Callie Burke has a history of flings and a reputation as well. No one seems to have noticed that she’s wanting to settle down, and isn’t the reckless detective and gadfly she used to be. When she is shot in the line of duty, it falls to her sister’s boss to look after her for a few days while her family is out of town.

Taylor Fletcher is a great boss to Quinn, Callie’s sister. Taylor’s wife died a few years ago, so it’s been a quiet spell for Taylor, dealing with her grief and the running of a business filling her life. When looking after Callie awakens feelings she’s long buried, Taylor has to deal her own expectations as well as others. Will Callie and Taylor find common ground, or will Callie’s reckless reputation and high-risk job smother their spark before they realise there is a flame between them?

Trebelhorn has written several lesbian romances before this book, and her work is entertaining. There were several strands woven into the plot of this book, and I’ve only covered some in the brief précis above. Trebelhorn handles most of them well.

I did struggle at bit at the start. I find it hard to put my finger on it, but there were elements in the writing that were a bit jarring, and the prose didn’t flow as well as some of her books normally do. I wonder if it wasn’t the dialogue, as some is a bit sharp at the start, without much apparent cause from the characters. It did settle down and the prose flowed better after the first third of the book. 

I liked both main characters. Callie is supposed to be reckless by nature, even if she is changing, but there wasn’t a lot of evidence of it in her behaviour. She was smart and kind and that’s a good combination. Taylor was a bit harder to read, but her reticence to jump into a romance is easy to imagine, considering her backstory. 

There were some obstacles for them to overcome, some internal and some external. The external ones were less well resolved; a weirdo stalky person was flagged very early on, but the sense of dread didn’t really escalate as much as I thought it might. Perhaps keeping the focus on the romance meant that keeping it light was a better idea, rather than overwhelm the frothy romance with the thrills of a wolf in with the sheep. On reflection, Trebelhorn might have added just enough to justify the climax of the book, without overwhelming the lightness of the romance. 

Spoiler alert: I did think that the emotional resolution at the end was not justified nor handled as well as it needed, considering the physical resolution that was presented. There needed to be some other emotional developments for me to feel that the internal obstacle had been dealt with by Taylor. Her saying it was all fine didn’t really convince me that this wasn’t going to be an ongoing issue with them, and still potentially a deal breaker. 

This was a light romance with smart, capable characters. 

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2245807226?type=review#rating_147657266

I love P.J. Trebelhorn books, and this one is up there with being a good read. The character's Callie and Taylor know each other from Taylor's ex-wife who passed away. The book is kind of back and forth with Taylor being hot and cold to Callie. Some of it is normal, with the passing of an ex, but a lot of it I wasn't sure why Taylor was acting that way. The book is a lot about letting go of the past and can you have two loves in one lifetime. P.J. did a wonderful job of expressing the sincere pain of letting go, and also honoring the memory of loved ones. This is an awesome read and I highly recommend this book.

Unfortunately I am not interested in reading this book and requested it by accident.

This book had a lot of ups and downs and emotions all over with a stalker aspect that brings a crime/thriller feeling to it. Both characters were likable and they had chemistry even though Taylor kept pushing Callie away a lot. It was a bit drawn out and repetitive in my opinion but still a good read and i enjoyed it.

Twice In A Lifetime is a story about falling in love again after the loss of a first love. Taylor lost the love of her life, Andrea, a firefighter, in the line of duty. She struggles to love again, especially knowing Callie’s a cop and could very easily also die in the line of duty. Her brain is telling her not to get involved with a cop, but her heart tells her to give love a second chance. 
     This premise, along with a crazed bar patron who is infatuated with Taylor, makes up most of  the story and the seesawing of emotions that go along with it, especially by Taylor. At times, it seems to be a bit too much. 
     The characters are  interesting and the bantering between the sisters allow tense moments to lessen. Overall, a good read.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review

This is the first book I’ve read by PJ Trebelhorn and I really enjoyed it. The story has many layers to it, some are given more exposure and some are left as flickers around the edges. 

Callie is a homicide detective who has recently returned to her hometown after the ending of her three-year relationship. She often visits her sister Quinn at the bar she works at but is disturbed that the bar owner, Taylor, is quite dismissive of her. Taylor’s wife, who happens to have been Callie’s best friend, was a firefighter who died nearly four years previously in the line of duty. Callie believes Taylor doesn’t like her and Taylor struggles to deal with people in high-risk jobs.

Callie is not portrayed like the stereotypical cop: sullen, brooding, uncommunicative and rushing back to work two days after being shot four times. In fact, she is pleasantly ordinary. She’s expressive of her feelings, charming, has friends she talks to and cries without it being the end of the world. Taylor is more closed as a character but given her recent loss, it fits. The parents and siblings are all integral to the story and give a fullness to the development of the relationship. There is enough tension between Callie and Taylor but adding a stalker to the mix gave it that little bit extra.

It was a good read all round and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.