That’s when she meets Ben Crawford – a man 16 years her junior – as
their attraction heightens, Jennifer realises what she’s been missing. But
mindful that the small-town Ballyfergus residents would never approve, they
conduct their affair in secret.
But a secret is never a secret for long…
As the affair surfaces, Jennifer encounters opposition from friends and
family, especially her daughter Lucy. Enraged by her mother’s relationship,
Lucy seeks comfort in the arms of charismatic but troubled, Oren. Jennifer
knows that Oren is not the man he seems, but can she convince her daughter of
that?
And with everything going against them, can Jennifer and Ben’s love
survive? Or will she risk losing her daughter to be with the man she loves?
As readers of this blog will know, I am part of a Twitter book club
(@TheNewBookClub) and the novel picked for the month of July was Erin Kaye’s ‘Second
Time Around.’ I was really excited when I found out this was going to be the
book club’s next read, because I’ve been looking for an excuse to finally read
an Erin Kaye novel! I’m in love with the gorgeous covers of ‘Always You’ (which
is lying on my to-read pile as well) and ‘Second Time Around’, and I’ve only
been hearing good things about this author from other bloggers. So, during my
holiday days spent near Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight I picked up this novel
with high hopes!
Jennifer
Irwin is a 44-year-old, divorced businesswoman who lives in the town of
Ballyfergus in Ireland. With her daughter Lucy off at university, and her son
Matt making plans to find a place of his own, Jennifer decides it is time for
her to get back in the field and start dating again. However, she doesn’t
expect to find lust and love packaged in the form of Ben Crawford, heir to the
Crawford empire, and 16 years younger than her. It doesn’t take long before the
news of their relationship comes out, and both Jennifer and Ben’s families aren’t
thrilled, to say the least. While Jennifer has her own love life to deal with,
her daughter Lucy has found her own Prince Charming at university. His name is
Oren and he is a devoted Christian, looking for the perfect wife. As soon as
Lucy brings him home, Jennifer can feel something is not right. But with her
own love troubles to deal with, will she be able to convince everyone else of
Oren’s true nature?
‘Second
Time Around’ focuses on a modern-day theme that is often looked at in a
slightly humorous light; older women falling for younger men (does the term ‘cougar’
ring any bells?). It is slightly ridiculous that it is widely accepted that
older men have relationships with younger women, but when it’s the other way
around, it is considered strange or simply not done. I love how Erin Kaye
tackled this subject, mainly because I loved the pairing of Jennifer and Ben. Jennifer
is a great leading character, and I fell in love with Ben from the first
description of him. There was absolutely nothing weird about their relationship,
and I could really feel the chemistry between them throughout the novel. All
the characters in the book were really well-written, though, and I specifically liked
the extra storyline that focused on Lucy and Oren. I felt for Lucy at the beginning of the novel; she's so unhappy at university and feels really lonely. Her meeting Oren (who is quite a character, let me tell you!) changes everything, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Lucy's transformation as a person towards the end of the story.
This
novel shows that it is never too late for love and that you can have a second
chance at it. I really enjoyed ‘Second Time Around’ and the theme it focused
on, and it has definitely inspired me to pick up another Erin Kaye novel as
soon as possible!
Rating:
8,5/10
8,5/10
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