 Title: Once Every Never
Series: Once Every Never #1 Author: Lesley Livingston Publisher: Penguin Canada Published: July 14, 2011 My Copy: A Beautiful Madness
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Once Every Never isn’t my typical kind of read but I must say that I rather enjoyed this one! I used to read a lot of time travel fiction but since I started a paranormal blog I don’t come across it as frequently. Another noteworthy tidbit is that Lesley Livingston is Canadian! I can’t help but have a soft spot for canuck authors. There’s also two scrumptious young men to drool over which definitely helps! I found this book to be imaginative, moving and it maintained a steady pace that held my interest throughout the story.
I really enjoyed getting to know Clare’s character. She’s not your typical Young Adult heroine. There’s nothing remarkably special about her. Miss Reid is just your average teenager, well aside from her newly discovered ability to travel though time but I’ll get to that a bit later. This observation might strike you as odd but in my readings I’ve encountered young women with absentee parents or weird social quirks one too many times. Clare could have easily been me growing up. I liked how easily I could relate to her. She’s not a genius but she’s not dumb either, her future career goals are uncertain and she does get into some trouble but overall Reid is a good kid. Even though she’s surrounded by overachievers in her life, Clarinet stays true to herself. That’s admirable in my books. It was nice to read a YA book that has a good role model for a change.
The time travelling aspect of the plot is introduced early on in the story. I appreciated that Lesley Livingston didn’t make readers wait for the good stuff. I think that this helped to generate interest early on and started things off at a good pace. Clare’s skill isn’t overly complicated either so the book wasn’t weighed down with details.
I’m torn about whether I liked Milo or Connal more… Clare knew Milo growing up because he’s Al’s (her BFF) cousin but back then, he was an awkward nerd. However, the past few years seem to have worked wonders on Milo. He’s still a cartography obsessed, Star Trek loving geek but a sexy one who’s had a crush on Clare since he was fourteen. How convenient! No, but seriously, he’s hot! Milo has a bit of competition though for Reid’s affections in the form of Connal, a warrior druid from the past. What’s not too love about a knight is shinning armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress? The druid was my lead crush for the greater part of this novel, well, up until he turned crazy anyway. So my final vote goes to Milo but it was a close race!
Lesley Livingston delivers an uncomplicated and gripping read with Once Every Never. I’m a sucker for a romantic tale of time travel but combine it with a splash of paranormal and I’m sold! This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and it definitely won’t be the last! Milo will be visiting my day dreams for weeks to come!
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About the Blogger
I review Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance books with a focus all things werewolf. Based out of Ottawa, Canada
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
Haven’t heard of this book, but it sounds good – and AI love the cover. Will have to add it to my goodreads list:)