[Review] Once Every Never

Friday, March 22, 2013





Title: Once Every Never
Author: Lesley Livingston
Series: Never #1
Format: Paperback, 312 pages
Publication Date: July 14, 2011
Publisher: Penguin Canada

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 Description

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager.
On the surface. 

She's smart, but a bit of a slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker, but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes.
Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there's still time, literally, maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every, never.     


My Thoughts

Lesley Livingston is a genius. There is no other way for me to describe how much i adore her, and er writing. I will admit (with shame) that I had never read this series. I have read everything else, including her recently released novel, Starling (Review here). But I had never picked this one up, and I am apologizing to Lesley here, because it is absolutely fantastic. 

We meet best friends Clare, Al and Milo as Clare is sent to her aunts house in England after a disasterous party and her parents believing sheneeded to get away. It becomes clear very early that Clare is out of her league in the smarts department with Al and Milo being self professed nerds, which leaves Calre left out. But when Clare picks up a relic from her aunts museum collection, everything changes, and she is left to own wits and knowledge. 

Let me tell you this right now. Lesley is a master when it comes to characters and dialogue. There is sarcasm and personality that radiate off every page, and from the very first word, I loved Clare. She is smart in her own way, clever, and extremely witty. But what I loved most was her naivete. She never realizes her worth or her potential, at least not until she is thrust into the past and left to her own devices. 

I absolutely love the relationship between Clare and Al because it was real and it was hilarious. The way they interact with each other and the way they communicate is so spot on that all I wanted to do was read their dialogue. But I also loved the slow, evolving relationship between Clare and Milo. It was sweet and very believable. 

Before I leave this review, I do want to address the historical aspect of the plot, because it was the backbone of the entire story. I loved it. I could tell the amount of time and research that went into this novel and I loved the characters that it created and the twists and turns and surprises that came with Time Traveling. It all cohesively melded together to create an amazing new series that should be read immediately. 

LOVED IT.  

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3 comments

  1. I still haven't read this book (I've only read Starling) but I don't doubt a single thing in your review. I love the way Lesley writes dialogue and I can't wait to start this series.

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  2. It is great when you can see the amount of research. It makes a book so much better and I love historical aspects in a book. The romance between Al and Clare sound great. Nice review!

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