Once in Every Life written by Kristen Hannah Romance is one of the most popular genres. I've seen those covers that show a muscular man baring his chest to the world embracing a swooning woman. I have been guilty of never picking one of them up because of that cover. I plead guilty! I apologize! But, when I want to read a romance I want a nice conservative looking book to carry around, not a book advertising three hundred pages of lust. After long last I have found a well-structured romance that has the right balance of love, plot, and a wee bit of lust to spice things up. Most books have an element of romance. On top of the story the main character has to "get" the boy/girl. However with romances the chase is the only focus, the only plot line. So, hopefully it is a good plot and not just a large cliché. Once in every life is an example of a romance with a stellar and unique plot. A majority of Kristen Hannah's works are family oriented, but this story has a romance that will make you flip through the pages so fast they smoke.
Kristen Hannah uses a twist of fantasy to drop the reader into a story unlike any other. Tess Gregory's life comes to an unexpected close when she is killed by a car. She lived an average life, but not a grand life. She never fell in love or had children. Because she didn't have a life with the adventure of love she is given a second chance; a second life. Over a hundred years before Tess existed a women by the name of Amarylis Rafferty died in giving birth to her third child, and Tess took her place. Now Tess is living Amarylis' life. She is married to Jack and has three children. However there are complications because Amarylis was not a kind women. She hated her husband ever since he got back from war. He disgusted her for a reason that Tess tries to understand. Amarylis was both a terrible mother and wife. Jack and the girls have a hard time trusting heartless Amarylis. But, Tess is not Amarylis. Tess is on a mission to gain acceptance into this family not as Amarylis, but as Tess. She has to fix this home. She works to educate and care for the children, but the hardest challenge will be to show Jack that Amarylis is gone. She helps Jack in his struggle to love again and at the same time she finds herself falling in love with him. She learns the reasons for the broken house, and Jack's past becomes another obstacle. It is a wonder to watch Tess repair this family and watch the family give her a life worth living for.
