Twice in a Lifetime: A Novel

by Melissa Baron

Overview

The Time Traveler's Wife meets Oona Out of Order in this imaginative and moving debut novel of a love more powerful than time.

Isla has fled the city for small-town Missouri in the wake of a painful and exhausting year. With her chronic anxiety at a fever pitch, the last thing she expects is to meet a genuine romantic prospect. And she doesn’t. But she does get a text from a man who seems to think he’s her husband. Obviously, a wrong number—except when she points this out, the mystery texter sends back a picture. Of them—on their wedding day.

Isla cautiously starts up a texting relationship with her maybe-hoax, maybe-husband Ewan, who claims to be reaching out from a few years into the future. Ewan knows Isla incredibly well, and seems to love her exactly as she is, which she can hardly fathom. But he’s also grieving, because in the future, he and Isla are no longer together.

Ewan is texting back through time to save her from a fate he is unwilling to share—and all she can do to prevent that fate is to learn to be happy, now, in the body she has, with the mind she has. The only trouble is the steps she takes in that direction might be steps away from a future with Ewan.

Melissa Baron’s time-crossed romance features a quintessentially endearing and brave protagonist, and an engrossing plot that will keep you turning pages until its breathtaking finish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639101368
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,039,471
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Melissa Baron was born in central Illinois and made her way to Chicago after finishing a B.A. in English from Governors State University. She became a copywriter and then a technical writer, which sounds drier than it really is because of how much she loves writing educational material. She is a Denver Publishing Institute graduate, regularly contributes to BookRiot, and is a book staffer at the annual Heartland Fall Forum. In her spare time, she likes to travel withher partner and play with their two cats, Denali and Mango. Twice in a Lifetime is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/24/2022

Baron explores parallel realities in her heart-wrenching debut romance. After overworked Chicago graphic designer Isla Abbott has a breakdown following her mother’s death, she decides to relocate to a bungalow just outside of St. Louis, hoping for a fresh start. There she starts receiving mysterious texts from a man named Ewan Park, who claims to be her husband from the future reaching back in time to prevent her eventual death by suicide. Though at first skeptical, Isla comes to believe Ewan and hopes to avoid her original fate by changing the circumstances of her first meeting with Ewan in the present, thus setting them on a different trajectory. It works, and for a time, Isla and Ewan thrive—Ewan expertly supports Isla through her frequent panic attacks, and the pair quickly fall in love. But they can’t avoid the apparently fated accident that is the long-term decider, one way or another, of whether Isla and Ewan get their happily ever after. The aching regret of what might be shines through each alternate reality as this couple fights for each other, and a series of shocking twists at the end will steal readers’ breath one scene after another. The captivating characters, skillful plotting, and sensitive handling of mental illness make this a knockout. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Twice in a Lifetime:
“Captivating characters, skillful plotting, and sensitive handling of mental illness make this a knockout.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Blending speculative fiction and romance . . . A good fit for readers interested in exploring a character’s inner life, dusted with a light amount of sci-fi.”
—Library Journal

“Poignant and engrossing, Twice in a Lifetime is a hopeful story of perseverance and the power of love. I couldn't wait to see how it ended.”
—Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know. 

“I adored this clever and touching novel about grief, hope, and the choices we make in the name of love. Funny, fresh, and at times heartbreaking, it kept me guessing right up to the final pages. By turns devastating and joyful—much like love—this is a truly special book.”
—Holly Miller, bestselling author of The Sight of You

“Twice in a Lifetime is an epic, sweeping, gorgeous romance book that should be on everyone's TBR list. I could not put this one down, and didn't want it to end!”
—Erin La Rosa, author of For Butter or Worse

“Twice in a Lifetime is a poignant tale of love enduring through time, space, and adversity. This mind-bending romance is a stunning exploration of destiny and the lengths we’ll go to for the people we love.”
—Susie Dumond, author of Queerly Beloved

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

DEBUT In this blending of speculative fiction and romance, Isla is navigating ongoing mental health struggles and has experienced significant loss. When she is contacted by what she assumes is a wrong number from a man named Ewan, she learns he is her husband in the future. Something happened, and now she is no longer with him. He doesn't want to disrupt the timeline too much, but he starts to encourage her to do things to help her present self, even if that might prevent their meeting. As a new timeline forms, Isla has to find a way to forge the relationship she wants with Ewan without his future self's help. Isla works towards that, while also learning the repercussions of her choices. Baron offers readers enjoyable pacing and characterizations and brings the time travel plot back at the end with a twist. VERDICT Baron's novel has aspects of speculative fiction but is grounded in reality. A good fit for readers interested in exploring a character's inner life, dusted with a light amount of sci-fi.—Sydney Ashby

Library Journal