A Second Chance (Mercy Inc. #4) (2024)

Dear Reader

When I sat down to write this book, I had the image of a formerly bubbly, beautiful young woman, who had changed drastically in the thirteen years since she’d met and fallen in love with her high-school sweetheart. He’d left for boot camp, been chosen for Special Forces, become a Green Beret medic, travelled the world, and carried on with his life. She’d made a painful decision, harbored a huge secret, and paid a devastatingly high emotional price. And it had changed her life. The choices we make in our youth often come back to haunt us.
As this reunion story unfolds, I hope you’ll fall in love with my gorgeous hero, Beck, as much as I did. And I suspect, once you’ve scratched the gruff exterior of my heroine, January, you’ll want to be friends with her.
A bit about Special Forces medics here. They are first on scene in the battlefield, and what they do for the injured can save lives. Their training is intense, and in all my years in nursing I haven’t come close to doing many of the procedures our medics learn in their Special Forces training. Hats off to those who volunteer for this difficult job. There is only one word to describe them. Heroes!
www.lynnemarshall.com

A Soldier's Second Chance by Lynne Marshall hooks you from the start. The story itself is full of tension and angst and the author introduces her characters without sugar coating their flaws. Jan and Beck each have their personal demons. Their past decisions regarding their relationship comes into focus when they must work together. But once the truth gets out things happen and happily I cheered as questions were answered and our hero and heroine find common ground in their relationship. Overall, I enjoyed the rekindling romance between the h/H and the way the author ties together the plot points.

Recommended
4 Stars

Reviewed by Jen
Book provided by the author

In my reviews, I've made it perfectly clear that there are a couple romance tropes that I'm not real fond of. Top of the list is the boss/employee relationship. Then there's the secret baby and then there's the reunion story. Those last two often go hand in hand. I find them harder to make believable. And even though I may be giving a spoiler here, we get both of those tropes in this book. But then again, this is a republish of an old Harlequin title calledTemporary Doctor, Surprise Father, so maybe I'm not giving a lot away after all.

Usually with Harlequin, or in this case a former Harlequin title, there's good development of characters and plot. The plot was fine. But, when it came to the characters, I felt like we got to know January more than Beck. I felt that I spent more time in Jan's head, dealing with her inner turmoil. I mean, she's carry around this secret that is heavy on her heart, then runs into her old love... can't seem to decide about telling him about said secret... I really would have liked to get more of Beck's side of things. There were these little peeks, but I wasn't really feeling his side of the whole thing.

But all that said, I did like the story. I enjoyed the hospital setting and really was rooting for the characters to get their happy ending. Ms Marshall did a good job of dealing with a couple touchy subjects that aren't seen all that often in romance novels.

While it might not have been a book that I would have picked up on my own, I passed a couple enjoyable hours readingA Soldier's Second Chanceand if you like reunion stories, you might just want to pick this one up.

"A Soldier's Second Chance" by Lynne Marshall is a beautiful story about January (Jan) and Beck. Young love separated and second chances. Learning to love again and dealing with the past and the present. Great, quick read.

Really Good

A really heart warming story.Make sure you have your tissues on hand,this one's a real tear jerker.I really loved it.

What a great romance! 💖

This is one emotional second chance romance. I couldn't believe how much I absolutely loved this book. 💞💗💕 It certainly gives you hope.

If Lynne Marshall writes a medical romance, then the love story and health issues are always very believable. All throughout A SOLDIER’S SECOND CHANCE, there is tension linked to hidden secrets and various emergencies at a hospital. While the health dilemmas regularly have satisfactory solutions, many concerns associated with the relationship of two people unexpectedly reconnecting are not so easy to patch up. I was instantly drawn into the lives of the romantic couple, as they are ordinary individuals who are trying to make the best of what life has given them. Ms. Marshall always makes me deeply care about her characters, and A SOLDIER’S SECOND CHANCE is a shining example of a superb medical romance.

When January Ashworth arrived for her evening shift at a Los Angeles hospital, she receives the news that a National Guard medic will be working in the emergency department for a month. He is presently a part of the LAPD SWAT team, but is about to be deployed again and needs to brush up on his medical skills. Jan is agreeable to having the man work alongside her, but when she hears his name is Beck Braxton, she is completely stunned. Luckily, he does not seem to recognize her, but she definitely remembers him and what they once shared.

Although he was a troubled teenager, Beck has dedicated himself to helping others for the past thirteen years. First as a soldier and now a police officer, he focuses on what is currently happening in his life, not the past. One matter that has been difficult to forget is related to the girl whom he had hoped would remain with him when he left to serve his country, but she moved on without him. Strangely, he is assigned to a nurse with a few similar traits to January Stewart, but her personality is certainly not the same as his lost love. Yet it turns out she is actually his ex-girlfriend, someone with secrets that she does not want him to discover.

Since much of the story is set in an emergency department, all types of physical ailments occur. With the author’s knowledge of what can take place during an actual traumatic situation, each event comes across as conceivable. I was put right in the middle of several incidents filled with tense pressure, where I never knew what the outcome would be. Procedures are accurately described, letting me know exactly what was going on and why.

There were several instances where I was visibly moved by the heartfelt sincerity in comments made by Beck and Jan. Whether they were in the hospital or interacting with each other, I often sensed they were letting me see a side of them not usually exposed to just anyone. Jan has closed herself off from others because of a teenage decision that still haunts her years later. The choices she has made along the way let me see just how vulnerable she is to emotional suffering, and I so wanted her to finally have some long-lasting happiness. While Beck may have been a rather wild boy, he has grown into a man who puts others first and exceeded most people’s expectations. Revealed hidden facts trigger entanglements in their lives, and their reactions to these predicaments are honest while any remarks are spoken from the heart. Lynne Marshall makes Beck and Jan a couple to admire for their thoughtfulness and how much they help others. A SOLDIER’S SECOND CHANCE is an emotional story with dramatic consequences.

Copy received for Always Reviewing blog

Read my review on RomanceJunkies.com by clicking on the link below. It is also posted in full.

http://romancejunkies.com/reviews/a-s...

A SOLDIER’S SECOND CHANCE by Lynne Marshall had a lot of angst due to Beck and January’s history that we learn a little at a time. She broke up with him thirteen years before, after Beck left for the Army, and he never knew the real reason why she didn’t wait for him, especially since they had talked about it and their love for each other. Will he find out the reason now that their paths have unexpectedly crossed again?

Beck is all alpha male. He’s on the LAPD SWAT team, is a Special Forces trained medic, is in the National Guard, and is getting a skills refresher course at the hospital where his girlfriend of thirteen years ago works–unbeknownst to him. January, or Jan, as she’s known, is his long lost love and a nurse in the Emergency Department. She’s harboring a huge secret–one that can wreck Beck’s world and make him hate her more than he already does. Jan tries to avoid him as much as she can, but since she’s doing a lot of his training, how successful can that be? A lot of the action takes place in the emergency department of the hospital with lots of traumas and split-second decisions along with a fast pace and lots of medical terms.

Watching how they each hurt but don’t know how to communicate about their pasts and their feelings was heartbreaking. Jan wanted to break her silence but didn’t want Beck to hate her even more, since they started to connect again. They still have chemistry and a connection even years later. Is she just being selfish? Beck is full of anger and knows Jan isn’t telling him everything and seeks revenge. They go through a myriad of emotions–as did I! I could feel the anger, the hurt, the love, the fear and sadness, and eventually the happiness when the truth is revealed and Beck works through his resentment. There are twists and turns in this story filled with friends and family and coworkers. Wisdom is shared, connections made, and memories come to the surface along with nice closure and a happily ever after I was hoping for but didn’t expect.

Lynne Marshall is a new to me author and I will be adding some of her other books to my always growing TBR pile!

0ne marriage and a subsequent divorce has left Jan Ashworth determined to dedicate her life to the nursing career that she hopes will ease the pain of the true love she forfeited as a young girl thirteen years ago. And then, in her hospital, she is assigned to work with that special man from her past as he prepares to depart for Afghanistan as a National Guard medic. Suddenly, her feelings of love for Beck Braxton are revived and the secret that caused her to end their relationship is at risk of being discovered. And, as they work as a team to help patients return to a normal life, both Jan and Beck struggle to address their own hurts and fears in the hopes of finding their own normalcy.

Lynne Marshall is a former nurse turned writer who has become known for her romantic medical fiction and she has certainly added to her success with this book. "A Soldier's Second Chance" is a story that will help readers recall the joy of young love as it also encourages them with the promise that, despite secrets and hardships, the flame of true love can never be truly extinguished. This is a lovely story and I recommend it to those who enjoy romantic fiction!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

A Soldier’s Second Chance by Lynne Marshall was a wonderful read. I couldn’t put it down and read the entire book in one sitting! I really enjoy reading second chance tropes and this one did not disappoint. Ms. Marshall had me crying on several occasions. Beck Branson and January (Jan) Stewart were high school sweethearts until he left to join the military. Beck was surprised when she broke off their relationship and was devastated when she walked away.

Thirteen years later, they run into one another at the hospital where Jan is a nurse and Beck is getting the necessary training so he can return to the National Guard and redeploy as a Medic. His working at the hospital puts them in same world where they once discover their attraction still exists. However, Jan has a secret that she hasn’t shared with Beck. Can Beck forgive her and can they find their happily ever after?

A Soldier’s Second Chance is a truly heartwarming story that I highly recommend. I felt both Beck and Jan’s pain as they dealt with their past and hoped for a future together. I look forward to reading Gavin’s story, Pregnant Nurse, Newfound Family. I’d like to disclose that I voluntarily read and honestly reviewed this book.

A real gem, I love medical romances and Ms. Lynne Marshall is a great author in this genre. This book got me from page one and I just couldn't get enough of it. Up and downs in life was beautifully written and it felt so real. Actions and reactions were so realistic and very sensible. Character lovable and storyline very touching. I loved this book so much. I recommend it to all medical romance lovers.

njoyed this book that touched on heartbreaking issues. Both characters had lasting heartbreak from issues that tore them apart when they were so young. This book shows the pain as well as joy, well written with lots of soul.

good

Good read

Good read for what it was, a formulaic HEA. Was hoping for a bit more depth in the characters, but okay.

Plot sounded promising, but I found the book boring. It read more like a formula that a story, and got bogged down in all the technical details...especially about the medical procedures.

Sad and good story

I was born of of wedlock to take young couple and by the time I was three both had left. I was raised by my grandmother on my dad's side of the family. So this story in a way hits close to my heart. I was happy to see the couple get together in the end and restart there relationship. I did wish that they could have had the new born that was dropped off at the hospital towards the end or there could've been a sequel to the book but how it ended was great to. I loved how it shows that even though she did mess up by not telling him for so long that she did the right thing by the child.

I'm often sad that young women get pregnant and have abortion or they think they can raise a child when they to are still a child themselves. This story shows that giving up a child for adoption can be a blessing in Disguise. It allows people who can't have kids to have them and it shows that even though your young and pregnant there are people willing to help you and that if you did want to be part of the child's life you can.

This story also shows people that just because they have a baby at a young age doesn't me that the child will ruin there lives. Now I'm not looking down on the girls who decided that they want to keep the child because my mother was 17 when she got support. Her mother did not like her nor was happy that she was pregnant had kicked her out. If it wasn't for my dad's mother she wouldn't have had the support and love she need. And it was because of that my grandmother took over and raised me to be who I am day.

So yes it is possible for a young girl to raise a child but I fully think she should have a support system to help her or to at allow that child to grow up with caring g people. That's why I'm Extremely happy that this book didn't send the main character down the abortion road.

A Soldier's Second Chance

Jan and Beck were high school sweethearts. He signed up for the military. He needed to get away. She had found out that she was pregnant the night before he left, but kept the news from him. Now years later they meet up again. She works at the hospital where he is fine tuning his medical training in preparation for another tour of duty. They have to overcome many bumps and bruises before they get their own happy ending?

I had higher hopes for this based on the blurb. It's an okay story and I'm not quite sure why I feel disappointed with it. I'm having difficulty describing how it made me feel.

The closest I can come is that it felt like a cross between a Hallmark movie and an after school special.

A book with real and deep emotions

I found the characters in this book to be well written and well rounded. They didn't seem fake and had true emotions both of anger and love. Hi author we've so story in such a way that you ride along this bumpy ride as to young love as reunite.

Happy little ending

Wonderful read,made me wish my love life would have followed this path all the way to the end. My ex and I quit before we allowed ourselves the joy of everlasting love

Decisions

Jan had made choices, decisions. Were they the right one? Could Beck understand the reasons she had made those choices?

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/23/2022)! 🎁

A Soldier's Second Chance is a heartwarming story. Lynne Marshall never disappoints a reader with her stories.This one revolves around January(Jan) and Beck. They fell in love as teenagers. Life happened and circ*mstances seperated them. They met again thirteen years later. Feelings and events that occurred in the past have to be dealt with. It is an easy read that deals with tough subjects.
I recieves a copy from the author and this is my honest review.

A wonderful feel-good book that had me crying out loud and feeling in tuned with the characters. The attention to detail made the story feel real. The connection between January and Beck was so believable it made the story! Book gifted by author at my request for a copy.

Q