Review: Grown-Up Second Chance by Casey Dawes

Grown-Up Second Chance (RV Park Romance #1)
Casey Dawes

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MF

Blurb:
Newly divorced, she’s ready for independence, family, and adventure … until a chance meeting with her secret teenage crush threatens to derail her.

Diane O’Sullivan and her two sisters have hit the road in their 43-foot motorhome. With her ex far in the rearview mirror and only a few accounting clients left, Diane’s looking forward to exploring the country.

When Joe Kelly shows up at their RV campsite outside Yellowstone, it’s a charming coincidence. He’s humorous and happy, reminding her of the girl she was. More than once he rescues her from the dangers of the park, and the tourists who visit it.

They could easily become involved.

But wait! That’s exactly what she doesn’t want. She has plans! After dumping her dull-as-dishwater ex, she’s not ready to take on another project. And, isn’t a man always a project?

Will Joe take the hint?

Grown-Up Second Chance is a later-in-life romantic comedy. It’s the first in a series.

My Review

I received a copy from the author through Booksprout and voluntarily reviewed it.

Grown-Up Second Chance immediately caught my eye when I spotted it on Booksprout. I knew I had to read it as it sounded like such read with older characters and the RV travel. I am glad I requested it as this was such a great read. I really enjoyed reading about Diane and Joe as well as their visits to Yellowstone.

I really liked reading about Diane and her two sisters who are traveling around in their RV. Most of the book takes place around Yellowstone and I liked reading about the place and experiencing it through Diane’s eyes. Both the Yellowstone setting and the RV were things I haven’t read about much before and I liked the unique touch it gave to this book. And then there’s the fact the characters are older and the different vibe that brings. The characters have a lot of past and history and things they struggle with it. Like Diane who now she got divorced is discovering herself again.

I liked the romance between Diane and Joe. They both have had their struggles and lives. I liked how it was a second chance romance and how they knew each other when they were younger and their meeting brings up all those feelings again. They were so good together. I liked how they interacted and how spend time together and see if they still like each other. And Joe was so nice to her and such a difference to her ex-husband who made her feel bad about herself. It made sense why Diane was a reluctant to get into another relationship as her marriage wasn’t the best. I just wish her doubts and worries had gotten addressed a bit more to the end, it just felt like it suddenly wasn’t an issue anymore. I liked the ending and how their romance got wrapped up and I hope we still get to more of them in future books as it felt a bit unfinished in a sense, but I think that’s intentional as it’s only the first book in the series.

I liked reading about Diane and seeing her figure out what she wanted now that she is divorced and finding out what she likes to do. Her passions for photography and her doubts about whether to buy a camera came across well. I felt so bad for her with how her ex-husband diminished her self worth and made her feel bad about herself and what she wanted. It was great seeing her reclaim that part of herself and figure out what she wanted. I also liked seeing her interact with her sisters. I hope they get their own books later in the series as it’s clear they both have their own stories too.

To summarize: I really liked this book. The premise was great with three sisters getting an RV to travel together. This book follows Diane’s point of view who just got divorced and is finding herself again and there is a second chance romance for her with Joe. The RV travel and the mostly Yellowstone focused setting made for a fun setting for the book and I enjoyed reading about it. Diane was a great main character and I thought she well written. Her struggles and dreams felt realistic. Her doubts about getting in a relationship with Joe again made sense, although I wish the resolution had addressed her doubts a bit stronger. I liked Diane and Joe together and thought they made for a great couple. I liked reading about Diane and how she was finding herself again after her divorce. Her passion for photography was clear and I liked reading about it. Her relationship with her sisters was interesting as well and it feels like both sisters have their own stories as well, hopefully they will star in future books. All in all I really enjoyed this book and definitely plan to continue the series!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.