Really enjoyed this. As usual Chrissie Barlow doesn’t disappoint.

Real laugh out loud moment and really enjoyed the characters.

Really good book for when you just want to put your feet up and read!

A feel-good novel, brimming with fun and laughter. This is one of (if not) my favourite Manby book. This heart-warming story takes you on a mini-break by the sea and lets you wonder if the once in your lifetime actually happened twice, this is full of heart.

It missed out on 5⭐because I found the relationship between Lola & Nat slightly unconvincing.

Thank-you Hodder & Netgalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

This is another fantastic book from Chris Manby

I’ve put chick lit on the back burner for a while but this brilliantly written story has rekindled my love for the genre

Dani and Nat are old flames that sort of get thrown together again through their dogs

A really great read whether on a beach of for a rainy day

Loved it

Once in a Lifetime was another great book by Chrissie Manby. Easy to read, put down and pick straight back up again. Another fab book.

I’ve had this book on my kindle for quite a while but I never got around to reading it until now and WOW I wish I would have read it earlier...it’s a lovely full of love kinda book. You will nod often while reading it because you can see yourself in 16year old Flossie and you will laugh out loud at times.
I really enjoyed this book. The main characters are well rounded and very believable. I think every one of us can identity with at least one of the Parker girls.

I loved all of the characters in this book. Dani is a single parent to 16 year old Flossie who is in love for the first time. Ok so Dani and her mum Jane don't approve but what can you do. This is so easy to read with some funny bits. All of the characters especially Dani are well written and likeable - my fave character is the dog! Chrissie's books are just easy to read and by the end of the book you feel like you have made friends!

Love, love, love this book! Chrissie Manby is one of my go-to authors and never fails to make me smile, laugh and feel good! Once In A Lifetime is just fabulous, fun and classic Chrissie.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Chrissie Manby is one of my favourite girlie authors and whilst I enjoyed this book it was not as good as her others hence the lower review rating.

In "Once in a Lifetime" we're back in Newbay but this time with a new set of characters, although some of the characters from the previous book enter the scenes as well, right, Nurse van Niekerk? Dani is a pastry chef at a hotel in her hometown and lives together with her teenage daughter Flossie and her mum Jane. Everything works well, that is until Flossie meets Jed, who buys her a very mischievous dog for her birthday and Dani's boyfriend from over twenty years, Nat, comes back to the town, bringing a young and high - maintenance girlfriend in tow. As the story unfolds, we follow the three different, yet in some ways such similar, women - will they get their second chances at love? Can they all find they happily - ever - after?

As a huge fan of Chrissie Manby I'm always looking forward to her new releases. I think that what makes her books - also "Once in a Lifetime" - so exceptional is the fact that they are so close to life with their believable plots and that you can't help but immediately fell for the characters. Her writing style is so chatty and easy to follow, and the mix of happy and sad is perfectly balanced.
You could easily relate to all the characters, and I especially adored the way the author has so brilliantly captured how it is to be a) the very strong willed teenage with so many strong opinions and her only right and knowing everything better and b) mum to this teenager, how much you must just cope with and that you have to have skills of the best bomb disposal expert to know when to press the button and when to just let it go. Brilliantly captured and so true to life! There were many twists and turns in this novel, many of them caused by the lovely Jeremy Corbyn, aka Jezza. I still can't imagine how he looked like, this mix of breeds was just unbelievable but he was a very exceptional and very accident - prone dog. He actually mostly just stole the show and it felt as if it's a story about him as he does things that you wouldn't expect him to, but well, it was love at the first sight and there wouldn't be this book without Jezza. And Nurse van Niekerk.

I also loved the way the story was constructed and that Dani's relationship with her teenage daughter and her new puppy were the real centre of attention, whereas the romance aspect felt a little in the background. But it was great, it was a story with such a reality feeling to it that upping the romance more would make it - in my eyes at least - too much fairy - tale - ish and too forced. You're really in good hands here, guys, Chrissie Manby truly knows how to balance all the elements of her story to make it unputdownable read with difference. I think it's a real gift to be able to write such books, that centres around normal families, in such an engaging way.

This book is another winner from Chrissie Manby. I thought I'm not going to overcome my grief that there isn't to be any Proper Family anymore, but the author creates new characters that I immediately fell in love with. They're all so relatable to and so easy to like, probably because they're just so normal and genuine. It was a heart - warming story about a multi - generational family, about long lost love and regrets, about new love that you can experience no matter how old you are, even if you're not looking for it, a great read about once in a lifetime happening twice and exploit it, about second chances and relationships, drawn in such forthcoming, inviting way. Absolutely feel - good, beautifully mixing humour with poignant moments and you could actually feel the heart and the soul of the author in every single word. Highly recommended!

I’ve read – and loved – all Chrissie Manby’s books, and ‘Once in a Lifetime’ didn’t disappoint.

It was great to be back in a familiar setting, Newbay, once again, but meeting different people. This time, the story focusses on Dani and Nat, but with fabulous appearances from Dani’s daughter Flossie, mother Jane, godmother Sarah, and a mischievous pooch called Jezza (short for Jeremy Corbyn!). Dani and Nat were sweethearts twenty years ago, split up (for reasons which become known later on in the book) and didn’t see each other again until the day Nat walked into the hotel where Dani is the pastry chef.

There were some twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, and all the characters were included in the ending. I literally had a hard job putting this book down in order to sleep at night, and I finished it in record time.

Another bestseller-to-be from Chrissie, and one that I’d highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

What a great book. Set in glorious Cornwall it's romantic funny and satisfying with an enjoyable view of life and love through Dani, her mother Jane and daughter Flossie . Highly recommended.

This is a lovely story by Chrissie Manby about old love, teenage love, rekindled love and new love. Oh and dog walking!

This is a great, light, summer read. Put your feet up, get a nice long drink, sit back and enjoy.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is Chrissie Manby at her best, writing about a multi generational family in a realistic and funny way!

There is long lost love, teenage love, love of a pet dog (with a ridiculous name), family love - you could say the book is about love!

Dani hasn't seen Nat since she was 16, and now he is back in Newbay with a girlfriend and Dani has a teenage daughter herself now, yet there are plenty of reminiscing as the two try to continue moving on with their chosen paths in life.

Life for all of Dani's family changes when Jezza enters it, from then on he is the centre of attention from all angles and is one of my favourite characters. He is instrumental in most of the elements of the book whether you would expect it or not.

I loved meeting Dani's family and thoroughly enjoyed being back in Newbay, which is now becoming a familiar setting for fans of Chrissie Manby, even if the books are all standalone.

This is a feel good summer read that is a lot of fun, and definitely had me smiling. I also found the pages were turning faster than I wanted, and ran out of book to read far too soon! Easily one of my favourite books from the author since the series about the Benson family!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A wonderful well written story with great characters. Chrissie Manby at her absolute best. Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book, but I have given it four stars rather than five because I think the romance levels could have been upped a bit. I felt the book was more about Dani's relationship with her puppy, as well as her daughter, with less emphasis on her love life. Perhaps that was intentional. I just would have liked to have a grander finale than there was - it was very subtle. I liked all the characters. The doggy element was brilliant. Being a dog owner myself I could well imagine all the antics of Jezza!

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - what can I say. I couldn't put this book down - I enjoyed every minute of it and if I could give it more that 5 stars I would have. Such a lovely easy and relaxing read and really funny in places.

It has great characters that you can easily relate to (especially the strong willed teenage daughter). The story is all about the possibility of that "once in a lifetime" happening twice in your life.

Dani Parker had big plans for her life after uni but things changed with a sudden pregnancy and having to move in with her mother and having to work at the local hotel where she had had her first job. She met the gorgeous Nat at work (at the hotel) years ago and fell in love but things changed and they ended up going their separate ways.

One day she's at work and Nat surprisingly turns up out of the blue and she starts to wonder if she can pick up where she left off with him until she realises he has a fiancée.

Dani's daughter is a very strong willed sixteen year old who knows best about everything and when she meets Jed she believes that he is the one and provides her mum and Nan with lots of dramas.

Dani's mum has been a widow for 15 years and starts to visit the local pet shop more regularly now that they have a cheeky puppy and she starts to wonder if she really can find love again.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and thank Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an impartial review.

Dani gave up her dreams when she had her daughter at 21, she was left as a single mother and stayed in her hometown of Newbay working at a local hotel as a pastry chef. She lives with her mum Jane, her 16 year old daughter Flossie and puppy Jezza.

When her first love Nat walks back into her life she wonders what might have been and whether old feelings between them can flourish until she realises that he has a girlfriend who will soon become his wife. Dani and Nat meet up at puppy training school and become friends again and although Dani’s feelings for Nat have never gone away she will have to accept that the once in a lifetime love she has for him is not meant to be.

A lighthearted book with is fun to read with interesting characters, both human and canine, it also features characters from an earlier book which added to the enjoyment.

I am a massive Chrissie Manby fan and really looked forward to reading this book. Dani Parker is a single Mum, living with her Mother and Daughter Flossie. Dani has been working at the same hotel since she left school, and that is when she met Nat, her first love. 22 year later she bumps into her ex-boyfriend, but he is due to marry the very high-maintenance Lola. As the story unfolds we follow all 3 women and their love lives, to see if they get a second chance at love. There are many funny moments, most of which seem to involve the adorable puppy Jeremy Corben, who has come into their lives with a bang. The story is what I have come to expect from Chrissie, it has a believable plot which is funny and sad in all the right places, and you just really like the main characters. It’s a fantastic read which I found hard to put down. This one factor which makes Chrissie such a great author is that she has never written a rubbish book. Right from the beginning she set her standard high and has never failed to maintain this. 5 stars from me!

I loved this book! A tale of three generations interwoven together into a heart warming, puppytastic tale. Dani, Flossie and Jane along with Jeremy Corben looking for love even if they didn’t know it. The appearance of some old characters is an enjoyable facet of this story. Believable characters and engaging plot lines make this a must read. Chick lit at its finest.