*I received a free copy of On Second Thought from via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
On Second Thought on 31 January 2017 Pages: 480
Ainsley O’Leary is so ready to get married—she’s even found the engagement ring her boyfriend has stashed away. What she doesn’t anticipate is being blindsided by a breakup he chronicles in a blog…which (of course) goes viral. Devastated and humiliated, Ainsley turns to her older half sister, Kate, who’s struggling with a sudden loss of her own.
Kate’s always been the poised, self-assured sister, but becoming a newlywed—and a widow—in the space of four months overwhelms her. Though the sisters were never close, she starts to confide in Ainsley, especially when she learns her late husband was keeping a secret from her.
Despite the murky blended-family dynamic that’s always separated them, Ainsley's and Kate’s heartaches bind their summer together when they come to terms with the inevitable imperfection of relationships and family—and the possibility of one day finding love again.
On Second Thought is one of the most tender and hopeful stories I have read. It’s character-driven by women of incredible strength.
Ainsley and Kate become close as sisters after they both ended up single once more, and On Second Thought follows them both in the aftermath of the shock they received. Kate tragically and unexpectedly became a widow after only four months of marriage. And soon after, Ainsley’s live-in boyfriend of eleven years left her start over and find himself again. I just felt so much tenderness while I read their story, and I loved being inside their head, understanding their vulnerabilities and their wants and needs.
Kate had gotten over searching for a husband at thirty-eight years old, and then she met Nathan. And On Second Thought did show me some of their getting to know each other, and marrying after a quite short time. Ainsley had been with Eric since college, and they had always planned on getting married and having children.
I can’t find a single thing I didn’t enjoy with On Second Thought. Thank goodness, I haven’t had to live through Kate’s grief, but I still found it to be very well done. The various family relationships as well as the larger circle of people involved in hers and Ainsley’s lives were realistic as well. The best girlfriend who got mad when Kate met a guy and got married. The hot firefighter friend. The inlaws. The parents. The siblings. I just found everything to be so relatable, and I couldn’t doubt any one character’s reactions or actions.
On Second Thought is written in dual point of view from Ainsley and Kate’s perspectives. And while I felt closer to Kate, I loved Ainsley as well. The first person narration worked very well for me, too, and I was mesmerised by the whole story. And while it could have become a wallowing in grief narrative where only sadness and despair was part of it, that wasn’t what happened at all. Yes, there was intense grief, but there was so much hope and love, too. And that’s what both Kate and Ainsley held on to in order to move forward and look towards the future.
If I had known how things would pay out on the evening of April sixth, I would’ve brought my A-game that morning. I would’ve set my alarm early so Nathan and I could make love. We’d only been married for four months, so that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. I would’ve brushed my teeth first and my hair.
The last time I drank wine was the night my husband died. The wine soured in my mouth, and I had to force myself to swallow. If wine was ruined, Nathan’s death would really be a tragedy. Right? Get that? Gallows humor. Ha.
“I felt like I was cheating on him,” I went on. “Because I’d had a nice day. Had dinner with a friend, who’s a good-looking guy.”
“So no nice day for the widow. And you have to ditch all your good-looking friends. Got it.”
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
This sounds like a beautiful read Lexxie. I especially love books with strong female characters, and these characters sound like they are very strong.
Great review 😉
It was awesome, Maureen! These sisters were definitely very strong, and I loved how I felt with them! The overall story was so hopeful, too, so that really helped 🙂
I really like that this book is character-driven by women of incredible strength. Sounds really amazing! And from the way you describe it all, it seems really an incredible story.
They were both strong, in very different ways, and I loved how it was the two sisters that moved everything forward, Stephanie. This was a winner!
Oh so glad you loved this one, Lexxie! I absolutely live for the kind of books where you love every second of reading it.??? It sounds really sad though…but like hopeful too?! So that’s awesome!
Yes, it was sad, but it was more hopeful in many ways. And the way the sisters bonded over their somewhat shared misery was beautiful, even if in a way it was sad that they had to be at a low point in their lives to truly see each other.
I absolutely loved this one!! The characters were great and the storyline, while sad, worked so well. Glad you enjoyed this one like I did. Great review!
Yes, that’s exactly it, Grace! It was sad, bot it just worked so well anyway 🙂
I love this author’s books. This sounds like a good one! Thanks for sharing.
I love Higgins, too, as there is always substance to her romance stories 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Cindy!
Twitter: nadz1809
This sounds like it was an emotional read. I love when a story is character driven and has a strong female lead. Great review, thanks for bringing this one on my radar.
It was definitely emotional, Nadene, but the feeling I had at the end was rather one of hope and empowerment!
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
Wonderful review Lexxie. I often find myself a hot mess with her books but you have me curious.
Ha! Hot messes are necessary every now and then. And strangely, I wasn’t a total mess with this one, as the strongest emotion was hope and I just really enjoyed how the whole story unfolded.
This one sounds like a beautiful and intense read, so of course I’m going to check it!
Great review, Lexxie 🙂
It was both, Silvia 🙂
I think every review that I have seen for this book has been 5 stars. I really do need to make some time for this one. Glad you enjoyed it.
This sounds so good. I’ve never read a book that there are two heroines. Dual POV from the heroines. Wow.. this is so unique for me. I’ll look at it. Awesome review, Lexxie. ?
wasn’t this SO good. I went and read the other book in this and I do LOVE this one so much better, ugh it was such an emotional roller-coaster.
This sounds like a great book and I enjoyed the quotes that you shared!
A lovely review! Sharon – Obsession with Books
I have been wanting to try this author for so long, I’ve heard great things about her writing and characters. I thought about trying this author on audio but I think I’m just going to fit in some time and indulge in her writing.