This is a fabulous book by Clare, and in my view her best yet. An emotional read with relatable central characters.

Is love a consuming feeling or rather a soothing one? Erin’s marriage is a stake after her husband’s gambling problem. But when suddenly, her first love reappear in her life, she star to question the choice she made those years ago and the choices she is going to make in her near future to find happiness again. A great story

I always struggle to connect with a book when I don't care for the main characters. I actually preferred the background characters more. I did enjoy the tender moments Erin shared with her mum, who has dementia. I loved how Erin was able to trigger memories from music and the secret her mum revealed.

I liked that the chapters were songs, although I'd never heard of most of them. Im guessing, I'm possibly the wrong target audience

From the first moment the story intrigued me so much that it started to become addictive.

In some parts I wanted to grab Erin and shake her, I could not imagine the situation that she fell in but ai really enjoyed reading it.

It was easy flow, hearth lifting read, that allowed me to get lost in its love story and the choices that the main character made.

Definitely recommend!

A Love To Last A Lifetime by Clare Swatman is a serenely beautiful contemporary novel about love.
Love comes in many forms – the love of parents and children, between friends, husbands and wives, and an all-consuming love.
This all-consuming love happens once in a lifetime to two characters in different generations. Both have been wrenched away from the love that consumed and both have memories to keep them warm. Would the love have remained if left to run its’ course? Or would it have fizzled? We shall never know. Outsiders decided it was good boy vs. wild boy, and every parent wants their daughter to marry the stable influence – but is that enough to be a love that lasts a lifetime?
There is the love between three friends. We all want to have friends who love us enough to tell us the truth in love. Friends who want the best for us and who will support us through all of life’s highs and lows.
We see the heartbreaking topic of early onset dementia. A character has faded but just occasionally we get glimpses of the lively girl she once was. Dementia affects all those around us. “That mum, the one who made me feel safe, protected, was still in there somewhere, hidden beneath the cruel cloak of dementia… I missed her.”
Music is important. Music transports us through time and space. Music is used as therapy to try to help regain memories. Memories may still be lost but the music may evoke feelings within us.
We see the all-consuming parental love. It is a love that makes us feel safe and we know that we are loved. In contrast there is a child who has everything given him that money can buy but money can’t buy love – and that is what he needs most of all.
I absolutely adored A Love To Last A Lifetime. It was just so incredibly beautiful. It filled my heart and soul with love, and left me feeling hopeful.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute story about Erin, married to Greg and just happy enough, though they certainly have their issues. Then Adam shows up. The man who Erin considered the love that got away.. Adam needs help from Erin, but win knows getting too close to him could stir up old feelings. But is that what Erin actually wants/needs?
This was a fast read, good for a beach read. The characters were very much just ok for me, and even to the end I couldn't decide if I liked Erin or not. I did really like the back story of Erin's mom and dad and thought it brought things together nicely.

2.75 stars//

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Love to Last a Lifetime follows Erin, a psychologist living in a small town with her husband, Greg, who recently developed a gambling addiction. One day, Erin finds Adam, her international rock star ex-boyfriend, busking after not seeing him for eighteen years. When she finally approaches him, he doesn't seem to remember who she is due to a brain injury caused by a motorbike accident. Erin has to decide whether she wants to help Adam, the 'love that got away', regain his memories while trying to keep her past feelings at bay, or cut all ties with him and work on fixing her marriage with Greg.

The writing style of this book was pretty easy and light to read so I was able to finish this book in just a few hours. I loved how the author integrated music into the main themes of the book and portrayed it as a form of therapy for the characters struggling with their memories. I also really liked Erin's parents' subplot because ironically, her parents seemed to be more fleshed out characters than the main ones.

To be honest, I found Erin to be a really unlikable character. She is indecisive, selfish, and honestly really hypocritical. She would give Greg ultimatums when it came to his gambling addiction, while simultaneously meeting with her ex and lying to Greg about her whereabouts. It just looked a lot like emotional cheating to me, which can be worse than physical cheating. Rose and Sam, her best friends, were the only ones actually trying to knock some sense into her. Adam is also really manipulative, even without his memories ffs. He still made advances towards Erin even though he knew she's a married woman. He even treated Erin like complete shit during their relationship so I don't understand why Erin would be holding on to him EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER. Poor Greg worshipped the ground Erin walked on and is genuinely just a good guy struggling with a problem. I don't think he deserved the way Erin treated him or took him for granted most of the time.

There was so much repetition, LIKE SO MUCH REPETITION, which I found really bothersome. Adam's dialogues were always the same thing, just different wording. Even the events happening between Erin and her mother seemed repetitive to me. I needed more from this book in every way. The repeated events could've been replaced with something else that could adding to the plot. The ending was also unsatisfying because I didn't see enough character development and it was all wrapped up in a rush. If you're a fan of love triangles and morally grey characters, give this one a shot.

First of all thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this book for review purposes.
The first thing I want to say is that I love that it switches from the present to the past, this tool in writing makes so much sense to me, especially for this story. Other than that, Clare‘s writing is so easy to follow and I love that she ties each chapter together with a song if you feel like listening to those while also reading the chapters, personally I have my own playlist for when I read so I didn‘t BUT it‘s still nice to be provided with a soundtrack for the book. I have to say that at times in the book I was frustrated with Erin who is the MC of the book. I just don‘t like some of the choices she made at all but who am I to judge right?
I loved that this was a romance story but somehow also touched on so many other topics like friends, family, taking care of yourself and so much more. It‘s such a good quick read and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Description:

The one that she wants...

Adam Bowers; handsome, funny and with the charm of a rock star, from the moment she laid eyes on him, teenage Erin was smitten. But first loves don’t always last, and after a whirlwind romance, Erin and Adam go their separate ways. Yet, Erin never lets go of the feeling that Adam may have been her soul mate...

The one that she needs...

Greg fell in love with Erin in their first week at university. Solid, trustworthy and hopelessly devoted to Erin, he knows he's better for her than the feckless Adam, who is forever leaving Erin broken-hearted, before winning her back with his charm. As far as Greg is concerned, it’s easy to promise the world, but it’s harder to love someone for a lifetime.

The one that got away...

Years later Greg and Erin are married, and although life hasn’t always been easy, Greg’s love for Erin has never dimmed. But when Adam comes back, in desperate need of Erin's help, everything changes.  Erin starts to wonder whether fate is trying to tell her something…
Will Erin risk it all for the man she had thought was ‘The One’?

A Love to Last a Lifetime is a story that consumed me and was a lot deeper than I had envisioned. This isn’t just any love story, it is so much more. It is thought provoking and had my emotions in turmoil. Towards the end I felt some trepidation as I wasn’t sure how I wanted Erin’s story to end. Could there be such a thing as a happy ending when it involves three people? I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how it did end and I have to applaud the author for getting it so right. For me, it was the perfect ending to what had been a highly emotive read. A heart-gripping read that blows other love stories out of the water!

A clever romantic story.a story of past love a story of how music can effect memory.I was drawn right in to Erin’s life the people in it even the surprise ending was fitting.#netgalley #boldwoodbooks.

If you liked Sophie Cousens’ book Before I Do then this would be an excellent pick for you! What if’s and what could have been is a question reflected upon in this book. After having her heart attrotriously broken by the man she thought was the love of her life Erin falls into the arms of her best friend Greg. As they graduate and grow up they take the natural step to get married. While not perfect Erin is happy enough until she discovers a secret that Greg is harboring that impacts both their lives. As they begin to work through the battle to resolution the love of her life, Adam shows back up in town. Erin begins reflecting on all the what ifs.

Told over varying timelines and with a great playlist to accompany the timelines, the story explores all the possibilities of what if and what could have been while interjected with the hard truth of reality in that everything is not always perfect and you don’t always need someone else to make you happy. .

Such an interesting concept and I was easily transported and able to feel the difficult position that Erin is in in her reflection process.

Erin and Greg’s marriage is going through the motions, which isn’t good, but they’re not at a point to call it quits yet. Then one day Erin runs into Adam, her first love and the man who she never got over. Even on her wedding day she secretly hoped he would turn up and ask her not to marry Greg but to run off with him instead. Running into Adam has made Erin question all her life choices and even whether she wants to stay married to Greg. As she spends more time reconnecting with Adam, who has had a traumatic brain injury and doesn’t remember the past, her friends point out that she’s only remembering the lovey dovey bits and not the reality of the relationship. Erin tries to use her work as a music therapist to see if it helps him remember any of their past. While she deals with her feelings for Adam, she also has to deal with her crumbling marriage and what she wants to do about that. She needs her mum, but she has dementia so she doesn’t remember who Erin is most days so she can’t be of much help.
Overall, I liked the supporting characters more than the main ones. I feel like there needed to be a bit more resolution to the story once her decision had been made.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

This was just....OK.

I found it to be very slow, overly repetitive and lacking character development or story progression.

DNFed at 20%. I, unfortunately, found the writing pretty difficult to get through and the characters unlikeable.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I've really enjoyed previous books by this author, but unfortunately found this one slow-going. Although the plot was interesting, I found there was little story progression or character development, and it seemed quite repetitive.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a sweet book but it can be sloooow and it didn't resonate with me as it seemed to with others.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

The story of this book is set in two timelines - past, when Erin was young and present day and each chapter begins with a song of Erin's past.

Erin is married to Greg, he has gambling dues to pay and therefore, they are going through a rough patch.
One day, whilst Erin is out doing shopping, she hears a voice which takes her back to when she was young and a man called Adam, who she’s not heard anything from for a long time.

Back then, she met him at a party, not knowing anyone as he’d recently moved to the area, instantly Erin feels differently, and over the next few years she and Adam get to know each other better.

So, is fate trying to tell Erin something now or is she better off staying with Greg?

Adam has changed from when Erin last met him, and her mother is in early stages of dementia.

Erin wants to do the right thing. The story makes you feel all the emotions.

I recommend this book.

The one that got away...
Years later Greg and Erin are married, and although life hasn’t always been easy, Greg’s love for Erin has never dimmed. But when Adam comes back, in desperate need of Erin's help, everything changes. Erin starts to wonder whether fate is trying to tell her something…

Will Erin risk it all for the man she had thought was ‘The One’?

I was immediately hooked once I started reading A love to last a lifetime. It's a story about the one that got away. Do you stay with the man you've been with for 18 years or do you have a second chance with the love of your life all those years ago?

I personally don't think it's a fast paced book. Parts felt like they took forever or that she was taking ages to make her decision. I felt so bad for her especially since she wasn't in the best situation when Adam showed up.

Wonderful read!

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from NetGalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had a hard time finishing this book because the pacing felt slow and I did not connect with or enjoy the characters in the story. It was hard to like Erin and understand her feelings between her past and present, especially knowing she was an adult and yet acting the way she did between Greg and Adam. She felt immature and selfish... I was looking forward to this story after reading the description that this would be a second-chance romance, but I did not enjoy the set up and could not get on the same page as Erin at all throughout the book. Unfortunately, I personally felt this one was a miss.

Love to Last a Lifetime by Clare Swatman is a story about choices and the one that got away.

Story Recap:
Erin is married to Greg, the solid dependable guy who adores Erin, their marriage is having some difficulties, but Greg still loves Erin as much as he did on the day they got married. Adam is the charming, love of Erin’s life who she let get away many years ago. Erin always believed that Adam was her soulmate, but after their tumultuous whirlwind romance, he left and never came back.

When Adam returns to town and needs Erin’s help, Erin still feels strongly attracted to Adam and feels like he’s better than ever. But, she’s still married to staid, dependable, Greg. What will she do?

My Thoughts:
This book is all about the love triangle between Erin, Adam and Greg. I felt for Erin and her indecision, and the book certainly is emotional. I enjoyed watching Erin grow and learn more about herself and what she really wants in life.

I also liked the flashbacks to young teenage Erin as it gave me a good insight into her life and how she felt about Adam and her life during that time. And I liked learning about Erin and Greg’s beginning as it also gave me some insight into their relationship and why they are having problems in the present.

The book did drag a bit as I was anxious to find out what Erin would decide, and it seemed that she was paralyzed with indecision for a lot of the book.

Recommendation:

I highly recommend A Love to Last a Lifetime to anyone who enjoys women's fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.