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Last Chance #1
Welcome to Last Chance
Dear Reader,
Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here.
I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane-that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something. She came with only five dollars in her pocket but she's worked real hard to make a fresh start. She's turned my son Clay's life upside down without even realizing it.
And thank goodness for that! Ever since Clay left his country western band, he's played everything too safe. He needs to take a chance on Jane. Besides, the more he tries to keep his distance, the more he'll realize that he and Jane are singing the same tune.
But I should quit ramblin' and go check on Millie's permanent wave. Next time you're in Last Chance, be sure to swing by. We've got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.
See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes
Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here.
I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane-that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something. She came with only five dollars in her pocket but she's worked real hard to make a fresh start. She's turned my son Clay's life upside down without even realizing it.
And thank goodness for that! Ever since Clay left his country western band, he's played everything too safe. He needs to take a chance on Jane. Besides, the more he tries to keep his distance, the more he'll realize that he and Jane are singing the same tune.
But I should quit ramblin' and go check on Millie's permanent wave. Next time you're in Last Chance, be sure to swing by. We've got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.
See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes
332 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
About the author
Hope Ramsay
35 books559 followersHope Ramsay is a USA Today bestselling author of heartwarming contemporary romances, set below the Mason-Dixon Line. Her children are grown, but she has a beloved fur baby, Daisy the Cockapoo who keeps her entertained. Hope lives in the medium-sized town of Fredericksburg, Virginia and when she’s not writing or walking the dog, she spends her time knitting and noodling around on her collection of guitars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
September 9, 2023
I loved EVERYTHING about this book. From the full length novel to the short story that was included. It was perfection all around.
This novel had me laughing out loud but it also was one of those heartwarming and cozy reads. I loved the small town setting and again, everything about this story could be described in one word: cozy.
I need more of this small town, I need more of these characters, I need more of it all. Luckily, this is the first book in a series so there's more of this world to get lost in. What an incredible start to a series!
As for the short story, it also was extremely cozy and lovely. It's a hard feat to get me to truly love a short story but I was able to with this one. It could have been the setting of a bookstore in a small town that did it. That's perfect enough. But the characters were also extremely charming and lovable.
If you want a book that is going to be a guaranteed cozy and warmhearted read, this is definitely one to pick up!
***Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This novel had me laughing out loud but it also was one of those heartwarming and cozy reads. I loved the small town setting and again, everything about this story could be described in one word: cozy.
I need more of this small town, I need more of these characters, I need more of it all. Luckily, this is the first book in a series so there's more of this world to get lost in. What an incredible start to a series!
As for the short story, it also was extremely cozy and lovely. It's a hard feat to get me to truly love a short story but I was able to with this one. It could have been the setting of a bookstore in a small town that did it. That's perfect enough. But the characters were also extremely charming and lovable.
If you want a book that is going to be a guaranteed cozy and warmhearted read, this is definitely one to pick up!
***Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
July 18, 2017
2.5 stars, a fun little read.
February 11, 2014
Whyyyyy did I do this to myself? My friend noticed I was reading some romance novels featuring small towns and sent me this book. I read the blurb and then got started. Obviously, I should have checked the shelves, because it very obviously says it's a Christian book in the shelves. Nowhere else. By the time I realized that the Bible-thumpers were not solely comic relief, I was too invested. Which is odd to say, because I almost DNF'd it every 15% due to the stupid characters. It was easier for me to get through because the religion wasn't shoved down my throat - it was just the way these characters were and there wasn't a lot of superiority that I've sensed from other Christian-romance novels (hence my avoidance policy).
Disregarding the Christian slant entirely, the story itself was only okay.
The hero is flaky and weak, harping on his own "mid-life crisis" at 34 years old. While the heroine is ridiculously insecure and so passive it's downright tragic. The secondary characters consist of literally, the worst cop ever; a kid that hallucinates about crying angels; a mentally handicapped hornball... it just goes on and on. The only character I actually liked was the matchmaker, who does get a little bit of page time, but it doesn't make up for the rest of this ridiculous story.
The POV changes at least 3 times in the first chapter and continues on randomly throughout the book. You get a secondary romance that doesn't further the story, but neatly wraps up a situation I'm not sure the author knew how to handle.
The whole thing was kinda weak. Bring back in the Christian slant and it was slightly better if only for the fact that the author portrayed busy-body middle-aged Southern Baptists perfectly. Personally, I got a bit of a comedic value out of the "the Good Lord this" and "the Good Lord that"... If you like Christian-romances, you might enjoy this. If you don't care for them, you should probably just skip it.
Disregarding the Christian slant entirely, the story itself was only okay.
The hero is flaky and weak, harping on his own "mid-life crisis" at 34 years old. While the heroine is ridiculously insecure and so passive it's downright tragic. The secondary characters consist of literally, the worst cop ever; a kid that hallucinates about crying angels; a mentally handicapped hornball... it just goes on and on. The only character I actually liked was the matchmaker, who does get a little bit of page time, but it doesn't make up for the rest of this ridiculous story.
The POV changes at least 3 times in the first chapter and continues on randomly throughout the book. You get a secondary romance that doesn't further the story, but neatly wraps up a situation I'm not sure the author knew how to handle.
The whole thing was kinda weak. Bring back in the Christian slant and it was slightly better if only for the fact that the author portrayed busy-body middle-aged Southern Baptists perfectly. Personally, I got a bit of a comedic value out of the "the Good Lord this" and "the Good Lord that"... If you like Christian-romances, you might enjoy this. If you don't care for them, you should probably just skip it.
March 14, 2011
I loved this book. I picked it up on Saturday night and finished on Sunday morning. I was having a bad weekend and this book helped me smile. WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE features characters that are flawed, funny, rude, and sweet. Jane and Clay are both very flawed. They’ve been abused, screwed over, and have every right to see the glass half-empty. Clay is very negative and is kind of letting life run over him. Jane has been running for a long time, but she believes that life is going to eventually go her way. These two shouldn’t have made a good couple, but they do. I believe it is the writing and the secondary characters. The whole town plays a part in this romance and all of the changes that Jane and Clay go through during the book. I can honestly say that if this book hadn’t been so well written and entertaining that two such sad characters would have made this book a wall-banger. I’m not a big fan of both the hero and the heroine having so many issues, but in WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE it worked! I can’t wait to read more books set in Last Chance.
July 19, 2019
This was absolutely adorable! Perfect summer time read.
Small town - CHECK
Great charaters - CHECK
A little funny - CHECK
Perfect for a beach bag? DOUBLE CHECK!!
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Small town - CHECK
Great charaters - CHECK
A little funny - CHECK
Perfect for a beach bag? DOUBLE CHECK!!
Follow us on
Twitter✿Facebook✿Pinterest✿BookBabblers✿Instagram
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
April 16, 2011I hate giving up on a book. I try to push through and finish no matter what. But sometimes a book isn't working for me on any level, and given my limited reading time these days, giving up is just for the best. Which is what I decided to do with this book. I just had no interest in continuing to read it.
Series Note:
First book in the "Last Chance" series about a small South Caroline town.
Summary:
Read the summary on the book page. I didn't read enough of the book to give a more accurate summary:
"Review:"
This was a total random buy. I looked at it in Target several times before figuring I'd give it a try. Sometimes random buys pay off, sometimes these don't. This one, unfortunately, didn't.
I'd been hoping for a "Virgin River" type book...and yeah, I suppose there is a sense of that, but I couldn't get past a lot of things in the small chunk of this book I read.
I only read 48 pages of this book before I just decided to give up. Nothing about those 48 pages worked for me in any sense.
What didn't I like?
- you start off with a broke heroine on a bus continually referring to some quack doctor and his theories on "positive thinking"
- she lands in Last Chance, South Carolina...a super small town, heads to the nearest bar/restaurant and decides to pick a guy to con into some food and then she thinks about what else she'll have to do and how she'll regret it in the morning.
- heroine hooks up with a guy for the night...you're expecting at least a little steam, but you get a kiss then the scene just stops and you start up again the next morning
- the hero is a pony-tail wearing supposed bad boy who starts sobbing in the bathroom after realizing he just banged a down-on-her-luck woman, which is just another signal of how bad his life has gotten
- "bad boy" hero also has a penchant for saying "for goodness' sake" and other sanitized swears like some kind of choirboy
- "bad boy" hero also calls the heroine "little gal" and "girl"
- heroine constantly thinks of talks about the quack doctor and his "positive thinking" theories and the hero is all "glass half empty"
- there's a God-themed mini-golf course run by the hero's father, who happens to apparently be a bit crazy because he talks to angels
Is that enough to show you why I couldn't go on? Just really not my kind of book. At all.
Series Note:
First book in the "Last Chance" series about a small South Caroline town.
Summary:
Read the summary on the book page. I didn't read enough of the book to give a more accurate summary:
"Review:"
This was a total random buy. I looked at it in Target several times before figuring I'd give it a try. Sometimes random buys pay off, sometimes these don't. This one, unfortunately, didn't.
I'd been hoping for a "Virgin River" type book...and yeah, I suppose there is a sense of that, but I couldn't get past a lot of things in the small chunk of this book I read.
I only read 48 pages of this book before I just decided to give up. Nothing about those 48 pages worked for me in any sense.
What didn't I like?
- you start off with a broke heroine on a bus continually referring to some quack doctor and his theories on "positive thinking"
- she lands in Last Chance, South Carolina...a super small town, heads to the nearest bar/restaurant and decides to pick a guy to con into some food and then she thinks about what else she'll have to do and how she'll regret it in the morning.
- heroine hooks up with a guy for the night...you're expecting at least a little steam, but you get a kiss then the scene just stops and you start up again the next morning
- the hero is a pony-tail wearing supposed bad boy who starts sobbing in the bathroom after realizing he just banged a down-on-her-luck woman, which is just another signal of how bad his life has gotten
- "bad boy" hero also has a penchant for saying "for goodness' sake" and other sanitized swears like some kind of choirboy
- "bad boy" hero also calls the heroine "little gal" and "girl"
- heroine constantly thinks of talks about the quack doctor and his "positive thinking" theories and the hero is all "glass half empty"
- there's a God-themed mini-golf course run by the hero's father, who happens to apparently be a bit crazy because he talks to angels
Is that enough to show you why I couldn't go on? Just really not my kind of book. At all.
November 10, 2015
Religious beliefs are front and center here. I have learned to quickly read through it and concentrate on the characters development, so it was enjoyable. It's not a book that can be recommended to just anyone, but I knew what to expect.
I really like stories like this about little towns and big families. I'm looking forward to more, especially with religion not being in your face with the rest of the books.
I can usually leave or take a mystery or some action in my book reads. But it was OK here, not too ridiculous but certainly not believable... Then again I am reading fiction so can't complain.
I really like stories like this about little towns and big families. I'm looking forward to more, especially with religion not being in your face with the rest of the books.
I can usually leave or take a mystery or some action in my book reads. But it was OK here, not too ridiculous but certainly not believable... Then again I am reading fiction so can't complain.
April 4, 2015
Started out slow, I didn't get the "feel" of the whole book until around 60% then it started to pick up. Don't really like the hero, he's one confuse man..I dislike indecisive men and he came around too good for my liking. But then, I guess nobody's perfect.
I have no problem with a Christian theme, it's written to portray the community, didn't feel as if it supposed to preach me when I read the book, or I would put it down sooner than finished with it ;p
The writing was kinda new to me, it certainly grew on me but I like the sense of humour of Ms. Ramsay.
I have no problem with a Christian theme, it's written to portray the community, didn't feel as if it supposed to preach me when I read the book, or I would put it down sooner than finished with it ;p
The writing was kinda new to me, it certainly grew on me but I like the sense of humour of Ms. Ramsay.
July 2, 2017
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
After wanting to read this author for quite a while, I was happy to discover that the first book of this series was on the shelf at the local library and I grabbed it up, without even looking at the blurb. Yep, I just knew I needed to read this author and I was NOT dissapointed. This book was simply wonderful. I loved everything about it. And boy did it make me laugh so very hard, and I wasn't expecting it to be so funny, but it really was. So let me tell you what I really loved about this first book of the Last Chance Series.
Our heroine, Jane, is on the run from some dangerous people, and also from the secrets of her past. She arrives in Last Chance, with only five dollars to her name and runs into our hero Clay, a sexy singer who has recently come home trying to build a new life when his efforts of building his dreams didn't work out as he planned. Jane and Clay share a passionate night, but Clay doesn't want to let Jane go, even though another part of him tries to help her leave town because he knows there isn't anything for her here. He knows she is hiding something, and that she is one step away from living on the street. Jane is determined to stay in town even though Clay doesn't understand why she would want to.
"Look girl, will you wake up? We're sitting on a flat piece of land that's a few feet above sea level. Hurricane Jane may be a hundred miles away, but it's supposed to drop something like fifteen inches of rain on us today. Before the day is out, we'll lose power, half the roads will get washed out, and there will be trees down all over town. No one is going to be conducting interviews today"
"You really are a glass is half empty kind of person aren't you?"
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out. "Well," he said, opening his eyes again and speaking as if she was mentally slow or something "I realize you like to think positively, but.." His voice rose in pitch "A hurricane is a frigging natural disaster."
This story is a endearing, sweet and fascinating story that really pulled me in pretty quickly. I really loved pretty much everything about this book. The characters are just charming, and not just the main characters. We have some entertaining side characters that just made me want to buy the rest of the books in the series, because they were unique and different. They added magic to this story, and their personalities and humor just fit right with the setting and theme that this author is setting up for the series. The romance that builds between Clay and Jane is magical here. At first it starts as a fling, but then it turns quickly into something deeper between them. I really liked seeing the intimacy build slowly between them. The story overall is a book that pulls you in, makes you laugh and smile, it makes you ponder and think and will make you want to only read more of this mysterious town of Last Chance.
Click To Buy On Amazon
[foogallery id="39196"]
After wanting to read this author for quite a while, I was happy to discover that the first book of this series was on the shelf at the local library and I grabbed it up, without even looking at the blurb. Yep, I just knew I needed to read this author and I was NOT dissapointed. This book was simply wonderful. I loved everything about it. And boy did it make me laugh so very hard, and I wasn't expecting it to be so funny, but it really was. So let me tell you what I really loved about this first book of the Last Chance Series.
Our heroine, Jane, is on the run from some dangerous people, and also from the secrets of her past. She arrives in Last Chance, with only five dollars to her name and runs into our hero Clay, a sexy singer who has recently come home trying to build a new life when his efforts of building his dreams didn't work out as he planned. Jane and Clay share a passionate night, but Clay doesn't want to let Jane go, even though another part of him tries to help her leave town because he knows there isn't anything for her here. He knows she is hiding something, and that she is one step away from living on the street. Jane is determined to stay in town even though Clay doesn't understand why she would want to.
"Look girl, will you wake up? We're sitting on a flat piece of land that's a few feet above sea level. Hurricane Jane may be a hundred miles away, but it's supposed to drop something like fifteen inches of rain on us today. Before the day is out, we'll lose power, half the roads will get washed out, and there will be trees down all over town. No one is going to be conducting interviews today"
"You really are a glass is half empty kind of person aren't you?"
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out. "Well," he said, opening his eyes again and speaking as if she was mentally slow or something "I realize you like to think positively, but.." His voice rose in pitch "A hurricane is a frigging natural disaster."
This story is a endearing, sweet and fascinating story that really pulled me in pretty quickly. I really loved pretty much everything about this book. The characters are just charming, and not just the main characters. We have some entertaining side characters that just made me want to buy the rest of the books in the series, because they were unique and different. They added magic to this story, and their personalities and humor just fit right with the setting and theme that this author is setting up for the series. The romance that builds between Clay and Jane is magical here. At first it starts as a fling, but then it turns quickly into something deeper between them. I really liked seeing the intimacy build slowly between them. The story overall is a book that pulls you in, makes you laugh and smile, it makes you ponder and think and will make you want to only read more of this mysterious town of Last Chance.
Click To Buy On Amazon
[foogallery id="39196"]
December 14, 2017
Öncelikle bu ne garip çeviri? Bence bazı tabirler bizim dilimize uyarlanmamalı, “hay yarabbi”, “anacık” vs batıyor. Aklıma çalıkuşu geldi durduk yere. Feride konuşurken sorun yok da son şans kasabasındaki bir amerikalı konuşurken sorun var yani. Kitaba bir türlü ısınamamın bir nedeni kesinlikle çeviri. İkincisi de kurguyu hiç tutarlı bulamamam. Karakterler aynı şekilde yavan işlenmiş. Ben küçük kasaba hikayelerine aslında bayılırım ama bu pek olmadı. Yine de çevirilerinin farklı olduğunu umut edip devam kitaplarına bir göz atmayı düşünüyorum.
April 28, 2011
This is a brand new author. No, really! It says so right on the cover of the book. There's definitely potential here.
This is one of those books that a review is best told by the characters themselves.
Jane: The main lady, is broke and on the run from a disasterous past. Let's just say this poor girl has made quite a few made decisions, all of them revolving around "weasel" guys. Her words on the weasel characteristic. She arrives in Last Chance on the 9:30 bus from Atlanta. Pay attention here, because that 9:30 bus is going to be mentioned a few times. It's important, or at least interesting if nothing else.
Clay: Your typical "knight in shining armor". What's he do? Well, he's to rescue the damsel in distress, of course. Only there's 3 of them in his life, and 1 of them doesn't take kindly to being what she calls a charity case. She keeps trying to thwart his help, while the other 2 want nothing more than for Clay to rescue them. Obviously, Clay's going to keep trying to help the one who doesn't want it. That's a guy for ya!
The Ladies: This is a group of elderly women (one of them being Clay's mom) within the town of Last Chance who are determined to mentor young'uns onto the right path. What they do guarantee is some humorous moments for the reader to enjoy. The Ladies will be a feature worth looking forward to in subsequent books.
Stone: He may be Clay's brother, but the only thing these two have in common is their thick skulls and Stone's skull is by far the thickest. It's understandable that he's a smidge closed off emotionally after losing his wife, but this guy acts like a complete jerk and shows a borderline abuse of power in his role as cop. Unfortunately, it would take a whole lot of rewriting to make this guy even close to something resembling a decent human being. His daughter is the only time you see him act with any sort of emotion.
There's a whole slew of others to meet, as this is Hope's first book in a series, but these ones mentioned are the characters that played the larger roles in this story.
It feels bad to say the characters were the best part of this story, because the writing itself was pretty good. However, there were a few "lines" that Welcome to Last Chance almost crossed or did cross that just didn't help it. For one, it didn't present itself as being Christian fiction and yet there were quite a few times that it toed the line of being just a touch too preach-y. Yea, it's not really a word, but it gets the point across. Though Ramsey does well in her definitive seperation between a good Christian and those who claim it but don't live it.
There were also a couple of moments, very briefly, when the characters approached potential prejudice and almost caused the book to be a garbage read. In other words the only thing reading it would've been the garbage can. Luckily Ramsey didn't go there, and therefore didn't land in the garbage can.
Now, we all know that internal conflict is a big thing in romance novels, but there comes a point when those "Oh what should I do?" moments become "Oh, shut up already!" moments for the reader. Sadly Ramsey did cross the line here. Clay became much too tedious in his constant back and forth. Hopefully, for Clay's sake, he's straight in his heart and his mind, because if he's not... Ugh! His lady's going to need that backbone she developed, because she's going to be holding them both up in the times to come.
Ramsey's writing style though is very smooth, entertaining, and full of lots of potential. While it did tend to shout "new author", she has a really good ability to balance romance, humor, and suspense all in one book. There's definitely something to look forward to as her ability continues to progress, and she definitely has the potential to write herself into the 5 cups category.
There's enough interest here to keep an eye out for the next installment, Home in Last Chance, which will be in stores September 2011.
This is one of those books that a review is best told by the characters themselves.
Jane: The main lady, is broke and on the run from a disasterous past. Let's just say this poor girl has made quite a few made decisions, all of them revolving around "weasel" guys. Her words on the weasel characteristic. She arrives in Last Chance on the 9:30 bus from Atlanta. Pay attention here, because that 9:30 bus is going to be mentioned a few times. It's important, or at least interesting if nothing else.
Clay: Your typical "knight in shining armor". What's he do? Well, he's to rescue the damsel in distress, of course. Only there's 3 of them in his life, and 1 of them doesn't take kindly to being what she calls a charity case. She keeps trying to thwart his help, while the other 2 want nothing more than for Clay to rescue them. Obviously, Clay's going to keep trying to help the one who doesn't want it. That's a guy for ya!
The Ladies: This is a group of elderly women (one of them being Clay's mom) within the town of Last Chance who are determined to mentor young'uns onto the right path. What they do guarantee is some humorous moments for the reader to enjoy. The Ladies will be a feature worth looking forward to in subsequent books.
Stone: He may be Clay's brother, but the only thing these two have in common is their thick skulls and Stone's skull is by far the thickest. It's understandable that he's a smidge closed off emotionally after losing his wife, but this guy acts like a complete jerk and shows a borderline abuse of power in his role as cop. Unfortunately, it would take a whole lot of rewriting to make this guy even close to something resembling a decent human being. His daughter is the only time you see him act with any sort of emotion.
There's a whole slew of others to meet, as this is Hope's first book in a series, but these ones mentioned are the characters that played the larger roles in this story.
It feels bad to say the characters were the best part of this story, because the writing itself was pretty good. However, there were a few "lines" that Welcome to Last Chance almost crossed or did cross that just didn't help it. For one, it didn't present itself as being Christian fiction and yet there were quite a few times that it toed the line of being just a touch too preach-y. Yea, it's not really a word, but it gets the point across. Though Ramsey does well in her definitive seperation between a good Christian and those who claim it but don't live it.
There were also a couple of moments, very briefly, when the characters approached potential prejudice and almost caused the book to be a garbage read. In other words the only thing reading it would've been the garbage can. Luckily Ramsey didn't go there, and therefore didn't land in the garbage can.
Now, we all know that internal conflict is a big thing in romance novels, but there comes a point when those "Oh what should I do?" moments become "Oh, shut up already!" moments for the reader. Sadly Ramsey did cross the line here. Clay became much too tedious in his constant back and forth. Hopefully, for Clay's sake, he's straight in his heart and his mind, because if he's not... Ugh! His lady's going to need that backbone she developed, because she's going to be holding them both up in the times to come.
Ramsey's writing style though is very smooth, entertaining, and full of lots of potential. While it did tend to shout "new author", she has a really good ability to balance romance, humor, and suspense all in one book. There's definitely something to look forward to as her ability continues to progress, and she definitely has the potential to write herself into the 5 cups category.
There's enough interest here to keep an eye out for the next installment, Home in Last Chance, which will be in stores September 2011.
September 14, 2023
After finishing the last half of the series, I decided it was well-nigh time I came back for the beginning. I was excited to see how it all got started in Hope Ramsay’s Last Chance world. It was as quirky and heartwarming as I anticipated.
Welcome to Last Chance opens with ‘Mary Smith’ getting on a bus in Atlanta for a small town destination she chose on a whim. With only the clothes on her back and five dollars in her purse, she needs some really good luck after the last bad boy got her into heaps of sorrow and trouble. Too bad the first face she sees when she steps inside the bar hoping to coax a good ol’ boy out of a few bucks for a meal is a devilishly handsome fiddler who looks the epitome of the bad boy cliché. And, don’t they give Last Chance residents something to talk about by morning.
Clay Rhodes has been in a mood for a long time. He’s been on the receiving end of more than one ‘she done him wrong’ songs and he feels responsible for his best friend’s traumatic brain injury so he sticks around Last Chance and his life is in a rut. Then gorgeous trouble magnet Jane gets under his skin and the local matchmaker predicts his future. But Jane’s past keeps coming up to haunt them both and his exes don’t stay where they left him. And, that was only the beginning.
Poor Jane has had one rough and tough row to hoe. She made some teenage mistakes and then some big girl mistakes and then she runs into Clay who doesn’t exactly have his life together either. Jane was a woman of steel though she didn’t see herself that way and it was Clay who was all over the place. A few things that he said and did had me itching to smack him, but by the book’s end he finally has his come to Jesus moment.
The romance was an age-gap one, but the age is the least of their worries with all her bad choices making her look like a criminal on the run and having both cops and robbers on her trail and Clay can’t get it settled who and what he wants so he blows hot and cold. Normally, this sort of thing has me crazy, but there was a light element including the small town character antics, Clay’s family and Ray’s side story to keep things copacetic. The end had a big finale that showed the crisis in both an action and relationship scene that was a perfect finish.
Now, I’m ready for the next of Ruby’s family to find his romance. I will definitely be finishing up the earlier ones I missed and recommend this light, slightly dramatic small town romance series to contemporary romance fans.
My full review will post at Books of My Heart on Sept 6th
Welcome to Last Chance opens with ‘Mary Smith’ getting on a bus in Atlanta for a small town destination she chose on a whim. With only the clothes on her back and five dollars in her purse, she needs some really good luck after the last bad boy got her into heaps of sorrow and trouble. Too bad the first face she sees when she steps inside the bar hoping to coax a good ol’ boy out of a few bucks for a meal is a devilishly handsome fiddler who looks the epitome of the bad boy cliché. And, don’t they give Last Chance residents something to talk about by morning.
Clay Rhodes has been in a mood for a long time. He’s been on the receiving end of more than one ‘she done him wrong’ songs and he feels responsible for his best friend’s traumatic brain injury so he sticks around Last Chance and his life is in a rut. Then gorgeous trouble magnet Jane gets under his skin and the local matchmaker predicts his future. But Jane’s past keeps coming up to haunt them both and his exes don’t stay where they left him. And, that was only the beginning.
Poor Jane has had one rough and tough row to hoe. She made some teenage mistakes and then some big girl mistakes and then she runs into Clay who doesn’t exactly have his life together either. Jane was a woman of steel though she didn’t see herself that way and it was Clay who was all over the place. A few things that he said and did had me itching to smack him, but by the book’s end he finally has his come to Jesus moment.
The romance was an age-gap one, but the age is the least of their worries with all her bad choices making her look like a criminal on the run and having both cops and robbers on her trail and Clay can’t get it settled who and what he wants so he blows hot and cold. Normally, this sort of thing has me crazy, but there was a light element including the small town character antics, Clay’s family and Ray’s side story to keep things copacetic. The end had a big finale that showed the crisis in both an action and relationship scene that was a perfect finish.
Now, I’m ready for the next of Ruby’s family to find his romance. I will definitely be finishing up the earlier ones I missed and recommend this light, slightly dramatic small town romance series to contemporary romance fans.
My full review will post at Books of My Heart on Sept 6th
December 31, 2014
Got to page 218 and I'm done. The sheriff is the biggest @ss who walked the planet, the situations that occur are not believable in the slightest and all of the characters are too kooky and unlikeable to be real. And what's with the constantly crying angel that only the little girl can see? This book is all over the place and not in a good way. So sorry I spent the money on the next two books in the series. Also sorry my last review of 2014 is so negative. Ugh!
December 6, 2021
Ortalama ve tatlış bir kitaptı. Kasaba ve aile hikayelerini sevenler çok beklentiye girmeden okuyabilir. Tek kötü yan olarak aşırı bir şekilde kilise mezhepleri işine girmişti. Gerek yoktu bence.
İyi bir yan olarak pozitif enerji olayına bayıldım. Jane ve evren konuşmaları iyiydi. Marilyn"in kehanetinden sonra herkesin Atlanta otobüsüyle gelmesi çok daha iyiydi 😍
İyi bir yan olarak pozitif enerji olayına bayıldım. Jane ve evren konuşmaları iyiydi. Marilyn"in kehanetinden sonra herkesin Atlanta otobüsüyle gelmesi çok daha iyiydi 😍
March 12, 2014
This was a fun book to read. Right at the beginning it seems like both Jane and Clay are hot messes. Jane has come to Last Chance to make a new start to her life after some bad choices. Clay is the first person she meets and proceeds to perhaps continue those bad choices. Clay came back to his hometown after things didn't go so well in Nashville and now feels like he's stuck in neutral.
Jane was screwed over by her latest boyfriend who ended up stealing all her money instead of helping her make it big in Nashville. Now she's arrived in Last Chance with five dollars to her name and a determination to turn her life around. She has become a believer in positive thinking and hopes that it will be enough to see her through. She goes to the local bar in hopes that some nice guy will buy her a meal and offer her a sofa to sleep on. The first one she sees is Clay who is playing his fiddle with the band. He wears his hair long, in a pony tail, and is very good looking. She thinks he looks like a bad boy and has resolved to stay away from them. But beggars can't be choosers and she ends up doing more than sleeping on his sofa, which they both regret in the morning. Through a strange series of events, Jane is offered a job by Clay's mom, cutting hair and doing nails in her salon, and watching her grandchildren in the afternoons. It comes with a rent free apartment, so things are looking up. She still has an inconvenient attraction to Clay going on, but she tries to resist that. Jane also has some trouble in her past that she has been trying to outrun for seven years. Some of that trouble is about to catch up with her in both a funny and heartbreaking way. I really liked Jane's determination to make her life better. She also wants to do it on her own, not depend on a white knight to rescue her. She's falling for Clay but he can't seem to make up his mind what he wants. When it comes to things going her way, Jane can't seem to catch a break, to the point where she's even been accused of murdering herself. While she is pretty down on herself for most of the book, by the end she has begun to see that things aren't so bad after all. I really loved the way she took charge at the end and saved Haley and herself.
Clay is basically a nice guy. He doesn't look like it, but he is. He is a good son to his momma, a good brother and uncle, a great friend to his handicapped buddy and even plays organ in church on Sundays. He left Last Chance after high school with his girlfriend, where they went to Nashville. He became a pretty good songwriter and fiddle player and had a band. His girlfriend left him for a rich record producer, breaking his heart. When he finally moved on from that and found a new love, she left him for the lead singer in the band. All the women seem to find him a better friend than lover. So he quits the band and goes home to Last Chance. He's just going from day to day there, feeling like there's something missing but not really doing anything about it, until Jane walks into the bar. He falls into instant lust with her which he regrets in the morning. All he really wants at that point is to get her on the road out of town, but the fates intervene there. She doesn't want to go and when his mom offers her a job she stays. Clay has decided it's past time for him to settle down, but Jane is certainly not the type of woman he's looking for. The local matchmaker tells him that his soulmate will arrive in town on the 9:30 bus - the same one Jane arrived on. Over the next couple nights, the two women from his past show up on that same bus and he's more confused than ever. What's really interesting is that Clay can't seem to stay away from Jane, though he really started to bug me at times. First he'd be really supportive of her, then he'd believe every bad thing he was told, then back to support. I was happy to see him get it together at the end. There are also times when I found him to be a little over emotional and wanted to smack him and tell him to man up. A little bit went a long way.
Being a small southern town, Last Chance has its share of truly quirky characters. There's Ruby, mom to all the Rhodes and owner of the salon and gossip headquarters. She is a true steel magnolia, running her family with mostly sweetness with the occasional application of a baseball bat. The local church ladies who have their fingers in everything and have no trouble letting people know when they've slipped off the straight and narrow path. The police chief, who is this book is a humorless pain with a stick up his butt. He's borderline abusive to Jane and refuses to believe her when she tells him the truth about who she is. I was glad to see him have to admit he was wrong. I loved Clay's friend Ray and had fun seeing him try to help Clay pick a wife. The arrivals of Clay's two exes added a bit of extra stress to Clay as he tried to figure out what to do about Jane. Young Haley and her "Sorrowful Angel" is a regular in several of the books. And the zaniest "character" of all is the Golfing for God mini golf course and its huge part in the conclusion of the book.
Jane was screwed over by her latest boyfriend who ended up stealing all her money instead of helping her make it big in Nashville. Now she's arrived in Last Chance with five dollars to her name and a determination to turn her life around. She has become a believer in positive thinking and hopes that it will be enough to see her through. She goes to the local bar in hopes that some nice guy will buy her a meal and offer her a sofa to sleep on. The first one she sees is Clay who is playing his fiddle with the band. He wears his hair long, in a pony tail, and is very good looking. She thinks he looks like a bad boy and has resolved to stay away from them. But beggars can't be choosers and she ends up doing more than sleeping on his sofa, which they both regret in the morning. Through a strange series of events, Jane is offered a job by Clay's mom, cutting hair and doing nails in her salon, and watching her grandchildren in the afternoons. It comes with a rent free apartment, so things are looking up. She still has an inconvenient attraction to Clay going on, but she tries to resist that. Jane also has some trouble in her past that she has been trying to outrun for seven years. Some of that trouble is about to catch up with her in both a funny and heartbreaking way. I really liked Jane's determination to make her life better. She also wants to do it on her own, not depend on a white knight to rescue her. She's falling for Clay but he can't seem to make up his mind what he wants. When it comes to things going her way, Jane can't seem to catch a break, to the point where she's even been accused of murdering herself. While she is pretty down on herself for most of the book, by the end she has begun to see that things aren't so bad after all. I really loved the way she took charge at the end and saved Haley and herself.
Clay is basically a nice guy. He doesn't look like it, but he is. He is a good son to his momma, a good brother and uncle, a great friend to his handicapped buddy and even plays organ in church on Sundays. He left Last Chance after high school with his girlfriend, where they went to Nashville. He became a pretty good songwriter and fiddle player and had a band. His girlfriend left him for a rich record producer, breaking his heart. When he finally moved on from that and found a new love, she left him for the lead singer in the band. All the women seem to find him a better friend than lover. So he quits the band and goes home to Last Chance. He's just going from day to day there, feeling like there's something missing but not really doing anything about it, until Jane walks into the bar. He falls into instant lust with her which he regrets in the morning. All he really wants at that point is to get her on the road out of town, but the fates intervene there. She doesn't want to go and when his mom offers her a job she stays. Clay has decided it's past time for him to settle down, but Jane is certainly not the type of woman he's looking for. The local matchmaker tells him that his soulmate will arrive in town on the 9:30 bus - the same one Jane arrived on. Over the next couple nights, the two women from his past show up on that same bus and he's more confused than ever. What's really interesting is that Clay can't seem to stay away from Jane, though he really started to bug me at times. First he'd be really supportive of her, then he'd believe every bad thing he was told, then back to support. I was happy to see him get it together at the end. There are also times when I found him to be a little over emotional and wanted to smack him and tell him to man up. A little bit went a long way.
Being a small southern town, Last Chance has its share of truly quirky characters. There's Ruby, mom to all the Rhodes and owner of the salon and gossip headquarters. She is a true steel magnolia, running her family with mostly sweetness with the occasional application of a baseball bat. The local church ladies who have their fingers in everything and have no trouble letting people know when they've slipped off the straight and narrow path. The police chief, who is this book is a humorless pain with a stick up his butt. He's borderline abusive to Jane and refuses to believe her when she tells him the truth about who she is. I was glad to see him have to admit he was wrong. I loved Clay's friend Ray and had fun seeing him try to help Clay pick a wife. The arrivals of Clay's two exes added a bit of extra stress to Clay as he tried to figure out what to do about Jane. Young Haley and her "Sorrowful Angel" is a regular in several of the books. And the zaniest "character" of all is the Golfing for God mini golf course and its huge part in the conclusion of the book.
February 6, 2011
Hope Ramsey has a sly, subtle humor that keeps the pages turning and a climax that will leave you breathless in your seat. Laugh, grin, giggle, weep, it's all there waiting for you in Last Chance, SC, a place where the people are people and the miracles are just around the corner. An uplifting read that I just couldn't put down.
November 18, 2011
I enjoyed this book. It had all the basic elements of a romance novel, but some interesting side stories too. People who talk to angels, women with an imperfect past. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series.
Read
March 15, 2017I didn't even bother finishing this book once I reached to the point where the hero said, "Oh, for goodness' sake." So I decided to research more about this book by looking at the other reviews and nearly spat out my whiskey when I found it was a Christian romance novel. What the unholy fuck?
Who the hell has a fling right in the beginning of the story when it's supposed to be a Christian story? Granted they don't show any eroticism, but it's odd that a man I thought was going to be sex on a stick takes a 180 turn and starts blubbering like a baby. Now I'm not shaming guys for weeping. For once, I do want men to express emotions. However, the story doesn't transition with the emotions naturally. One night, the two love interests are boinking each other, then the next morning the hero is already making himself an honest man and crying.
From what I got from the other reviews, this story doesn't seem to flow naturally and appears mentally imbalanced right from the gecko. A woman on the road from something illegal most likely is now getting interviewed by the town on her religious background. I suppose I would be suspicious of a strange person if I was religiously uptight, but the plot seems all over the place, that none of this shit makes sense to be a Christian romance book, let alone a romance in general.
Who the hell has a fling right in the beginning of the story when it's supposed to be a Christian story? Granted they don't show any eroticism, but it's odd that a man I thought was going to be sex on a stick takes a 180 turn and starts blubbering like a baby. Now I'm not shaming guys for weeping. For once, I do want men to express emotions. However, the story doesn't transition with the emotions naturally. One night, the two love interests are boinking each other, then the next morning the hero is already making himself an honest man and crying.
From what I got from the other reviews, this story doesn't seem to flow naturally and appears mentally imbalanced right from the gecko. A woman on the road from something illegal most likely is now getting interviewed by the town on her religious background. I suppose I would be suspicious of a strange person if I was religiously uptight, but the plot seems all over the place, that none of this shit makes sense to be a Christian romance book, let alone a romance in general.
September 5, 2018
Great quick read. A little smut but a good “no real thinking needed” book. Kind of like a Hallmark movie - totally predictable but nice escape.
July 25, 2017
Meh is what I think when this book comes to mind. I liked the idea and the concept but there wasn't much in the community of this small town that I wanted to see again. And the characters weren't appealing enough for me to want to see them again too or even meet new ones.
April 2, 2019
What fun! I needed to read a well-written romance to cleanse my palate, if you will, and this did the trick. A sweet romance, a quirky small town full of characters, snappy dialogue, and a bit of a mystery with a twist. I look forward ro reading more stories set in Last Chance, South Carolina!
March 14, 2011
Author Hope Ramsay was born in New York and grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer her mother would pack her off to her aunt to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Hope earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Buffalo, and has had various jobs working as a Congressional aide, a lobbyist, a public relations consultant, and a meeting planner. She’s a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart Awards through the Romance Writers of America. She resides in Fairfax, Virginia, with her husband, two grown children, and two demanding cats. You can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar. Other titles include: Home at Last Chance (coming September 2011).
Welcome to Last Chance, South Carolina, a town that lives up to its name, as Jane Coblentz soon learned when exiting the 9:30 bus from Atlanta. She was broke, had nothing on her including clothes, and a history of bad choices chasing her. After a one night fling with musician and songwriter Clay Rhodes her first night in town, Jane is determined to make a fresh start and better decisions. The Universe appeared to be on her side. She quickly got a job and rent-free housing at the local Cut 'n' Curl salon, plus her one night with Clay was turning into something a lot like love. But as fate would have it, Clay had a past as tormenting as hers, and as those past regrets came into Last Chance one by one, so too did hers. Now she must trust not only in Clay, but herself as well if she's going to have any chance at true happiness.
*SPOILER ALERT* I hate issuing these, but I find it necessary in order to relay my concerns with this book. Everything, from the characters to the setting to the back story, were so well done, except-- the plot and storyline. It really ruined the book for me. Here's why: Clay left Carolina to head to Nashville years ago to make it in country music. He made a success of himself, but at a cost. Both women he fell in love with dumped him for other men. He then came home after the band kicked him out, then went on to the bestselling charts. In the book, both women come back to him, or try. It seemed over the top to me, as there was enough conflict without that. Jane had a history of choosing the wrong men too. First, the guy she ran away from home with when she was seventeen, then the gambling addict she ran away from at the start of the story. Both pasts come back to haunt her, and get her in serious legal trouble. The legal angle was weak, which struck me from the start, and after awhile, it grew tiresome in how it was handled and portrayed in the book. The ending, her running from goons trying to kill her while carrying an angel-wielding little girl from town, was over the top.
But like I stated earlier, it is so easy to fall in love with the small town setting and the many secondary characters in this book. It's what propelled me to keep going. The author also did a spectacular job of illustrating the desperation of Jane when she first arrived in town. It was heart-breaking.
Kelly Moran
Author and Reviewer
Bookpleasures
Welcome to Last Chance, South Carolina, a town that lives up to its name, as Jane Coblentz soon learned when exiting the 9:30 bus from Atlanta. She was broke, had nothing on her including clothes, and a history of bad choices chasing her. After a one night fling with musician and songwriter Clay Rhodes her first night in town, Jane is determined to make a fresh start and better decisions. The Universe appeared to be on her side. She quickly got a job and rent-free housing at the local Cut 'n' Curl salon, plus her one night with Clay was turning into something a lot like love. But as fate would have it, Clay had a past as tormenting as hers, and as those past regrets came into Last Chance one by one, so too did hers. Now she must trust not only in Clay, but herself as well if she's going to have any chance at true happiness.
*SPOILER ALERT* I hate issuing these, but I find it necessary in order to relay my concerns with this book. Everything, from the characters to the setting to the back story, were so well done, except-- the plot and storyline. It really ruined the book for me. Here's why: Clay left Carolina to head to Nashville years ago to make it in country music. He made a success of himself, but at a cost. Both women he fell in love with dumped him for other men. He then came home after the band kicked him out, then went on to the bestselling charts. In the book, both women come back to him, or try. It seemed over the top to me, as there was enough conflict without that. Jane had a history of choosing the wrong men too. First, the guy she ran away from home with when she was seventeen, then the gambling addict she ran away from at the start of the story. Both pasts come back to haunt her, and get her in serious legal trouble. The legal angle was weak, which struck me from the start, and after awhile, it grew tiresome in how it was handled and portrayed in the book. The ending, her running from goons trying to kill her while carrying an angel-wielding little girl from town, was over the top.
But like I stated earlier, it is so easy to fall in love with the small town setting and the many secondary characters in this book. It's what propelled me to keep going. The author also did a spectacular job of illustrating the desperation of Jane when she first arrived in town. It was heart-breaking.
Kelly Moran
Author and Reviewer
Bookpleasures
February 22, 2011
WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE written by Hope Ramsay
03/11 - Grand Central Publishing - Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
When you run from the past how far can you get before it catches up to you?
In a town called Last Chance you would think something good might happen. Jane believes it has to get better since it has been so bad so far in her life. But without any money and this being the end of the bus line her glass half empty is more of a reality than she would like it to be. Jane is a dreamer and believes that somewhere out there is her soul mate she has just gone through allot of bad times finding him.
But then Jane meets Clay and from that moment on the search for her Knight in Shining Armor seems to have come to an end. Clay is a man who has been around the block and figured out home is a better place to be than anywhere else. This is a small town with busy body neighbors, matchmaking women with too much free time and too many people that know his history, but Clay wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yet the savior in Clay is determined to help Jane find her way even with all the interference with ex-girlfriends, police intervention and her total reluctance to get involved with him. Jane may be a positive thinker but she is a bit negative on the subject of long-term relationships. Clay knows they are more than a one hit wonder and he will do whatever he has to in order to prove it. Jane is more a wait and we will see kind of girl and while finding a job and a place to live is amazing she is not sold completely on Clay and his theory that destiny brought them together.
This book builds slowly and lets you absorb all the characters before it takes them a step further. Hope Ramsay lets you savor all the eclectic people living in this town and you know that everyone in Last Chance has a past, some mystery and too much free time to gossip.
03/11 - Grand Central Publishing - Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
When you run from the past how far can you get before it catches up to you?
In a town called Last Chance you would think something good might happen. Jane believes it has to get better since it has been so bad so far in her life. But without any money and this being the end of the bus line her glass half empty is more of a reality than she would like it to be. Jane is a dreamer and believes that somewhere out there is her soul mate she has just gone through allot of bad times finding him.
But then Jane meets Clay and from that moment on the search for her Knight in Shining Armor seems to have come to an end. Clay is a man who has been around the block and figured out home is a better place to be than anywhere else. This is a small town with busy body neighbors, matchmaking women with too much free time and too many people that know his history, but Clay wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yet the savior in Clay is determined to help Jane find her way even with all the interference with ex-girlfriends, police intervention and her total reluctance to get involved with him. Jane may be a positive thinker but she is a bit negative on the subject of long-term relationships. Clay knows they are more than a one hit wonder and he will do whatever he has to in order to prove it. Jane is more a wait and we will see kind of girl and while finding a job and a place to live is amazing she is not sold completely on Clay and his theory that destiny brought them together.
This book builds slowly and lets you absorb all the characters before it takes them a step further. Hope Ramsay lets you savor all the eclectic people living in this town and you know that everyone in Last Chance has a past, some mystery and too much free time to gossip.
October 25, 2011
Jane and Clay make this book worth reading. The author develops both characters in a convincing way, making them both flawed yet ultimately honorable. The first meeting between Clay and Jane is especially well done. It's not often an author makes me feel the connection between people who have just met, but Ramsay manages to make it believable and sexy, while still creating a feeling of poignancy.
From there the book becomes uneven, perhaps trying to be too many things: a humorous small town romance with quirky characters, a suspense story, and an emotional look at two troubled souls trying to figure out who they are and if they belong together. Some of the secondary plots made little sense, like some members of Clay's family being able to see angels. Other secondary plots were underdeveloped and felt as though they were there to provide a convenient way to resolve a problem in the primary storyline. The problems are typical of those often found in "first in series" books. The author is trying to tell one story while adding extraneous details meant to set up future books. Clay's brother Stone was one of the characters obviously being set up for a future book. The problem for me is Ramsay made him so rigid and unlikeable in this book I have little interest in meeting him again.
Overall, the relationship between Clay and Jane make the book a qualified success for me. Their story is well-written and tugs at the heart. The book ends abruptly, so the reader has no chance to see Jane and Clay after their declarations of love. But I'm guessing we are meant to read future books in the series in order to see their life together. ;-)
From there the book becomes uneven, perhaps trying to be too many things: a humorous small town romance with quirky characters, a suspense story, and an emotional look at two troubled souls trying to figure out who they are and if they belong together. Some of the secondary plots made little sense, like some members of Clay's family being able to see angels. Other secondary plots were underdeveloped and felt as though they were there to provide a convenient way to resolve a problem in the primary storyline. The problems are typical of those often found in "first in series" books. The author is trying to tell one story while adding extraneous details meant to set up future books. Clay's brother Stone was one of the characters obviously being set up for a future book. The problem for me is Ramsay made him so rigid and unlikeable in this book I have little interest in meeting him again.
Overall, the relationship between Clay and Jane make the book a qualified success for me. Their story is well-written and tugs at the heart. The book ends abruptly, so the reader has no chance to see Jane and Clay after their declarations of love. But I'm guessing we are meant to read future books in the series in order to see their life together. ;-)
April 1, 2012
Welcome to Last Chance was so much better than I initially would've thought. Of course it was light and cute and semi-funny - as suspected, but besides the apparent fluffiness it clearly featured appealing and flawed characters who definitely kept me entertained till the very end. I’d rate it somewhere between 3 and 3,5. The main lead female character, Wanda Jane Coblentz, made all the difference; she was engaging, self-deprecating and likeable. At twenty-five, she might have made a lot of bad choices in her young life, but she’s willing to turn that around. Picking a place to live like Last Chance was what she needed, another chance to put her life together. Clayton P. Rhodes was not your regular, average macho-type romantic protagonist. He’s a conflicted and more mellow type of man. He's a song-writer, and having spent years in Nashville is back in his hometown, feeling totally stuck in his life. He’s an amazing friend and brother. Clay would do anything for family and good friend, Ray. I liked the small-town spirit and that strong family bond that clearly is at the heart of this sweet romantic read. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the series, featuring the Rhodes family, and hope they’ll deliver the same amount of sweetness and entertainment, because, now and then, that’s all you want from a book.
June 28, 2015
I finished it this morning, but have been away from my computer, so haven't been able to sit down and gather my thoughts about it until now.
I'm really not sure I enjoyed this one. It came across as fake preachy, with all the "God's Plan Matchmaking" going on. I've read much better inspirational romances with a matchmaking theme than this secular romance was! And secular it was, because a Christian romance would not have the characters having sex in it AT ALL!!! I could tell that the author was trying to poke fun at all the trouble that seemed to follow Jane, but it never came across as funny to me. I hated the constant mistrust of practically everyone by Jane, and Clay's constant distraction from his romance with Jane, by practically all of his ex loves. In fact, I had a hard time connecting with many of the characters in the book, and the explanations given were downright stupid at times! Ray's love story was very sweet and I loved the ending that it got. I just hope things end up for the best for them! That part alone saves it from a 1 star rating, but barely.
Long story short, I am not sure that I want to continue with the series and regret spending the money on what I have purchased so far.
I'm really not sure I enjoyed this one. It came across as fake preachy, with all the "God's Plan Matchmaking" going on. I've read much better inspirational romances with a matchmaking theme than this secular romance was! And secular it was, because a Christian romance would not have the characters having sex in it AT ALL!!! I could tell that the author was trying to poke fun at all the trouble that seemed to follow Jane, but it never came across as funny to me. I hated the constant mistrust of practically everyone by Jane, and Clay's constant distraction from his romance with Jane, by practically all of his ex loves. In fact, I had a hard time connecting with many of the characters in the book, and the explanations given were downright stupid at times! Ray's love story was very sweet and I loved the ending that it got. I just hope things end up for the best for them! That part alone saves it from a 1 star rating, but barely.
Long story short, I am not sure that I want to continue with the series and regret spending the money on what I have purchased so far.
December 12, 2014
Why did I do this to myself?!
If I had known that this was a Christian romance novel (no warning on Amazon) I probably wouldn't have picked it up.
Now, before you all go crazy on me, that's not the only or even the main reason I disliked this book so much since it was rather subtle.
No, the reasons I did not like this novel were different.
First of all, the author's style confused the hell out of me. There were a lot of times, especially in the beginning, when I didn't know which character was actually talking. You see? Not good.
Which leads me to the main reason...
The Characters.
Gosh, I hated them. I didn't feel a connection between the hero and the supposed heroine. And don't get me started on the heroine. She was really annoying. I didn't understand what her problem was. Most times she was just being rude to people for absolutely no reason. I get that she had some obstacles in her life beforehand but that doesn't justify you being a b**** to people who are only trying to be nice to you. She judged everyone in that town while also judging everyone around her.
So....needless to say that I got only halfway through and then skipped to the HAE.
If I had known that this was a Christian romance novel (no warning on Amazon) I probably wouldn't have picked it up.
Now, before you all go crazy on me, that's not the only or even the main reason I disliked this book so much since it was rather subtle.
No, the reasons I did not like this novel were different.
First of all, the author's style confused the hell out of me. There were a lot of times, especially in the beginning, when I didn't know which character was actually talking. You see? Not good.
Which leads me to the main reason...
The Characters.
Gosh, I hated them. I didn't feel a connection between the hero and the supposed heroine. And don't get me started on the heroine. She was really annoying. I didn't understand what her problem was. Most times she was just being rude to people for absolutely no reason. I get that she had some obstacles in her life beforehand but that doesn't justify you being a b**** to people who are only trying to be nice to you. She judged everyone in that town while also judging everyone around her.
So....needless to say that I got only halfway through and then skipped to the HAE.
April 13, 2011
This is a book that will keep you rapidly turning pages. Hope is one of those surprising talents that you don't often run across. This story of two people down on their luck, but yet not ready to give into completely failure, will warm your heart. In the beginning of the story, you find two people who are as different as night and day. While one still holds out hope that things will one day get better soon, the other one is so negative about everything and everyone around him. There is no way this story should have ever worked, but through Hope's creative writing it did, and it worked quite well at that. Her descriptive writing makes you feel as though you're right there watching the story unfold before your very own eyes. You feel all the different emotions that they both go through in this story, from the anger, the hurt, the excitement, and the love. This story has it all. I can't wait to read more from her.
October 17, 2012
This was a cute one, one where you have to love the town, it's crazy people and it's charm. I loved how both Clay and Jane were lost, in different ways, but lost none the less. You could tell right away that they needed each other, but it would take a while. Their interactions had me smiling, at times all they could do is snipe at each other, at others they found a safe place for a bit.
I loved all the old ladies at the town, how they would but in, especially the matchmaker. She was funny when she talked to Clay and Jane. I loved her cryptic messages about Ray. I felt sorry for him, but realize that there was no need, he could be happy if he would just let himself.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
I loved all the old ladies at the town, how they would but in, especially the matchmaker. She was funny when she talked to Clay and Jane. I loved her cryptic messages about Ray. I felt sorry for him, but realize that there was no need, he could be happy if he would just let himself.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
May 9, 2019
Welcome To Last Chance by Hope Ramsay is a book with good and bad elements. The good-the main characters, Jane and Clay, are definitely flawed and confused. I think this makes them more believable and relatable. The town is basically a character, too. It's full of every small town cliche you can imagine, and it's charming and entertaining in this way. The bad-the story is too predictable, like a Hallmark movie. The plot feels very disjointed and convoluted. There are too many little stories within the larger story, and it's confusing. Overall, this story is a good escape read because it's light and easy, but if you want a more substantial plot, this is not for you. I received a complimentary copy from Forever and Grand Central Publishing. All opinions expressed are my own.
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