Every Never After by Lesley Livingston

 

Published: March 12th, 2013

Publisher: Razorbill Canada

Pages: 256

Copy: Publisher via Netgalley

Summary: Goodreads

 

 

Despite their vow to each other at the end of Once Every Never, best friends Clare and Allie once more find themselves in trouble—and travelling in time. Indulging in a low-key vacation at Glastonbury Tor, taking part in an archaeological dig while soaking up the sights of summertime England, the girls have promised each other: no time travel shenanigans; no involvement with dangerous Druids or villainous museum thieves; and definitely no weirdness about the fact that Clare is now seriously dating Milo, Allie's super-genius hottie cousin!

But when Allie makes an unexpected discovery at the dig site—a skull—the grisly artifact sends her spiralling back in time to a Roman encampment besieged by rampaging Celts. Caught between the Legions and the war band, Allie is rescued from certain death by Marcus, a young Roman soldier with a secret. As she struggles to survive in the past, Clare and Milo race desperately against time in the present to bring Allie home...before she loses her head OR her heart

There are some books that you just have to write a review of immediately. They are sooooo good, that you don't want to forget any of the amazing comments that are running through your head.  Every Never After is one of those books for me.  Regular readers may remember that I am such a dorky fan-girl where Lesley Livingston is concerned. (This is extremely embarassing for me when you consider my age!) Her writing style clicks with me in every way, and this follow-up to Once Every Never was no exception.  I LOVED it - every minute of it. 

Every Never After takes us back into the lives of Clare, Allie and Milo and quickly throws them, and us, back into the convoluted workings of a time paradox circle.  This time it's Allie who gets catapulted backwards into the past and Clare and Milo are left behind to try to bring her back. Time shenanigans ensue and the hoops that Clare has to jump through to bring her back will have you almost in tears - most of them involving laughter I might add.

Speaking of laughter, I have to add in a couple of quotes, with the caveat that these are from the e-arc and may not make it into the finished book.  However if they don't, I will be extremely sorry.

Allie seeing Marcus in the river:

' .... She thought of the one and only time she'd seen male buttocks that hadn't belonged to a toddler - when her brothers had thrown her into the guys' locker room at school after football practice for a joke - but, really? No comparison. None.
     Somehow her fingers slipped and she accidentally snuck another peek.
     Now that is what I call a tight end, she thought.'  (p170?)

Milo meeting Marcus for the first time:

' "Nice to meet you. You're a terrible liar."
"Nice to meet you, too. Your cousin's a total babe."
Milo eyed Marcus's Roman tunic and leathers. "Wicked party dress."
Marcus took in Milo's spiral Druid marking. "Bitchin' body paint."'  (p226?)

The characters are so very real and I just love them all - even nasty Stuart Morholt, who remains the villain of the piece, right up to the very end. And what an ending.  Had I actually been holding a physical book and not my Ipad, I would probably have thrown it at the wall. So ....  How could she do this to me?  Another year to wait until I find out what happens!  Every Never After is an amazing and thrilling blend of mystery, humour, time travel and romance that captures the imagination and lets it soar. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.  


 Ms Livingston's love for this era shines through in her writing, and makes it so enjoyable to read. I couldn't find a video for Every Never After but this one for Once Every Never shows Ms Livingston talking about her love of Celtic history.