When Lily is left at the alter she starts to see that she has been living life based on everyone's expectations of her. This funny novel chronicles her decision to live for herself.

A really good feeling book, a chick lit. Very good storyline of hope and love. Worth reading. Look forward to more books from Colleen.

Enjoyable read with likable characters. I found I spent a lot of time reading it as I enjoyed the story.

I was looking for something fun, hopeful, cute and that's what I got. It was an easy read and while I did enjoy it, I felt like it lacked something. I'm always looking for something that will suck me in and consume me, but unfortunately, I didn't get that with this one. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it, I just wanted more. More chase, more tension, more romance. Maybe next time.

I loved this book. It was so, so fun and funny. I'm new to this author, but will definitely be checking out other work by her after reading this one.

Anyone who loves fun, light beachy reads will like this book. It's outlandish, but strangely relate-able. I'll almost certainly be re-reading this one some rainy day in the future.

A lovely and fun little read. A cute book full of heart warming fluff - exactly the kind of chick lit gem I look for!

This was my first from Colleen Coleman and I know it won't be the last!

Neither loved nor hated this book, it was an okay read. The story was a bit top heavy on the work aspect of the protagonist life, the paper business definitely took up a lot more space than I would've liked...

How do you pick up the pieces of your life when things don’t turn out as planned? For Lily all she needed was a kick in the plants. After suddenly becoming editor in Chief, she takes on her own bucket list of sorts. Between skydiving and a haunted mansion, she faces her fears head on.

This was a cute quick read! I enjoyed Lily’s development as a character. And could definitely feel the adrenaline as she faced some fears. Christopher and Lily’s story was cute. All in all a fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have read a few of Colleen’s books now and I have really enjoyed them. I read the synopsis for ‘For Once In My Life’ and I just knew that it would be the right kind of read for me at the moment. I couldn’t wait to start reading so I immediately started reading. I am so glad that I did because I absolutely loved it but more about that in a bit.
It took me a little while to warm to the character of Lily as I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of her. I so felt for her when she faced the humiliation of being stood up at the altar and that her boyfriend’s new partner is somebody you know very well!!! It was at this point that I wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to give her a hug and have a bitching session about men. Lily is feisty, she is determined, she is stubborn, she is ambitious and that’s just for starters. Three years later Lily has made tremendous progress in her work life and her personal life. She has a job that she loves although that job could be under threat as the parent company is going through some difficult times. Lily finds it a bit hard to trust people but then that’s to be expected given her experiences. She is absolutely determined that she is not going to fall in love as she doesn’t want to be hurt again. Will Lily keep her promise to herself about not falling in love? Will Lily find the happiness that she so deserves? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
I picked this book up at the right time as I was in need of a light hearted, fun read that would distract me from something unpleasant- ‘For Once In My Life’ ticked all those boxes and then some. The book starts with the wedding that wasn’t a wedding and that is certainly a beginning to a book that I am not going to forget in a hurry. Colleen certainly knows how to grab your attention and keep it throughout the book. In Lily, she has a character that is funny and generally just like the girl next door. She comes across well and by the end of the book I really did feel as though Lily was a friend, even if it did take me a little while to get used to her and to like her. I loved the way in which the book started and I also like the way in which Lily managed to rebuild her life bit by bit. I soon became addicted to reading the book and I found it very hard to put the book down. In fact the book might as well have been glued to my hand because it came everywhere with me. I just had to keep reading to discover whether or not Lily found happiness and to see what mischief she got up to. The pages turned over at speed and before I knew it I had finished the book but because I was enjoying the book so much I didn’t realise how quickly I was getting through the book. ‘For Once In My Life’ has the perfect mix of drama, humour, scandal, gossip and sheer unadulterated escapism and I loved it.
I would definitely recommend Colleen and her books to other readers. I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Loved this fun read. Lily is stuck in a rut, but things change when she meets Christopher at work. He is only in town to help save the newspaper she works at. Once they save it he is leaving,but she just needs to fight for him.

This was such a cute book by a new to me author. Colleen Coleman quickly pulled me in and kept me entertained.

It has been three years since Lily was left at the alter and is trying to rebuild her life. She works at the Newbridge Gazette and finds her self as acting editor in chief. Christopher is brought in by another company to help save the business. These two both have goals they hope to achieve and turn the newspaper around. Will they be able to save the paper?

This was a cute book with great characters and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Lily Buckley has had her confidence decimated after being left at the altar, her mother left her in the care of her grandmother so she could pursue her career without the burden of having to care for Lily. The only thing she has going for her is writing for her local paper but even that is in danger of being lost after the new editor has modernised it losing its soul and the stories that everyone loved. Lily has one chance to save the paper and herself. Another cracker from Colleen Coleman, she gets the highs and lows just right. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lovely heart warming book really enjoyed it. Would highly recommend this book to anyone such a good read.

Whenever I want to read a book that will make me laugh, feel inspired and leave me in a total feel-good mood, I know I can count on Colleen Coleman. There’s always something empowering about her books, she writes about relatable women who go on these fun journeys of self-discovery and never fail to lift me up.

Stranded at the altar three years ago when her groom-to-be ran off with her best friend, Lily is still single and working tirelessly for the local paper where her claims to fame are articles about giant vegetables and dogs who look like Chewbacca. After her boss A, ran the paper into the ground and B, abruptly quit just as the powers that be have announced a visit, Lily finds herself suddenly thrown into the boss’s seat – and responsible for saving the paper. Excited for the chance to finally stretch her wings and write the articles she wants to write, Lily excitedly volunteers to do a series on diving headfirst into things that scare her like skydiving and staying overnight in a haunted house, all the while accompanied by a fellow colleague, Christopher. With readership steadily increasing, things are only looking up for the paper – and for Lily, but will she finally be able to do the one thing that scares her most of all: falling in love again?

For Once in My Life was a completely random NetGalley grab on a weekend where I wanted another lighthearted read. I took a chance with this title and I’m glad I did. I’ll be honest, though I had a great time reading the book (and am pleased to say it held my interest start-to-finish), this wasn’t a book that stuck with me, even just a few weeks after reading. Just to write this mini review I had to go back and re-read the summary for character names and plot details. That said, I did enjoy this one while it lasted and was pleased to have passed a weekend with it.

Lily is working as a reporter at her local newspaper, and she loves her job. She isn't as keen on her boss, however, and he is ruining the paper and consequently her life as well, since she has no actual life other than the paper, because of being jilted at the altar, three years previously.

Enter Christopher, who intends to turn the fortunes of the paper around (now that her boss has quit). The fact that she also finds him attractive, is a bonus. Will Christopher makes things better in Lily's world or will he just confuse things even more?

I enjoyed this book, but unfortunately not as much as this author's other books, which drew me in and made me get very emotionally invested, laughing and crying, and willing the heroine to overcome. I liked Lily and Christopher, but I felt like this particular book took too long to get going, and even the bucket list challenges took too long to describe, thus taking the excitement out of them a little bit for me. I wasn't really feeling it between the two main characters either, although I can't quite put my finger on why not.

I give this book 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Quickly I realized this book is not for me.I had a really tough time following this story. I did not connect with the characters or the story line for that matter. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this complimentary book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Many thanks to Bookouture and Collen Coleman for the wonderful opportunity to read and review this book. I just loved this book from start to finish. When life closes one door it generally opens another. This books definitely proves the case, ditched on her wedding day Lily must pick up the pieces of her life and put her energies into her career. She must rise to the challenge , what will life have in store for her and who will be there to support her in her challenges. A hillarious novel that you will want to curl up and read on a cold day.

Awww I loved this book so so much. It was so perfect. The writing, the pace, the story all was perfect. One of those books you can read anytime and anywhere. I love a good chick lit book and this one was amazing. I laughed so much and I enjoyed every single word in it. It was my first book by this author but I will definitely be reading more of her now.
The story is about Lily a 29 years old girl that thinks she had her life all figured out untill on her wedding day she is left on the altar by her finace who is in love with her best friend. Poor Lily I felt so bad for her at this moment. But then later I was glad how things turn out. I loved how life changed for her. I loved the adventures she went through. Ahhh I loved everything about this book and I recommend it for fans of a romantic comedy, you will love it so much and it will warm your heart while reading. And of course your bucket list of things to do before you die might get bigger.
It's a 5 star read from me.

"I have a life! And I'm loving every second of it."

Lily Buckley's life was not going as she had planned. Her fiancé left her at the altar three years ago. After that she has lived a quiet life with no big surprises. But now her job is to steer the Newbridge Gazette clear of financial trouble.
Lily is a sweet character. She's lonely after her granny died and her mum lives abroad. I liked the character development of Lily and her mother during the story. And finally Lily had courage to give love a new chance.
The text is mostly Lily's thoughts, which are interesting of course. She's quite wordy. I would have preferred more dialogue between characters. It took time to get in to the book. All in all this is an enjoyable read.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book.