It’s always a pleasure to take part in the blog tour for the latest book from Maggie Christensen – I usually do try to share a review on publication day, but I had to sign up for a slot just a little later in the schedule this time! Second Chances in Bellbird Bay was published on 1st August and is the seventh book in a series I’m very much enjoying, set within a small community on the Queensland coast: it’s now available both as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback via Amazon in the UK and US. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to both Rachel and Maggie for my advance reading e-copy.
This book promises “a captivating story to tug on your heartstrings” – but I already knew it would delight me as much as every other one in this lovely series. Second chance romance, such well-drawn mature (and younger) characters, the most beautiful setting, the author’s perfect emotional touch – and if you still haven’t read any of the books in this series yet, although it’s nice to be able to meet old friends again, you can entirely happily pick up any one and read it as a standalone. You can easily find my reviews of the earlier books in the series (and of many of Maggie’s other books too, including her lovely Granite Springs series) if you pop her name into my search box on the right hand side of the page. So, Greta’s story this time – a background character until now, but I was looking forward to getting to know her better…
Following her divorce, Greta Roberts has found solace running Birds of a Feather, an upmarket boutique in the seaside town of Bellbird Bay. But when a ghost from her past reappears, Greta’s peaceful, single life is sent into a spin.
Leo Carlson has built an empire of hotels and resorts but has never forgotten the perfect summer he spent in Bellbird Bay in his teens. When the opportunity to purchase a hotel there arises, he finds it difficult to pass it up.
Meeting again, Greta and Leo are quick to discover they are different people from the young couple who kissed on the beach and vowed to love each other for ever. Beset with challenges which threaten to keep them apart, can Bellbird Bay work its magic and provide these two with a second chance at love?
If you’ve spent any time at Bellbird Bay, you’ll already be familiar with Greta’s upmarket boutique, Birds of a Feather. Opposite the coffee shop where friends often meet, it’s where everyone goes for their special occasion outfits – and it was a delight in this book to get to know its owner rather better. Greta’d always planned to travel – but that never happened when she found herself expecting, although her marriage to Mick ended many years ago. Daughter Jo is now home again, and keen to see her parents back together – but Greta’s life becomes complicated when the love of her life, the man who let her down over thirty years earlier, makes a reappearance. Leo now owns a string of hotels around the world, but is drawn towards making a new purchase in Bellbird Bay – he still has so many regrets about leaving Greta behind, and hopes there might be a possibility of rekindling their romance.
This really is the loveliest story – the spark might still be there, but there are real obstacles and complications to them picking up where they left off. There was a great deal of hurt when he walked away – although he certainly had good reasons – and Greta needs to learn to trust him again. And ex-husband Mick, after a heart attack that almost killed him, makes no secret of the fact that he’d like to be part of her life again – and, despite the philandering that broke them up, she knows he’s a good man. And then there’s daughter Jo’s interference – and perhaps she’s right that Mick and her are meant to be together. Her second chance romance with Leo looks like it might fail before it really begins…
Their story unfolds against the backdrop of the community that’s now familiar to so many of us – with friends from earlier books making a reappearance, and plenty of opportunities to catch up on how their lives have moved on. The setting, as always, is so beautifully drawn – the summer sunshine particularly welcome as an escape from our wet UK summer – and the author’s storytelling and particular emotional touch are as perfect as ever. Leo could easily have been a less sympathetic character, but she takes time to build an understanding of the issues that drove them apart, telling the story from both their perspectives – I was totally invested in their developing relationship and really wanted them to have their happy ending. And there’s some really well-written drama along the way too – real world problems taking the story away from Bellbird Bay for a while, and adding another dimension to the story.
This was the loveliest addition to a series I’m so enjoying – I look forward to each new book, and I’m so pleased there are more to come. Very much recommended.
About the author
After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Maggie has been called the queen of mature age fiction and her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea – warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.
From the small town in Scotland where she grew up, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!
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Thanks so much. Anne. Thrilled by this reveuw 🙂