JUST LIKE STARTING OVER (the Carpe Diem Café 2) by Deborah Cooke-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date  August 21, 2025

Once burned, twice shy. That’s how it’s supposed to work. I thought I’d learned my lesson after falling for Mike Cavendish in high school. Sixteen years ago, all my dreams were coming true, then everything went wrong in one disastrous night. It’s so much more than a broken heart and a loss of trust. It’s raising a daughter alone, abandoning your old life to make a new one, and being defined by your roles rather than your dreams. The only bright light is Sierra herself, a wise child who has taught me so much in her fifteen years. She is everything to me.

It’s because of Sierra that we’ve come back to my hometown of Empire to help my bestie Merrie launch her dream, The Carpe Diem Café. I’m sick of avoiding the past and I miss my grandmother. Why have I let Mike take that away from me and from Sierra? I’m sure I’m over him by now. I don’t expect him to turn up, looking better than ever – much less acting as if he still cares, pretending he doesn’t know that Sierra is his, wanting to start all over again.

It’s a proposition that I know I should refuse, but…it’s Mike. And he’s not the same guy I knew. Oh, he’s still quiet and thoughtful, but tougher, more direct – and a whole lot hotter. He can make all of Sierra’s dreams come true without even trying and when he decides to make me believe in forever again, I don’t think I can resist just one night. Can I trust Mike’s promises again? More importantly, can I take a chance and let myself fall head over heels again with the man who has always been my one and only?

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REVIEW; JUST LIKE STARTING OVER is the second instalment in Deborah Cooke’s contemporary, adult THE CARPE DIEM CAFÉ romance series. This is produce farmer and businessman Mike Cavendish,and single mother/ bistro owner Sylvia Kincaid’s story line. JUST LIKE STARTING OVER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. The events of the current time line cross over with and run parallel to the events of book one JUST TROUBLE.

Told from several first person perspectives including Mike and Sylvia, JUST LIKE STARTING OVER follows the rekindling romance between Mike Cavendish and Sylvia Kincaid. Approximately sixteen years ago, Sylvia Kincaid left her hometown of Empire, Ontario, headed to Toronto, leaving a heartbroken Mike Cavendish behind. Fast forward to present day, Sylvia has returned to Empire, with her now fifteen year old daughter in tow, never expecting to come face to face with the man who broke her heart. Sixteen years of desperate attempts to contact resulted in no help and no response, forcing our heroine to raise their daughter alone. With Sylvia’s arrival comes the usual misunderstandings, miscommunication, a lack of trust and a perceived betrayal but when the truth is revealed, the outcome for everyone is not what was expected.

The world building follows in the wake of Sylvia and Mike’s diverging paths. Sylvia’s daughter Sierra begins to suspect that Mike Cavendish is her father, but Mike is struggling with sixteen years of possible lies, lies he can only attribute to our story line heroine.

The relationship between Sylvia and Mike is one of second chances in the wake of secrets and lies, and issues of trust. Mike continues to work with issues of trust, now facing the possibility of betrayal from the people he once thought were dependable and reliable. Sylvia must face the idea that the man with whom she had fallen in love is no longer the man she once thought him to be but someone else is pushing another agenda, and Sylvia and Sierra may find themselves on the outside looking in. the $ex scenes are passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, dynamic and sometimes questionable secondary and supporting characters. We are reintroduced to Mike’s half brother and musician Luke Jones, and his girlfriend Daphne Bradshaw (JUST TROUBLE 1) , their sister Abbie, and brothers Ethan and Jake, and their father Patrick Cavendish; Sylvia’s business partner Merrie, as well as the introduction of Sylvia and Mike’s daughter Sierra,and grandmother Una.

JUST LIKE STARTING OVER is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and retribution, power and control, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The character driven premise is emotional and tragic; the romance is seductive; the characters are charismatic but struggling to trust-the dysfunctional family dynamics of the Cavendish clan is melodramatic and sensational.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one JUST TROUBLE

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy