Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis reminds me of all the things I love about the Lucky Harbor series: fun characters, unique storylines and multiple laugh-out loud scenes

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Nine books into this series and Jill Shalvis still manages to create a fresh, fun and flirty story set in my favourite fictional small-town of Lucky Harbor. Picking up a new Lucky Harbor book is like returning to your favourite vacation spot. It’s always exciting and relaxing as you see the familiar characters and discover new ones.

One of Shalvis’s strengths is that she is able to make you like her characters instantly. At 7% of this book, I was already in love with Aubrey’s character. As the former troublemaker and bitch extraordinaire Aubrey has made quite the long list of mistakes in her life. However, when she stumbles into a AA meeting and hears the words from a recovering addict about owning your mistakes and making amends, Audrey takes that to heart and tries to turn her life around by righting the wrongs she made in the past. She creates a list of people that she had hurt in her life and tries to fix the damage she has done. It’s a little silly, but the fact that Audrey’s whole heart is involved in this makes me adore her more. You can sense that she really has changed and that she really wants to be forgiven. That’s admirable in a character and when Shalvis is writing it, it almost makes for some hilarious situations as well.

Ben McDaniels has returned home after having practically saved the world. He has done so much good that in comparison, Audrey looks a little like the devil in a dress. Nevertheless, these two have sparks brighter than the fourth of July. It really is only a matter of time before the clothes start coming off.

What I loved about Ben’s character is that he doesn’t judge Aubrey at all through this. I actually thought the worst about Aubrey and the secret of why he was on her list, but it turned out that my mind is more evil than Shalvis’ because her reason was more much better and realistic. It made the resolution feel well-done without rushing.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME reminds me of all the things I love about the Lucky Harbor series: fun characters, unique storylines and multiple laugh-out loud scenes make this book and this entire series as a whole so endearing and full of life. If you want a series where you genuinely care about all the characters, then this is one you should check out.

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