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Life’s Gateway to Happiness (Show Me, #2) by Anne Stone – Review by Jenni Bishop

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Life's Gateway to Happiness (Show Me, #2)Life’s Gateway to Happiness by Anne Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life’s Gateway to Happiness is the second book in the Show Me Series by Anne Stone. This book continues with ​the Alvarez and Samuels families. I would read the first book of the series, Life’s Second Chances first as you will get a fuller picture of the world these characters live in. The story will grab you from the beginning and you will find yourself feeling so many emotions when you read it. It is well written with loads of drama that will keep you guessing until the very end. The plot is not revealed all at once but is fed to you bit by bit to keep you hooked. Anne’s characters are loveable and easy to relate to. The are a family that is so genuine that you soon find yourself wanting to get involved in their lives.

Kelly Samuels loves her job as a tester for a software company but her dreams have just come crashing down. She needs to get out of there, she needs to be safe and the only place she can do that is with family. Kelly is home but has not revealed everything that has happened to her family, she is not the girl they have all known and loved. She feels like a failure and does not want to face all that has happened to her. Her family know there is something going on but find themselves running into roadblocks every time they confront her. What has Kelly running scared? Will she reveal the truth behind all that has happened? Will she trust enough to let others help her? Will she ever be whole again?   Alec Alvarez is a confirmed bachelor, he is happy with his busy life as a doctor and loves his family something fierce but there is more to this beautiful woman and something about her that calls out to his protective nature. Alec can see there is much, much more to the story than is being told but he doesn’t want to push. He wants to be there and help her through whatever has her running, whatever has her scared. Whatever the secret she is hiding it is eating her up from the inside out and he feels helpless. When they finally learn the truth will it be too late to save her? Will hearts be broken before they really begin? Will he be the one to save her?   All in all though this is a sweet romance and the men are the sort you only dream about and want to take home to mum. It is sad to see such a strong beautiful woman become a shell of herself but come through it with the love of her family and her sexy, strong and supporting man.

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Life’s Second Chances (Show Me, #1) by Anne Stone – Review by Jenni Bishop

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Life's Second Chances (Show Me, #1)Life’s Second Chances by Anne Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Angelina Samuels is a teacher and after the school she teaches at closes down she is lucky enough to be asked to a last minute interview. Angelina is hired on the spot and finds herself in new teaching job a few days before the year is about to start. As she is being shown around she realises that her best friend, Gabriella Alvarez, from her college days is a teacher at the same school. The two of them are so happy to see each other and reconnect after so long apart. Angelina is settling into her new school as tragedy strikes her family. As one crisis is averted another takes it’s place. As Angelina is trying to recover her constant rock has been Alejandro Alvarez, Gabriella’s brother.

Alejandro is a world renowned transplant surgeon who after suffering a horrifying tragedy, has just moved back home after living away for years. He is trying to put his past behind him and is settling into his new job. Alejandro finds himself growing closer to Angelina but he knows they can only be friends as he learns to deal with the tragedy that changed his life forever. Alejandro ensures he is there as support to both her and her family.

Angelina has a secret he will not share with her family, a secret that only herself and her doctor know. Angelina knows she can never give a man the life he needs. As Angelina and Alejandro spend time together they try to help the other through their crisis they begin to find thing they thought they would never find.

Will Alejandro be able to move on from his past to make a new life? Will Angelina come to grips with her issue to be able to build a life? Will the issues be too much to bear and keep them apart?

There are many characters in this book and each one had their own point of view which at times I found a little confusing as they were all mixed together. All in all though it is a sweet romance full of tragedy and second chances.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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Life’s Second Chances by Anne Stone – Review by Debi Kircher

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Life's Second Chances (Show Me, #1)Life’s Second Chances by Anne Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life’s Second Chances by Anne Stone is Book 1 of the Show Me series

This is the story of Alejandro and Angelina.
4 Stars

This story starts out with Angelina applying for a teaching position with St. Margaret’s Catholic school. She had been teaching with another school since college and that sadly ended with the closing of the school due to decreasing enrollment. It’s only a week before school starts and Angelina is thrilled when she hears the words “You’re hired”. While being shown to her new classroom she runs into a familiar face, her best friend from college Gabriella, Angelina is thrilled that Gabriella is also a teacher at St. Margaret’s and her classroom is right across the hall. They haven’t seen or talked to each other much since college as their lives just got so busy, so they are thrilled to be able to reconnect. While catching up with each other and their families Gabriella tells her that her brother Alejandro, a renowned transplant surgeon, has moved back to town to head up the local transplant services. Angelina and Alejandro had never met but had spoken on the phone a few times during their college years. They finally meet for the first time at a surprise birthday party for Gabriella, where he had to leave early for hospital business. They run into each other again at a bookstore and he asks her to grab a bite to eat. When the night ends a phone call comes in that there had a been a terrible accident involving Angelina’s younger sister and Alejandro does all he can to help her and her family through what has happened. Then when Angelina is faced with her own health issues that will change her life forever, Alejandro feels he is the one to get her through it, although he himself is dealing with heart breaking issues from his past. Can these two people get past all the roadblocks keeping them from thinking of a future together? Can they learn to trust each other, lean on each other and find love?

This was a very refreshing, clean, sweet love story. I loved that both of them had very close supportive families and that these families came together often. I did find some of the book to be a bit wordy but that did not take away at all from the storyline and I just got used to it not far in. This was my first book by Anne Stone and definitely won’t be my last.

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Life’s Second Chances (Show Me, #1) by Anne Stone – Review by Jana Teppih

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Life's Second Chances (Show Me, #1)Life’s Second Chances by Anne Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life’s Second Chances is my first read by this writer. It seems to be the first book in The Show Me series. It was a sweet story about two people brought together by friendship that becomes more through the life events.
This story is about Angelina and Alejandro, it is about loss, friendship, adoption, faith, love… it is a heart-warming story giving us hope that there are second chances in life if you open up your heart and have faith. The main characters are complex and likable, secondary characters are also great and I can see many books to come in the series.
For me personally the book felt a bit too long and at times too wordy, I do believe the writer wanted to make sure that we follow the story and understand and hear both Angelina and Alejandro’s sides. At times I also felt that the arguments and disagreements got fixed too fast which I do not think really happens in real life. As it is the writer’s debut novel, I am sure she will polish her craft and these minor things I struggled with will be issues of the past.
I do think that it is a beautiful story of second chances and it was a nice change to read something ‘clean’, most books include profanity or sex so I can imagine the book appealing or being suitable to a wide range of audience. It is a positive story that shows us that no matter what life throws at your way and whatever hardships you have to go through, you will get to the other side and it might be even better…

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