Nursing Second Chances by Maggie Greene

Title: Nursing Second Chances
Author: Maggie Greene
Publishing Date: May 13, 2012
Source: ABG Reads Book Tours
Summary (from Goodreads):

 A Honey Creek Sweet Romance

Kiersten Hart left Honey Creek the minute she graduated high school and never looked back. When her sister Jeanine is widowed and left to raise two children alone, Kiersten moves back on a temporary basis. When Charles steps in and sweeps her off her feet, she has to decide if the wounds from her childhood can be mended.

After his wife died, Charles Webber swore he’d never love anyone again. He buried himself in his work and didn’t look up until he found out his son was sick. Moving to Honey Creek was supposed to make things easier. Kiersten does little to help keep things simple. Though he is taken with her, he soon realizes the casual relationship they agreed on is turning serious. As their expiration date approaches, Charles must decide if Kiersten is worth the risk.

                                 Review

                          

Don't forget to check out Maggie Greene's guest post about what inspired her heroine.

 I always have mixed feelings when it comes to novellas. I like a well thought out plot with characters that have depth. I want a back story. I like to know where they’ve come from, what makes them tick and what has led them to be the kind of people they are. I want conflict and intrigue that’s drawn out enough to keep me interested but not so long that I lose interest and it becomes boring because I just don’t care what happens anymore. And then I want an ending that feels like it has really completed the story- happily ever after or not, it doesn’t matter. I just want to feel like I’ve gotten something out of the read. It’s hard (for me) to feel like I can get that from a novella.

Nursing Second Chances is a sweet story, it really is. I think it has a lot of potential to be a great book, but I just wasn’t feeling it as a novella.

I didn’t really learn anything about the characters besides a few thrown in facts. Charles used to be a big time lawyer and lost his wife in childbirth. How? Not exactly sure because all we’re told is it was “some weird complication.” That could have been built on so much from Charles’s point of view, but it was left at that. Oh, we also learn that he’s a volunteer fireman. Um, yum! That earns Ms. Greene brownie points right there. 

Kiersten ran away from the small town she grew up in because of rumours. Yes, rumours. Again this could have been such a great plot! Found in the backseat of a truck with your boyfriend? Not a big deal, really. Found out your boyfriend made a secret sex tape and showed it around? Yes, that would have definitely been humiliating enough to run away from. If a character is going to run from something, make it worth running from. I just thought the author exaggerated the fallout from the rumour that was spread about Kiersten in high school. I know small towns are built differently – I’ve lived in them and know how suffocating they can be – so yes, it would have followed her around for a while. But, as a reader, I just don’t believe it would have had the consequences the author wrote about. Sure Kiersten would want to run away from her past and go somewhere where she could start over. That I totally get. But…I don’t know. I just don’t think it would have been as blown out of proportion as it was perceived.

I did, however, really love Jason. He was such a sweet little boy and his actions to gain Kiersten’s attention toward the end was almost heartbreaking. I would have loved to have read more interaction between Charles, Kiersten and Jason as a “family” unit. And I really did enjoy the budding relationship between Kiersten and Charles. They were a sweet couple, both coming with baggage and uncertainty about what they wanted, but it was that part of them that helped them discover what they together.

There was one thing that really felt off and that was the reason behind Kiersten moving back home. She was supposed to be there to help her sister after her husband’s death. But we never see Kiersten actually doing anything to help her sister. Considering she was supposed to be there to help with the kids she was rarely with the kids. I just think that could have been included more in the story so we get a real sense of why she’s there.

I know that novellas are rushed stories and it’s hard to fit a lot of information into it because that would defeat the purpose of writing a short story. But as a reader, if I’m going to read a short story I want it to be one that’s well written and interesting. As sweet as Nursing Second Chances is, I really didn’t get enough out of it. And I hate to say that with this one because I truly believe it has the potential to be amazing. 

**I received a free copy of Nursing Second Chances for an honest review

You can find the schedule for the rest of the tour here

Nursing Second Chances is available from
Turquoise Morning Press 
Barnes & Noble
Amazon