Review + Excerpt: Second Chance Charmer by Brighton Walsh

Second Chance Charmer by Brighton Walsh
Series: Standalone Novel
Published by Self Published on 3/19/18
Genres: Romantic Comedy
Pages: 342
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Blackmailed into fleeing his small southern town, this resident bad boy is back to open the first bar in a formerly dry county and reignite the spark he had with the daughter of the man who ran him off.

Willow Haven’s content. Okay, that’s a lie, but she has been trying her damndest. Trouble is, it never sticks. Second oldest in a family her town was named after, she’s always felt the pressure. From the townspeople, from her sisters, but most of all from her daddy—the original Good Old Boy and Havenbrook’s reigning mayor. The only time she didn’t feel that stress had been those blissful months spent in the arms of the resident bad boy. The same one who broke her heart beyond repair when he left without a word.

Life hasn’t come easy for Finn Thomas. He’s had to claw and fight for everything he’s ever had—and truth be told, it hasn’t been much. He spent the first eighteen years of his life living so far from the wrong side of the tracks, he couldn’t even see them through his trailer window. The only thing that ever came easy for him and made his sorry ass happy was the one girl he loved with all his heart. And the one thing he had no choice but to leave behind.

When an opportunity arises to return to his tiny, southern hometown and open the first bar in a formerly dry county, he jumps at the chance. That won’t win him points with the mayor, who’s hell bent on making Finn’s life a nightmare for sullying his namesake. But too bad for Mayor Haven, Finn’s got his sights set on more than just the town, and this time he won’t be scared off quite so easily.

I fell hard and fast for this sweet and sexy storyline. Second Chance Charmer swept me right away with it’s southern charm, it’s small-town warmth and it’s heartfelt romance. I’m a northern girl so the southern sweetness that enveloped me throughout this novel made me giddy. Everything from the decadent drawl of these characters, to the oh-so-polite yet sometimes snarky dialogue had me enamored. I love angst. I love intense romance. But what Brighton Walsh delivers here in this story is everything I needed right this moment.

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Jessica’s Review

4.5 “OMG. LOVE” Stars!

Finn Thomas is just delicious. He’s the perfect blend of southern gentleman and bad boy next door. Everything he says oozes sensuality and yummy flirtation but he’s also so damn polite about it. With that swoony southern charm that slayed me the whole way through, I was head over heels for this guy who, even as he charges back into Willow’s life and woos her into giving him another shot, he does so with manners, with adorable sweetness, and with this innate need to do right by her after having done her so wrong. He’s just everything and I loved him so much. I don’t often swoon all over a character but gosh darn it, Finn is divine. I loved a whole lot of things about this book but the charmer that is Finn Thomas is at the top of my list.

I adore a second chance romance and Second Chance Charmer is utterly fantastic. This book is so sweet, so sexy, so heartwarming, but it’s rife with painful reminders that Finn left. He broke Willow’s heart and we don’t know why for so much of this book. This story creates a delicious war in the reader, a stark conflict between wanting desperately to see this pair find a happily ever after and wanting to see Finn grovel a bit, wanting him to really repent for breaking her heart, wanting to understand what went wrong. I loved it. I was addicted to those feels. I could not get enough. It’s been a while… TOO DAMN LONG… since I’ve read Brighton Walsh’s work and I just LOVED everything she did here in this book. I love this world, this town, this couple, this storyline, these characters. I loved all of it.

Finn and Willow’s romance is EXACTLY what I needed just now. My heart is bursting at the seams as I replay so many of these scenes over and over in my mind. The premise of first love gone wrong in a small town like Havenbrook allows for such a lush backdrop for a good romance. How do you not fall hard for a book peppered with tree house picnics and pickup truck kisses? This book is so romantic. It’s fiery and passionate and emotional, but it’s satisfyingly sweet all at once. It’s everything I was desperate for and didn’t even know it. You just can’t come away from this book without feeling fulfilled, feeling giddy, feeling hopeful and grateful for second chances. And I have to say, Second Chance Charmer also hints at the strong possibility of so much more romance in the town of Havenbrook so I’ll be waiting with baited breath for more from this charming little town. This is a MUST READ second chance romance and a new favorite from this author. I highly recommend!!

Excerpt

Without any conscious thought, Willow’s fingers started tracing the lines of ink on Finn’s skin, and all she could do was watch. He was so solid and warm under her fingertips, his puffs of air growing faster and faster against her neck, then her cheek, then her lips.
And even though it’d been a long time, she knew what was coming a split second before he pressed his mouth against hers. Her sound of protest was lost in the space between their mouths as he swiped his tongue against her lips. And then there was nothing but Finn and his sinful mouth and his body flush against hers. He swept his tongue inside her mouth, and Lord, had he always tasted this good? Had he always kissed this good?
Never breaking away from her mouth, he walked them until Willow’s back was pressed against the wall, and then he just sort of…settled in. His hips held hers against the wall, the length of his erection pressing into her, proving this wasn’t at all one-sided as his hand continued its maddening path along her hip. But then—Lord, then he slipped his thumb under the waistband of her shorts until there was nothing between his rough fingertip and the part of her body forever marked as his. If it were possible, the soft caresses had her melting even further into him.
He kissed her like he was a starving man feasting on his first meal in a month. She’d forgotten how he’d always put his whole body into it, the heat and solidness of him pressing against her, making her feel safe and secure. Finn groaned into her mouth as he deepened the kiss even more, and all she could do was clutch him, one hand fisting the front of his shirt and the other pressed against his side where her tree was eternally imprinted.
“You feel so damn good,” Finn said against her lips.
Willow murmured her agreement into his mouth because there was no denying it. Her body was on fire, her nipples hard points pressing against his chest, her skin lit up from the inside out. And then Finn’s thumb, rubbing maddeningly against her tattoo, slipped to the right until he was as close to the Promised Land as he’d been in a long time. He didn’t try to push it any further, just ran his thumb back and forth right above where she was wet and ready for him until she thought she’d die.

About the Author

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with her first love: writing. When she’s not pounding away at the keyboard, she’s probably either reading or shopping—maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children, and, yes, she considers forty degrees to be hoodie weather. Her home is the setting for frequent dance parties, Lego battles, and more laughter than she thought possible.

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