Second Chance Husband

First Time, Book 3

By: Carrie Ann Ryan

Narrated by: Gregory Salinas, Jo Raylan

The First Time series concludes with an enemies to lovers romance that has been a long time coming. August and Paisley finally figure out what they’ve been missing.

The first time I got married, I watched the man I love walk away from me.

The second time around, I’m the one signing the dotted line first—this one a man who I realized I never loved.

Once burned, twice broken, I’m done looking for love.

Only my first ex-husband seems to be everywhere I turn—at my work, with my friends, and eventually…in my bed.

I didn’t mean for it to happen.

Twice.

But I know if I don’t protect my heart, there will be nothing left of me if he walks away again without telling me why he did so in the first place.

I don’t know if I can trust this new version of ourselves or if it’s merely the heat between us striking hot.

After all, second chances only exist in my dreams.

And there’s no such thing as a second chance husband.

©2024 Carrie Ann Ryan (P)2024 Carrie Ann Ryan

Enjoyed it!

Second Chance Husband (First Time #3) is an enemies to lovers romance.

Paisley and August’s love story was a good second chance romance. You could tell their chemistry never wavered despite years apart. A nice bit of drama and steamy moments. I enjoyed the family dynamic.

Gregory Salinas did a really good job narrating August. Jo Raylan also did a good job, but I wasn’t a fan of her narrating Paisley.

The ultimate heartache.

Ryan is good at breaking a heart, but she has more than a little help in piecing it back together again. Second Chance Husband makes all the right moves. From intense emotions to haunting romance, August and Paisley are the ultimate heartache. Salinas and Raylan are exceptional. From the first moment to the last word, you're captivated.

Not a fan of the female narrator

I can’t really say why, I just didn’t like the tone of her voice. And her “male” voice during her narration was rough. It made it hard to finish

August and Paisley

I have loved every book in this series all of which have featured Paisley and August, we've always known that they were once married but we have never known why they divorced. We, the readers, are not the only ones neither Paisley nor August's siblings have any idea why, only August knows and he has never said.

At the start of this book, Paisley has just been granted a divorce decree ending her marriage to her second husband James after finding out he has a long-standing mistress. She decides to celebrate her first evening of freedom by going line-dancing at a bar solo where she imbibes one too many drinks.

August happens to be in the same bar on a date with his girlfriend when his Paisley nearly falls as she staggers on her heels. His date insists he ensures Paisley gets home safely, August agrees to take her home but when she passes out he has no way to ask where she lives and so finds himself uncomfortably carrying her into his home where she spends the night in his spare room.

When Paisley wakes up in August’s home, emotionally exhausted and hungover it's all too much for her. August’s two sisters-in-law are her work partners and best friends but so far she's managed to keep herself at a distance from August even though they are married to his brothers. But a long-arranged family vacation forces them to share a suite where the proximity to him and feelings long denied overwhelm her and she calls an Uber and leaves.

August and Paisley find themselves repeatedly in each other's orbit in the weeks and months that follow their aborted vacation and their overwhelming attraction to each other becomes impossible to deny. Their emotions run deep and they become intimate but August wants to keep things casual because he fears repeating the mistakes of his narcissistic parents who always chose each other over their children despite infidelities on both sides divorcing then marrying again then divorcing. But he doesn't tell Paisley of his feelings or fears. Paisley knows that she's never stopped loving August but she refuses to accept anything less than the full commitment she feels she deserves.

Is there any way they can resolve their situation before the whole family is forced to take sides, just how difficult will future family get-togethers become? Add to this her social-climbing, scheming mother and James, her ex trying to get her to remarry him. You can't help but admire Paisley when she finally puts them both in their place.

I loved this story, it's a sexy, steamy, emotional, enjoyable rollercoaster full of characters we have come to know who now feel like friends. There is angst, chemistry, happiness and sadness but most of all there is love, love between siblings, love between partners, love between friends and we finally find out why August left her all those years ago.

The narration is by Gregory Salinas and Jo Raylan who both do a good job of bringing the characters to life.
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Emotional and touching second chance romance

I had the opportunity to listen to Second Chance Husband by Carrie Ann Ryan is the third book in the First Time series and gives us August and Paisley’s story and I was all here for it. This series can be read as a standalone, however, I have read the entire series and highly recommend each book. Narrated by Gregory Salinas and Jo Raylan, this story was emotional, touching and a push and pull second chance romance that was angsty and captivating. August and Paisley were once married, but having his reasons, August walked away. Now they are back in each other’s lives more than they ever thought they would be or wanted to be.

Paisley just got divorced for the second time. She was so strong and determined, but vulnerable during these changes in her life. Though August had his reasons at the time for walking away, he never stopped caring about Paisley. But now that that their family and friends are so intertwined, they seem to find themselves together more and more. But what does it mean? August still has his reservations and Paisley knows what she wants and what she deserves. August’s childhood was not easy and he, like his siblings, carry the trauma from it. Can they find a way back to each other or is it too late? I loved this series so much and August and Paisley’s story was so captivating from start to finish.

Happy listening!

Second Chance Husband

A sweet story of finding love again. August and Paisley have past but they are trying to find a way to ignore it while being friends. Soon emotions come into play and it gets harder to ignore the tension between them. The two are hot together but can they survive what August already sees as a failure? I enjoyed getting to see August and Paisley reconnect. Their story moves along quickly and has you rooting for love. Narrators Gregory Salinas and Jo Raylan do a nice job of bringing these characters to life and pulling you into the story.

Never let your past depict your future!!

Just the closure we needed to end a fantastic series!! I would never have guessed that August, ever the grump is a dirty talker, and exceptionally good at it. That man is undeniable. Paisley has one of the best hearts and I just wanted to hug her. I was not ready for Paisley and August’s love story! So much unnecessary pain and anguish rooted so deep, but the intensity of their love that brought them back together to heal one another melted my heart. Gregory and Jo captured the essence of August and Paisley perfectly with their narration. They embraced the pain but also exuded the love!! Carrie Ann Ryan could not have written a better ending to the First Time series!

Great read

I enjoyed this story! It pulled me in from beginning to end and I loved getting to see what was actually going on with August and Paisley. We have seen them in the previous two books and knew that something went down with them but never really knew what. August and Paisley are divorced, years ago, and now are in close proximity again with Paisley's 2 best friends having married August's 2 brothers. August and Paisley both still have feelings for each other but neither is wanting to deal with them. Paisley got married to someone else and has just finalized her divorce from him. That has not gone smoothly and her mother is pissed and very toxic. August is still dealing with repercussions and the lasting impressions that his parents toxic relationship caused from childhood and which is still ongoing. It has made August beyond hesitant for a second chance with Paisley, worried that would be repeating his parents mistake. But on a family vacation where things don't go as planned and the two are forced to share space, separate bedrooms but sharing bathroom and common area, after drinking, things end up happening and they sleep together. It opens things up again and becomes harder for them to avoid it all completely. I enjoyed watching August and Paisley finally start working through some things though this one has them in turmoil for most of it or in denial of it being able to become more. They really needed to communicated about what happened in the past and how they see each other and themselves. They both needed to work through what the toxic relationships around them had done to them. This story was engaging and entertaining and I really enjoyed it. I loved getting to see these two work through everything and come out the other side.
The narrators did a fantastic job with this story and bringing it and the characters to life.

4.5 stars!

ould the third time really be the charm for Paisley? Her first marriage to high school sweetheart August Cassidy ended in divorce. Her second marriage came to a grinding halt when she caught her husband cheating on her. There's no avoiding August though. They share friends. Her best friends have married his brothers. They live in the same town. They cross paths often. August's own parents aren't great role models having married and divorced each other countless times and splitting up their family parent trap style when they were younger. Plus, Paisley's mother keeps trying to get her back together with ex #2. No thanks!

The angst, the tension, the chemistry, and the attraction between Paisley and August! They're like two magnets drawn to each other. Paisley doesn't want to risk a third failed marriage, but the heart knows what the heart wants. There's no denying that Paisley and August still love each other. Now that they're more mature adults, they can pave their road to HEA.

Jo Raylan and Gregory Salinas were stellar narrators. They brought these characters and their love story to life!

I received an advance copy of the audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

🩷Go Paisley🩷

I enjoyed this story and the narrators were spectacular. We’ve met August and Paisley in the previous books of this series and were always left wondering what happened between them to cause their divorce. They were always in each other’s proximity as family and friends belonged to each. In their story, Paisley is revealed in a way that helps us understand her cold demeanor. She’s like an onion who’s layers that need to be pulled back. And August, who cannot be in any proximity of Paisley without getting all grumpy. These Cassidy men 🩷. They were young when the got married and divorced. Now they are older and August remains the high school chemistry teacher~a job he loves and Paisley is taking over the world. Situations put them together and the dynamic changes. They need to come to terms with who they are and navigate their new circumstances. Exes , parents, siblings, nieces, friends all weigh heavily on their decisions of what it is they are to each other or could be and everything they could lose. I absolutely loved their second chance. Go Paisley 🩷🩷