I loved this book! The setting of Portside, Oregon, is charming and beautiful! The characters are fabulous! My favorite is Grayson! He's polite, thoughtful, and kind! The story is very unique! I love the concept of romancing the home! I actually got some good ideas from this book! A definite must read! ( )

Mallory Farrell finds herself divorced with grown children and rambling around her huge Victorian home she has remodeled to perfection. She has an upscale thriving home decorating business but feels alone and left behind. What does she do now? Things begin to change when she receives notice that she has inherited her beloved grandmother’s tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon.
She packs up to go and prepare it to sell. It holds so many happy memories of her childhood and her grandmother. Seaport is no longer a tourist hub. She is surprised the sad condition the little shop has fallen into and the town. An old high school friend, Grayson Matthews, offers to buy it. Mallory considers selling until she finds out he plans to tear it down along with many other shops to build a modern mall. She is horrified and refuses. Then her strong creativity and passion as an interior decorator is awakened! She decides to remodel and open a new business, one the town has never seen; a home decorating store. She envisions it inspiring business owners to revive their shops too.
Fully committed, she sells her home, finds someone to care of her clients at and moves to Seaport. Making a dream come to life is not without obstacles. Her journey is certainly filled with those. Some of them crushing, but she doesn’t give up.
This book is so descriptive you will feel you are right there watching everything unfold. Ms. Carlson is a master at using details to bring the story to life. Her first glimpse of her grandmother’s shop made me think of some of the little shops we’d visit while on vacation in Galveston Island 40 years ago. Trinket, shells, plastic toys, all dusty and reminders of the past. Not much you’d want to buy but fun to look at.
I so enjoyed watching the shop turn into something amazing. I could picture the beautiful things in her inventory as she arranged them. It was very satisfying to be a part of it and not lift a finger! There are so many unexpected surprises along the way.
I felt her overwhelming disappointment with each problem that arose, but felt inspired as she pulled herself and faced them head on. I saw a huge lesson in not judging people’s motives by appearances. They may as with her are the very ones that are your true friends. Also sometimes we have to put aside our pride and ask for help. This was such a fun read!
I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions stated are my own. ( )

Mallory decides to remodel the tourist shop that her grandmother left her. She has done what she can to make it a great store and is thrilled when she gets a chance to be a part of a TV show to help make the store even better. She is unsure though if she still wants to be a part of it once she learns all the details. She also still has someone wanting the property and has to work out the hard decisions to decide what is best for her all around. ( )

Melody Carlson’s books typically offer an actual story that depicts romance as a believable, generic outcome, and Second Time Around is no exception. Mallory Farrell inherits a tourist shop in Portside, Oregon, from her Grandma Bess. Her children are grown, and her business as an interior decorator is thriving, but Mallory feels the need for a short vacation. While on a quick trip to Portside to examine the tourist shop, Grayson, a local developer, attempts to purchase the store. He plans to develop the downtown into a mall. Mallory declines the offer and decides she will convert the tourist shop into a store featuring home décor.

Second Time Around is an enjoyable but slow-moving story with several shortcomings. The story is populated with cloyingly nice characters, and Carlson’s saccharine tone becomes wearisome as the plot progresses. Her attempts to add an element of complexity to the growing romantic relationship by depicting Grayson as jealous are clumsy. Further, the emphasis on faith in God to solve all problems is tedious, but that aspect will appeal to some readers.

Despite these shortcomings, Second Time Around still offers readers a pleasant story and maintains her status among the most satisfying romance writers. ( )

This is a quick easy read about starting over. Mallory is feeling that everyone is moving on and she is a bit stuck. Following her daughter's wedding she received notice that her grandmother left her a tourist shop. Mallory goes to see the shop and decides to turn her life around.

It is a sweet novel about how starting again or taking a second chance can turn your life around. I enjoyed the positive outlook of the characters and that even the ones that seemed not so good had some redeeming qualities.

Thank you to LibraryThing and Revell for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own ( )