Skip to main content

Featured

His Last Christmas Gift by Debra Borchert #Review

    His Last Christmas Gift by Debra Borchert will take you to a different country and season. It was published by Le Vin Press on 1st November 2025. Widowed, fired, and 50, Claire is one hot mess. This later in life romance hits like a snowball packed with grief and hope and mystery and the kind of second-chance that says, “I didn’t think I’d ever feel this again, and now I’m terrified, but… Hi.” Romance that’s frost melting off a windowpane. It’s “I forgot my heart could do this.” It’s love doesn’t have an expiration date. Twinkly lights, mulled wine and flaming crêpes so immerse you in Christmas markets—you’ll book a flight to France before the fares go up. A book club fiction favourite, Claire’s journey of self-discovery is perfect for fans of women’s fiction and stories about strong women over 50 navigating reinvention with inspiration, humour, with a delicious frosting of romance. “Give yourself the gift of a lush, romantic, French adventure and be swept away ...

A Love to Last a Lifetime by Clare Swatman #Review

 

Today I am featuring A Love to Last a Lifetime by Clare Swatman which was published by Boldwood Books on 23rd January. 

The one that she wants...

Adam Bowers; handsome, funny and with the charm of a rock star, from the moment she laid eyes on him, teenage Erin was smitten. But first loves don’t always last, and after a whirlwind romance, Erin and Adam go their separate ways. Yet, Erin never lets go of the feeling that Adam may have been her soul mate...

The one that she needs...

Greg fell in love with Erin in their first week at university. Solid, trustworthy and hopelessly devoted to Erin, he knows he's better for her than the feckless Adam, who is forever leaving Erin broken-hearted, before winning her back with his charm. As far as Greg is concerned, it’s easy to promise the world, but it’s harder to love someone for a lifetime.

The one that got away...

Years later Greg and Erin are married, and although life hasn’t always been easy, Greg’s love for Erin has never dimmed. But when Adam comes back, in desperate need of Erin's help, everything changes.  Erin starts to wonder whether fate is trying to tell her something…

Will Erin risk it all for the man she had thought was ‘The One’?


 My Thoughts

Erin has a dilemma when she meets up again with Adam who she has always carried a torch for. She has a choice to make between Greg, her husband, and Adam who in many ways is his opposite. The Adam of her memory is magnetic, the cool musician, who she felt a huge attraction for. Whilst Greg may have appeared to be the safe choice, in fact he has a flaw which has ruined her trust in him. However, this story is more than making a choice between her two loves. Erin has to learn to make her own decisions and to mature into being her own person.

    I thought that the thread of accessing the past and tapping into memory was interesting. Erin’s mother suffers from dementia. Adam has lost his memory. Erin feels that a way to access lost memory could be through music. In fact, a music score runs through the story which is told through a dual timeline of then and now. Erin’s decision on who she wants may take you by surprise and in the end, Erin’s character lies at the centre of the story as she finds her way through her quandary.

In short: romance, family, challenging past decisions


About the Author


Clare Swatman is the author of three women’s fiction novels, published by Macmillan, which have been translated into over 20 languages. She has been a journalist for over twenty years, writing for Bella and Woman & Home amongst many other magazines. She lives in Hertfordshire. Before We Grow Old, was published in January 2022.

 

You can follow Clare here:  Facebook

     | Twitter  | Instagram  |  Newsletter Sign Up  |  Bookbub Profile 

Book link: Amazon UK


Thanks to Clare Swatman, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

 

Check out these great bloggers!


 



Comments