Second Time Around by Melody Carlson

Who doesn't love a second chance?

When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless, cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home decor shop called Romancing the Home--all while trying to ignore the depressing and decrepit apartment she's living in on the second floor. When the shop catches the eye of a popular renovation TV show producer, Mallory is thrilled--until it becomes clear that her apartment is to be part of the segment as well.

She's tempted to abandon her dreams and the town under a cloud of shame. But perhaps there's more to Grayson than meets the eye. Can he swallow his pride, change his plans, and help Mallory romance her own home--and possibly her life?

My thoughts:

I became so caught up in this book that I read it one day. I had to know how empty nester Mallory Farrell would turn her grandmother’s rundown tourist shop in a small seaside town into the upscale shop of her dreams when most everyone town was doubtful, she could make it successful.  

Mallory has a lot to contend with and of course there’s another unexpected fly in the ointment when she discovers her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews wants to buy the property for his outdoor mall, which isn’t a good fit for the towns aesthetic.  I admired how hard she worked to make her dreams come true while  trying to make the best of her ramshackle apartment, her greedy relatives and the knowledge that being featured on a home improvement show would include showing the disrepair and shame of living in the apartment.   Grayson and his crew will be needed to come to her rescue to save her and their town from embarrassment.

Overall, I thought this was one of the best contemporary fiction novels that I have read.  A wonderful plot, well developed characters and fantastic writing of Ms. Carlson made for a delightful read.

My thanks to the publisher for the Netgalley copy of this book.  Opinions are my own.