Romance fans are always rooting for characters who get do-overs—a second chance at happy-ever-after. Life’s a journey, and the things characters learn as they stumble in love and get back on their feet to try again are worth a listen—maybe two! Enjoy these new romance audiobooks on the theme of second chances at love.
Turning away from an abusive situation, Naya Turner crafts a “to do list” to balance her work-focused life in HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING by Denise Williams, read by January LaVoy. What starts as a hook-up with fun loving Jake Shaw turns into more, but is a long-term relationship with Jake really on her to do list? Narrator LaVoy is the perfect guide for Naya’s numerous life changes, including the peril involved in firmly shutting the door on a menacing ex-boyfriend.
What a premise! In MY NAME IS ANTON, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, 18-year-old differently-abled Anton fumbles his telescope and falls into the neighboring apartment. Suspecting the tenant, Edith, is in danger, Anton creates a ruse to help her. Fast forward fifteen years, and their chance meeting means a second chance at love. Narrator Michael Crouch captures all the feels in this intense but hopeful romance.
Narrator Brenda Scott Wlzalo plays up the humor in Lila James’s JUST JILTED. After her wedding day ends in disaster, Adrian is desperate to focus on work until she meets her new work partner, Jackson. Fun verbal explosions demonstrate Adrian’s newly-earned upside-down world view.
In this beloved pairing, narrator Tanya Eby reads THE VINEYARD AT PAINTED MOON by Susan Mallery. At the summer solstice, Mackenzie can’t escape her failed marriage any further. Can she fight past the pain of letting go to arrive at something new? Eby excels at sensitive portrayals, and Mackenzie’s bold second chance deserves nothing less.
Narrator Mary Jane Wells steps up to record ALL STIRRED UP, a PERSUASION retelling by Brianne Moore. Restaurant owners Susan and Chris are both entrants at a food festival in Edinburgh, and perhaps both are ready for a second chance at happiness.
Fake exes may be the romantic trope I never knew I desired. In THE EX TALK by Rachel Lynn Solomon, read by Emily Ellet, radio hosts Shay and Dominic pretend to be exes on a dating advice show in order to save their jobs at the public radio station. Their hilarious back and forth, is, of course, best heard on audio.
