Friday, November 3, 2023

Book Review: The Second Chance Hotel

By Melissa Smoot

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? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

The Second Chance Hotel was such a fun book to read. I couldn’t wait to start it and lose myself in visions of the Greek Islands. The story is about a woman named Amelia, who is in her early thirties. She has just gone through a bad breakup and then gets fired from her tech job, in the midst of it all. Suddenly finding herself single and jobless, Amelia decides to book a ticket to Europe and spend a few months traveling solo. The only problem is that she is leaving her best friend, Ella, in quite a predicament, and this could end their 15-year friendship. Amelia decides to go anyway, and after several months of traveling through Spain, France, and Italy, she heads to the tiny Greek Island of Asteri. Amelia would never have even heard of this Island if her mother had not waxed on incessantly about what an amazing honeymoon destination it was for her and Amelia’s father.

Once Amelia arrives on Asteri, the adventure and drama begins! Starting with the lonely old Hotel owner, Takis, I absolutely loved all the different characters that Godfrey planted on this little island. From Kostas the flirt, to Angry Yorgos, I laughed out loud so many times while reading The Second Chance Hotel. I was rooting for Amelia and James the entire book and I loved all the genuine friendships that blossomed during their stay on Asteri. If you want an uplifting, laugh-out-loud story, with some beautiful scenery sprinkled in, this is the perfect read!

Thanks to Kaye Publicity for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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