Chance of a Lifetime by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets – Blog Tour (Review)

I have been on such a lucky run of books lately, with several unique plot twists or storylines making for very interesting reading.

This one takes the cake, putting a spin on a time-traveling romance in a way that makes it intriguing and thoroughly plausible (especially if you have particular beliefs – more on that later).

I will admit straight off, I am not generally a fan of regency romances, they just aren’t my thing, (which kind of doesn’t make sense, because I like historical romance) so at first, I was leery of this one. I worried that there would be too much set in that part of the story and it wouldn’t be interesting.

I was totally wrong. And I may have even found a new genre to explore, or at least give another chance.

I liked the simplicity of the set-up of the initial meeting between Liam and Cora (told via Liam’s memories). It seemed as if relationships and connections were much more clear cut.

That’s important, because things get complicated quickly.

You see, Liam has a task based on his previous life actions. He needs to help Cora fall in love with the right person – because apparently he screwed up so badly in their original lives that each of her successive lives has ended in tragedy.

Can he ignore his love for her and complete his task? Can love be forced? Or are soulmates meant to be together regardless of the potential consequences?  

If you look at those questions, you may think that this has a lot of new age/past lives stuff in it, but aside from the premise, the authors deal with the concepts in a straightforward manner that made for easy and intriguing reading.

I really enjoyed Liam the most, because he was the one with the task. I thought it was funny that the angels gave him just enough knowledge to get by in the modern world, which made some of his revelations highly amusing.  He was also the only one who knew what was stake which added depth to his actions. However, I liked Cora’s slow realization as well.

For me, it was a great illustration that there are many things we don’t know – past lives is just one of them. I happen to believe that our energies continue when our bodies are gone, which is why we have feelings of déjà vu, or feeling totally comfortable with someone you’re just met. Cora puzzles over these very things.

I’m not going to give you the ending, because that wouldn’t be fair. But trust me when I say that you really should read this one for its unique perspective on undying love. I’m hoping it won’t be the only book like this from these authors.

Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including For All Time, Moonlight in the Morning, and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with a Romantic Times Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.

Tara Sheets is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Her debut novel, Don’t Call Me Cupcake, won the 2016 Golden Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America. Tara began her career as an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee. She now lives in the warm, wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that pretty inspiring too. When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving family and a book-eating dog named Merlin. You can find out more about her on the web at www.tarasheets.com, on facebook/tarasheetsauthor, and on twitter @Tara_Sheets.