Portobello Book Blog

I have a confession – I’m not a shoe type of girl, in fact shoe shopping is one of my most dreaded things! I never wear high heels, they kill my feet, and am happiest in Converse or walking shoes! But despite this, I couldn’t resist reading this book having read so many other lovely advance reviews. Even I might be tempted though to visit Chandlers Shoe Shop, especially if I could get to meet the lovely characters created by Marcie Steele in this book.

Riley, Sadie and Dan are the close team who work in Chandlers Shoe Shop. Previously run by the late Mr Chandler, his daughter Suzanne is now in charge and determined that the shop’s profits must increase but ignores Riley’s ideas about how to achieve this. The rather old fashioned shop is at risk of closure and Suzanne seems to be set on turning the friends against each other with a sales competition. Riley is the manager of the shop, she loves her job and really values her friends. She has recently been very let down in love and despairs of finding a man she can trust. Sadie was widowed at a young age less than a year ago leaving her with a young daughter. She is dreading the anniversary of her husband’s death and is sometimes struggling to cope with her grief, while trying to keep a brave face for her daughter Esther. Dan is the third member of the team and also looking for love after breaking up with his girlfriend Sarah. His dating disasters were so funny, and some of the highlights of the book.

This is the first Marcie Steele book I have read, although she also writes crime and psychological novels as Mel Sherratt. In her Marcie guise, she writes more romantic and friendship based novels. And if this is anything to go by, I really must read the previous two, Stirred With Love and That’s What Friends Are For. All the characters were lovely (apart from Suzanne, though even she redeemed herself by the end!) and you got a real sense of their inner feelings and thoughts. I really enjoyed finding out about their individual stories. The sense of friendship between them all which Marcie Steele created was definitely one of the strengths of the novel. I really enjoyed the flashmob scene. I’ve never seen one in real life and would so love to. I could just imagine the shop Twitter account going mad with notifications afterwards too! The way that the three friends were all determined to work together to make the shop a success was lovely. The book showed the good and bad sides of Twitter with trends, trolls and hashtags. #shoelove

If you are looking for an uplifting read with laughter, tears, friendship and shoes, then this is the perfect fit! You can enter to win a copy of this book before it’s even published by visiting my other blog post today (click here), where you can also enter to win advance copies other lovely Bookouture novels, courtesy of Kim Nash (who appears in this book as a journalist!).

My thanks to the publishers Bookouture for the chance to read an advance copy of this book. The Second Chance Shoe Shop will be published on April 8th and is currently only £1.99 to pre-order. You can order your copy here: The Second Chance Shoe Shop

From the back of the book

All Riley Flynn wants is to meet someone who makes her happy. But attracting the right kind of man is not easy, and with her heart still hurting from her last break-up, Riley believes she’ll never find love again.

A year ago, Sadie Stewart’s whole world was shattered when her husband, Ross, died. She has struggled to keep herself together for the sake of their young daughter, but with the anniversary of his death approaching, Sadie finds herself overwhelmed by grief.

Sadie and Riley work at Chandlers shoe shop, in the charming town of Hedworth. But when Chandlers is threatened with closure, the friends are confronted with the loss of not only their jobs, but also their support network – the glue that holds them together when they are close to breaking.

As they put together a plan to save their beloved shop, Sadie realises that she might just be learning to live again. Could it be that new beginnings are just round the corner? The campaign also finds Riley unexpectedly crossing paths with charming photographer, Ethan. Maybe her second chance at love is right under her feet …

A delightfully romantic tale of love, friendship and putting your best foot forward, for fans of Carole Matthews and Amanda Prowse.