When so much time has passed, is a second chance still possible?

Synopsis

A captivating story to tug on your heartstrings

Following her divorce, Greta Roberts has found solace running Birds of a Feather, an upmarket boutique in the seaside town of Bellbird Bay. But when a ghost from her past reappears, Greta’s peaceful, single life is sent into a spin.

Leo Carlson has built an empire of hotels and resorts but has never forgotten the perfect summer he spent in Bellbird Bay in his teens. When the opportunity to purchase a hotel there arises, he finds it difficult to pass it up.

Meeting again, Greta and Leo are quick to discover they are different people from the young couple who kissed on the beach and vowed to love each other for ever. Beset with challenges which threaten to keep them apart, can Bellbird Bay work its magic and provide these two with a second chance at love?

My review

Greta Roberts enjoys running her boutique Birds Of A Feather in Bellbird Bay after her divorce. She always dreamed of travelling, but after having a daughter at a young age, she stored her dreams, and is now seeing Jo living the life Greta dreamed of.
Greta loves her single life, but when Leo Carlson appears in Bellbird Bay, she is in shock. Because Leo is her first love, the one she thought, despite their young age, would spend the rest of her life with. But that one summer together is all they had.
Leo meanwhile has built an empire of hotels over the whole world. And the opportunity to but a hotel in Bellbird Bay is too good to pass on. And he too is shocked when he meets Greta again, as she is the one he could never forget.
Yet 30 years is a lot of time, and the both of them have changed. But can they have a second chance no matter what, or will old fears be resurfacing too? 

Bellbird Bay is always a wonderful place to return to, and with each book I fall more and more in love with the place and its inhabitants. So of course I was eager to start reading this latest chapter! 

Greta is not a complete stranger for those who have read the whole series, but she only made brief appearances before, so we don’t actually know her.
Yet getting to know her was just amazing! 

First of all, there is so much to like about Greta. While she is independent, and runs the boutique on her own, she also cares deeply for her daughter, and as a real mother, she never stops worrying about Jo. She also sees the free – spirit in Jo she herself once had, and while she encourages Jo’s wanderlust, Greta also hopes that Jo will soon settle down. Doesn’t every mother? 

And also her relationship with Mick…. They married young and ‘out of duty’, and perhaps they weren’t never truly the best match, especially with Mick’s wandering eye… Yet I found it a good thing to see how things ended amicably between them, and how they are still looking after each other. 

Even if I am younger than Greta, I could understand the regrets she has regarding her past. Perhaps ‘regrets’ is not the correct word, but her life went differently than she imagines. Instead of exploring the world, she never left Bellbird Bay, married Mick and had a daughter.
While she absolutely loves her daughter Jo, and still cares about Mick, even after their divorce, I could see why she kept thinking of all the ‘what if’s in her life. 

And one ‘what if’ concerns her first love, Leo Carlson. He spent one summer in Bellbird Bay, where he and Greta fell deeply in love.
A summer where promises were made, but also broken… 

I wasn’t that surprised to read that the relationship of this young couple never became something more. But while in real life such ‘loves’ would appear to be just a summer fling, this wasn’t the case with this young couple.
It just happens that Life happened and pulled the two lovebirds apart. 

I found it also interesting to see how different the lives of Greta and Leo are. Because while Greta never left her home, Leo explored the world, and created his own empire.  

But no matter how much money Leo has, or how he can just buy things without a second thought, I liked it how down – to – earth he still is. And how he could never forgot that one girl in Bellbird Bay that stole his heart. 

Of course, if the both of them just picked up after 30 years, that would be rather unbelievable. So I liked it how the author put into words what Greta was feeling.
Greta knows that they both have changed, and that a lot of time has passed. And while she wants to start over again with Leo, she also needs her own time, to get to know him again, to change her life from a single one to that of a couple.
And there is also her family to take in account. Both Greta and to a lesser extent Leo too, have to think about those around them.
But also (old) fears need to be handled, dears that come with every new/ old relationship.  

The author wrote a marvellous next chapter about lovely and recognizable (okay, I never met a real hotel tycoon myself but you get me 😊) characters. And while the main characters may be of a wiser age then mine, I never felt their age being an issue.
Because the main focus of this book is showing that no matter how much time has passed, second chances can come anytime and anywhere. And it takes courage to take that leap of faith, and that can be a scary thing to do, no matter how old or young you are! 

I truly enjoyed reading this book, and it for sure lived up to my expectations!