The Second Chance Hotel: A Book Review
How could I put into words how much I adored this story? The Second Chance Hotel’s synopsis about Amelia running off to travel throughout Europe after getting fired from her job and ending up accidentally getting married and tricked into being the owner of a run down Greek hotel had me hooked.
My wanderlust ways drew me to the setting of the novel because who doesn’t want to be whisked away to a charming Greek island with its quirky yet charming residents? So when I settled into reading The Second Chance Hotel, I had an inkling that I would be delivered the perfect escapist novel and this was just that.
This book was funny, inspiring and heartwarming. The only qualm I had was that the slow burn was drawn out until almost the very end of the story. Other than that, I absolutely loved it. The secondary characters had depth and their own backstories that I appreciated reading about as it contributed to being immersed within the book. Also, I can’t gush enough about the scenery, the delicious food and the growing feelings between Amelia and James, her fellow American hotel patron/accidental husband who teaches Amelia more about herself than she realizes. In addition, there is a rain scene, which means my knees went weak when declarations in the rain played out.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc. Thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
Book Description
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?