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NetGalley Review of Second Chance Duet

Posted on March 3, 2026February 21, 2026 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 10.45.23 PM

title: Second Chance Duet

author: Ana Holguin

publisher: Forever

publication date: March 10, 2026

pages: 384

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings:

  • mean parents
  • alcohol use
  • mention of vomit

summary: Celia Garcia has been trying to make it in the music industry for the more than a dozen years since she graduated from Juilliard, but she's barely getting by with the commercials for which she composes music. When her big break comes, getting to compose the soundtrack for a big-name director's television series, the only downside to the news is that she'll have to compose with Oliver Barlowe, her college nemesis. And even worse, they'll have to work together in a remote Maine studio.

tropes:

  • rivals-to-lovers
  • only one house
  • forced proximity
  • insider-outsider
  • long-time crush

what I liked:

  • musical discussions
  • Maine

what I didn’t like:

  • I didn't believe the pining

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)

As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • 376. Why You Don’t Have to Brush Your Teeth
  • NetGalley Review of Where the Wildflowers Grow
  • 375. Why Flashlight and Floodlight
  • NetGalley Review of Toe to Toe
  • NetGalley Review of Second Chance Duet
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