Take Two

4 1/2 Hearts Reviewed by Pixie

When Wesley accepts a summer job on a pirate movie he has no idea that he has been neatly maneuvered by his soon to be ex-husband Sam. Wesley wants to move on with his life, he has a new promotion, a new boyfriend and he is being seriously considered for a huge grant. But being confronted by his ex, the movie star, has Wesley confused and more determined than ever to put Sam behind him.

Sander (aka Sam) sacrificed the one thing he never wanted to lose in his bid for Hollywood fame, determined to get a second chance he puts his plan to win his husband back in motion but Wesley is a harder nut to crack than he thought. Flowers, romantic home cooked dinners and sailing at sunset just doesn’t seem to be enough, Sam will have to pull the big guns out and open his heart if he hopes to have a chance with the man he’s never stopped loving.

This is a wonderful story that is nicely paced and keeps your attention with the ‘will he/won’t he’ storyline. Both Wesley and Sam are wonderful characters, their relationship slowly fell apart as Sam spent more time in LA and Wesley was in New York. Wesley is a history Professor and loves his job, he never really stopped loving Sam but the strain of never seeing him and being ignored for weeks and months at a time took its toll. Sam is the big movie star whose career just took over, he’s left devastated when he gets divorce papers. We can see both sides of the story and we soon begin to root for Sam and hoping Wesley will give him a chance.

Wesley and Sam are wonderful together, their easy camaraderie shows us right off the bat that their feelings for each other are still strong, we watch as Sam tries to woo Wesley and fail miserably. We watch as Sam stumbles around trying to win Wesley over and we watch as Wesley tries to convince himself that he’s over Sam. It’s a fantastic story that just pulls you in as you become invested in their relationship.

I can’t say it’s all easy for Wesley though, he gets disappointing news and then he walks in on his new boyfriend ‘entertaining’ a colleague, he has a rough few moments and his head is a bit of a mess at times. Poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break. Although the story is all about their relationship we do have some great moments with some of Sam’s colleagues, and there’s also a fantastic sea rescue.

The story is beautifully written, it has some interesting tidbits on pirates, Wesley and Sam’s relationship builds up throughout the story and is nicely paced, they have a couple of hot moments and boy are they hot! We fall in love with the characters and become invested in their lives, this really is a sweet, lovely romance of reconnecting and finding the love that was nearly lost.

I recommend this to those who love sweet romances, who love a man determined to get his lover back, who adore characters who pull out all the stops, who love dashing rescues and a wonderful ending.

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader

Super cute cover for Shira Anthony's sweet and romantic new book, Take Two. Second chance love stories just get me in the feels every time and I found myself rooting for Sam and Wesley from the get go. Add in a fantastic setting with some pirate lore and this was an entertaining read from beginning to end.

Sam Carr might be a big star, he even has a stage name, who has his pick of scripts and most anything else he wants ... except for his soon to be ex-husband Wesley Coolidge. He comes up with a plan and pulls out all the stops, some quite over the top to be sure, to try to win Wesley back, starting with ensuring that Wesley spends his summer in North Carolina consulting on a movie about pirates. A movie Sam just happens to be the star in. There's a yacht, delicious dinners, romantic walks on the beach all set in motion to try to show Wesley that they still belong to one another.

Wesley has just barely managed to move on from Sam after three years of separation. He has a job he loves, a new boyfriend whom he's crazy about, even if their plans to spend the summer together get derailed after his boyfriend goes away to do research. When the opportunity arises to work on a movie set as an expert on pirate lore, he takes it. It doesn't take long for Wesley to discover Sam's hidden (well, it's not really so hidden since the entire cast and crew seems to know what Sam's motivations are) agenda. This was a fun book. All the pirate information was entertaining and different to read and Sam and Wesley were really quite sweet together. A bit TOO sweet and terribly sappy for my tastes. And Wesley is a bit of a whiner and extremely wishy washy, his mixed signals to Sam gave me whiplash. Even so, I found myself smiling often and enjoyed this book. Give it a go, you won't be sorry.

Who doesnt love a HEA second chance story. If you do , like I do then this story is for you. It is a story about Wes and Sam. They were married for about 10 years before Wes filed for divorce. They met and feel in love but Sam's career as a movie star kept them apart. Wes thought he was moving on with his life but he always loved Sam and Sam never gave up on Wes. Wes is a professor and a expert in pirate history. Sam wants him back and cooks up a scam to get Wes back. It starts off with Sam getting Wes to the set of his new movie, which is a set up from the beginning, and tries to woo him back. Wes tries to hold Sam off and remain friends but it gets harder and harder for Wes the more Sam tries. Wes had a boyfriend in the beginning of this book who he thought was perfect for him in a way Sam would never be but that ends badly which you will read about.
I loved the way Sam told Wes exactly what he wanted and that was him back You could tell they both still loved each other so much. It was a good light hearted love story and Shira wrote these 2 men perfectly. You fell in love with them both and cheered them on. Wes finally told Sam what his issues were and Sam agreed to open up to Wes and treat them as equal partners. All in all a really enjoyable read....Received arc from publisher for a review. Reviewed by Jodi for Alpha Book Club.