Third Chances

By: Ivy Smoak

Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin, Connor Crais

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Daphne

I've always regretted not being confident enough to talk to my college crush. When he shows up during my friend's bachelorette party, I refuse to let my second chance slip through my fingers.

Rob

It was impossible to forget the beautiful brunette from campus. But I've always known she wasn't one-night-stand material. So I kept my distance. When she shows up years later during my brother's bachelor party, I don't know how I can possibly resist her again. There's just one problem: I don't do relationships.

©2016 Ivy Smoak (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Amazing

I have loved Rob and Daphne’s story since I have first read it. The growth of Rob - one of my favorite Ivy characters is great and seeing the sweeter side of him being developed is written amazingly well. I could read this book over and over again.

Unfortunately, as much as I love this book - the narrators didn’t do it as much justice as I hoped. Don’t get me wrong they were good and all, but you couldn’t really feel their emotions in their words like you should in the book. I enjoyed them and will listen again when I can’t read it but it won’t be a go to listen for me.

Ivy is amazing!!

Ivy did it again!! Another great love story!
The narrators did an amazing job bring the characters to life.

Awww! Super flirty and sweet!

This was just an all around “feel-good” story. Poor Daphne is a mess. She feels like her life is so unbalanced that she has to over-correct and be in complete control of every little thing, to the point she’s forgotten how to enjoy it. Rob is the complete opposite, and is all about fun and travel and not taking life too seriously. But what happens when they actually meet each other face to face? Do opposites really attract? It’s a fun and flirty, and kinda sad, story with a great HEA.
The more I hear Vanessa and Connor together, the more I love them. Both have voices that are perfectly age appropriate and really draw you in to the story. Both of them are so emotive. You can feel the laughter and lust and heartbreak and anger and frustration. They really do a wonderful job! Two of my favorites!

Rob Gets a Voice!

Rob has been one of my favorite characters in the “Hunted Series.” He’s funny, has no filter, but is also a loving person. I loved how he cares for the people who he loves, especially his brother.

Daphne is smart, caring, but carries such a heartache from a tragic accident of someone she loves so much. My heart broke for her because she couldn’t move on with her life. She felt guilty for what happened even though it wasn’t her fault.

I love how they both fit together. She needs healing, and he is the one who can heal her. They are so sweet together and I love the fact that he is like a knight in shining armor.

Connor was the perfect Rob. He made me laugh and he was great doing other voices, including the girls. Usually, men with deep voices have a hard time doing girl voices without sounding weird, but he pulled it off. I could actually listen to this actor read the dictionary and still be impressed. Vanessa also did a fantastic job. Her voices for all the girls were incredible. I felt like I was watching a movie. I totally recommend this audiobook. Even if you have already read the book, take my word for it and listen to it being performed by these two people. You will not regret it.

Review Third Chances

AwesomeAwesome Beautiful Loving Beautiful Story By Arthur! I Love The Story Very Much With All My Heart! I Recommend U Listening To The Story For Ur Self! 😁😉🤗

I love Rob!!

Steamy, funny, and the happy ending we all need!
Absolutely love the way Ivy creates tension but brings us full circle!

Highly Recommended For Fans Of The Hunted Series!

Rob & Daphne’s Opposites Attract Romance Pairs Fun-Loving Rob With Mama Bear Daphne. Together, They Find A Happy Middle.


ABOUT THE SERIES:

This is book two of three in the Men of Manhattan series of related standalones. Fans of The Hunted series will especially love this series, which is a spinoff of sorts. It includes:
1. City of Sin (Mason Caldwell and Bridget Cowan’s story)
2. Third Chances (Rob Hunter and Daphne Hughes’s story)
3. Missing Pieces (Tyler Stevens and Hailey Shaw’s story)

This series intersects with The Hunted series. While these books and each series can be enjoyed on their own, each book is even more enjoyable when read collectively because little glimpses of the characters from one book to another add to the depth of their individual stories. Approximating the chronological order, the two series combined should be read as follows (according to the author).
1. Temptation (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 1)
2. Addicted (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 2)
3. City of Sin (Mason Caldwell and Bridget Cowen’s story)
4. Eruption (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 3)
5. Third Chances (Rob Hunter and Daphne Hughes’s story)
6. Devotion (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 4)
7. Missing Pieces (Tyler Stevens and Hailey Shaw’s story)

IN THIS BOOK:

For those that have read Eruption in The Hunted series, this book gives a look at the bachelor party that James was kidnapped and taken to. Readers finally get to learn more about James and Rob’s relationship as well. Unlike The Hunted series, the male gets his POV, so the reader gets to know Rob’s inner thoughts. Finally, the epilogue cuts to the following Friday, so be forewarned if you have not yet read Devotion that it does give away a few parts. This book adds a lot to The Hunted series, even though it does work perfectly as a standalone.

This story opens the weekend before James and Penny’s wedding, during his bachelor party at the Blue Parrot in Costa Rica. The Blue Parrot is a secret and exclusive resort tucked away in the jungle. The Resort encourages some kinky behavior amongst its patrons with their card and bracelet system.

Daphne Hughes, twenty-three, is affectionately called Mama Bear by her friends. She likes to be organized. She likes to be in control. She is protective and nurturing. And she is afraid of taking risks. She left her family and home in Delaware behind after graduation to go to New York and begin her career as a high school math teacher; her friends all tease her about her students having crushes on their hot teacher. Daphne is focused on her career now, but as her friends are all coupling up around her, she is beginning to wonder if she might be ready for change. Her last year at the University of New Castle was tough, but fortunately she had Kristen and Alina to lean on. Even if Kristen was a little too obsessed with Professor Hunter, she had been a good friend, pushing Daphne out of her comfort zone. She and Alina had been best friends dating back to elementary school, and she understood the pain and loss, if not the guilt. As she heads off to Costa Rica with Alina, Kristen, and Layla for a one week bachelorette getaway in honor of Alina upcoming wedding, Daphne begins to reflect on where she is in her life.

Robert Hunter, twenty-seven, is the carefree and adventurous Hunter brother. Unlike his broody brother James, Rob is mostly happy and fun loving. He is flirty and used to getting what he wants from women handed to him on a silver platter. He went to Harvard as was expected of a Hunter, but he has not worked since. He spends his time travelling on whims, going where the wind blows him. He is waiting for inspiration to hit him and give him a purpose in life. He had taken over James’s condo near the University of New Castle back when James and Penny moved to New York two and a half years ago. When he isn’t travelling, he enjoys living amongst the beautiful coeds on campus. But the one night stands are getting boring. If he is honest with himself he is a little jealous of James. Rob loves Penny like a sister, but seeing how happy she and James are together makes him recognize that he wants to be in love with someone, too. Their love is a little inspiring, and seeing James happy means the world to Rob. James had sacrificed his own happiness to protect Rob from their parents’ controlling ways while growing up, and even if it sometimes made Rob feel second best, Rob would always have James’s back in return. Rob stuck with James through his addictions, but since he began teaching and found Penny, James has been clean. Penny makes James whole.

Rob wonders if he will ever find what he is looking for. There had been a girl back in Delaware that captured his attention a while back. He had watched her study on the lawn each day, and he really wanted to know her. This girl had been different than the others. He sensed she needed some space and planned to approach her at the end of the semester, but she left before he got the chance. A year later and he is getting bored with his life. So when that same girl shows up at the Blue Parrot Resort, Rob isn’t going to let his second chance go to waste. She seems a little skittish, but he has her attention thanks to the bracelets on her wrist. She needs help removing them, and he has all the cards.

Rob and Daphne’s story is a whirlwind romance – most of the story takes place over the course of just two days. But in reality their attraction for one another had been percolating for almost two years. The absence had done nothing to change the natural pull they shared, and when they finally meet one another they feel the connection. But Rob has never been in a relationship before, and doing things the slow way is a foreign concept to him. Daphne values patience and getting to know someone before getting more intimate. And unlike Rob, she is afraid of trying new things. She likes things done just so. Rob inspires her to want to live her life more freely, but putting that idea into action is more difficult than she would like. She is bogged down by regrets about her past that prevent her from fully enjoying the present. Rob feels content around Daphne, a feeling that is new to him. And though he doesn’t understand what love is, he wants to give things a try and find out. Despite how happy they feel when they are together, fear threatens to get in the way. The couple eventually earns a happy for now ending.

Fans of The Hunted series will recognize Tyler Stevens, Penny’s good friend from school. He comes up in the epilogue here as this series segues into Tyler’s HEA. He hasn’t always been painted as the good guy, but it is mostly just that he is human and makes some dumb mistakes (and judging his actions while he is under the influence is probably not entirely fair). After years of not getting over Penny, his story has become very sympathetic. His story follows in Missing Pieces, book three of this series.

Fans of the Empire High series, which is Matt’s story, will finally get to see a little more of Matt here. Thus far in both the Men of Manhattan series and The Hunted series, there has been little from Matt. This book doesn’t exactly paint him in the best of light. He does a few very mean things, and there is a hint of loneliness. This may ruin the story for some, but those that have read Empire High and are aware of the past wild behavior and indulgences of James and his friends growing up together may understand where Matt is coming from even if they don’t forgive him. And that explains why the friends get past it with so little fanfare. And guys just react to things differently than women, so female readers should keep that in mind, too. As awful as it is, at this point in the Empire High series (book three), it is maybe serving a purpose. Matt is unhappy because his HEA was stolen from him. His love story is tragic. Those that haven’t read Empire High don’t have the backstory and thus cannot fathom Matt’s actions. I have my own ideas about what Empire High Matchmaker holds in store (which is not yet released as of this writing), but this book sort of puts my theory into question (though it does not rule it out). Fans will know that book three of that series had a devastating ending that really left things unsettled and the direction of the series unclear.

Rob and Daphne’s story is mostly light and fun – watching Daphne loosen up when with Rob is sweet, and seeing him settle down around her is very satisfying. They make a series of deals revolving around the game of bracelets and cards which keeps things from getting too serious. They both have some issues to deal with, however, before they are ready to move forward and begin a relationship. At that point the story is a little more serious. Rob, however, is such a character that his story cannot possibly take a serious turn for long. Rob may be a bit lost, but he has been a protective little brother. It is great to see him find love, too.

Rob and Daphne’s opposites attract romance pairs fun-loving Rob with Mama Bear Daphne. Together, they find a happy middle. This story is well-written. The plot is somewhat complex; it weaves together many characters from other stories by the author. Most significantly, this story offers a lot to fans of The Hunted – and it is thus highly recommended. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Rob and Daphne. I rate this book four stars – or 4.5 stars for fans of The Hunted series and other related books by the author.

As for the Audio: it is well-performed and consistent with the book.

They didn't fit

As much as I have loved Rob throughout to whole series, I was disappointed that Daphne seemed so week and didn't feel like a good fit for him. This is the first female character I could not fall in love with

Prudish, snobbish, stupid heroine

I swear I hate Daphne. Rob deserves someone different...I’m so disappointed. If I could punch Daphne in her fictional face I would. Honestly, I don’t know if it was Vanessa and the way she narrated the part of Daphne, or just how Ivy wrote her character, but I just could not warm up to her. She was prudish from beginning to end, judgmental, snobbish, indecisive and everything bad. Who pushes someone they “care about” away because they don’t want to be alone!!?? I believe Ivy ran out of gas with this one, definitely not as good as the previous ones I listened to....Narrators were great, they did good with what they were presented with, but I’m definitely returning. Maybe Daphne will die or they break up and Rob can get a do over 🤷🏽‍♀️

Frustrating book

I really liked the first book. This book was very frustrating. I’ve never listened to a love story that was built around everyone’s obsession about another girl. Seriously, why was everyone so obsessed with Penny? If there wasn’t so much mention of her, I would have liked it. I’m not sure I can read about Tyler. He’s going to obsess about her too. Very annoying