The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier is an in depth character study of Joy Harkness, a Henry James scholar and professor at Columbia who moves from NYC to Amherst Massachusets, buys an old house that needs a lot of work, and finds herself becoming part of a community, against her better judgement.

We are taken on Joy’s journey with her as she learns to slowly open herself up to the people around her and let them in- to her life, her home and eventually her heart.

This is a beautifully written novel. I found Joy’s character entirely believable and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.