2012: #67 – Once and Again (Lauren Dane)
Title: Once and Again
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Petal, Georgia #01
Format: Kindle
Pages: 200
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Source: personal copy
Seven years ago, Lily Travis was only too glad to see her hometown of Petal, Georgia, in her rearview mirror. Thanks to her father running off with a twenty-year-old, though, here she is, trying to pick up the pieces. First order of business: meet with her brother’s teacher in a quest to pull his grades out of a downward spiral.
Nathan Murphy is pretty much resigned to his bachelor status–until he looks up from his desk to see an all-grown-up Lily walking into his classroom. Of all the women who turned out to be totally wrong for him, she’s the only one who felt right. At least until his foolish, immature mistake drove her away.
Lily has to admit that time has been more than kind to gorgeous, sexy Nathan. Except there’s no room on her full plate for another complication. Especially with a man who broke her heart once before.
With a little help from his friends, Nathan has a plan to rekindle the flame. It isn’t long before they’re burning up the sheets. Winning her heart? That’s another matter.
Warning: Hot, sexy high school teacher in denim and boots. Strong-willed females abound. Bad words and naughtiness, too. Come on, you know you want to read it.
My thoughts:
Once and Again is a fairly straightforward contemporary romance. Lily has left her life in Macon and returned to her hometown of Petal in order to take over the rearing of her younger brother. Her mother is mired in an addiction that was exasperated by her marriage falling apart. And to top things off, her brother’s English teacher is the man who broke her heart 7 years ago.
This book has themes of forgiveness and learning how to move forward in your life. It also has a fair bit of steamy sex, so buyer beware. I actually think there could have been a bit more adversity in Nathan and Lily’s relationship – she conceded to his advances rather quickly, and I expected their ride to be a little more bumpy. It’s like the book was missing its third act. But overall, I enjoyed it and will be looking for more romances by this author.
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat
Other reviews:
- “I was truly excited to be revisiting Petal, GA since the completion of the Chase Brothers. I have to say, catching up with the entire Chase family was the only highlight of this book.” — Book Obsessed
- “ONCE AND AGAIN is a sexy and moving romance. I can’t wait to find out what happens next in Petal.” — the book girl
- “Nathan’s pursuit and determination to win Lilly back is one of the hottest “wooing” stories I’ve read in a while, maybe the hottest contemporary “non-erotic” story I’ve read ever.” — Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
