#RTWrites :: Looking Through the Second Chance Romance Trope

IMO, the human condition is fueled by two things: forgiveness and alcohol.

You might think I’m slightly exaggerating here but consider this: Google gives me 16.2 million searches for second chance romances in less than a minute.

I didn’t search for alcohol, obviously, because I don’t want my devices to be spammed with drinking ads until I give in and turn into a lush 😋

So, now that we have established that forgiveness, essentially second chance romance, let’s dig deep and find out why it’s so damn popular in the world.

What Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook Got Right 

Let’s take, for instance, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Sure, the movie had Ryan Gosling with beard screaming his guts out but the book Noah Calhoun wasn’t half-bad either, was he?

The story is so simple – two teenagers in the 1940s meet in small-town America and fall recklessly in love but are torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Years later, they meet again when the boy builds the girl the house of ‘their’ dreams. Sexy times and drama ensues before HEA.

It sounds disarmingly simple but The Notebook is brilliant in the way Nicholas Sparks has handled the rich girl, poor guy divide, showcasing it in the small town milieu.

Sparks mixes these tropes with a healthy dose of young adult love and all the inherent problems that come with it.

The Notebook is all about two people who are passionate, headstrong who made mistakes in understanding each other and, thus, need a second chance to work things out.

Why Lisa Kleypas’ Again The Magic Makes Me Cry

Another amazing example of second chances done incredibly right is Again The Magic by Lisa Kleypas. A historical romance set in the Regency era, Again the Magic also nails the rich girl/poor guy class chasm and uses it to drive a wedge between the fated lovers – Alina and Mckenna (my DREAMBOAT hero of all time).

Years later, when Alina and Mckenna meet again under vastly different circumstances, their pride and ego and hurt feelings keep them from seeing each other as they truly are immediately.
This makes Again the Magic a deliciously conflict-ridden book heavy on the passion and heartbreak.
I cry *every* single time I read it.

So, What Makes Second Chance Romances So Popular? 

And I think it really comes down to the fact that people, no matter, how cynical and bitter they are, want to believe the best of people. Especially of people who have hurt them, already.

It’s because giving someone a second chance is all about opening our hearts to the magic of love (the only fuel that runs the world, tbh) and accepting that people will change and that that’s okay.

It’s because a second chance – whether romantic or otherwise – also fulfills that secret fantasy we all nurture in our hearts. That we are worthy of someone taking the trouble to change themselves and their actions for us.

Our existence matters.

And that’s the main reason a group of six of my author friends and me have come together to release a collection of second chance romance novellas called Something Old, Something New.

This anthology releases on Valentine’s Day, 2020, the ultimate day of love. And I, personally, hope you give us a first-time chance to dazzle you with our words and fantastic, relatable desi tales of second chance romances!

Xx
Writer Gal