For Once in My Life - Marianne Kavanagh (2014)

Tess and George are soul mates, according to her best friend Kirsty. There's just one problem, whilst there's been plenty of near-misses, they've never actually met, and before they find each other, they find other people. But fate gives them one last shot when they meet up several years later at Kirsty's 30th party. Now though they're no longer footloose, free and single. Is theirs a love that was never meant to be or one that was always destined? Marianne Kavanagh has come up with a great new twist on the classic boy-meets-girl story - boy and girl keep missing each other - and it makes for a very exciting and interesting read. The idea of Tess and George being in the same place at the same time but not meeting or supposed to be at the same place at the same time but not being there for whatever reason is hugely gripping and there's a real sense of the very narrow margins between them finding each other and not that makes everything so captivating. Because so much import is placed on that first meeting however it does feel somewhat anticlimactic but nevertheless this is really only a turning point to the next journey in the novel. For even when they do meet, nothing's black or white and there's still plenty for them to overcome which ensures the second half of the novel is as gripping as the first. For such an epic love story at times I wished for more romance and George's circumstances somewhat take the shine off the finale. However, it's a compelling read that had me racing through it. Already looking forward to whatever else Marianne Kavanagh may have in store. (JC)

For Once in My Life, the debut novel by British journalist Marianne Kavanagh, is about a love affair that might not ever happen. The summary says: "Everyone has a soul mate...but what if you never find each other? Meet Tess. A vintage clothes-obsessive, she's trapped in a frighteningly grown-up customer relations job she loathes. Still, she's been dating the gorgeous accountant Dominic since university, and has a perfectly lovely flat, which she shares with her best friend, Kirsty. But if her life is so perfect, why does she tear up whenever anyone mentions her future? Meet George. He's a brilliant jazz musician who spends almost as much time breaking up fights between his bickering band mates as he does worrying about his ailing father and living up to his stockbroker girlfriend's very high expectations. For a guy who has always believed in romance, the grim practicalities of twenty-something life have come as something of a shock. Seemingly always on the verge of a big break, he's looking for something more ... something special. They just might be two halves of one perfect whole. Now, if only they could manage to cross paths... Follow Tess and George through a decade of bad dates, chaotic dinner parties, magical birthdays, dead-end jobs, romantic misalliances, and lots of starting over."

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