Book Review #101

Once in Every Life by Kristin Hannah


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
 Despite the fantastical premise of the book, once the core story started, I couldn't put it down. And this was in spite of the fact that this novel is actually from the romance genre that I generally avoid.

Tess is a lonely microbiologist.  She became deaf at age 7 from a bout with spinal meningitis, and spent her life being shunted from foster home to foster home.  On her way home from work one evening, she's hit by a bus, and dies.  During the death experience she's given a 2nd chance at life, this time as the estranged wife of a Civil War vet suffering from post-traumatic shock syndrome.  Because it's a romance, it has a satisfying happy ending.  In the author's note at the end, the author says the story was inspired by a real-life incident in her family's history.  I have to admit, that I didn't like the title.  I think Second Chance would be a better one.

I like Kristin Hannah's books, but have only read her contemporary fiction.  This is apparently from her early days as a romance writer. 

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