This story was utterly amazing! Harper is living her life in Tennessee when her husband, Ben, is diagnosed with cancer right after their honeymoon. His wish for her is to find love again. Enter NYTimes journalist interested in writing a piece about Ben and Ben’s dying wish. Turns out this journalist is Harper’s one that got away. The story floats between Harper’s present and Harper’s past with what I call “rub the genie bottle and make a wish” moment. Can you go back in time and make a different decision or is your past just your past? Read this wonderful story and find out! 5 stars!

Ben and Harper just started their life together when Ben collapses on the honeymoon. How could this man have late stage cancer? As Ben and Harper navigate this terrifying time, Ben finds a way to ease his transition; find Harper a new love. he wants to know that Harper will be okay once he dies. He can't have her mourning over him. He wants her happy. Harper doesn't even want to entertain this in the least. Before Ben gets too sick, Ben is going to be featured in the New York Times. As soon as Harper opens the door to let the journalist in, Harper is taken back to her life in New York. How is Liam, the man she spent an amazing week with, at her door getting ready to write about her dying husband's life? Liam brings everything back for Harper and why she left New York. How is Harper ever going to figure all of this out?
In Every Life by Rea Frey is an amazing story that will have you in tears by the end of the story. I love that this included a love story, a little paranormal time-traveling, and friendship. This book has it all. I will be recommending this to all my book loving friends and will always be on the outlook for the new work by Rea Frey. Special thanks to NetGalley, Rea Frey, and Harper Muse for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars for me!

This was such a great book!
"What happens when a husband's dying wish is for his wife to find a new love... before he's even gone?" I was sold at that description when I saw this book on NetGalley. I somehow missed the part that goes on to say, "After making a wish, Harper wakes up to find herself in a parallel universe . . ."
Imagine my surprise when that unfolded halfway through. I admit, I was hesitant to proceed, but I'm so happy that I did. (I recently finished another parallel universe book that I did not particularly enjoy.)
I loved Ben, Harper and Liam. Their story was heart wrenching, and I could not put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Rated 3.75 ⭐️

Harper and Ben are on their honeymoon when Ben collapses. They find out he has stage four cancer. Now, their fast-paced relationship is about to come to a fast-paced ending. But, before that happens, Ben wants to find someone for Harper to love for after he's gone.

When I was reading this book, I felt like I was reading a movie I've watched before. There's lots of emotion while reading, and the ending got me. There's definitely a lesson being taught.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rea Frey, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

What do you do when you're faced with the unimaginable? This story was simply stunning. Breathtaking.

Unfortunately I didn't love it like I thought I would, but someone who loves very emotional and complicated stories like this might love it.

Ben and Harper are on their honeymoon when they discover something is wrong with Ben. It is a shock to find out her husband, the super healthy, always positive man has stage 4 cancer with no options of recovery. At its core, it is a deeply emotional book, that at times will leave the reader feeling a whole gamut of emotions. I really enjoyed it and have recommened to friends as well. .

In Every Life by Rea Frey is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and second chances. Harper, once a hopeful artist in New York, is now living a quiet life with her husband, Ben, until his terminal cancer diagnosis shakes her world. Ben’s final wish for Harper—to find a new partner before he passes—leads her to a reunion with her first love, Liam. This sparks a journey of “what-ifs” that takes Harper into a parallel universe where her alternate choices come to life. Frey deftly examines the tension between the paths we choose and the ones we leave behind, asking whether we can ever truly know what would have made us happiest. With rich emotional depth and an intriguing premise, In Every Life is a heartfelt and thought-provoking read about fate, love, and finding contentment in the life we have.

I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning. I don't love romances with a choice between two partners or any touch of infidelity and I wasn't sure where this was going. The main character's husband is dying and wants to find her someone to love and in walks her past love. Rather than the book set all in current time, she gets the opportunity to live the "what if" option - if she had made different decisions in the past. In the end, I did really like it. Warning - there are some really sad parts. But overall a great book.

I have loved all of Rea Frey's books that I have read and this was no exception. I love how she can make parallel stories comes to life. My mom has read some of her books and been confused by the back and forth stories, but I personally found it so intriguing and I was hooked!

Thank you @netgalley and @harpermusebooks for the arc of "In Every Year" by Rea Frey in exchange for my honest review.
This was such a beautiful but heartbreaking story. Trigger warning: terminall illness

Synopsis:

Newlyweds Ben and Harper are on the top of the world. They are deeply in love, have succesful careers and share a love for sports and travel. Their future looks bright untill...Ben get's diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and all their hopes and dreams come crashing down.

It's clear that Ben won't survive this battle, but it's his dying wish to find his wife a new love before he passes so he'll know she'd be happy again. Harper finds the whole thing ridiculous and wants to spend all the time they've got left with Ben.
When the New York Times wants to feature a story about Ben's life they sent journalist Liam Hale to run it.
Thing is, Harper and Liam share a history together and their story is far from over...

It's about halfway through the book when a magical realism element is thrown in. Harper gets to travel back in time to find out what would have happened all those years ago if she'd took a leap of faith and had ended up with Liam instead of Ben.

Although I loved the writing and characters, it was a very emotional read. It was hard to read about the final stages of a terminally ill patient and the effect it had on Ben and Harper's marriage. On the other hand their bond was so strong and loving, it jumped of the pages and really gave me goosebumps.

In general I'm not that keen on magical realism in stories but I decided to go with it and it did give alot more insight in Harper's character.

All in all a very memorabele read.

#InEveryYear#Netgalleyreview#Bookstagram#BooksOfInstagram#KindlePaperWhite#Bookworm#NeverNotReading

Rea Frey is a new author to me, but I enjoyed In Every Life so much that I'll definitely be looking for more of her books. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Harper's sick husband wanting her to find a man to love after he passes but it ended up being really good. I read/listened to the audio version and loved Jennifer Jill Araya's narration.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 6 August 2024

A heartfelt and emotional novel that delves into second chances. The writing is reminiscent and engaging capturing the emotions of the characters and their journeys. A touching and thought provoking novel that you will not soon forget.
Many thanks to Harper Muse and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I discovered Rea Frey when I joined bookstagram in 2018. Her first nonfiction book was being released and I wanted it! I added it to my Christmas list and my mom was kind enough to get it for me. Once I read it, I devoured it. I’ve devoured every book she has written since, and In Every Life was no exception.

This book features the magical realism I’ve come to love from books by Rebecca Serle, so if your a fan of her work, I definitely encourage you to check out this latest release from Frey!!! Here we meet, Harper, a newly wed who has just found out she will soon be a widow. Ben, her husband who has stage four pancreatic cancer, has a dying wish - to find a new husband for Harper before he dies. Harper is not on board and can’t imagine fulfilling this wish. But then enters Liam…a journalist from the New York Times who is writing a feature about Ben’s life and whom Ben has also filled in on his unusual, final wish. He also happens to be the one that got away in Harper’s life; the man she once spent a perfect week with in New York years ago. Now Harper is faced with her unresolved feelings surrounding Liam and is faced to wonder…what if?

I really wanted to be hooked into this book because the premise was amazing, now I'm not sure if it was timing but I just didn't get hooked or as invested as I would have liked to . Overall I still enjoyed the book I just wanted a bit more?

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Harper and Ben are newlyweds when they discover his late stage cancer diagnosis and their entire world shifts. But Ben has an idea - he wants Harper to find someone new to love before he dies, and the New York Times even sends a journalist to do a story on his idea. The journalist that turns up though is a man from Harper’s past, a man she spent one incredible week with, the only other man she’d ever loved. And now Harper is left wondering what would’ve happened had she stayed with him all those years ago.

THE OTHER YEAR by Rea Frey completely devastated me at the beginning of this year so when I saw that she had a new book coming I knew I needed to read it. This one, while it didn’t hit me quite as hard, has cemented Frey as a go to author for me, one whose books I’ll eagerly await.

The love story, or love triangle, here is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. The love that Ben and Harper have, especially as they navigate the end of this life and the end of their love story, will have you in tears. And getting to know Harper and her past with Liam was just as good. We’ve all wondered what if a time or two and the way that Frey took us through Harper’s own “what ifs” was really well done and I enjoyed getting to see what life could’ve looked like for her.

There was also an understory here of not losing who you are and remembering to go after what you want. Harper is an artist and when Ben is diagnosed she puts art on the back burner to care for him - something he absolutely doesn’t want her to do. But we also get to know more about Harper’s past and see that she let her insecurities get the best of her once before, too.

This book was fairly predictable but it didn’t matter to me because I loved the ride getting there and I loved the way it wrapped up. This is a beautiful book about a heartwrenching topic and Frey did a great job with it.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARC’s but working diligently to get caught up. I really liked the premise of this book! It was utterly heartbreaking at times but adding in other characters and storylines helped to lighten it some. It’s hard not to give anything away that would be a spoiler so I’ll just say if you like deep, true romance, the kind that endures the worst, you’ll enjoy this book too!

In Every Life by Rea Frey is a beautifully crafted, heartwarming story that explores the deep complexities of life, love, and the relationships that define us. The book is filled with rich, lyrical prose that draws you in, making every page feel like a reflection on the human condition.

What I loved most about this book is its ability to touch on universal themes—grief, joy, and everything in between—while grounding them in intimate, personal moments. The characters are wonderfully relatable, and their journeys feel real and poignant. Frey has a talent for writing about the messy, beautiful parts of life in a way that resonates deeply.

While the story is at times slow and contemplative, it’s a perfect read for those who enjoy deeply emotional and thought-provoking narratives. If you’re in the mood for something that will make you reflect on the many layers of life, In Every Life is a must-read.

This story was just not for me. There were aspects that I enjoyed and then there were ones I really did not. I've never read a book by Rea Frey, so I really did not know what to expect. I didn't appreciate the language, most of the relationships felt forced, and I did not love the concept of trying to find someone for your wife to love before you're gone. As I'm currently sitting with my 17 year old daughter as she's on hospice, the idea that you could even entertain that thought is preposterous to me. As a care giver, your entire world is consumed with caring for your loved one and spending every moment you can with them. At least that is my experience, so I just can't wrap my mund around this concept. I did, however enjoy the parts that were just Ben and Harper together. Their relationship was sweet and there was a lot there I could relate to. Maybe this is just bad timing considering where my life is at right now, but I just didn't enjoy this one.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The was frustratingly slow and difficult to get through. By the time I made it to the middle of the book I was seriously questioning whether I would finish it. I was able to get back into the plot and time jumps for a period of time and long enough to push through to the end which was so frustratingly unbelievable I wish I had just stopped at 50%