In a Second by Kate Caterbary is live!
A funny, heartwarming and emotional, slow burn, second-chance romance that captured my heart and kept me absolutely captivated. I feel in love with these characters, I felt their wild chemistry, and I loved this book so much.
Amazon
Blurb
The last time Audrey Saunders saw Jude Bellessi, he begged her to ditch her wedding and run off with him. She said no. In her defense, she was already in the dress.
Years later—divorced and done with relationships—Audrey runs right into the one man she never managed to forget. Except Jude isn’t the rebellious bad boy she remembers.
Now Jude’s an aerospace engineer, a fiercely protective single dad…and, apparently, her fiancé. At least that’s the story he spun for his sick mother.
When Jude asks her to play along for the summer, Audrey knows better. She really does. But unfinished business is a powerful thing—and so is the pull of the boy who once held her whole heart.
Besides, how much damage can one summer vacation with the biggest mistake of her life really do? Answer: epic. Catastrophe looks a lot like a mother‑in‑law in turbo wedding‑planner mode, a preschooler who doesn’t miss a beat, and a suspiciously high number of hotel rooms with just one bed.
So why does lying about forever feel like the first honest thing she’s done in years?
Review
5 stars
A funny, heartwarming and emotional, slow burn, second-chance romance that captured my heart and kept me absolutely captivated. I feel in love with these characters, I felt their wild chemistry, and I loved this book so much.
This is the third book in the Friendship, Rhode Island series, and there is some character crossover (including cameos from Kate’s earlier books, which is an awesome treat for longer-term readers) but this one can easily be read as a standalone.
Audrey and Jude were high school sweethearts. They were madly in love and planning for a life together when they were brutally torn apart. Their final heartbreaking moment saw Jude plead for Audrey to run away with him moments before she was set to marry somebody else, and she turned him down. Now, it’s 12 years later and they are reunited at their high school reunion. Audrey is now single and Jude is a devoted single father, and he needs Audrey to help with him keep a promise he made to his sick mother by pretending to be his fiancée. It’s a mess of a situation, but so much fun as Jude and Audrey take off on a road trip from hell, sparking a reconnection that takes us on a journey of ups and downs that had me glued to my kindle.
It’s a great set-up, and this is just the beginning of the story. This is a looooong book (500+ pages) and when I started I wondered where the story was going to go to warrant such a long book. But I was hooked and struggled to put the book down as I got swept up in Audrey and Jude’s tumultuous reunion.
All I knew was that the woman fucked with my brain chemistry. I never wanted to see her again and I wanted her back more than anything else in the world, and that was a real fucking problem.
This is not an easy coming together. It’s angsty and awkward, and full of all of the embarrassing and uncomfortable moments you would expect when reunited with your teenage love. But alongside that is the banter and loaded moments, and the excited anticipation of waiting for Jude and Audrey to come back together – seeing the longing, the anger and grief of years missed, the depth of their feelings and the epic sexual tension builds a wonderfully emotional whirlwind, and I couldn’t get enough.
I intended to fake loving bliss with Audrey next week. She was worried we wouldn’t be able to pull it off. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to stop.
Though the feels are there from the very beginning, the romance is a slow burn. There is a lot of anger and confusion between them, and they have a lot to figure out as they unpack all that happened in the past. They have ups and downs and the story has unexpected twists and turns as they deal with dramas happening in the present, but their love for each other shines, and I loved watching them work through it all to find their way back to each other.
My chest cracked open as she turned away. I reached for her arm. “We weren’t over,” I said, pulling her back. “Not then. Not now.”
“The only place I belong is with you, and you fucking know it.”
Oh Jude, how I adore you! He’s a strong man who lives for his son, and he knows that this is the chance he’s always wanted to win back the girl he’s always loved. He makes mistakes and he owns them, and I loved how willing he is to put himself out there for her. I highlighted so much in this book, and every single one of those highlights was Jude’s inner monologue and his epic declarations which had me swooning madly.
“I fucking love you and I’ve been waiting to get you back for a literal fucking decade and now that I have you, the only place I want to be is inside you … No one will ever be able to convince me that we weren’t made for each other … I touch you and I feel like I know how to exist in this world. Like I’m awake and alive again.”
Audrey is a great heroine. She’s not perfect, she’s real and relatable, and she and her friends are freaking hilarious together. Jamie and Ruth are complete scene stealers who bring so much laughter to the story, and I laughed so many times at their antics. Characters from previous books appear, and as awesome as the girls are, the guys and their protectiveness over Audrey made me laugh as well. And little Percy, Jude’s son, is just adorable and brings so much heart to the story.
“I thought I knew what it meant to love you, but seeing my son love you a little more every day? And seeing you love him right back?” I pressed a hand to my chest. “I wasn’t prepared for how hard it would hit me. How inadequate it feels to say I love you. But I need you to know there’s nothing I won’t do for you two.”
This is such a gorgeous read. It’s emotional and funny, with wonderful characters, great banter and relationship dynamics, and a love story that owned my heart. I loved this one so much.
5 stars.
An Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the author for an honest review.
Friendship, Rhode Island
About the Author
USA Today Bestseller Kate Canterbary writes smart, steamy contemporary romances loaded with heat, heart, and happy ever afters. Kate lives on the New England coast with her husband and daughter.
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