Maxine Morrey really hit me in the feels with the heartwarming and touching 'You Only Live Once'.

Lily is a 39 year old sucessful author who has been a recluse for the past ten years after her husband of three years was killed on their anniversary.

While she is close to her older brother Felix and his family, she's cut herself off from her friends, let alone the idea of dating another man. That all changes when her brother's best friend (and her teenage crush) Jack returns from New Zealand, and needs a temporary place to stay.

What's refreshing is Morrey didn't manufacture external drama. Lily's internal battle was enough. It's clear she resists letting go of her grief because if she does, she feels she has nothing left of her husband. Watching her take tentantive step forward, then several steps back is understandable and created the crux of the drama in this book.

Jack was a wonderfully written character, being the friend of Lily that she didn't realise she needed. He championed her taking those tenative steps, but also challenged her when she did need it. The only quibble I might have is Jack was probably a touch too perfect (a bit like the wonderful Jed from Morrey's earlier book 'Things are looking up').

Morrey's strength is writing characters who are on a journey to overcome their internal struggles. This is a deeply moving book about one woman rediscovering how to live in the aftermath of grief.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book so much. I really felt connected to Lily as we have a few things in common in some ways. I am not a widow but I got divorced and moved close to my brother and his wife after. They helped me pick up the pieces and supported me on my new journey. It was rewarding to see Lily grow as a character, spread her wings, get out of her comfort zone and really find herself.

Parts of this book were sad, parts had me laughing out loud and parts were swoon worthy...it gave me all the feels. The book was a lot of fun with great characters to love and plenty of will they or won't they moments. I actually hugged my tablet when I was done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I have linked my Goodreads review, and below is a more in-depth dive into my thoughts.

You Only Live Once follows a widow of ten years, who has secluded herself after the loss of her husband in an unexpected accident. She cannot will herself to step outside of her house - save for groceries - let alone her comfort zone. That is, until her brother's friend is in need of a place to stay, and Lily is no longer living alone. It's a heartwarming story about learning to find yourself again, and being able to move on from tragedies in the past.

This book was a delightful read, although choppy at times in terms of the plot/pace. I found the timeline hard to follow as sometimes days or weeks would pass between chapters, and I could not get a grasp of Lily's age until the Epilogue. Things moved fast as well between Lily and Jack - I wish we could have had insight into how their dinner 'date' went, how they confessed their feelings for each other, etc. The British slang was something to get used to as well, but I caught along quite quickly so it was not the biggest issue. Overall, Maxime Morrey has written a very touching story!

"I was living in the shadows and I had been for far too long. It was time to step into the light, no matter how scary and bright it felt right at this moment."

I immediately wanted to pick up the book after reading it's blurb. I was already prepared to get to understand Lily and her life after losing her husband. I wanted to see how would she really get out of the loneliness that had become her comfort zone and would she really give Jack a chance to mend her heart. Her dynamics with her family and especially Jack put a smile on my face. I also loved how Jack respected her feelings for her husband and was able to talk with her about it so comfortably. He just wanted her to see that she can't keep living in fear and grief forever and wanted her to give him a chance. I loved her and Jack together, they somehow fit perfectly. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the side characters but I feel like it should have included more backstory about when Jack and Lily first met because when it was implied that she once had a crush on him, it seemed like there was more chemistry between them in the past and we didn't get to read about it. Still it was a good read though with a cute epilogue.

Thank you Netgalley & Boldwood Books for the ARC

A quick, easy and fun read that had a cute storyline and well developed characters that were engaging, relatable and that I rooted for. I read it in one sitting.

"Even when your life had been shattered, nature's cycle continued and, at a time I found it hard to discern comfort in anything, I did find some sort of comfort in that."

Lily is an extremely successful author that has is publicly known as a recluse. After loosing her husband unexpectedly, she created a small bubble that became her world, and has been living in close to complete solitude for a near decade, doing everything to keep her heart safe. Her little bubble is popped when her brother invites their childhood friend Jack to stay in her spare room until he gets settled back into town.

Slowly, we see Lily start to get out into the world a little more, with Jack by her side. Still terrified to take risks, his support and friendship made it easier for her to face her fears.

This story was very sweet, but felt super slow in the aspect of anything significant happening. It felt more like woman's fiction than it did romance, as the story was very focused on Lily's internal struggle and the relationship development was slim to none. For fiction, it felt as though her fears were extreme because of the time but we didn't get as much of the emotional impact as I thought we would with this premise.

Overall a sweet time, easy to read through, but not a compelling romance or story that allows for emotional connect.


Thank you so much Netgalley, Maxine Morrey , and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 3.25 stars

I was provided a copy of this book through Net Galley, thank you!
This novel was such a sweet story about second chances, and how imperative it is that you fill your life with happiness. "You Only Live Once" follows Lily, a successful author in her late thirties. Ten years ago she lost her husband in a freak accident, and she uprooted her life to live in a remote home and become a shut-in in a effort to cope with the loss. Her brother's best friend, Jack, is moving back to town, and needs a place to stay, and Lily finds herself hosting Jack until he can get back on his feet.
I really, really loved the duel themes of a second chance at life and a second chance romance. Lily had a very challenging and life-altering event occur and it really stopped her from living her life. When Lily lost her husband, she felt like her life would never be the same, and she would never find happiness again. She shut herself away, and completely stopped living to the fullest. It was very humbling to watch Lily realize how much she let this bad event affect her and prohibit her from fully living her life. I also really appreciated how patient and kind Jack was with Lily. It was pretty evident from early on that Jack had feelings for Lily, but he was patient and allowed her to open up to him on her own terms. He also pushed Lily to go outside of her comfort zone, but he never pushed her so much that it traumatized her. Jack saved Lily from herself, and it was beautiful to watch.
As much as I enjoyed this story, it definitely veers more towards a contemporary than a romance in my eyes. The actual romance does not start heating up until about 75% through the book, which is fine, but something note if you are looking for a romance. The spicy scenes are cut short, and the last 25% of the book spans several months, because they do hit a wall for a time because Lily is too scarred to lose him to even try. Overall, I loved my experience with this sweet story and I really loved seeing Jack with Lily!

fter Lily's husband of just three years dies in a freak accident she becomes practically a recluse. She leaves London with its memories and moves to a large house on the edge of a small village where she continues to write her very successful novels. She avoids meeting neighbours, shopping very early in the morning, and declines invitations to visit friends and family. Her only real contact is with her brother Felix, his wife, and their two children who visit regularly.

Her brother's best friend, and her secret childhood crush, Jack has been living in New Zealand building up his own landscape gardening business. Jack is the son of landed gentry but always seemed to spend most of his time at Felix and Lily's house as a child. Jack is now returning to the UK and Felix has volunteered a room in Lily's house for him to stay in until he gets his new business up and running.

Although Lily initially objects to having a lodger thrust upon her, especially one who was a witness to her greatest humiliation as a teenager, she does eventually come to appreciate his friendship, but can she let go of the past and learn to love again?

Oh dear, I see that I have read a couple of Ms Morrey's previous novels and I have to say I have the same grumbles about this book as I did with those books. Taking that into account, obviously I need to stop requesting ARCs by Maxine Morrey because her style doesn't suit me - if you have enjoyed other books by her then I'm sure you will also enjoy this. Which is not to say that I didn't like the book, just that there were some niggles.

First, I get that Lily was wallowing in her grief (I believe her husband died nearly ten years ago) and was becoming a recluse. However, both Jack and Felix steamrollered her into doing things she didn't want to do, "for her own good". Lily is a woman who earns a very good living, lives life on her own terms and is happy the way she is. It is not for her brother and lodger to force her to change. Also, it makes Lily look stupid, just once I would like the male character to persuade the female to step outside her comfort zone and it's a disaster, something they both agree will never be attempted again!

Second, in any journey of the nature which Lily is on, there are three steps forward and two steps back, that's just life. But when Lily starts to retreat backwards Jack storms off. It is a pet peeve of mine that (generally) men in romance seem to see the need to force the woman to do what they want or it's all over.

Third, it was all so predictable, practically from the first page, I think this needed to be less formulaic. Also, what was the point of making Jack the son of a Lord? It smacked a bit of a kitchen-sink approach to plot by throwing every genre at it and hoping something might stick, it didn't go anywhere and also left me with some legal questions about future children.

Overall, an enjoyable, if rather formulaic and predictable, friends-to-lovers romance let down by the hero's behaviour for me. (I even copied that conclusion from my review of one of Ms Morrey's previous books).

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was my first book
By this author and won’t be my last this was such a delightful and beautiful read which I read in almost one sitting.

This was a story of love and loss and how we never know what is found the corner and of finding happiness and second chances. This was heartbreaking at times to read and then at others warmed my heart. It was a lovely feel good read of finding happiness and comfort after a tragedy and finding confidence and belief in yourself again.

I would love. Sequel to this to see how jack and lily journey continues

This is a deeply heartwarming story of love lost and how a woman tries to recover from her grief. This is more than a romance novel. It is about discovering happiness again for yourself with all the people in your life. The main character is likeable as are the supporting characters. It is a fast read and I couldn’t put it down because the story flowed so smoothly along. It left me smiling and feeling good. I enjoyed that it was not full of graphic sex scenes like some books are. A good author can create the mood without all of the other details.

Thank you to Boldwood Books via NetGalley for the invitation to read this ARC.