{"id":5449,"date":"2026-01-22T06:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5449"},"modified":"2026-01-22T06:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:05:00","slug":"once-and-again-by-rebecca-serle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5449","title":{"rendered":"Once and Again by Rebecca Serle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once and Again<\/strong> on March 10, 2026
Genres:<\/strong> Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary<\/a>
Format:<\/strong> ARC<\/a>
Buy on Amazon<\/a>
Goodreads<\/a> <\/p>\n

Once and Again<\/strong> is one of those books that quietly sneaks up on you. When I first started reading, I was convinced it would land firmly in three-star territory\u2014interesting enough, but nothing that would linger. And then, somewhere along the way, I found myself unexpectedly invested.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the novel is the Novak family, a lineage of women each born with the ability to turn back time once\u2014and only once. Lauren has grown up knowing exactly how dangerous and precious that gift is. Her mother, Marcella, used hers to save Lauren\u2019s father from a fatal car accident, a decision that left their family intact but also steeped in anxiety about what can\u2019t be undone. Meanwhile, Lauren\u2019s grandmother Sylvia, now 93, is Marcella\u2019s complete opposite: spunky, funny, and unapologetically free-spirited. Watching these three generations of women interact was fascinating and, at times, deeply uncomfortable. Their relationships are layered, complicated, and often painful in ways that felt very real.<\/p>\n

Lauren herself is a sympathetic and frustrating protagonist in equal measure. I felt deeply for her infertility struggles and for the emotional distance between her and her mother. Marcella\u2019s intense focus on her husband\u2019s heart condition means the entire family is hyper-aware of his fragility, which adds a constant undercurrent of tension. One of my favorite details was that Lauren\u2019s father refuses to give up surfing despite his health concerns\u2014and that surfing is something Lauren shares with him. It\u2019s a small but meaningful thread of joy and connection in a story full of worry and what-ifs.<\/p>\n

As Lauren returns to her childhood home in Malibu and reconnects with her first love, Stone, the book becomes a meditation on choices\u2014both the monumental and the seemingly insignificant. I thought I knew where the story was headed, but Rebecca Serle takes an unexpected turn with Lauren\u2019s arc that genuinely surprised me and forced me to reconsider what this book was really about.<\/p>\n

My main critique is pacing. It took a while to get to the emotional heart of the story, and once it finally arrived, it felt like the book ended shortly after. I wanted just a bit more time to sit with the consequences of everything that came before.<\/p>\n

Still, Serle\u2019s signature, almost lyrical writing won me over in the end. Despite my early reservations, Once and Again<\/strong> ultimately became a four-star read for me\u2014not because it was perfect, but because the characters and their complicated lives have stayed with me long after I turned the final page.<\/p>\n

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The post Once and Again by Rebecca Serle<\/a> appeared first on Book Nook Buzz<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once and Again on March 10, 2026 Genres: Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary Format: ARC Buy on Amazon Goodreads Once and Again is one of those books that quietly sneaks up on you. When I first started reading, I was convinced it would land firmly in three-star territory\u2014interesting enough, but nothing that would linger. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}