ARC Review: Second Chance at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer

Second Chance at Two Love Lane
Author: Kieran Kramer
Series: Two Love Lane Series (Book 3)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 28, 2018)

Description: Sometimes love is waiting in the second act.

In her professional career, Ella Mancini plays matchmaker at Two Love Lane but, in her personal life, she takes the stage at the Dock Street Theatre. Now she has a chance at a new role in a Hollywood movie that happens to be filming in Charleston―one that features a big-name actress, Samantha Drake. Long ago, Ella passed up a major audition while awaiting a marriage proposal. Not only didn’t she get the role; she never got the ring, either. Instead, her boyfriend Hank went on to become a huge filmstar…leaving her, and all her dreams, behind.

But now Hank’s back in Charleston, cast as the male lead in the same movie Ella’s in. In spite of the dramatic tension off-screen, he and Ella try to stay cool onset. But when their old feelings start to heat up―at the same time leading-lady Samantha tries to play cupid―all bets are off. How can Hank convince Ella, after all this time, that she’s the one he really wants to be with in real life―and that some happy, rom-com endings really can come true?

My Thoughts: Ella Mancini has a great life in Charleston. She is happy acting in community theater and being a matchmaker at Two Love Lane. She loves being surrounded by her big family. But she has some regrets about her lost love. She had a relationship ten years earlier with a fellow actor named Hank Rogers. Having passed up a major audition in hopes of getting a marriage proposal, Ella is blindsided when Hank tells her that he has an opportunity for a film role in Hawaii and he's leaving.

Ella has built a new life but still has regrets. When Hank, who also has regrets, gets a chance to star in a movie being shot in Charleston, he takes the opportunity to see if he can have a second chance with Ella. He gets Ella a small part in the movie and they find themselves sharing a small house with his cousin Pammy for the week that he will be in Charleston.

While working on rekindling their romance, Ella is busy trying to find a match for one of her clients who is under a curse and dealing with the issue of her mother's paternity. Meanwhile, Pammy has found a potential new love of her own which helps her become less homesick in Charleston. Hank and Ella have a more difficult time with their relationship because she has found a home and business in Charleston and he has movie roles around the world lined up for at least the next two years.

Readers who want a richly detailed romance in a Southern setting or those who have read the previous books in this series will enjoy this one. I found it to be incredibly wordy and very slowly paced.

Favorite Quote:

Hank's heart leaped. He was embarrassed about that, but yeah, Ella had always been life a rainbow appearing in his sky, which was filled with too many squawking birds, gathering storm clouds, some occasional rank, which switched off to a glaring sun, and loud jets. And maybe some mild pollution from a nearby factory. Only one person had ever been the rainbow.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.