Description
Bella Cove toy store owner Kayla Conway has given up everything—graduate school and a fiance—to spend the past two years taking care of her family in the aftermath of her grandma’s death. More than anything, she wants children of her own, not just the ones that visit her toy shop. But that dream died when she chose her family over her fiance two years ago.
But when ex-fiance, Gabe Wademan, turns out to be the one who inherited the lease on Kayla’s toy shop, she seizes this chance to win him back. A second chance at love.
Gabe was shattered when Kayla left him to take care of her family, leaving him with nothing more than vague explanations. And he’s not thrilled about being her landlord—and her neighbor. His plan is for the two of them to have as little contact as possible. But Bella Cove is a small town, and old feelings stir to life as their paths cross more frequently.
Kayla makes it her mission to show Gabe she’s the same woman he fell in love with back at school—just a little older and a lot braver. And if he gives their relationship a second chance, she promises she’ll never leave him again.
But when Gabe gets close to her family, Kayla is terrified that he will discover their secrets. How could he ever trust her again if he found out? Her heart couldn’t handle losing him a second time. Especially since this time it would be forever.
Details
- Title Bella Cove: A Second Chance Romance
- Author Rochelle Katzman
- Publisher TCK Publishing
- Release Date April 24, 2018
- Pages 258
- Content Rating A few explicit sex scenes. F—word used, but minimally.
My Thoughts
While the description of this story, a girl returning to her home town for family reasons, felt well used, it also sounded like there were some possibilities for a fun story.
She must return to her hometown of Bella Cove, a charming town on Long Island, to visit her grandma on her deathbed. Just before her grandmother dies, Kayla Promises that she will help put the pieces of her family’s life back together.
I’ve read plenty of terrific books about charming towns and quirky characters. Yep, this sounded perfect. So what do I do with a perfect book? I quickly open it, that’s for sure. And I’m slow to find fault, since it’s going to be a winner!
That Was The Plan
Unfortunately, Kayla, the MC, rubbed me wrong almost immediately. On the first page, she is being handed over a toy store for one cup of coffee. Yes, you heard that right. The owner is generously handing the store over to her.
Is she jumping for joy? Nope.
So, with shaking hands and her soul screaming at her to run back to California, Kayla signed her name on the dotted line.
Okay, that’s strike one and a bit of an eye-opener as to who she is. Owning a store should give a person lots of options, especially if you’ve only invested maybe a dollar or two. And I won’t share her reluctance to sign, but it felt lame.
As I read on I discovered that Kayla and her fiancée were both getting doctorates in psychology. I realize just because you study a certain subject it doesn’t keep you from having your own problems or make you an expert. But she and her fiancée couldn’t have handled their situation much worse. I won’t go into it, since I’d rather not disclose the story. But childish attitudes pretty much sums it up.
And lastly, before Grandma passes she makes Kayla her successor as matriarch. Her instructions are to put the family back together. She also inherits Grandma’s funds, I guess to have financial resources to fix the family.
Okay, good luck with making family members get along and fixing other people. Plus, wouldn’t this position, cause more family problems? I’d be tempted to say to that young lady, “Who died and put you in charge?” if I were her mother. But then I guess Grandma did.
And as the story unwinds, Kayla does seem to have power over family members to make everything right almost miraculously. Believable? Not? I think it depends on the reader.
Okay, I only thought it was my last concern. In looking through the book again, I was reminded that it jumped out at me every time one of her siblings or friends greeted her with Hi Beautiful. That didn’t hurt anything. It just didn’t feel believable.
Not All Books Are For Everyone
As with any book, not every genre, or style of writing, appeals to every reader. This obviously wasn’t my cup of tea. But don’t rely on one review, since many readers have rated this highly.
This is only my opinion, and the art of writing is extremely subjective. So why not give this book a try? You be the judge.
My thanks to TCK Publishing for a copy of this book. I appreciate the fact that they encourage me to post my honest thoughts regarding any of their books.
Rating
In my opinion, this story needed some help.
About the Author
At the age of six, Rochelle won two creative writing awards. When she was twenty-two years old, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in musical theatre from Syracuse University. She is also an international yoga instructor and a life coach. When she’s not traveling the world teaching workshops or helping women to achieve their dreams, she’s at home writing books. She currently lives in New York, but she’d love to move to a beautiful land filled with ethereal fairies and magical castles. Rochelle enjoys spending time with her dog, Henry.
