The Second Chance Year

The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner | 336 pages | 2023

Sadie Thatcher’s life has fallen apart in spectacular fashion. In one fell swoop, she managed to lose her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend—all thanks to her big mouth. So when a fortune teller offers her one wish, Sadie jumps at the chance to redo her awful year. Deep down, she doesn’t believe magic will fix her life, but taking a leap of faith, Sadie makes her wish, opens her eyes, and...nothing has changed . And then, in perhaps her dumbest move yet, she kisses her brother’s best friend, Jacob.

When Sadie wakes up the next morning, she’s in her former apartment with her former boyfriend, and her former boss is expecting her at work. Checking the date, she realizes it's January 1st of last year.  As Sadie navigates her second-chance year, she begins to see the red flags she missed in her relationship and in her career. Plus, she keeps running into Jacob, and she can’t stop thinking about their kiss...the one he has no idea ever happened. Suddenly, Sadie begins to wonder if her only mistake was wishing for a second chance.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

I'm endlessly fascinated by "what if" stories (like The Midnight Library or the movie About Time). If you could go back and change your own behavior, would it actually change the outcome? And would you like the result if it did? This story did a great job of playing out both of those scenarios, and I devoured it. The self-discovery Sadie went through was sometimes frustrating, but in the end so satisfying.
Our side characters were delightful. I loved everybody at the coffee shop. We got some great layered characters in Alex, Owen, and the mom. Kasumi is the best kind of book BFF. And of course, Jacob was a 100% heartwarming book boyfriend.
Also notable of that I can add this to my list of good romances to recommend for people who don't like a whole lot of spice. There's excellent tension and clear attraction, but everything is pretty closed-door.