From Publishers Weekly
In Bretton's fine follow-up to Shore Lights, firefighter and bar owner Aidan O'Malley and radio-show host Maddy (DiFalco) Bainbridge prepare for their upcoming nuptials in Paradise Point, N.J. Their pre-wedding jitters are magnified when PBS films a documentary on Jersey Shore towns and focuses on the O'Malley and DiFalco families, who settled Paradise Point and are now being joined in marriage. Maddy and Aidan are salt-of-the-earth characters, grounded in the realism of past disappointments and tragedy. Aidan raised his teenage daughter, Kelly, on his own, his young wife having died when Kelly was an infant. Maddy in turn lost her previous love when he broke off their relationship after she became pregnant with their young daughter, Hannah. The well-observed interactions between friends and family add depth. Claire, part owner of O'Malley's bar and widow of Aidan's philandering brother, Billy, must come to terms with her deceased husband's infidelity, especially when she remembers Billy's affair with Gina, Maddy's colorful cousin, who has secrets of her own. Kelly, however, may be keeping the biggest secret of all, and it could tear Maddy and Aidan apart. Alternately poignant and humorous, this contemporary romance gracefully illuminates life's highs and lows. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Maddy Bainbridge is finally marrying Aidan O'Malley, culminating the courtship featured in Shore Lights (2003). Too many relatives are involved in the wedding preparations, and everyone's looking forward to the upcoming nuptials--everyone, that is, except Claire O'Malley, the widow of Aidan's brother, Billy. Claire has a deep, dark secret and hidden fears, both of which have paralyzed her ability to feel the joy of the occasion. However, secrets and fears are hard to keep to oneself when a crew from PBS is taping a documentary about one's family and town. This novel is filled with an almost bewildering number of aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews, but Bretton skillfully intertwines their stories with threads of emotions ranging from gentle humor to palpable angst. Chances Are can stand alone, but it makes more sense if Shore Lights is read first. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Fans of Shore Lights will welcome this sequel, a heartwarming story of dashed dreams and fresh starts that is set, once again, in a small town on the Jersey shore. Maddy Bainbridge, along with her five-year-old daughter, Hannah, has returned to Paradise Point after 15 years in Seattle and fallen in love with widower Aidan O'Malley. Their wedding seems the natural conclusion to a stress-free romance, but pre-wedding jitters are just the beginning. A documentary crew is filming in town, and nearly every future in-law seems to be acting strangely, including Aidan's daughter, the usually composed 17-year-old Kelly. As Maddy nears her wedding day, she must balance her intuition about what kind of help Kelly needs against her obligation to her future husband, and it's unclear whether family secrets, new and old, will torpedo their future happiness. Ginger Curwen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Maddy Bainbridge is thrilled about marrying Aidan O'Malley—but she wasn't prepared for the ordeal of planning a wedding. Now the O'Malley clan is about to get a big shock when Aidan's teenage daughter reveals a secret that could tear apart the entire family—and put a stop to one very special wedding.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly