The Second Chance (Signet Eclipse) [Paperback]

Jaclyn Reding (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signet Eclipse | Publication Date: February 7, 2006

As a young widow with three children, Flora MacCallum thought happiness was behind her-until a friend asked her to run a bed and breakfast on the Massachusetts shore. There, her magical voice awakens the heart of a brilliant composer who is grieving his lost marriage and son. Together they learn that all is never lost, and that hope can be found in the most unlikely places.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Flora MacCallum is an attractive young widow with three children, a heart of gold, and an incredible singing voice. But none of this helps pay the bills in her small crofting village on Scotland's northwest coast, so when best friend Libby Mackenzie, from Reding's The Secret Gift (2003), implores her to take over the management of a bed-and-breakfast in the Massachusetts fishing village of Ipswich-by-the-Sea, she accepts the offer. Small towns are the same the world over, and soon the townsfolk are eagerly promoting a romance between Flora and Gavin, a famous composer trying to cope with his ex-wife's vengeful abduction of their son and subsequent disappearance. Reding's contemporary second-chance-at-love romance is a nice blend of the old country and the new, and includes a historical mystery involving the fate of the mysterious "Ips-witch" during the 1700s, when witch-hunting hysteria overcame compassion, common sense, and justice. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

No one pulls her readers in like Reding.
—Catherine Coulter

Reding has it all. A writer to watch.
—Linda Lael Miller

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217861
• ISBN-13: 978-0451217868
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,186,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jaclyn Reding is the award-winning author of numerous historical and contemporary romances, including the RITA award nominee, THE SECRET GIFT. Since first publishing in 1993, Jaclyn has seen her stories translated into nearly a dozen languages around the world.

When she isn't writing, Jaclyn can often be found making a spectacle of herself cheering at her son's hockey games. Jaclyn lives in New England and loves hearing from readers. You can visit her on the web at www.jaclynreding.com, or email at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take a trip to the Massachusetts Shore, February 3, 2007

By 

cb (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Second Chance (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

'The Second Chance' by Jaclyn Reding is the follow up book to 'The secret Gift'. You first meet Flora in her home town in Scotland. She agrees to spend the summer in Massachusetts setting up a Bed and Breakfast for a friend. She is a widow with three young children and finds herself falling in love again. There is some great sub-plots of attempted murder, witches, unmarked grave and a great romance. Check out some of this authors novels; The Secret Gift and Spellstruck coming out February, 2007.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deep contemporary romance, February 8, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Chance (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

Scotswoman Flora MacCallum is a widow raising her three small children by herself ever since her beloved Seamus died in an oil rig incident in the North Sea while working for expatriate American Libby Mackenzie. When a pregnant Libby asks her to do a favor that means being away from her children for a few weeks for the first time Flora wants to say no. However, her kids, her friends and family insist she travel to Ipswich-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts to open up Libby's new B&B as the hired hosts declined at the last minute.

In the small New England town, Flora meets renowned composer Gavin Matheson who stopped writing music since his ex-wife Miranda ran off with their now six-year old son Gabriel. As he has told his partner Alec Greyson he lost his inspiration Gabriel and no Claptonesque muse has come forth; that is until he meets Flora. As they fall in love, neither Flora nor Gavin are confused about their feelings and whether they want to take the next step in their relationship, but a perilous situation will force the duo to learn what is important in life.

The lead couple and much of the support cast make for a deep contemporary romance that has a late suspense spin. The story line is terrific when the tale concentrates on the SECOND CHANCE at love confusing Flora and Gavin, but he hears the music for the first time since his son was snatched from him. Though the Gabriel-Miranda subplot seems over the edge, fans of a wonderful contemporary romance with a tense climax will appreciate Jaclyn Reding's return to Ipswich-by-the-Sea (see THE SECRET GIFT).

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming romance, August 6, 2006

By 

Susie Rigsby "([e-mail])" (Eldorado, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Chance (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

This novel was a first of Reding's novels for me to read. It won't be my last. Reding weaves a delightful and heartwarming tale in Flora MacCallum's SECOND CHANCE. The widow, Flora, is the kind of mother that all kids should be blessed with. But she's also a woman; as composer, Gavin Matheson soon finds out. And Reding's novel is laced with a bit of suspense as well. There was only one scene that gave me cause wonder as to how that came about. And if I told it, then I'd be giving some of the ending to Reding's plot away. And I wouldn't dream of doing that. Then too, it's just me I suppose, to wonder how that could have happened that way. Maybe I read too much. Regardless, Reding's novel, "The Second Chance" is a heartwarming and tender romance novel, laced with a tad of suspense, and well written with good characters. What more could a reader ask for? I recommend it.