Cover Image: A Love to Last a Lifetime

A Love to Last a Lifetime

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A Love to Last a Lifetime explores the territory that has crossed many people’s minds over the years: what if you ran into your first love many years later? Would there still be an attraction? Would the passion still be there? What if you’re married? What if you’re not? What would you do? It’s an interesting premise.

Erin and Greg are having problems in their 13-year marriage and 18-year relationship. He’s developed a gambling problem and put the couple in financial difficulties. Erin isn’t sure she can trust Greg anymore and is struggling. One day, she sees a man busking on the street and realizes it’s her first love, Adam, a man with whom she had a passionate affair when she was a teenager. Adam just up and left one day all those years ago after she discovered he cheated on her, leaving Erin heartbroken. But remembering the heat and passion of their relationship leads her to seek out Adam and find out what went wrong between them.

I have to say, most of the time I wanted to scream at Erin and her decision-making throughout the book. Adam had a motorcycle accident some time ago and can’t remember a thing, can’t remember Erin, his friends, his family, nothing. Erin, in her professional life, works with dementia patients like her mother, who had early onset dementia, by using music as a form of therapy. Since Adam is a musician, she thinks she might be able to bring back some of Adam’s memories with her therapy sessions. However, she does not tell Greg that Adam is back in town because they knew each other back then and Greg hates Adam. He’s spent the last 18 years always looking over his shoulder, wondering if Adam would reappear. Because he knows that if Adam comes back, Erin would most likely go back to him.

While I got frustrated sometimes with Erin’s decision-making, that usually means it’s a sign of good writing. Her friends from Uni, Sam and Rose, are her sounding board, and tell her straight up that she’s playing with fire and should stay far away from Adam if she wants any chance of saving her marriage. Does she listen? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Does Erin stay with Greg or run off with Adam? I will say that Erin’s decision at the end of the book was one I approved of wholeheartedly. It really is the way most books like this should end.

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.

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Synopsis: With her marriage on the rocks, Erin unexpectedly runs into “the one who got away”, leaving her heart conflicted.

Read if you liked: One True Loves, In Five Years

Review: This book completely drew me in and I devoured a good third of it in one sitting! It’s full of twists and turns that keep you reading. I will admit the middle wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me. It gave me that anxious “I’m not sure I like where this is going” feeling, and I think the characters and their motivations weren’t as flushed out as I would have liked. That said, it kept me turning pages and I was pleased by the ending!

Overall: One of those page-turning romances that kind of stresses you out… but like, in a good way!

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A Love to Last A Lifetime.
Pub Date 23 Jan 2023
Publisher:Boldwood Books
Genre:General Fiction Women's Fiction

30th January

Adam is back, the one true love of her life. Erin is torn between her past with Adam and her future with Greg.

Dealing with connection in her marriage doesn't help Erin, so she's stuck on what course to take. Greg and Erin have been married for years

Adam had an accident and can't remember his past. I like Erin's determination to help Adam with his memories to get them back. It's lovely.

It is Told in two dual perspectives,e, past and present tense.

I would highly recommend listening to the tracks that are prided out this book when you're reading as it gives you more perspective and helps you feel what I rent is feeling throughout this book.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #blogtour #ALovetoLastaLifetime


Will be post to blog tiktok, Instagram in 3oth January as part of Blog tour

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E has a lost love who comes back to town. Can she help him recover his memory with music therapy without hurting her husband Greg? Three characters each with a problem but, for me, I felt none of the characters changed through the book or the book resolved satisfactorily. A bit of romance and magic was missing and although written well, I read for escapism and this book felt a bit flat. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

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I thought the the premise of the book was interesting I really liked the links of music and memories. As I always have a huge connection with that. However I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending.

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A cleverly written story of how our past influences our present, and the importance of music to memory. The ending was unexpected - but definitely the right one.

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Not for me unfortunately. I struggled to get into it and therefore did not finish it after putting it down

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This book has an ending that you will either love or hate. I could see this ending coming and I am okay with it, because it made sense to me. Erin followed the path she saw in front of her and didn’t try to forge a new one until forced, which is why I liked the ending. You can see Erin’s growth in this story and her relationship with Adam and her relationship with Greg are impactful parts of her life, but she can see the positives and negatives of both too. If you are looking for a traditional love story set during Christmas, this isn’t it, but if you are interested in watching a character grow and build the HEA she wants, than this is the exact book you need!

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Review: Thanks to NetGalley and Clare Swatman for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, this was a cute story. I liked how the main character Erin had a lot of similarities in her love story as her parents and how that all came together. The only thing that made this book a 4 star read was the ending. While I thought it was heartfelt, I did have a feeling of wanting more. I actually didn’t know that I hit the last page until I turned the page and saw the acknowledgements. But other than that, I really enjoyed going along the ride and getting glimpses into Erin’s past. Would definitely recommend.

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I really didn’t envy Erin in this story. She is torn between two men, Adam and Greg. Adam is her first love and someone she has never fully gotten over whilst Greg, her husband, there is no doubting she loves him but is it the same as being in love? Having Adam come back in to her life, Erin is at war with her heart and head as to whether she made the right decision all those years ago and more importantly has her questioning herself as to what she really wants in the here and now.

I think most of us would like to find that all consuming love that we see in the movies or even read about in books. To meet that one soul mate who makes you feel complete. Does that love really exist? And if so, is it enough? There are so many factors that we forget to take into account and will give food for thought. As if Erin doesn’t have enough on her plate with some tough choices to make, she also has to deal with her mum who is in a home having been diagnosed some years before with early on set dementia. Understandably, these parts were hard too swallow. If you have watched a loved one going through this horrible disease or similar, it truly is heart-breaking and my heart poured out to Erin and her family.

Though I felt for Erin to be in the situation she was in, my compassion went out to Greg. His position is not an easy one to be in and I could feel my heart breaking just that little bit more as there is no doubting his love for Erin and I surprisingly found myself torn as to what Erin should do and how I felt about both the male characters. Erin thankfully does have some good friends in her life of which I loved Sam especially. You can see how much they want what is best for their friend and I loved how they weren’t afraid to mince their words!

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!

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I’ve read a couple of books by this author, which I’ve enjoyed so was interesting to see where this story was going to take me. Erin is married to Greg, they’ve been having a difficult time recently due to Greg’s gambling habit, but it’s obvious they love each other and want to make their marriage work. That is until Erin’s childhood love appears back on the scene after many years away. Adam Bowers broke her heart and now he was back it was like all that never happened!

This was a lovely heart-warming story. I liked all the characters, although part of me hated them at times also! Told over a dual timeline, we switch back and forth in Erin, Greg and Adam’s lives going back to their teenage years. Erin is a lovely character although it did feel that she was being unfair to both Greg and Adam throughout her storyline. Similarly, Greg and Adam were both likeable but still had their issues which they needed to work on. The storyline caught me from the beginning, and whilst there is a lot going on within the book, it was easy to follow and understand. I enjoyed switching back to their younger years where it filled in the gaps as to what had happened!

There are some triggers throughout the book, such as dementia, addiction, and marriage problems, but these are dealt with sensitively and in context with the storyline. I found Erin’s mother’s storyline heart-warming and enjoyed the little mystery solving surrounding her. I have to admit to finding the ending not what I expected, but I can understand why it was done like that! I did enjoy the music references throughout the book and some of the songs brought back happy memories from my younger years! Overall, this was a heart-warming, emotional read which was well-written and understandable. Would recommend!

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I’m disappointed with the story in general because there is no resolution at the end. The chapters on the past are cute because we learn more about the love triangle. But the chapters in the present are repetitive and do not answer the questions the reader asks himself. People are not benevolent to each other.
The end of the story that I found predictable leaves many unanswered questions.
However, the book is really well written and the reading is fluid. I think it's a good book, just not for me.

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The synopsis of this book promised me so much... and the book itself delivered so little.

I don't think I have disliked characters more this year then Erin, Adam and Greg. If there was a list of most hated characters of 2022 they would be the top 3. Its not good when your top 3 are all characters from the same book.....
Characters are allowed to make wrong choices and do dumb things. Its part of life, its part of a story and character development is a pet peeve of mine. But these people... damn, there was just no saving them. No redeeming qualities what so ever!

The story itself isn't really good either. its a circle of the same after the same. It keeps repeating itself endless and becomes dull.

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I loved the characters and the plot of the story, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

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Do your ever have the feeling of what if, well if you do then you will enjoy this one! I think it looks and explores those emotions.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of A Lifetime to Last Forever. It’s a quick read I thoroughly enjoyed…until the last few pages. I felt let down by the ending because I liked the three main characters a lot, and I couldn’t tell who Erin would choose to go to, Adam or Greg. I wanted Clare Swatman to surprise me, and kept thinking, “Good luck making a choice.” So of course the choice Erin eventually made surprised me, but not in a good way. It felt more like the coward exit—not the character’s cowardice, but the author’s, in the veins of the screenwriters not knowing how to solve and explain their otherwise smart premise in the “Lost” series. That said, I enjoyed this story very much.

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A quick easy and cute read that had enjoyable moments however, I found the protagoist really hard to warm too, not because she was unlikeable but because she was just so frustrating and I wanted to shake her.
3.5 stars

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Erin is married to Greg and going through some problems in her marriage when she runs into Adam the one who got away. Erin ended things with Adam but never totally got over him it seems and she sees him again she begins to question all the choices she made. I liked this book felt it was an easy read and entertaining my main complaint was not really connecting to Erin and wishing she was more decisive. It was hard for me to understand her choices she knew things she was doing would hurt those around her but still kept doing them and Adam never really seemed like he deserved the attention from her. I found her work with memory and music very interesting and the storyline with her parents was well written but never felt like it came to a conclusion. All in all I did like book and gave it three stars wish maybe had seen more wrapped up with all the characters in an epilogue. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

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I genuinely wanted to like this book. I’m a sucker for second chance romances and add in a compelling love triangle (husband and the one that got away) and I was excited. BUT, this one was not for me. I had a hard time understanding Erin’s motivations and just wanted her to make a decision. Speaking if decisions, I didn’t like anyone’s. But, the story was nicely laid out and well written, however the ending dropped it down a star for me. I needed more.

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* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I rarely give books 1 star because there’s almost always some redeeming parts. The description of this book gave me so much hope but really from the start I was shocked at how really sucky Erin is. Erin was in love with Adam and dated for about a year when they were younger, and he apparently sucked then!!! He really didn’t care for her based on all of his actions. Then she got together with her friend Greg. They have been together for 18 years by the start of the story and within the last year or so he’s had a terrible gambling addiction and is trying to got to things like gamblers anonymous to work on his addiction. Unfortunately, Adam comes back (with zero memory of his younger life) and Erin is immediately in love again. Honestly, she should have never married Greg and let him find a love with someone who deserved him. She never got over Adam and even said that on her wedding day she hoped that he would show up!! WTF! Once she finds out that Adam has no memories, she decides that she has no choice but to help him out even though she knows it would destroy Greg and her friends are entirely against it. I only liked her friends because they were pissed at her decisions about Adam and didn’t support her blindly.

Erin has zero redeeming qualities and is so extremely selfish.

Would not recommend this book.

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