3.5 Stars. This is a perfectly nice story but nothing that really wowed me. This is book 2 in the Burke Sisters series. This is one of the rare times I would say if you are new to the series, you don’t have to read book 1, The Right Kind of Wrong, first. While the characters that were in book 1 are in this book, there is no major ongoing storylines that you would be lost about if you started the series here.

This book stars Callie Burke who is a homicide detective. After breaking up with a long term girlfriend, Callie wants to find the kind of love that her sister has. The only problem is the woman she feels connected to is the widow of her best friend. Taylor lost the love of her life to a fire. It’s been years, but she hasn’t dated anyone since. She does know one thing; she never wants to date someone who works a dangerous job ever again. She can’t take another loss. Is there some way for Taylor and Callie to be together, or will Callie’s job be too much to overcome?

Book 1, was filled with a ton of angst. It is the kind of angst that can drive me nuts, like miscommunication and waffling back and forth. But for whatever reason, I really liked the story. I found I even developed a character crush on Grace, I just thought she was great. I was hoping this book would be similar, but it really wasn’t. For one, the angst was way down compared to book 1. It does have some, but nothing like its predecessor. Normally I prefer my books with a little less angst, but I just felt like this story was missing something. The other issue, I didn’t connect to either of the two mains like I did with Grace. I did like Callie, but I didn’t feel any emotional connection to her character. It was nice to see Grace again, but she wasn’t really in this book enough for me. And her girlfriend Quinn was pretty awful in this book, not sure why she went through such a personality change.

Like I said above this was a perfectly nice story, but it just didn’t really do anything for me. I like the way Trebelhorn writes, this just wasn’t a favorite of mine. If you enjoyed book 1, you will probably like this one too. It’s not a book I can rave about, but it is a decent read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Boldstroke Books for providing me with an e-ARC copy! All opinions in this review are my own and are honest.
The main reason I requested this was because one of my goals for 2018 was to read more diverse romance books and this features a lesbian romance along with a good sounding plot! I didn’t realise that this was the second book in the Burke Sister’s series however the this can be read as a standalone as the first book is about Quinn and Grace’s relationship – Quinn is the Sister of Callie who is one of the main characters in this book.
This was an enjoyable read and I managed to absolutely fly through this in a day. The writing was basic which isn’t a bad thing, like I said I managed to fly through this but there wasn’t anything that made the writing special or rememberable. It was just a nice, easy read and sometimes that’s exactly what is needed so that isn’t a bad thing.
This follows Callie who is a police officer and had recently moved back after her relationship with her ex, Jan didn’t work out and Taylor who lost her partner Andrea (who was a firefighter) a few years ago after she ran into a burning building to save a child. Andrea was also Callie’s best friend and Taylor own’s and manage the bar that Callie’s sister Quinn works at so there is a large amount of cross-over between them all. Callie has always liked Taylor and this story follows them trying to figure out their relationship and if there is a chance for one between them.
This deals with the grief of moving on after your partner died and I think it was dealt with really well. It also deals with moving on with your best friend’s partner as Andrea and Callie were best friends and Callie has always liked Taylor, even when Andrea was alive, so we got to see a lot of guilt which is linked to the death of Andrea for both parties in the relationship. Because Andrea was a firefighter and died through her job, Taylor is reluctant to start a relationship with Callie due to her high-risk job as she doesn’t think that she’ll be able to take it if another one of her partners dies through their job and not knowing if they’re going to be coming home when they’re going to work. This is only strengthened when Callie is shot on the job and we get to follow Taylor’s struggles with trying to overcome this fear of losing another partner through their job.
We also get the added twist of the lesbian stalker who continually visits Taylor at her bar and won’t leave her alone. I liked this aspect of the plot, it added an extra dimension to the plot and helped pull along some of the romantic plot also. I was weary right until the end and I did enjoy the way that this was concluded and the way it escalated was interesting.
I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a nice, easy quick read to fly through which involves a lesbian romance. It was a great introduction into f/f romance as I’ve never read any f/f and I have another book which I requested and this has made me super excited to get round to reading that!

Nice story with two characters struggling with issues. Callie Burke is ready for a long-term relationship but her sister Quinn does not believe her especially since she is interested in her boss. Taylor Fletcher is mourning the loss of her wife and does not believe there is another person out there for her. I appreciated Callie's willingness to be there for Taylor even when the possibility for a relationship was bleak. Taylor's uncertainty is understandable considering who Callie is. The story was not as captivating as I would have liked and hoped for.

This was a nice predictable love story. Characters were sweet and dialog crisp, clever and humorous. My only negative was, I thought the stalker event was unnecessary and escalated abnormally.

This is the second book staring the Burke sisters. The first one was about Quinn who works in a bar owned by Taylor. This one is about Callie, Quinn's sister. Callie is a police detective who just moved back home.
It is a nice read. Not terrible exciting. The plot was pretty predictable. It is a different back story tho than the usual in this genre. Callie was best friends with Taylors wife but the two of them never really had any contact. When Callie gets shot in the line of duty Taylor takes her in as a favor to Quinn. Forced together the two of them start knowing each other better and learn a thing or two about Taylors wife.

This book has been ok but not completely perfect, in my opinion. It has an interesting approach. Callie is a policewoman and has recently returned to her hometown after breaking up with her lover, a bad break up. Taylor is the owner of a bar in that hometown and is still recovering from the death of his wife who was a firefighter and died in act of service three years ago. Callie and Taylor have known each other for a while, about 15 years. Callie is 39, Taylor is about 41 or 42. But for different reasons they have not had a personal relationship during these 15 years, even being Callie the best friend of Taylor's wife and also Callie's sister been working in Taylor's bar for some time. Yet of course, they have had some misunderstanding along the way and also Callie has been out of her hometown for a few years.

So they are finally in a situation where they can explore the attraction that they have always felt toward each other, yes, atracted to each other since they first meet. And then begins the wheel of insecurities, fears and distrust, basically from Taylor, who keeps Callie with her mind spinning for almost the entire story.

And after so many doubts and strugglin, the story closes in a somewhat abrupt way and with a final situation in which the behavior of Taylor is somewhat surprising and in my opinion not coherent.

So in conclusion I think it's an interesting book but it could have been better.

This is book number 2 in the Burke sisters series which started with 'The right kind of wrong'. The story catches up with the main characters of the first book but it can be read as a stand alone. Bar owner Taylor Fletcher lost her firefighter wife on duty and is not looking for a love interest, let alone one with a risky job. But when her late wife's best friend, Police Detective Callie Burke, returns to town, Taylor starts questioning herself. Will she decide to risk her heart again provided she survives a dangerous threat to her life?

Good romance with a bit of action in the form of a lesbian stalker. The plot touches a few sensitive issues such as bereavement, friendship, first responders' duty and second chances. The author does a good job at portraying the main characters with their flaws and feelings though sometimes Taylor's indecisiveness is frustrating to read. The stalker subplot adds a bit of action but has its ups and downs in terms of realism.

Overall, an ok read if you like a romance with a bit of drama. 3.5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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This book is very well written and the story flows well. The emotions involved in moving on after a loved one has died are well portrayed and realistic. I’ve not read work from this author before but will definitely read her again.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t realise when I requested this that it is the sequel to The Right Kind of Wrong. I thought that was an average book, I enjoyed this one more, but it didn’t blow me away.

The book features Callie (sister of Quinn from Right Kind of Wrong) who is a cop, and Taylor, Quinn’s boss and widow of Callie’s late best friend. I liked both characters, but Taylor’s back and forth about moving on from her wife and her problems with Callie’s job got tedious. Callie on the other hand was a sweetie. The secondary characters were ok, both families provided a bit of rounding out of the story, but weren’t given much to do other than dispense advice. Quinn also acted like a git for portions of the story, and I was glad other characters called her out on it. The stalker storyline was also overdone, and frankly unnecessary, it didn’t add anything to the story from my perspective. I also thought the breakup was ridiculous but thankfully short-lived.

These two were more interesting than Grace and Quinn and they didn’t have endless communication breakdowns, so I enjoyed it more than the first book. 3.5 stars but I’m rounding down because I can’t give it 4.

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.