THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL by Sierra Godfrey-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 12, 2023

It’s all fun and games until you accidentally marry a stranger in Greece and inherit a hotel.

Amelia Lang’s life is kind of a mess. She’s stuck living at home with her narcissistic mother. Her tech bro ex-boyfriend deliberately sabotages her at work, and she gets fired after throwing a mug at his head (it’s okay! She missed.) Then she has a major falling out with her best friend. So Amelia does what Amelia does best: She runs away.

After traveling around Europe for three months, she settles on a small Greek island to reset her life and figure out what’s next. But after too much retsina, she gets tricked into marrying James, another guest at the hotel, who is perfectly nice—but perfectly boring. To top it off, they are gifted the very hotel they’re staying in—a hotel they don’t want that is in desperate need of some TLC. They agree to keep the hotel open through the busy summer season for the sake of the island’s quirky but well-meaning residents, after which Amelia plans to return home to start rebuilding her disastrous life.

Amelia and James must work together to determine how to get out of their situation—easier said than done for Amelia, who’s started to feel a strong spark of attraction for James. But Amelia is sure her real life is waiting for her back in San Francisco. Is it time for Amelia to return home or could this be the second chance at a new life she didn’t know she wanted?

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REVIEW:  THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL by Sierra Godfrey is a contemporary, adult, story line focusing on two Americans caught up in an accidental marriage while travelling through Greece.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Amelia) THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL follows thirty-two year old American Amelia Lang in the aftermath of having her work sabotaged, an aggressive retaliation against her ex boyfriend, being fired from a job she didn’t love, and jumping a plane to Europe to escape the upheaval at home. Three months later, Amelia Lang arrives in Greece, to the same hotel where her parents honeymooned but a hotel that has seen much better days. Meeting one other guest, fellow American James, who was also struggling with his direction in life, resulted in an unplanned and surprise drunken wedding, and the receipt of the hotel as a wedding gift in the wake of the death of the current owner. Unable to speak or understand the language, our couple find themselves struggling with the culture, the rules and regulations of running a hotel, a determined land developer, and battling a greedy member of the hotel owner’s family but with the help of some locals, Amelia and James find success where they least expected.

THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL reads like a cross between Mama Mia ™ and My Big Fat Greek Wedding™ with all of the craziness of a large extended family you never knew you had. The world building focuses on the marriage between Amelia and James, a marriage that James is often quick to remind Amelia is fake, a marriage that struggles with jealousy, a lack of commitment, and a definite lack of romance. The premise is entertaining but slow to build-in the early chapters there was more telling than showing; the characters are numerous, quirky and sassy; the romance is limited as the couple battle their feelings and emotions; there is one lone $ex scene near the end of the book.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy