Once Every Never (Never, #1)

Jun 06, 2013 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

2.5/3 stars, eking over to 3/5 stars. So maybe 2.7/5 stars.

I enjoyed parts of this book. It was a fun read, and since I have absolutely no knowledge of Celtic history I couldn't become annoyed at the artistic liberties taken with the historical characters (of which I'm sure there were quite a few). The fantasy portion within the story's framework was logical. I liked the characters, especially the interaction between the two best friends. Their friendship felt so true and solid when I read it. I...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Jean V. Naggar Literary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association's 2012 Young Adult Book Award

“With her new novel, the author of the Wondrous Strange trilogy has done something that goes beyond magical—in fact, it may just be miraculous. In Once Every Never, the first in a planned trilogy, Livingston has combined the worlds of chick lit and Druid blood curses. And it works...Livingston's talent for imbuing frothiness and fizz into the usually stoic world of fantasy is tremendously refreshing...Readers...will [b...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Sarah Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

First off, I found it took me a little while to actually get 'into' this story. I think I was actually halfway through before I started to find it interesting... I found myself lost in the over the top teenage dialogue, and things took a while to knit together in this plot.

The characters, I have to admit, did not really impress me. The heroine actually bothered me, but then again, fashion-smart valley-girls have always gotten on my nerves. I can't complain about the historical figures portrayed,...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Rhiannon Ryder rated it 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I think this review might be torture for some of you. Why you ask? Well, if you have the misfortune of living anywhere but Canada you're going to have a hard time getting your hands on Lesley Livingston's latest book, Once Every Never. Sadly it's currently only set for publishing from Penguin Canada on July 1st, with no news yet on any foreign rights. Good news for me, bad news for any of you who don't have a Canadian pen pal.

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface....more Honestly, I think this review might be torture for some of you. Why you ask? Well, if you have the misfortune of living anywhere but Canada you're going to have a hard time getting your hands on Lesley Livingston's latest book, Once Every Never. Sadly it's currently only set for publishing from Penguin Canada on July 1st, with no news yet on any foreign rights. Good news for me, bad news for any of you who don't have a Canadian pen pal.

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She’s smart, but a bit of slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker … but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there’s still time— literally—maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every … never.

Once Every Never was the kind of rollicking adventure I'm starting to think is Livingston's signature way of telling a story. Funny, fast paced and teeming with great characters, Lesley even managed to pick one of Europe's most under-appreciated historical female leaders as her historical hook up. I think it's cool she's thrown in a little pre-Roman history, it's not the stuff you'd ever touch on before University so it should be news to most teens, plus Queen Boudica was pretty awesome.

Her main character Clare and her best friend Allie are the kind of girls I really enjoy reading about. Friends since forever, really bright but way too capable of getting into loads of trouble, and full of amusing repartee largely made the story for me. Set against them was the Celtic cast, who although 100% serious were intriguing and full of mysterious motives. The way the two realities played against each other was the true success of the the story. The levity of the present often keeping the seriousness of the past from being utterly grim.

I'm a huge history buff, and what little information or writing there is on the Iceni Queen I've eaten up like candy. Not only does Lesley breath life into a little known segment of history but she does a great job of presenting them as the glorious and proud people they're known to have been. For those of you who read Once Every Never and then find yourself jonesing for a little more info about Boudica as well as several other lesser known kick-ass historical women, I would highly recommend Antonia Fraser's book, The Warrior Queens: The Legends and Lives of the Women Who Have Led Their Nations to War. Dry title but riveting stories, trust me, if you like the history of Once Every Never you'll really love Warrior Queens.
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Jun 22, 2011 Dana Burgess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Take two uber-smart teenage girls from Toronto, put them in London for the summer with one anthropologist aunt, one uber-smart and uber-hot teenage geek, add an ancient druid curse and what do you get? You get Lesley Livingston's new book 'Once Every Never'.

How can you miss with a combination like that? There is lots of smart, sarcastic humour from all sides just to add a little more fun. I couldn't stop myself from reading parts out loud to my daughter and she loved it. At one point she said 'W...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Jage rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-author, urban-fantasy, young-adult, time-travel

This was a decent read with a solid storyline that would've been better if the author had fleshed out some of the characters and threads. I like the idea of a hot geek, I don't like the idea of shallow chick winning him on the basis that he's attractive now he's her type.

I did enjoy the way the main character sort of sabotaged herself because she felt she didn't measure up to everyone else in her family, it just got a bit tiring for her to act like she couldn't think things through even when she...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Haley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, but I gotta say that is surprised me. So much better than what I got from the description. Lovely cover though. This book is one of the funniest book I’ve read yet this year. The characters each have their own unique sense of humor. Everything from sarcasm, to puns, so made up words, to acting smarticle. The dialog reminded me of some Disney movies I’ve seen. I won’t be surprised if this became a Disney movie.
So Clare’s from Canada. This b...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction

A good friend where I work recommended that I should read this book. I was a bit hesitant at first because the cover looked like a teen-fairy novel that just does not appeal to me. However, she continued to insist that I read it and I’m glad I did. It’s by a Canadian author, so the original setting is in Toronto, but then switches to London. Two friends are spending their summer in England and one girl’s, Clare, aunt works at the British Museum as a curator (so cool!). Of course Clare is bored b...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) by: Michele(Canadian TwiMom)

Good fun read and I think a 3.5 for me but had to round this one up. It was a little slow to start for me getting to know Clarinet...or Clare and her good friend Allie as well as her Aunt Maggie who is a world famous professor of Archaeology. Aunt Maggie is special projects manager at the British Museum, and the girls will be spending the summer with her. "Al" is the brilliant one and Clare is certainly not dull but far from being interested in anything her Aunt is involved in. Al has a cousin,...more Good fun read and I think a 3.5 for me but had to round this one up. It was a little slow to start for me getting to know Clarinet...or Clare and her good friend Allie as well as her Aunt Maggie who is a world famous professor of Archaeology. Aunt Maggie is special projects manager at the British Museum, and the girls will be spending the summer with her. "Al" is the brilliant one and Clare is certainly not dull but far from being interested in anything her Aunt is involved in. Al has a cousin, Milo, who Clare knew when they were children and who she thought of as a creep - turns out he has grown up and definitely changed for the better.

Once the little supernatural things started happening, the book got more interesting for me. A funny feeling, someone whispering her name, a feeling she can't describe when viewing an exhibit of 13 "bog men" who had been unearthed in a bog and who apparently were soldiers killed in a ritual killing in the first century. Move forward to the two girls waiting for Aunt Maggie to be finished with some work and Clare touching a bronze shield from the time of the bog men. Clare shimmers and disappears right in front of Ali. She finds herself by a river observing two men talking and getting ready to throw a shield that looks like the one she touched into the river. When she materializes back beside Ali they both are freaked out, but no one else has seen what happened. Thus begins the real story, and I did enjoy the twists and turns it takes. Some of it is humorous which is clever writing of conversation between the girls and Clare's thoughts, and there are scary parts too. Clare meets and is attracted to a young Druid in the past and feels a strong connection to a Celtic warrior princess. She knows she should not do things to change history, but how can she allow these people to die? What is her connection and what does the bog-man have to do with it. I won't give it all away, but it was a fun read of magic, history, mystery and two girls caught up in something they were definitely not prepared for. There are bad guys in the present and in the past to contend with just to keep the story moving at a fast pace.

Good read for anyone from young teens to adults. Thanks, Michele, for getting this one for me and signed too! Beautiful cover!(less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Sofia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: awesome-reads, favourite-authors, beautiful-cover, own-this-book-in-softcover, fantasy, mythology, signed-copies, was-good

This book was really good and was a fun read. I love Lesley Livingston, and have met her on three separate occasions.She is really funny and sweet, and overall is just plain awesome! I originally read this book in 2011, and I really enjoyed her Wondrous Strange books, they were amazing! (*cough* Fennrys Wolf *cough*). So when I saw this book had come out, I just bought it right away! I was re-reading it so that I could read the next book in the series. So, the first hundred pages or so were a bi...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-lit, historical, my-bookshelf, paranormal, ya

Do you enjoy stories about time travel and magic with a dash of romance? Then Once Every Never is the perfect book for you! Lesley Livingston's latest novel is a fast-paced and enjoyable read, especially if you have an interest in history. I personally found the novel's focus on the Druids and Queen Boudicca so fascinating that I did a few Google searches on them after I had finished reading the book! In my opinion, any book that sparks an interest in history is definitely worth a read!

I'm sure...more

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Jun 02, 2013 April rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookclub

I'm imaging that this was meant for a YA audience. I don't have an issue with that, I read tons of YA myself. I just couldn't get myself to finish this one. The writing was 'okay' nothing spectacular, even for a book meant for a young audience. The story itself seemed to be going fine, but then the conflict/antagonist showed up SO fast that I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes, and that was when I gave up.

Also notable, I found the character of Clare to be wildly annoying and judgemental....more

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Feb 02, 2012 Resti Triyuliandha rated it 3 of 5 stars

cerita tentang clare,clarinet, yang gak sengaja ke masa lalu waktu megang perisai dan benda benda jaman dulu lain seperti bros dan obor di museum tempat tantenya kerja. benda benda ini milik keluarga sebuah suku yg saat itu lagi perang sama romawi.
clare bolak balik masa depan dan masa lalu demi nolong suku ini. dengan bantuan Al sahabatnya, dan Milo sepupunya Al yang geek tapi hot, mereka berhasil menemukan makam si Ratu Suku itu yang berisi harta karun.
yah itulah inti ceritanya.
awal awal chapte...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 23, 2012 Meleofa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Time travel and Celtic people and archeology and a splash, just a tiny one, of romance.

A fascinating story about Clarinet, who goes by Clare, and her adventures in London after she gets shipped away from home (Toronto) for making some unwise choices when her parents were gone one weekend. (She stays with her aunt Magda aka Maggie while in London.) Her best pal, Al, convinces her parents to let her go too, so she can visit her cousin Milo. Al and Milo are both super genius'.

Clare is on house ar...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review from http://muchlovedbooks.blogspot.com/

I really like Lesley Livingston's other books and when I saw she was writing another book I had to have it. The down side was it wasn't available to anywhere else except Canada. So with a pre-order and a very long delivery I finally had it in my hands.

From the very start I couldn't put this book down. Although the book is mainly focused on time travel it has a bit of budding romance with a very hot, super smart nerd and a lots of history in it. I th...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Carmel (Rabid Reads) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Once Every Never isn't my typical kind of read but I must say that I rather enjoyed this one! I used to read a lot of time travel fiction but since I started a paranormal blog I don't come across it as frequently. Another noteworthy tidbit is that Lesley Livingston is Canadian! I can't help but have a soft spot for canuck authors. There's also two scrumptious young men to drool over which definitely helps! I found this book to be imaginative, moving and it maintained a st...more Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Once Every Never isn't my typical kind of read but I must say that I rather enjoyed this one! I used to read a lot of time travel fiction but since I started a paranormal blog I don't come across it as frequently. Another noteworthy tidbit is that Lesley Livingston is Canadian! I can't help but have a soft spot for canuck authors. There's also two scrumptious young men to drool over which definitely helps! I found this book to be imaginative, moving and it maintained a steady pace that held my interest throughout the story.

I really enjoyed getting to know Clare's character. She's not your typical Young Adult heroine. There's nothing remarkably special about her. Miss Reid is just your average teenager, well aside from her newly discovered ability to travel though time but I'll get to that a bit later. This observation might strike you as odd but in my readings I've encountered young women with absentee parents or weird social quirks one too many times. Clare could have easily been me growing up. I liked how easily I could relate to her. She's not a genius but she's not dumb either, her future career goals are uncertain and she does get into some trouble but overall Reid is a good kid. Even though she's surrounded by overachievers in her life, Clarinet stays true to herself. That's admirable in my books. It was nice to read a YA book that has a good role model for a change.

The time travelling aspect of the plot is introduced early on in the story. I appreciated that Lesley Livingston didn't make readers wait for the good stuff. I think that this helped to generate interest early on and started things off at a good pace. Clare's skill isn't overly complicated either so the book wasn't weighed down with details.

I'm torn about whether I liked Milo or Connal more... Clare knew Milo growing up because he's Al's (her BFF) cousin but back then, he was an awkward nerd. However, the past few years seem to have worked wonders on Milo. He's still a cartography obsessed, Star Trek loving geek but a sexy one who's had a crush on Clare since he was fourteen. How convenient! No, but seriously, he's hot! Milo has a bit of competition though for Reid's affections in the form of Connal, a warrior druid from the past. What's not too love about a knight is shinning armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress? The druid was my lead crush for the greater part of this novel, well, up until he turned crazy anyway. So my final vote goes to Milo but it was a close race!

Lesley Livingston delivers an uncomplicated and gripping read with Once Every Never. I'm a sucker for a romantic tale of time travel but combine it with a splash of paranormal and I'm sold! This is the first book that I've read by this author and it definitely won't be the last! Milo will be visiting my day dreams for weeks to come!(less)

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Oct 20, 2011 Christina Vasilevski rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-authors, fantasy, young-adult, bechdel-test

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 04, 2013 Bayla rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: quasi-historical-with-magic

Clare always thought of herself as the boringly average one, particularly next to her brilliant best friend Allie. But visiting the British museum with her aunt, who works there, she does something she's always been told not to do - she touches on of he pieces being prepared for an exhibit - and she's suddenly back at a point in early British history. Uh Oh...

Once Every Never was fun, but nothing all that special for me - the history was harsh, but interesting (I'm assuming it's based on fact/ar...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: canlit, modern-myth, young-adult

I was so happy to know that there was a new Lesley Livingston novel for me to check out, so I wasn't happy when the story just didn't capture my interest. I've finished the novel, but I still can't quite put my finger on what it was that didn't sit right with me. I think there was too much going on in some areas, and not enough in others.

I didn't see the need for the whole master thief angle and I would have liked a lot more detail about the blood magic. I was left with the feeling that Lesley L...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Neill Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Clarinet's (Clare) Internet-enhanced house party leads to her being banished to England to spend the summer under the somewhat watchful eye of her professorial aunt who is working at a museum where the latest display is a group of bog bodies from about the second century CE. While examining the Battersea Shield Clare is transported to the second century and an observation of a meeting between Boudicca and a young Druid warrior. Later a touch of the Snettisham Torc causes this to happen a second...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Siobhan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lesley Livingston is a genius. There is no other way for me to describe how much i adore her, and er writing. I will admit (with shame) that I had never read this series. I have read everything else, including her recently released novel, Starling (Review here). But I had never picked this one up, and I am apologizing to Lesley here, because it is absolutely fantastic.

We meet best friends Clare, Al and Milo as Clare is sent to her aunts house in England after a disasterous party and her parents...more Lesley Livingston is a genius. There is no other way for me to describe how much i adore her, and er writing. I will admit (with shame) that I had never read this series. I have read everything else, including her recently released novel, Starling (Review here). But I had never picked this one up, and I am apologizing to Lesley here, because it is absolutely fantastic.

We meet best friends Clare, Al and Milo as Clare is sent to her aunts house in England after a disasterous party and her parents believing sheneeded to get away. It becomes clear very early that Clare is out of her league in the smarts department with Al and Milo being self professed nerds, which leaves Calre left out. But when Clare picks up a relic from her aunts museum collection, everything changes, and she is left to own wits and knowledge.

Let me tell you this right now. Lesley is a master when it comes to characters and dialogue. There is sarcasm and personality that radiate off every page, and from the very first word, I loved Clare. She is smart in her own way, clever, and extremely witty. But what I loved most was her naivete. She never realizes her worth or her potential, at least not until she is thrust into the past and left to her own devices.

I absolutely love the relationship between Clare and Al because it was real and it was hilarious. The way they interact with each other and the way they communicate is so spot on that all I wanted to do was read their dialogue. But I also loved the slow, evolving relationship between Clare and Milo. It was sweet and very believable.

Before I leave this review, I do want to address the historical aspect of the plot, because it was the backbone of the entire story. I loved it. I could tell the amount of time and research that went into this novel and I loved the characters that it created and the twists and turns and surprises that came with Time Traveling. It all cohesively melded together to create an amazing new series that should be read immediately.

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Oct 20, 2012 Sudha rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dnf

This book was just sort of a plain disappointment. Many things annoy me and its just hard to get into it. It just didn't catch my interest,. The title and cover are creative though. But this author just didn't write this to full succeeding limits. The comparison to history wasn't as good as I hoped it'd be. And these characters, they ALL have to called by aka? Not cool how I can't remember their names like this. A use of uninteresting repetitive words and slow action until...the last 100 pages....more

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Jan 07, 2012 Jacquelynne [the Hardcover Obsession] rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-love-with-shelf, favorites

A historical young adult romance novel filled with supernatural time travel - how much more could I ask for! From the very beginning when I started this book I could tell I was going to be hooked. Clary and her best gal pal Alice are a dynamic duo and their chemistry flows great with the supernatural twists thrown at both of them while visiting Clary’s curator aunt Magda in London, England. Alice or Al as Clary calls her is a mixture of nerd, brainiac and rationalist and Clary is the complete op...more A historical young adult romance novel filled with supernatural time travel - how much more could I ask for! From the very beginning when I started this book I could tell I was going to be hooked. Clary and her best gal pal Alice are a dynamic duo and their chemistry flows great with the supernatural twists thrown at both of them while visiting Clary’s curator aunt Magda in London, England. Alice or Al as Clary calls her is a mixture of nerd, brainiac and rationalist and Clary is the complete opposite concentrating on landing a date and being popular rather than her studies, although she is just as smart as Al; which is why they make the perfect duo and perfect best friends, never judging each other no matter what.

Lesley Livingston has brought a forgotten time in history to the forefront of Young Adult literature within Once Every Never. Being the history obsessed individual I am, and also wanting nothing more than to work in a museum once I am out of school, this book was absolutely perfect for me, and embodied what I dreamt about as a teenager. I wanted my history books to come alive and time travel me to those places, to meet those people and see them sculpt history. Alas that never did happen to me but Clary she gets more than she can handle in the past and present! Jam-packed with fantastic characters, interesting situations and a fast paced storyline, Once Every Never will sweep you off your feet and hopefully you’ll land about 2,000 years prior.

What I found truly unique and creative in Once Every Never was how Livingston created such a realistic young adult story, with real teenage problems, and a touch of supernatural mystery. The characters and storyline will really draw you in and not let you go until the very last page!

Nerds Are Sexy: I think the title says it all. Nerds. Are. Sexy! Lesley Livingston delivers with characters in Once Every Never; there is definitely no shortage of opposites, especially in Clary’s love interests. We first meet Milo, Alice’s cousin who works and lives in London. He is the a-typical nerd and brainiac Clary remembers from when they were all children playing together, although he has definitely grown into his looks. Tall, blonde, sculpted and yet still obsessed with the “space time continuum” and batman! His opposite we meet later on when Clary “shimmers” (time travels); Connal, an ancient druid warrior is definitely not nerdy, although still appeals to Clary on certain levels. He is basically what a 16-year-old girl daydreams about, instead of the sensitive, adoring nerd right in front of you we have tall, built, bronze skinned druid warrior with a killer smile. I personally found Milo a much more striking character than Connal – perhaps not with looks, but his personality and his nerdy tendency’s really pulled me into him, especially how he was so dedicated to Clary even though he didn’t quite understand her “shimmering” abilities. Milo wanted to protect Clary even though he didn’t know how, Connal it came naturally being a warrior, so it seemed much more romantic when Milo did try. There is definitely never a dull moment in Once Every Never, may it be time traveling to Roman occupied England, or choosing between a 2,000 year old Druid warrior and an attractive 21st century nerd.

History is Exciting: No one ever believes me when I say, “history is exciting” they all look at me like I am some obsessed history student, but finally I have a young adult novel to back me up! Once Every Never makes history exciting for the reader and for Clary! She never knew until she started to time travel that history is A. Important, and B. more than old bones, and rusted swords – that these tools and people were once strong and thriving civilizations. Every time Clary time travelled my heartbeat spiked, and I felt an adrenalin rush because it was always a different experience and never the same for Clary and me. History definitely comes alive with each flip of a page and Lesley Livingston has won my affection for sharing such a beautiful and yet tragic time in history.

A Real Teenager: What I found really unique and appealing in Once Every Never is that Clary, Alice, and even Milo were all real teenagers. Now not to get confused, most young adult books we read has the average teenager, although their situations are never very normal. Clary, not so much Alice, worry about normal things such as if she is going to get a date over the summer, or what she is going to do after she graduates – even though she can time travel she always had boys on the mind it seems, which was refreshing because that is how I normally thought when I was 16! It was a invigorating change of pace to read about normal teenage girl problems, even when Clary “shimmered” to 2,000 years prior the princess’ she meet were having the same teenage problem – “Do you think he likes me?” – which seems to still be a common question among young girls today.

I personally loved this book because of all the qualities above, but I did find many of the characters very accepting of Clary’s abilities not really questioning anything at all. It could have been because of the proof Clary would deliver once asked, but still I would be a bit wary at first. Another thing I did find slightly irritating was the antagonist Stuart Molhort; I thought he could have been a bit more diabolical than he was. Of course the story needed a certain type of villain, one that understands the history and importance of antiquities and artifacts, I just personally thought Stuart could have been MORE evil and not just a glorified thief – it really irritated me hence the 4 out of 5 stars I had given it.

Nevertheless, Once Every Never is a fantastic read for all ages that will leave you breathless and satisfied all in one spell binding mystical adventure. The witty British humor, the nail biting adventure, and the love affairs all brought together in a magical coming of age story, where one girl finds out who she truly is. Beautifully written, and a gorgeous “shimmering” cover to match, Lesley Livingston delivers a refreshing, and delicious read.
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Jul 05, 2011 Tynga rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a big YA mixing bowl, add one cup of Time-Travel, one cup of Celtic Mythology, one table spoon of smart-mouthed teenage girl and mix gently. Add a touch of amazing writing and there, you have the recipe for Once Every Never!

Clare thinks of herself as average (and she hates that word) in a circle of amazingly smart and talented people. She finds herself set in exile in London for the summer after throwing a gigantic party at her place (and blames facebook). What a boring summer it will be, fol...more In a big YA mixing bowl, add one cup of Time-Travel, one cup of Celtic Mythology, one table spoon of smart-mouthed teenage girl and mix gently. Add a touch of amazing writing and there, you have the recipe for Once Every Never!

Clare thinks of herself as average (and she hates that word) in a circle of amazingly smart and talented people. She finds herself set in exile in London for the summer after throwing a gigantic party at her place (and blames facebook). What a boring summer it will be, following her aunt around while she works at the museum. But maybe she’s wrong? On her first day at the museum, she touches an invaluable artifact (a big no, no!) and somehow finds herself thrown somewhere in the time-space continuum. How did it happen? That’s what she’ll try to figure out with her side-kick Al and her hottie – and nerdish- cousin Milo, and she’ll get herself in a world of trouble! So much for boring summer right?

I have to tip my virtual hat to Miss Livingston for writing such a great story.The plot is very intricate because Clare travels back and forth between the present and a two thousands years away past. But it gets even more complicated because her journeys to the past aren’t in chronological order, so you really have to stay on your toes the whole time or you might miss the subtleties and consequences of each of her trips. I truly enjoyed the whole concept and read the book in just one afternoon. I simply couldn’t put it down.

Love triangles are a big thing in YA novels, but Lesley took it one step further. Once Every Never has a spatiotemporal love square! Yes, yes you read right. I’ll make it short because I don’t want to give anything away, but imagine a girl and a boy form the present, a girl and a boy from two thousands years ago, all four of them mixed in a complicated relationship. I say pretty awesome!

I really loved the characters Lesley created, and appreciated even more that smart teens were cool guys in this novel. Each character had its own quirk and personality and I have a hard time picking my favorite one. I think I’d have to go with Connal, a Druid Prince from the past. I liked his fierceness, determination and he was cute, smart and kinda sweet, I mean what more can a girl ask for?

This novel was action-packed and the lore could’ve been heavy, but Miss Livingston handled everything very smoothly. The world, the legends and the historically accurate facts were down-right amazing and I've never read anything remotely close to this in any YA novel. The closest comparison I can come up with is Kevin Hearne’s adult series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, because of the Celtic Lore and Time Traveler’s Wife, with two thousands years time jumps. Really, this book is simply made of awesome.

I strongly urge you to get your hands on this amazing, completely out-of-the-box, novel. Once Every Never crept its way into my dreams long after I finished reading it. Magical, mesmerizing and truly engaging, Once Every Never had me begging for more.(less)

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Jun 20, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya, yipee-i-won-this, read-2011

A great big thank-you to Goodreads giveaway! I really enjoyed this book. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel back in time to see how peopled lived. Since that's a dream that will most likely never come true, I try to get my time travel fix through books. This little gem certainly came through for me in that respect. The story line grabbed me and I became totally immersed. Lesley Livingston has her main character traveling back in time to one of the most intriguing periods of Eu...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Jacky He added it

This book was a good read because there were many twists and turns to it. It is about a girl named Clarinet Reid that always finds herself running into trouble, even when she tries to avoid it. All of a sudden she finds out she carries an Old-Druid Blood Curse in her veins. and her summer vacation soon turns into a deadly race to find an important artifact.
The storyline was really interesting and there was alot of rising action. The characters were also good. I also love books that involve time...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Cait rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, books-i-own, reviews, arcs, received-for-review

Clare and her best friend Al are spending the summer in England with Clare’s aunt – Clare because she’s been exiled (punishment for a party gone wrong), and Al because she wants to keep Clare company. So take two smart and mischief-making teenagers, one history-loving, museum working aunt, and a newly gorgeous but still nerdy cousin Milo and Clare is in for the summer of her life – including kidnappings, travels to the past and a whole lot of Druid magic.

ONCE EVERY NEVER is a little bit of every...more Clare and her best friend Al are spending the summer in England with Clare’s aunt – Clare because she’s been exiled (punishment for a party gone wrong), and Al because she wants to keep Clare company. So take two smart and mischief-making teenagers, one history-loving, museum working aunt, and a newly gorgeous but still nerdy cousin Milo and Clare is in for the summer of her life – including kidnappings, travels to the past and a whole lot of Druid magic.

ONCE EVERY NEVER is a little bit of everything – mystery, thriller, romance, historical, time travel. From the moment Clare touches an ancient shield in the museum restoration room and is transported to the past, there is never a moment of peace for our characters. Clare and Al handle everything with only minimal freaking out, and Milo is at first skeptical and then believing once he sees how Clare shimmers to the past. The action starts in earnest with a kidnapping by a known thief and self-proclaimed Druid Stuart Morholt. There’s betrayal, secrets and a nice bit of romance thrown in for good measure.

I highly enjoyed getting to know Clare, Al and Milo, and was kept anxious and wondering about how the girls would ever escape Morholt, but my favourite parts of the story are when Clare is in the past with Princess Comorra and the Druid Connal. The imagery is so rich, and the details put into the setting, dress and mannerisms of the Celts is wonderful. I was hooked into the story, and couldn’t put it down. I’m lucky I was reading it during a flight home from Mexico with a five away layover+delay in Newark – I didn’t have to put it down! I want to know so much more about what happened to Comorra, Connal and the Queen Boudicca (Comorra’s mother) during the times that Clare was not there.

Usually time travel makes my brain ache trying to keep everything straight and wondering how the people traveling keep from changing things. The time travel in ONCE EVERY NEVER was nice and easy to make sense of, and even though Clare was changing things left, right and center, almost everything she did was meant to happen in order to get her to the time where she traveled for the first time. It was a nice big circle of “I don’t have to worry about changing anything, because whatever I do is meant to happen”. I never once had to go back and re-read something because I was lost, though it came close at the very end (it took me a minute to keep everyone and everything that was happening straight, but it was a brief moment).

ONCE EVERY NEVER is a breathtaking whirlwind of an adventure through modern and ancient Britain. It is wonderfully written and full of intense imagery and emotion. I found it so easy to get involved with the characters and the story, and would love to read more. I highly recommend this to any fan of time travel, history and adventure.(less)

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Jul 09, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won-from-giveaways, owned

The beginning of "Once Every Never" was kind of slow and I had no idea where it was going. After a few chapters though, the story really picked up and I was so intrigued. Although most of the action was near the end, it was actually a pretty good story.

When I read the back, I thought, "Hmmm.. This COULD be a good novel. It just depends on how the author writes it." Well, Lesley Livingston really did a great job. I might even read some of her other novels.

The only thing that really bothered me w...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, fantasy, young-adult

Clare is a typical teenager surrounded very talented people. Both her parents are orchestra-musicians, her aunt is a professor of archaeology working at the British Museum and her best friend Al is a proclaimed girl genius…so you see why Clare would feel ordinary in comparison. Well that is until Clare touches an ancient Celtic artifact and is thrown back to the first century…maybe she’s not so ordinary after all.

Clare did seem a bit ditzy and clueless at times. There were some things I kind of...more

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