Aspiring artist turned teacher Harper is a happy newlywed when her husband Ben gets diagnosed wtih late stage pancreatic cancer. Essentially a death sentence, the couple stick together through the last months of Ben's life only for Ben to make a last request that Harper try to find someone new to love before he dies.

Not interested at all in appeasing this wish, Harper brushes it off, only to have Ben reach out to a New York Times' reporter to write a story about them and when the reporter turns up he happens to be Liam - the one man who got away - Harper's one week love affair from ten years ago that she's always wondered about.

In another emotionally charged sliding door style women's fiction book, In every life delivers on all the feels and will have you rooting for Harper to achieve all her dreams. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Kristan Higgins and great on audio narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. This was a huge hit for me! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

What might've been examined in a raw and unflinching manner with a big, open-hearted dose of magical realism. The characters are well-rounded and pull you into their lives and stick with you long after you close the book. An impossible love story that twists and tangles you until you want everything for the characters and more. You should read it.

I discovered Rea Frey’s books not so long ago and she’s now an author I look forward to read. Her stories are always unique and thought-provoking. This book took my breath away. And now I have a new favorite book from her, I loved every page.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗜𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 by Rea Frey released August 6, 2024.

Engaging and immersive. This is a recommended purchase for collections where romantic fiction is popular.

Be carefull what you wish for, is a saying we all grew up with. What if we had the chance to change anything we wanted but finding out that everything we wanted not always is what we had expected it to be? And we start regretting what we lost? Only to change it again and losing something once more.

This was my second Rea Frey novel and these are the perfect summer reads! For anyone who really loves those ‘what if’ moments.

In Every Life takes a poignant look at death and what happens to the living who wait for it. Harper and Ben are a relatively new couple, only together for a couple of years and married for a day when Ben collapses on their honeymoon. A terminal cancer diagnosis follows and the story takes off from there. Ben is close to the end when Liam comes into the picture. A reporter from the NYT, Liam wants to do a feature story on Ben. Thanks to a mid-book plot twist of pretty large proportions, the plot freshens up just when Ben's story starts to slow down.

I enjoyed this well-voiced, entertaining story. It included an unexpected twist, adding an element of magical realism that actually worked (I don't always like magical realism). The characters were likeable, and the author made a fairly unbelievable premise work well. It was nice to read something a little bit different.

I am a sucker for books with a touch of magical realism and was excited to read In Every Life by Rea Frey. Harper is married to Ben but has unresolved feelings towards Leo . . . the one who “could have been.” After Ben is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Harper is given the chance to see what life would have looked like if things never ended with Leo.

The book kept my interest, but I never felt that it reached the depths that it could have with the storyline. The author kept it safe and by the end, I was hoping that she would shake things up. Let’s just say that the ending was a bit blah and predictable.

I listened to the audiobook and I felt the narration was fantastic. The narrator did a great job of giving a unique voice to each of the characters.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book with a tragic love story and an impulsive decision to find love for a partner before their own death. The beginning followed that storyline and then slowly, it turned into a time travel/alternate timeline concept that lessened my liking of the book. I extremely disliked the concept of a miraculous cure for cancer because it fed into the MC’s hope for a future with her husband. I also disliked how the book began to toe the line of emotional and physical cheating (especially when it came to the alternate timelines). Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

This is a MUST READ contemporary romance staring grief and dimension travel. If you enjoyed The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston and The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros, you will LOVE this book!!! This book will have you crying and giggling from the start.

In this story, Ben falls ill on Harper and Ben’s honeymoon. Turns out it is stage four pancreatic cancer, and it’s terminal. In comes, Liam—the one who got away—to write an article starring Ben’s life at the same time that Ben decides that he wants Harper to find love again and to start painting again. All Harper wants is for Ben to live, but she cannot help but wonder what her life would be like if she did not give up her dream to be an artist. Harper goes to her friend Wren for help, and Wren sends Harper off to do a full moon manifestation ritual. Except it does more than manifest, she wakes up in a parallel universe in a completely different life where she chased her dreams, lives with Liam, and has never met Ben.

I absolutely loved this book from the start. The narrator was fabulous and made you feel a part of the book. I think it's a must read.
It was also a book that during and after have had me thinking about the what if's of life and how the book ended. Sigh!
The book follows Harper who's husband is sick and how their life is unfolding immediately after getting married. There are then circumstanced that happen where Harper gets to see a parallel life if she hadn't married him and how that would all play out. Both good lives but very different. This book was very emotional, sweet, touching and easily flowed along through the different lives. It will for sure have you thinking about the choices you made and wondering what would have happened if you'd taken a different path.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of this great book.

As a middle aged mom of four who has been divorced and remarried I guess I am just too jaded for this one. If my husband asked me to fall in love as he was dying I would be so annoyed and weirded out because I have done my labor that comes from being a wife and mom and I am not doing that again.
But Harper is young and only really has her husband, for whatever, reason. Liam must be hot.
The narration was perfect!
I liked Ben's line about the baby.

Rea Frey is one of my favorite women’s fiction authors. Not only does she write memorable characters, but she has also become the queen of parallel timelines and what-ifs.

Once again, she pulled at my heart and made me struggle with the choices Harper, the main character, had to make. I wanted to race to the end to get to the conclusion, but I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters.

Harper and Ben were only just married when Ben received the devastating diagnosis of terminal cancer. Ben lovingly wants Harper to find someone before he’s gone. Harper is not on board with that but is shocked when Liam, the man she loved years ago, walks into their life.

A wish during a full moon allows Harper to go back and see what life might have been like if she had made different choices ten years ago. What if she hadn’t walked away from Liam, from being an artist, and what if Ben could be healthy?

While this was heartbreaking at times, it was also romantic and deeply moving. It explores love from such a unique angle and what we would do for someone we love.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @reafreyauthor for a spot on tour and a gifted book.
Thank you @harpercollinsfocus for the gifted audiobook.

Wow! Have your tissues ready. Harper and Ben's love story is beautiful and heartbreaking. What is vs what could have been.

I love that Ben's wish to see Harper find someone new to love came true. I'm not into the magical stuff, so I'm pretending that part was an elaborate dream. I listened to this in one day as I could not stop.

This was an interesting concept for a book, and I was really intrigued by it!

This is by no means a light, fun book. I definitely teared up through the first bit of the book, but it was also a little awkward once Liam came into the picture. I’m sure this is an awkward thing to live through, but I was almost having second-hand embarrassment for the characters? Again, I can’t imagine living this scenario and what those emotions would feel like, but it was also hard to read for me which had me considering a DNF. Granted, books on hard subjects or that stretch your perspective are supposed to be like that. Just be aware that it’s heavy and conflicted and awkward and messy, and if you’re not emotionally up for that, maybe give it a pass.

I’m glad that I finished it, and *possible spoiler* it ended up giving me lots of the last season of How I Met Your Mother vibes. It was one of my favorite shows, and I was originally conflicted on the ending but came to really appreciate it for what it gave to the story which is how I ended up feeling about this book.

Thank you to Netgalley + the author for the audio ARC!

In Every Life
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A super beautiful written book. You will fall in love with the characters. It is a emotional lovely touching story that you will want to cherish. Enjoy the surprises along the way in the story.
Thank you NetGalley!

I really enjoyed this book. Although supernatural isn’t really my thing, it was presented in a really enjoyable fashion. I can envision this being a Hallmark movie. For those of us who wonder “what if”, this book allows the FMC to explore what would happen if she had chosen differently. As with anything, you’ll get the good with the bad. See how/what she chooses and how this changes the course of her life. Highly recommend!

I was initially drawn to this book on NetGalley because of the beautiful cover, and then the second I began reading and listening, I became hooked on the premise. Immediately after Harper and Ben are married, he gets diagnosed with cancer that quickly progresses to stage four within a year. Harper learns from Ben that he wants her to meet someone to be with before he passes away, and he wants to help her find that person. Oh, and he's having a journalist do a profile story on Ben and Harper and their life together. Things become even more complicated when the journalist is Leo, the man Harper spent one perfect week in New York with forever ago.

I really enjoyed how the book portrayed the complexities of caring for someone with cancer and how it emphasized the idea that there isn't only one person for everyone. I did feel more chemistry in Harper's relationship with Leo than I did in her marriage with Ben. I also thought the book was going in a very different direction than it ended up in, but I did enjoy the journey. I dual-read and listened on Kindle and audiobook. The narrator, Jennifer Jill Araya, did a great job!

The book felt like it was moving very slowly for the first half, but then the last 40% just flew by, although that also could have been just because of how quickly I was reading. The miscommunications were a lot throughout the book, and I'm not sure why Harper felt like she had to keep her past relationship with Leo a secret from Ben. I've seen other critiques on the book regarding the inconsistencies with Ben's diagnosis, which is fair, but cancer is also so fickle and can show up differently for different people.

Read if you liked One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Read or The Good Part by Sophie Cousens.

Luckily for everyone I am less bitter now when a book makes me cry. OK this one made me sob and I knew it would from that very first chapter.

The author’s novels always have a little what if thrown into a tough situation. This one has a newly wed couple facing a cancer diagnosis and the dying spouse wanting the survivor to find a new other half. Before he’s gone.

I understand the concept but can’t fathom how it would work in real life other than a current affair stepping in but I didn’t think no way as I read this one.

Not really a love story but a my life story with what got Harper to her present along with a little what if. It’s a perfect bookclub book because everyone makes decisions worthy of discussion. Her story includes the only two men she has ever loved. Really tough choices. And an ending I could get behind.

Never thought I’d enjoy a touch of magical realism in a book with such a heavy topic but it worked. And I was a little surprised that what seemed like it would be about the diagnosis was really a study in Harper finding her true self.

Jennifer Jill Araya narrates the audiobook and does a great job with the somber tone of the story. She kept me engaged while telling Harper and Ben’s trials and tribulations. And she made the move to a little magical realism seamless with the present story.

But as I’ve already mentioned, make sure and have a box of tissues ready cuz even though I knew where this was headed, I still sobbed through part of it.

The concept of the book was interesting, romance with a touch of magic, being in love in parallel universes, while facing a fatal diagnosis. What would happen if the one that got away comes back?
Rea’s writing is so deep and emotional and gut wrenching and I feel tired afterward, it’s that profound. The love Harper feels is so big and overwhelming that I don’t know if it’s real or believable. Also, her whole life was around her husband, and the few pieces that weren’t (her work), seemed not enough or not worthy, she was willing to exchange everything for him. When asked “What do you really want?”, she could only think about him. She stopped being an individual, I mean, it happens. After this book, I’d like to think more about myself.
I liked the Magical realism, because life should have some magic in it.