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A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances
- Author
- Steph Vizard
- Narrator
- Alexis van Maanen
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 18 June 2026
- Run Time
- 8 hours 20 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
What happens when the man who broke your heart reappears just before your wedding?
***
To Do List
1. Replace decapitated groom cake topper
2. Complete twenty-page questionnaire for second-choice celebrant
3. Break family curse
4. Ignore ex-boyfriend / current client
Rebecca, a super-smart consultant, is determined to defy the family marriage curse, which claims no woman marries their first fiancé, and prove that Matt is The One.
Although the wedding planning lurches from one disaster to the next and she has to steer a major work project before the big day, Rebecca is sure she can stay on top of things. That is until Alex – the ex who dramatically broke her heart at Oxford University – reappears in the boardroom as her new client. How dare he still be as infuriatingly clever and hot as before? And since when did he start wearing shirts with collars?
As Rebecca’s past and present collide, she realises her choices can’t be resolved with a trusty pros and cons list, and she’ll have to finally come to terms with the age-old question: head or heart?
***
Perfect for fans of:
Love triangles
Forced proximity
Workplace settings
Critics Review
-
Steph Vizard writes with warmth and charm, and with a level of nostalgia that is like a big hug. Characters are vivid and loveable, banter is crisp and the chemistry, pulsating. Get ready to feel deeply and fall in love hard. A Smart Girl’s Guide to Second Chances is as smart as it is swoony.
Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus
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Pulling off a love triangle where the protagonist has two equally compelling options is almost impossible, but Steph Vizard has done it. I loved every second of Rebecca deciding whether she was going to take the man from her past or the man from her present into her future. A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances is charmingly brilliant and brilliantly charming.
Jodi McAlister, the author of An Academic Affair
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A SMART GIRL'S GUIDE TO SECOND CHANCES is a sharp, swoonworthy, and deeply satisfying read that will keep you guessing—and turning the pages—until the very end. Offering a refreshing take on second chances, Steph Vizard beautifully captures the ache of tough choices, the fragile pull between the heart and the head, and the hope that, even when you think you have it all figured out, love can still surprise you.
Natalie Murray
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Steph Vizard once again pulls off a highwire high concept mash-up of delectable romance tropes--love triangle, second chance, A CURSE--and grounds it with deeply human, loveable characters. Think Richard Curtis, via Melbourne, with a dash of Oxford glamour and lens-flared young love. This is a sparkling, cinematic and satisfying modern romance, deftly written.
Clare Fletcher
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Readers of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez and Mhairi McFarlane will be swept away be A Smart Girl’s Guide to Second Chances, an Australian romcom that deserves the bestseller status of its international counterparts.
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Details
- Author
- Steph Vizard
- Narrator
- Alexis van Maanen
- Duration
- 8 hours 20 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035926022
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Narrative theme: love / relationships, Modern and Contemporary romance, Romance, Romance: love triangles
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances by Steph Vizard, read by Alexis van Maanen.What happens when the man who broke your heart reappears just before your wedding?*** To Do List1. Replace decapitated groom cake topper2. Complete twenty-page questionnaire for second-choice celebrant3. Break family curse4. Ignore ex-boyfriend / current clientRebecca, a super-smart consultant, is determined to defy the family marriage curse, which claims no woman marries their first fiancé, and prove that Matt is The One.Although the wedding planning lurches from one disaster to the next and she has to steer a major work project before the big day, Rebecca is sure she can stay on top of things. That is until Alex – the ex who dramatically broke her heart at Oxford University – reappears in the boardroom as her new client. How dare he still be as infuriatingly clever and hot as before? And since when did he start wearing shirts with collars?As Rebecca’s past and present collide, she realises her choices can’t be resolved with a trusty pros and cons list, and she’ll have to finally come to terms with the age-old question: head or heart?***Perfect for fans of:Love trianglesForced proximityWorkplace settings
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