‘I was on the verge of a total meltdown. This wasn’t how I’d pictured my life when I turned thirty…’

Only Once by Ashley Munoz is a beautiful and emotional second chance romance which we read from cover to cover, in one sitting. It had so many elements which we love in our romance. A single parent with two gorgeous kiddies, hot movie star, and angst…a lot of ANGST! As our first taste of this Author’s stories, it was wonderful, our hearts were fully invested in the ups and downs of Bexley and Ryan’s soul mate love. The writing was flawless, had real depth and vivid imagery. It would be remiss of us however not to mention the book cover, as it is one of our pet peeves. In the book Bexley has white-blond hair, the cover model has dark brown curls!

‘I had never considered that I was worthy of being chosen first, regardless of how much I wanted it and even though I’d left Ryan for it. I’d never actually believed it about myself.’

Bexley’s childhood was cold, loveless and she was at rock bottom in the list of priorities by those meant to love her. Her story was heart-breaking, and we could not help but understand her hesitance, her insecurities, and her priorities. As details of her story came to light, it was impossible not to feel her angst from the scars caused by people leaving her throughout her life. The love she has been sorely missing came through in her relationship with her children, Bella, and Cole. We have a real bugbear with how children are often written to sound and act older than their ages. Not so in Only Once. These kids were adorable, they loved their mum fiercely and they acted and spoke in a manner true to their ages. We fell in love with Bell and Cole.

“Honey, the best kind of love story happens when we don’t feel lovable, when we feel ugly and bruised, like the reject of the pile. That’s when that shit sneaks up and bites the hell out of you.”

Ryan Prince lives the typical movie heartthrob lifestyle, a woman in every corner of the country and -one nighter’s- on speed dial. Ryan Prince does not do serious, not since Bexley! He met and fell in love with her in college over ten years ago, they both knew theirs was a forever kind of love. But sometimes life takes a sudden turn and everything you fear or least expect comes into fruition and old anxieties resurface. Years pass but the hearts never forget. When confronted with a face from the past that haunts your every waking moment, how do you react? Old wounds are reopened and what once was, rises to the surface. We felt his heartbreak and sense of abandonment. We swooned over his actions and his heartfelt moments with Bella and Cole. And we loved how he loved Bexley.

‘Sometimes in life we only get a few seconds to tell our truth, and no matter how much we want to change it, we can’t erase it from other people’s lives.’

So, if you are a reader like us who loves a lot of angst and swoon-worthy romances, Only Once is absolutely for you! Great chemistry, wonderful characters and the heat was scorching when it really counted. A journey of love, heartbreak, forgiveness, and redemption, it certainly ticked all the boxes for us and we will definitely be reading more from Ashley Munoz.

“Let me fix us, Bex.”