Book Review: Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop by Hannah Lynn

It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Hannah Lynn back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop. 

Love is in the air…

After difficult times, Holly is finally adjusting to her new normal. Her daughter Hope is happy, she’s created a beautiful home, and an unexpected offer may mean fantastic opportunities for her sweet shop, Just One More.

But her sense of calm is shattered when best friend Giles drops a bombshell – a proposal to Sienna, a woman Holly barely knows and who isn’t right for Giles at all.

For Giles’s sake, she tries to make peace with Sienna, throwing herself into wedding planning. But as everyone else cheers on the ‘happy’ couple, Holly’s left questioning whether her doubts are about them – or about something in her own heart…

Return to the cosy world of the Cotswolds in this heartwarming story of love, friendship and second chances – perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Jessica Redland.

*****

Holly has settled into life running her sweet shop and bringing up her daughter.

However, when her best friend proposes to his girlfriend, Holly isn’t happy. She wants to try and convince Giles that Sienna is wrong for him but are her reasons for the warnings simply because she doesn’t want him making a mistake or is there something more to it?

I am such a big fan of Hannah Lynn, so I threw myself at any chance to be part of the blog tour for her latest book in the Holly Berry Sweet Shop series, Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop.

What I soon realised, is that I am not as up to date with this series as I am with Hannah Lynn’s Wildflower Lock books. I know. I don’t understand how that happened, but I will be rectifying that by adding this series to my TBR pile. The last book I’d read in this series was book five so there’s a few things that I’ve missed. Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop is book eight. This can be read as a standalone and I was able to keep up very well but obviously starting at this point will reveal spoilers if you’re then planning on reading the previous novels.

I continued to adore Holly although I found her frustrating (in a ‘I love you and need you to open your eyes’ way). She owns her own business, is raising her daughter. She kicks a**. It was also lovely to catch up with the supporting characters – Jamie, Fin, Faye and of course, Giles. Oh Giles. Again, someone I wanted to shake and say, ‘wake up’. Haha.

The plot moves along well. Hannah Lynn makes this kind of novel feel effortless. As the reader, I fell into this book quickly and became completely engrossed. There’s a warmth and humour threaded throughout her stories that’s wonderful to read. It always seems like I come away feeling like I’ve had a hug.

I don’t want to say more as I don’t want to give too much away. Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop is a heart-warming, romantic and captivating read that’s perfect for that spring holiday away or to enjoy the nicer weather with sitting in the garden. I loved it. Thank you again Hannah Lynn for another enjoyable chapter in this series. Although I’m sad to see it’s the final book, it gives me a reason to go back and start the series from the beginning and to catch up on the ones I missed.

About Hannah Lynn –

Hannah Lynn is a multi award winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments – a dark, dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015. Her second book, The Afterlife of Walter Augustus – a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist – went on to win the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award and the Independent Publishers Gold Medal for Best Adult Ebook.

Born in 1984, Hannah grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she spent 15 years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK and then Thailand, Malaysia, Austria and Jordan. It was during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught, she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction.

With over 20 publications spanning a number of genres and translated into half a dozen languages, Hannah has proven herself to be both an accomplished and prolific author.

Now settled back in the UK with her husband, daughter and horde of cats, she spends her days writing romantic comedies and historical fiction. Her first historical fiction novel, Athena’s Child, was also a 2020 Gold Medalist at the Independent Publishers Awards.

Say hello to Hannah on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bookbub. Click here to sign up to her newsletter. 

Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop is book 8 in the Holly Berry Sweet Shop series. It was released by Boldwood Books on 6th April 2025. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones and Amazon US. 

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.