Evening Everyone,

Happy Tuesday! I hope you’ve all had a lovely day. I got my first feeling of “maybe winter isn’t going to last forever” today and it was delightful. The temperature is still very cold, but there was a golden ball in the sky and that’s all I need to brighten me up a bit. Made me excited for long walks and outdoor time.

Book 📖

Thank you to @bookandtonic for this advanced copy of A Love to Last a Lifetime by @clareswatmanauthor in return for an honest review. Thank you also to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for organising another lovely book tour. A Love to Last a Lifetime was published on 23rd January 2023 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

The one that she wants…

Adam Bowers; handsome, funny and with the charm of a rock star, from the moment she laid eyes on him, teenage Erin was smitten. But first loves don’t always last, and after a whirlwind romance, Erin and Adam go their separate ways. Yet, Erin never lets go of the feeling that Adam may have been her soul mate…

The one that she needs…

Greg fell in love with Erin in their first week at university. Solid, trustworthy and hopelessly devoted to Erin, he knows he’s better for her than the feckless Adam, who is forever leaving Erin broken-hearted, before winning her back with his charm. As far as Greg is concerned, it’s easy to promise the world, but it’s harder to love someone for a lifetime.

The one that got away…

Years later Greg and Erin are married, and although life hasn’t always been easy, Greg’s love for Erin has never dimmed. But when Adam comes back, in desperate need of Erin’s help, everything changes.  Erin starts to wonder whether fate is trying to tell her something…

Will Erin risk it all for the man she had thought was ‘The One’?

General Thoughts 🤔

This was such a great book to scratch my romance itch. It was easy to read but had just the right amount of angst to keep me reading. I am a bit of a sucker for a ‘one that got away’ storyline so this did kind of play into my romance needs straight from the off, however it actually ended up being better than I originally thought it was going to be.

When I had read approximately the first half of the first chapter, I thought that maybe I wasn’t going to get along with the characters as I was given the impression that they were in their thirties but they seemed immature to me. That very quickly passed though and I felt like I was one of the gang.

Characters 👫👭👬

I loved the friendship between Erin, Sam and Rose. I appreciate this book is a romance and I should probably be focused on the people caught in this weird past and present love triangle, but I had to mention this friend group. They were there for each other no matter what, but they weren’t frightened to call each other out on their shit either. These are the types of friendships I appreciate in my own life, so I loved following their little group.

The burning question though, is was I Team Adam or Team Greg? Honestly I’m really not sure. I don’t think I was particularly Team anyone; both men annoyed me a little bit. Greg was a bit of a wet blanket in my opinion and definitely not a man I would find myself attracted to. Adam however was the bad boy and we all know that a relationship with a bad boy never ends well. Did I agree with the choice that Erin made in the end? Yes, I think she followed her heart and that’s what all of us should always do.

Writing Style ✍️

This is the first Clare Swatman book that I’ve read and I really enjoyed her writing. The story was easy to follow, engaging and emotive. I wasn’t expecting to shed any tears for this book, however the side plot about Erin’s Mother really hit my heart. I liked that the whole story didn’t centre around Adam vs Greg.

The story was told via ‘Now’ and ‘Then’ chapters and I always really enjoy this structure. I like to see how the past catches up with the present. I do think there was potential to have a little plot twist thrown in towards the end; something that happened in the past we wouldn’t have seen coming maybe, however this wasn’t the case.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it went by in quite a whirlwind. I flip flopped between Team Adam and Team Greg and with any good ‘one that got away’ story, there were pros and cons to either choice. In the end, I think that Erin made the right choice and I was left feeling content for her. If you’re looking for an easy going romance with an emotional family side plot thrown in for good measure, then I definitely recommend this book.

😍😍😍😍😐