First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer: Book Review

 **ARC received via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

She’s a romance writer burned out on love. He’s her famous baseball star ex-husband. The last man she wants to be forced to work with is the one who broke her heart.

Rom-com writer Gracie Parker hasn’t written a bestseller since she and her husband, a major league baseball star, divorced five years ago. On thin ice with her publisher—and with a looming deadline—Gracie couldn’t have picked a worse time for a painful injury that has her flat on her back. At this point, she’d accept help from anybody . . . except her first love and ex-husband, Noah Parker.

The baseball season has just ended in massive disappointment for Noah. He’s facing the stark reality that he gave up everything for a career that’s let him down and that it might be too late to get back the one person he should’ve held on to. So when Gracie’s nephew calls, saying Gracie’s looking for a tenant for her next-door rental, it feels like it’s meant to be.

All Gracie cares about is turning in her manuscript on time, which is directly at odds with Noah’s attempts to win her back, even if she is slightly charmed by his kindness. But can people ever really change? Then Noah throws a curveball that could give Gracie the extension she needs, but it will mean working directly with Noah, something she’s not sure she can face. With no other choice, and everything on the line, Gracie must decide if it is too late for a second draft of their own love story.

The Author

Becca Kinzer lives with her husband and two kids in Springfield, Illinois where she works as a critical care nurse. When she’s not busy taking care of sick patients or using up all the storage on her phone with more pictures of her dog, she enjoys making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. She is the author of multiple titles including Dear Henry, Love Edith, which won the 2024 Carol Award for debut novel, and Love in Tandem.

Book Review

Second chance romance are always some of my very favorites, and when you throw in a baseball player MMC and writer FMC, this one definitely seemed up my alley. When Gracie finds herself injured and in need of help, the last person she wants it from seems to be the only one who can provide it--- her ex-husband of five years- Noah. These two had a really cute chemistry, despite their complicated history. As the story goes on, we learn more about not only that history... but also more about Noah's childhood--- which is something he'd always kept from everyone, including Gracie. I loved seeing them work through everything and to get that second chance at love. In addition to Noah and Gracie's story, we also get Gracie's nephew Matt's POV too. While this threw me off at first, I found that I did enjoy that little bit of a second romance as well. While this was overall a lighter hearted read, it does take on a few tougher topics to include a mention of miscarriage, which could be triggering for some readers. This was a cute story, and one that fans of Christian romance are sure to want to check out for themselves.


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4bxplLg