First Love, Second Draft

Author: Becca Kinzer
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
Release Date: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction

She’s a romance writer burned out on love. He’s her famous baseball star ex-husband. The last man she wants to be forced to work with is the one who broke her heart.

Rom-com writer Gracie Parker hasn’t written a bestseller since she and her husband, a major league baseball star, divorced five years ago. On thin ice with her publisher—and with a looming deadline—Gracie couldn’t have picked a worse time for a painful injury that has her flat on her back. At this point, she’d accept help from anybody . . . except her first love and ex-husband, Noah Parker.

The baseball season has just ended in massive disappointment for Noah. He’s facing the stark reality that he gave up everything for a career that’s let him down and that it might be too late to get back the one person he should’ve held on to. So when Gracie’s nephew calls, saying Gracie’s looking for a tenant for her next-door rental, it feels like it’s meant to be.

All Gracie cares about is turning in her manuscript on time, which is directly at odds with Noah’s attempts to win her back, even if she is slightly charmed by his kindness. But can people ever really change? Then Noah throws a curveball that could give Gracie the extension she needs, but it will mean working directly with Noah, something she’s not sure she can face. With no other choice, and everything on the line, Gracie must decide if it is too late for a second draft of their own love story.

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Reviewer: Mindy Houng

This second chance romance between a floundering rom-com writer and a benched major league pitcher felt more like a women’s fiction with romance than a rom-com.

Gracie and Noah had a lot of baggage to slug through. I understood Gracie’s anger, hurt, and instinct for self-preservation. Noah was a bit more difficult to know. His steady devotion was charming and as the story progressed, we saw his heart, his hurts, and his determination that welled from his childhood, which even Gracie did not know about.

Gracie and Noah were both quite likable, but their banter was too sharp and biting to actually be considered rom-com banter. Granted, given their past, the tone was completely understandable, but it still didn’t sit right with me, especially since Noah was trying to win Gracie back.

I think Gracie’s sister Mona was supposed to provide some comedic moments, but she irritated me with her complete disregard for everyone else. I did absolutely enjoy Matt and Rachel’s banter and friendship. They were super fun. The secondary characters in their small town also added good fun to the plot.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers via Interviews & Reviews and NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

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Reviewer: Monica Huyser

Things have been stressful in my part of the world for the past few weeks. As a result, I have been looking for lighter reads. Maybe you have too? First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer is her third rom-com book. 

First Love, Second Draft focuses on a divorced couple—Gracie and Noah Parker. This couple started out happily married and then several years later, struggled with infertility/miscarriage and the marriage dissolved. Those issues are dealt with in this book, so there is a bit of heaviness as they seek to work their problems out. However, much of the book is indeed a lighter read. 

Gracie is on deadline, and she took a fall from a horse that resulted in some injuries. Noah has a break in his baseball career, so he returns to the small town in Illinois where Gracie lives to help her out. Along with watching this couple navigate life, the reader gets to watch Matt and Rachel as they try to decide if they want to move from friendship into more. There are other characters in the book that are also enjoyable to get to know, like Gracie’s dad, Buck, and her sister, Mona. 

As a whole, I enjoyed First Love, Second Draft. There were a few laugh-out-loud scenes for me. I enjoyed seeing the characters learn to overcome some of their communication issues. I also enjoyed the small town Midwestern life they all lived as I can relate to that since I grew up in a Midwestern small town. 

This is a closed door clean and sweet romance book. For those readers who want a lot of faith elements, this book doesn’t contain much of that. However, there are definitely themes of forgiveness, grace and redemption running through the book. For those in a book club who wish to read First Love, Second Chance as a group, there are discussion questions in the back of the book.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishing via NetGalley and Interviews & Reviews. All opinions are my own.

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