The Second Chance Hotel (2024)

Ultimately sweet but I never really warmed to Amelia.

Amelia is fired from her job after throwing a mug at her ex-boyfriend's head when he sabotages her work. They had planned to go to Europe, so on the spur of the moment she jumps on the first plane out of the US--never mind that she will miss being the maid of honor in her best friend's wedding. After a few months traveling around, she heads to the small island of Asteri where her parents spent their honeymoon many years ago. There she finds the hotel a bit run down, but still comfortable and relaxing. Only one other traveler is present, James, another American. Through a humorous set of events, James and Amelia find themselves both married and the new owners of the hotel. What do they do to get out of this mess?

I thought this was an enjoyable book with a heartwarming ending, but it took a very long time to get there. I absolutely disliked Amelia at the beginning, she was rude and selfish and I couldn't believe she did what she did by leaving right before her best friend's wedding. After I got to know Amelia a little better, I understood some of her reactions to things, but it took much longer for her to grow a backbone, compassion, and self awareness than I would have preferred.

The book has many laugh out loud moments, particularly with the misunderstandings and the members of the community, who become like a found family to James and Amelia. You do have to suspend a bit of disbelief that Amelia had seemingly endless amounts of money to travel Europe for months on end, even with staying in hostels, etc.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job keeping me invested in the story. There are some pretty steamy scenes so I recommend ear buds or listening to it in a private space. Overall I do recommend this for a light, fun romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

I tried & failed on this one 1️⃣ this wasn’t for me reads like a Y A novel plus this authors writing style was terrible a big miss for me. 2 🌟.

this was really funny and hillarious!

thanks to netgalley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

Down on her luck Amelia decides to take a three month holiday to travel through Europe, finally settling on a small Greek island with connections to her family. Things go from bad to worse, however, after too much day drinking at a local wedding and soon, she is tricked into marrying a fellow guest at the hotel and inheriting said hotel. With much bickering, the two decide to run the hotel during it’s busiest season for the sake of it’s former owner and quirky residents. But as the end of Summer nears, Amelia must decide if she is ready to return to her old life, or if the new one she has created is worth sticking around for.

Sierra Godfrey’s sophom*ore novel is filled with all of the elements that make a book fun, engaging and oh so bingeable. I will be honest, for the first 15%, I was unsure what to make of it, nor if I liked the main character. This soon dissipated as I began to connect to these interesting and quirky characters and the predicaments they found themselves in. Each character felt multi-dimensional and relatable, ultimately showing a significant amount of growth from start to finish, giving the book such an uplifting feel. And the Greece setting had all of the Mama Mia vibes you could ask for.

ʀ ᴇ ᴀ ᴅ ɪ ғ ʏ ᴏ ᴜ ʟ ɪ ᴋ ᴇ :
• Greece setting
• stories about starting over
• forced proximity
• accidental marriage
• hotel hijinks
• Phaedra Patrick

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and Blackstone Audio for my gifted copies.

Amelia arrives to Greece after getting fired from her male-dominated job, for throwing a mug at her ex-boyfriend due to a last-minute code sabotage. In a moment of impulsiveness, nothing short of irrational, she books a next-day ticket to Europe. The only problem? Her friend’s wedding is in a few weeks – and she won’t be there. She happily trots down, backpacking across Europe for close to 3 months – leaving two weeks left in her destination trip when she arrives at the Ria Hotel in Asteri, Greece. This is where she meets James, a man apt to talking about olives, farms, and botany – which isn’t her style. Unknowingly, they end up getting married. Then, they inherit the Ria Hotel as a couple, and chaos ensues.

At first, James comes onto Amelia, but Amelia lets him know that this “relationship” is friends only, and that this whole “situation” is temporary. And that’s ok – but quite literally, we’re halfway into the book at this point. Pacing, to say the least, is insufferably slow. They act like jealous, irrational teenagers around each other, when, in fact – they’re in their 30’s! Please, for the love of all that’s holy, please communicate! That does not mean send broody stares at each other, or death glances, ignore each other, or yell. If you’ve both had previous serious relationships, that’s got to count for something, right?

“Look. We barely know each other, you and me. You have zero claim on my attention.”

“That’s true. Absolutely. And thank goodness for that, since you seem to be giving it all over the place.”

Extreme jealousy and critical comments when you’ve known each other for a week? C’mon, James. You’re setting the bar real low here, now. At least Amelia can set some healthy boundaries.

I will sympathize that the situation they’re both thrust into is unfortunate to say the least. But Amelia gives me the most whiplash from a character I’ve had in a long, long time. She goes from wanting to hightail it out of the hotel and get a cushy tech job back in California, to wanting to run the hotel within a matter of a few pages and some sweet-talking from James. I cannot fathom how you make such a life changing decision so quickly. But psyche! She does it again, and again, and again. Even at the end!

The only thing I will say is a good “lesson” in this book is that you shouldn’t base your expectation of marriage and love on an unhealthy relationship. Amelia did learn that she avoided anything “serious” as her parents weren’t healthy – her mom is undoubtedly narcissistic. I still wouldn’t say Amelia and James are ideal though – they act like jealous, irrational teenagers when they’re both in their early 30’s.

”She didn’t want marriage or kids, especially not after watching her parents’ marriage dissolve slowly over the years like a horrible chemical bath.”

Overall, though, this was a drag to get through. So much “teasing” (if it can even be called that) lack of anything really driving the plot van forward. A little bit of spice near the end, a positive ending overall, but nothing major. There was nothing in this book that made me go “oh my gosh, I can’t stop reading.” Instead, it was more of a “when is this finished?”

If you’re a fan of arranged marriage tropes, a little comedy, beautiful scenery, and an extremely slow-burn romance, pick this up. It would likely be up your alley! However, it just wasn’t for me.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair, unbiased review*

Sierra Godfrey’s last novel “A Very Typical Family was a fave of mine so I was excited to see this newest book out by her. I enjoyed this book being set in Greece and I now want to go visit. Amelia “accidentally” marries James after only knowing him for 2 weeks and they are given a hotel. This is a fun novel and a quick read and I really enjoyed it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published September 2023.

DNF. I should've just stopped reading at the beginning when she ditches her BEST FRIEND'S wedding to jet off to Europe to find herself. I didn't like Amelia then and I still didn't like her as I read further.

3.5 ⭐

I was instantly drawn to this book based on the cover and the description cause it just screamed Mama Mia inspired.

I am happy to say the Mama Mia vibes delivered, this was really fun! It's 100% a rom-com!

The romance is a slow burn, but really enjoyable, I loved how they where thrown in together from the start. I really liked the tricked into marriage and now you inherited a hotel trope.

the setting is stunning, a hotel overlooking the beautiful blue water of Greece was so easy to picture while reading. it was easy to picture the island from Mama Mia as an inspiration

The characters were fun, Amelia is not the best person in the world she makes really dumb decisions but you can't help but to love and root for her.

such a great escape read if you wanted a quick, funny getaway to Greece!

thank you Netgalley, Sierra Godfrey and blackstone publishing for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

What a fun, unexpected treat! This is a book you need on your list! The Second Chance Hotel is about James and Amelia, two wandering souls who desperately needed to escape their lives at home for different reasons. They end up on an almost forgotten Greek Island and wind up taking on a huge project that threatens to undo them but that intriguingly has the potential to rebuild the pieces of their travel weary selves, should they let it. This escapist novel was a delight. I laughed, especially at the differently employed Yorgos characters around the island, as well as the incredibly quirky personalities that find themselves in our main characters inner circles. It has all the elements of a good rom-com with a little silly cheesiness mixed in, and it made me want to travel. So happy I was able to read this one!

Thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks for the eARC of this one! Releases September 12, 2023!

Part romantic comedy, part adventure of self-discovery and new beginnings, this follows a woman who accidentally marries a stranger and inherits a hotel while vacationing in Greece. It's an over-the-top situation, without a doubt, but so wildly entertaining and hilarious!

It sort of felt like a reverse enemies-to-lovers, with pleasantries between Amelia and James as strangers turning into heated arguments after unintentionally becoming husband and wife. The open attraction between them (James being compared to Alexander Skarsgård, I must add) made the sexual tension amidst their bickering so fun.

As the two come to terms with their (hopefully) temporary predicament, working together to improve the hotel, I loved the small Greek island atmosphere and its quirky, endearing locals. A super enjoyable story to escape into! The ending was exactly as I hoped.

(heat level: one brief, mild open-door scene)

Love the setting - what’s not to love about a short visit to a Greek island that turns into an extended stay & romance. The story is ok, but a bit slow. Fun peripheral characters.

I just get tired of romance stories where the characters’ lack of communication is at the heart of the whole plot. For f*ck’s sake, talk to each other about how you really feel! But then there wouldn’t be a book. It is worth reading, it’s just formulaic romance genre.

Breezy, hopeful, and romantic!

The Second Chance Hotel is a delightfully charming, touching tale that takes us into the life of Amelia Lang at a time when her love life is in tatters, her career is stalling, and she finds herself at the end of a European vacation on a small Greek Island waking from a night of festivities with a pounding headache, an unexpected husband, and a co-ownership in a local rundown hotel that needs more than just a little TLC.

The writing is light and tender. The characters are independent, hardworking, and caring. And the plot is an uplifting tale of life, love, friendship, family, community, starting over, taking chances, old hurts, new beginnings, spirited shenanigans, humorous mishaps, following one’s dreams, and contentment.

Overall, The Second Chance Hotel is a heartwarming, engaging, escapist read by Godfrey that reminds us to always surround ourselves with those we love, stay open-minded, and be excited for whatever comes next.

Thank you to Kaye Publicity & Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey is a warm, sensory, and voicey novel that transported me from the winter doldrums of Manhattan to the sunny island of Asteri, Greece. While reading this delicious slow burn romance between Amelia and James and their accidental marriage of convenience, I could almost feel the sun on my face and taste the salt of the olives. Escapist yet thoughtful, and ripe with humor, Godrey's second novel is also a reminder to us all that it is far better to run toward your happiness than away from your fears.

Oh my! This book was an absolute pleasure to read. I completely lost myself in the story and setting, and intentionally slowed my read time because I didn’t want it to end. The premise is so clever, there’s the perfect balance of humor and emotions laced throughout, and the small fictional Greek island of Asteri comes alive thanks to Godfrey’s vivid descriptions. But it’s the characters that really won my heart. I found Amelia relatable and James swoon-worthy. They’re both authentically imperfect, and their slow-burn romance builds at the perfect pace. The other characters on the island are so real, I can picture them going about their lives there right now. In fact, my only complaint is that I can’t actually visit Asteri and the Ria Hotel. If you need an escape, The Second Chance Hotel is the book to savor.

4.5⭐️

This one hooked me immediately with a great opening scene - funny and so relatable! If you have ever wanted to quit your boring life and run a hotel on a tiny Greek island (has anyone not dreamt of this??) , then I think this book is exactly what you need!!

What to expect::
•Escaping reality
•Both MC starting over
•Gorgeous Greek island setting
•All of the best townspeople
•Fixing up a dilapidated hotel
•Major Mama Mia vibes
•Hero who is a bit nerdy, but so steadfast

Something about this book just had me hooked beginning to end. Loved it!

3.5 stars. This book isn't for everyone. The characters are flawed and annoying in the beginning but they finally grow up in the end and it's just an overall good beach read story.

I REALLY enjoyed this story of starting over, finding yourself abroad and falling in love with both a person and a place in this strangers to lovers, forced proximity, marriage of inconvenience romance that sees Amelia waking up married after a drunken night at a Greek festival and learning that she and her new 'husband,' James have inherited a ramshackle boutique hotel on a remote Greek island.

Forced to work together in order to pay off the debt the former hotel owner owed before they can sell, Amelia and James have a steep learning curve on hotel management and property improvement as they deal with unruly guests and a cast of loveable locals.

A slow burn full of heart, this was great on audio narrated by Ri Paige and perfect for fans of books like Main character energy by Jamie Varon or Lucy checks in by Dee Ernst. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I found this book while poking around on NetGalley. The cover caught my attention with the bright yellow and an open window is a favorite art history trope of mine. From the blurb, I was hoping for something along the lines of Mama Mia meets the “someone inherits a b&b” trope from Hallmark movies. So, you know I was super happy to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to read.

Amelia is not an unlikable heroine. She’s a bad friend, an awful daughter, and an all around terrible person. The premise of a 32 year old woman leaving a bad relationship and work situation to spend three months sleeping and drinking her way around Europe had promise. But, leaving her best friend in the lurch because you don’t want to get married is just horrible. Then her parents decide to divorce two weeks into her trip, and she complains that her mother is selfish for wishing her daughter could help support her emotionally during a major life transition. The back and forth petty jealousy and lack of communications with James, however were beyond the pale. You know about decision fatigue, but her yo-yo attitudes towards everyone and everything in the story gave me reader fatigue.

From a craft point of view, I’m shocked this book isn’t a debut. I constantly felt pulled from the story by repetitive sentence structure, paragraphs explaining the same backstory multiple times, an over use of dialogue tags, and the author’s choice to use a very distant 3rd person that leans heavily towards an omniscient narrator. The use of both italics and parenthesis for her internal thoughts and the formatting of the text messages were also problematic.

Speaking of problematic content, the Borat-esque use of broken sentence structures, both English and Greek, made me cringe. This is another sign of a writer tackling a setting and premise without the skill to carry the language and perhaps the use of an ESL sensitivity reader should have been used.

In general, this book works for someone wanting a story set in Greece with a dreamy vacation setting, but like the book’s hotel, once you look inside, you’ll be surprised by what you find.

THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL
Sierra Godfrey

I have to say that I enjoyed this read. It was fun, natural, and set in my favorite country!
Amelia runs from her lost job and crappy mother to Europe and ends up in Greece. She was supposed to go with her boyfriend, but they broke up and she almost broke his face with a coffee mug she threw at him, hence the lost job.

She goes to Asteri, a small island, and to the remote Ria hotel. She ends up there with James, another tourist, and they end up drunk and married and inherit the hotel. The story is about the conspiracy of the town to pitch in and force Amelia and James to stay and run the hotel, of which most of the island is dependent upon for employment. There is a great deal of back and forth and a number of interesting and funny characters.

It was a bit of a slow burn, but acceptable.

3.8 stars rounded up to 4

4 stars

Happy Reading!

****happy publication day!!!****

Really enjoyed A very typical family by this author so was delighted when I was given an ARC of her new novel and it did not disappoint!!

Such a heart warming, slow burn romance that is set in beautiful Greece!! Scenery is described adequately but not overdone. Amelia prefers to run from her problems and ends up on the last of her backpacking journey at the hotel Ria after it is recommended to her by her mother. There she meets the owner Takis and a guest by the name of James.

Characters are developed well, each have their flaws which makes them more relatable. Writing flows well. Enjoyed the story, slightly wordy for me but overall enjoyed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my advanced electronic reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book lost me at the very beginning when Amelia decides to ditch her best friends wedding because she is mad she lost her job for throwing a mug at her ex boyfriends face. (I don’t think this can even be considered a spoiler as it happens within the first few pages)

From there, I thought it would get better and we’d see some slight improvement but Amelia was just an EXTREMELY UNLIKEABLE main character. She always felt the need to treat people like crap for selfish reasons and then justify her actions. She also was whiny and half of the conflict she created wouldn’t have happened if she would’ve just shut up and sat down. I managed to read to 64% before dnf’ing and for that I deserve compensation.

This book was such a delight! I throughly enjoyed it! Amelia’s wandering soul was relatable. The writing style of this book was great. It was a fast paced quick read for me. Sweet little romcom with a dash or traveling thrown in!

I received this free book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

“𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼. 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮, 𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓻𝓾𝓷, 𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓸 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝔂𝓮𝓽 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀. 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶."

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Amelia broke up with her boyfriend, lost her job, and has had it with her current life in San Francisco. She decides to make a last minute decision to run away to Europe for a 3 month trip. At the end of her trip she stops in Asteria Geece where in the course of a drunken night she accidentally marries James (another Greek Island visitor), and they both inherit the Hotel Ria. Decisions need to me made on whether she can stay in Greece, run a hotel, and fall in love with her current “boring” husband, or is it time to go back to reality and head back to the states. Is it too much to want it all??

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
Fun fact, my husband and I went to Greece for our honey moon back in 2011. This book had me reminiscing on all of those memories and drooling over all the delicious food talk. What a sweet feel good story this was. It was like savoring a hot cup of coffee with a side of hilarious characters that had you switching from smiling to laughing in an instant. It reminds you to enjoy the simplicity in relationships and to savor the small things in life that bring you joy.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Accidental marriage 💍
💫Slow burn🔥
💫Opposites attract🧲
💫Greek island setting🇬🇷
💫Food talk😋
💫Self discovery💡
💫Hilarious cast of characters🤣
💫Found family💙
💫Feel good stories🥰

🇬🇷𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🇬🇷
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💕Q U O T E: "𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒷𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒."

*Net Galley ARC*

A very cozy romance read!
There are some unrealistic parts (getting married drunk without knowing it I would accept, but then the hotel owner dying that very same day and leaving them a hotel was a bit much to me). Despite those parts, the story flows well and I would recommend this book for any romance fan.

3.5 ⭐️

I liked the premise here and the setting and the found family. But it felt a little slow for me at times. It also bugged me how the text messages throughout the book weren’t even bolder or italicized so we knew it was a text lol. But it was a decent book overall!

Thanks Net Galley for the ARC 💞

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a sloooooowwww burn, but the payoff was worth it. In reflection, I agree it’s what needed to happen.

There’s such a fun cast of characters, too. I love the premise and the ending is perfect.

4.5 Stars
(completed: 9/29/23)

I enjoyed this one - the hero & heroine, secondary characters, and the Greek locale. I was initially a tad put off by the heroine, but her character growth was spot-on. This was romantic, funny, and satisfying.

3.5 Stars
This would have been great had the main character been more likable. Still, there was such escapism between these pages!

There was way too much NESTLING in the last 30 minutes of this book.

I liked this in the way I like watching reality TV. Everyone and everything was ridiculous.

I adored this book. It made me want to book a flight to Europe with no plan, and see where I landed. Worth the read!!