at forever," captures the book's heart without making it feel overly tidy.
Culliney's style is conversational, nostalgic, and full of sensory detail, from classic rock and coffee scents to snowstorms, diners, rodeo dances, and small-town celebrations. The alternating points of view help the story feel expansive, especially when the past chapters fill in Henry and Melanie's early marriage and Charlotte's earlier life with Brady. Those sections give the present-day romance more weight because the reader understands what both characters are risking when they open themselves up again.
By the end, Second Chances is a heartfelt romance about choosing love with your eyes open. It's sweet, steamy, family-centered, and emotionally sincere, with a strong belief that life can still surprise you after grief, divorce, regret, and years of loneliness. When Charlotte tells Henry, "I choose you, Henry Livingston," it feels less like a grand gesture and more like the honest arrival point of the whole book: two people deciding that the future is still worth reaching for.
