Review: The Problem with Second Chances by Piper Rayne (Lake Starlight #1)
Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the authors via Valentine PR.
"I'll only ever love you."
You know how anticipation builds for a book and then you end up kinda-sorta-maybe disappointed, most probably due in large part to the aforementioned build-up and hype? Well, that is absolutely NOT the case with the first book in writing duo Piper Rayne's brand-new and much awaited Lake Starlight series! The Problem with Second Chances is the series starter, and as you can probably tell, it's a second-chance romance featuring Calista Bailey and Rylan Greene. Now, unless you're new to Piper and Rayne or have yet to discover that Alaska is where it's at when it comes to small towns and families you can't get enough of, then this twosome should be more than familiar to you. I mean, how could they not, considering Calista was introduced in her parents' book, Birth of a Baby Daddy (book three in The Baileys), and both she and Rylan were fixtures throughout the latter's family series, The Greene Family. They started out as kids who both loved soccer (or football for purists out there) with a bit of rivalry going on and an inkling of something more as they grew up, and then hints of the beginning of their romance and its unexpected end. With their novel, we finally get the bittersweet yet hopeful in-between.
Experience has taught me to try and temper my expectations when it comes to books that I'm eager to get my greedy bookaholic hands on. But talk about expectations being surpassed and all that jazz! Piper and Rayne may have given Calista and Rylan--and readers--the longest tease ever, but all of it paid off in what I feel is one of the top three stories these two have written so far. This reader's eagerness has been rewarded, and those feelings of trepidation and excitement I had over this book were nothing compared to the sheer joy I had while reading. Yes, there's angst, but it's balanced so darn nicely with all the other elements the authors brought to the table. There's wit and humor alongside the love and passion. And of course, we can't forget the family dynamics, and this time around, it's times two! The Baileys and the Greenes were fictional families I fell in love with, and I feel like it's a privilege we still get more of them with this spin-off series. Through everything Calista and Rylan went through, there was always hope they would finally get it right, and always, their families were there for them. Five-plus stars for The Problem with Second Chances, and one heck of a raised bar for everything that follows in the Lake Starlight series.
Release Date: 16 May 2023
Date Read: 10 May 2023
Learn more about Piper Rayne.
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