Book Review: Second Chance Season by Liora Blake

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Second Chance Season
Grand Valley #2
Author: Liora Blake
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: June 20th 2017
Review Source: Pocket Books

Garrett Strickland is unapologetically country, fiercely loyal, and perfectly happy with his job at the Hotchkiss Co-op. Garrett is all about living in the present and not dwelling in the past—even if he was once on his way to a lofty agricultural sciences degree that would guarantee the brightest of futures, only to end up back home when his old man died, leaving behind a debt-ridden family farm that was impossible to keep afloat. After that, it was easy to see why dreaming big wasn’t worth the heartache. And until he crosses paths with a city girl who’s hell-bent on kick-starting her own future, he’s sure that good enough is just that.

Cara Cavanaugh is ready for more from life, even if that means changing everything; including dumping her boyfriend of ten years, turning down a lucrative job at a major newspaper, and leaving behind the upscale suburbs of Chicago where she grew up. Now, she just has to pray that temporarily relocating to the middle of nowhere in Colorado will be the first step in building a career as a freelance journalist—all she has to do is prove she’s got what it takes to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, her tony country day school is as close to “country” as she’s ever been. But when a goodhearted guy who looks like he just stumbled out of a country music video offers to help, she ends up falling hard…and discovering that the perfect story is a love story. And it’s theirs.

Second Chance Season follows the story of Cara and Garrett. Cara who is leaving her life back in Chicago  for a chance at a new career opportunity in Hotchkiss, Colorado, a small farming town, where she'll get to do the writing she always wanted to do. Then there's Garrett, life after loss; loss of his father, his family home, and the drive to continue with school. He works at a comfortable job in Hotchkiss and just lives comfortably. Until one day Garrett sees a damsel in distress on the side of the road, one that is clearly not from this side of town, and turns around and sees what he can do. Then he is completely knocked off his boots by Cara.

Let me start by saying that this book was everything I needed at the moment, I've been in such a slump and it may have taken me a bit to get into but then all of a sudden it's 3am and I cannot put it down. It also may have something to do with the fact that Garrett reminded me SO MUCH of my husband. He may not have been a farmer but Garrett was a hunter and so is my husband. I even had him read some of the hunting passages and he then he didn't even want to give it back, “this author really knows what they're talking about, what book is this.” He was ready to read the whole thing. I had such a blast with Cara, especially when she went on the farms and started learning about the way of production. The drive these families had. The author made everything feel so authentic and hilarious. Then the steam she brought with Cara and Garrett was off the charts. They both also spent a lot of time discovering who they wanted to be, where they wanted to end up, and I thoroughly enjoy watching our characters evolve like that on page. It puts more depth into the story and makes me feel like the characters are real, helps people relate to them more.

Second Chance Season was an epic ride. Hot hunters, smart driven chicks, and a very inquisitive cow. can't wait to get my hands on the next book, I can only imagine what Garrett’s friend, Braden, will get himself into. He is about to fall right on his ass in love. It'll be great.