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Wish Fulfilled #1
Once in a Lifetime
WINNER - ROMANCE CATEGORY - 2016 BEVERLY HILLS BOOK AWARDS
Superb! Excellent! Extraordinary! Insanely Romantic!! I absolutely loved it! -- Amazon 5***** Review.
Is it possible for a poor hash-house waitress to find love with a wealthy Irish horse breeder? Not as long as he thinks she conned his father into leaving her his cottage on the island of Inish Mor in the Aran Islands. To prove his assumption false, Samantha St. John sells her new inheritance to Kieran McDade for one Euro, receives his thank-you kiss on her cheek, and bids him farewell.
Never expecting to see him again, she is surprised to receive his invitation and a plane ticket to Ireland. He’s had second thoughts and offers Samantha a holiday at his home on FastTrack Farm where she charms not only his race horse, but Kieran himself. For Samantha, it is like a fairy tale, complete with a wicked witch, an elegant ball, and a horse race that could decide whether her Cinderella story will have a happy ending.
Nichols' debut in the Wish Fulfilled series is a heartwarming, sleeper love story that draws you in. -- Romantic Times
Superb! Excellent! Extraordinary! Insanely Romantic!! I absolutely loved it! -- Amazon 5***** Review.
Is it possible for a poor hash-house waitress to find love with a wealthy Irish horse breeder? Not as long as he thinks she conned his father into leaving her his cottage on the island of Inish Mor in the Aran Islands. To prove his assumption false, Samantha St. John sells her new inheritance to Kieran McDade for one Euro, receives his thank-you kiss on her cheek, and bids him farewell.
Never expecting to see him again, she is surprised to receive his invitation and a plane ticket to Ireland. He’s had second thoughts and offers Samantha a holiday at his home on FastTrack Farm where she charms not only his race horse, but Kieran himself. For Samantha, it is like a fairy tale, complete with a wicked witch, an elegant ball, and a horse race that could decide whether her Cinderella story will have a happy ending.
Nichols' debut in the Wish Fulfilled series is a heartwarming, sleeper love story that draws you in. -- Romantic Times
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2015
183 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Jayne Nichols
12 books60 followersAward Winning Author - Winner 2016 Beverly Hills Book Awards Romance Category
Growing up, I wrote a few things for school—reports and a few creative writing projects for English class—but never really thought about writing novels until after I married my David. Even then, what little writing I did leaned toward Mystery. I didn’t discover Romance until my husband and I traveled to Greece. It was hot—I mean really hot—and we ducked inside the Athens Hilton to bask in their air conditioned gift shop. I was looking at a rack of paperback books and picked up one entitled Born in Fire by someone named Sarah Hardesty. I stayed in our air-conditioned hotel room for two days reading that novel nearly non-stop and decided then and there what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to write Romance. It wasn’t until I was back home and hunting through a Barnes and Noble for more books by Sarah Hardesty that I learned the author was actually Nora Roberts, and I’d like to thank her for writing that book because reading it certainly turned my life around.
As Jayne Nichols, I write contemporary romance (Wish Fulfilled Series), single title and series romantic suspense (Madrona Point Series), and I love every minute of it—especially now that I can call myself an AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR. How exciting is that?
Growing up, I wrote a few things for school—reports and a few creative writing projects for English class—but never really thought about writing novels until after I married my David. Even then, what little writing I did leaned toward Mystery. I didn’t discover Romance until my husband and I traveled to Greece. It was hot—I mean really hot—and we ducked inside the Athens Hilton to bask in their air conditioned gift shop. I was looking at a rack of paperback books and picked up one entitled Born in Fire by someone named Sarah Hardesty. I stayed in our air-conditioned hotel room for two days reading that novel nearly non-stop and decided then and there what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to write Romance. It wasn’t until I was back home and hunting through a Barnes and Noble for more books by Sarah Hardesty that I learned the author was actually Nora Roberts, and I’d like to thank her for writing that book because reading it certainly turned my life around.
As Jayne Nichols, I write contemporary romance (Wish Fulfilled Series), single title and series romantic suspense (Madrona Point Series), and I love every minute of it—especially now that I can call myself an AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR. How exciting is that?
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 26, 2018
Sweet Sugar Sweet Story
Okay this reminded me of Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts and that is why I loved it. It was one of my favorite books ever and this one was very similar. I did not like how they tried to redeem the ex wife Heather and there is no way I will read her book. Or Cherise's! No desire. They were just not my kind of heroines. No anger please. Just my personal opinion. I loved this story and yes it is OUR but sometimes we need that. Lol.
Okay this reminded me of Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts and that is why I loved it. It was one of my favorite books ever and this one was very similar. I did not like how they tried to redeem the ex wife Heather and there is no way I will read her book. Or Cherise's! No desire. They were just not my kind of heroines. No anger please. Just my personal opinion. I loved this story and yes it is OUR but sometimes we need that. Lol.
October 7, 2015
A WONDERFUL CINDERELLA STORY
This wonderful romance pulls you in from the very first page and doesn't let go or disappoint. It's both heart-warming and heart-stopping. There are thoroughbred racers to fall in love with and cheer on. And an irresistible, Irish hero who has given up on love and life, until a fiery horse and a spirited woman present him a Once in a Lifetime shot at everything he's ever dreamed of. Can't wait to read more stories in the Wish Fulfilled series. Highly recommend.
This wonderful romance pulls you in from the very first page and doesn't let go or disappoint. It's both heart-warming and heart-stopping. There are thoroughbred racers to fall in love with and cheer on. And an irresistible, Irish hero who has given up on love and life, until a fiery horse and a spirited woman present him a Once in a Lifetime shot at everything he's ever dreamed of. Can't wait to read more stories in the Wish Fulfilled series. Highly recommend.
January 10, 2016
Although my love of reading began with my mother’s romance novels during my teen years, I rarely pick up a romance novel now. I think my reason being that after countless dozens of them; they seemed to lose their uniqueness. Even the covers began to repeat. A strikingly beautiful woman in a stunning dress fit tightly over her incredibly tiny waist snared in the arms of a shirtless Indian, a square-jawed pirate, or a rogue cowboy.
The title, Once in a Lifetime, was a nice play on words. If you are a tried and true romance reader, you will enjoy this book.
Although the storyline is predictable, it is a pleasing read. The characters are likable, yet rather clichéd: Young, inexperienced, naïve girl thrown in the path of a virile, slightly damaged, (but deep-down noble) handsome man who unknowingly needs her to save him. Ever notice how both the hero and heroine always have either blue or green eyes?
I digress. It was a very pleasant read; although at no point did I feel it upped the game from the romance novels of the seventies. Overall, it was well written. There were a few spots where the author went into a bit too much detail on things that the reader would have known without any explanation at all. Example: Page 36 – when talking about the sale of her inheritance that has already happened, the narrative takes you through the steps of notary, legally binding, witness, no coercion, etc. It had already been stated that Cherise was a notary and the sale was done, there was no reason to itemize the steps for the reader. It’s equivalent to talking down to them as if they would not understand how the sale was completed otherwise. Another example was the explanation as to why Sam has a passport. Her relationship with Jason was brought up at another point, making that a needless info-dump. Most people have passports. No one questions why.
Fortunately, there weren’t many info dumps and they weren’t detrimental to the read.
I ran across a few senseless items, such as: Kieran sent her a ticket to fly to Ireland alone. He spots her helping an elderly woman off the plane before her and the elderly woman go their separate ways. He even thinks to himself ‘Samantha hasn’t changed a bit’ referring to her kind-hearted ways. Yet, he still feels the need to ask her if she knew the elderly woman outside of the flight? Why? Again, I felt it was one of those areas where the author felt the need to reiterate a point (Sam’s kindness) as if the reader wouldn’t ‘get it’ without her doing so.
For much of the story, the book seemed to follow one character’s thoughts at a time. But there were scenes here and there where the author fell into the omniscient POV and it felt like head hopping. Example: pages 72. We are in Sam’s head as she approaches the horse. She sees Kieran take a step toward her and then stop when Niall places a hand on his arm. Suddenly we’re in Kieran’s head as he thinks he will lunge forward to save her if need be, just as he would have done when she was buying the pencils from Benedict. Now we are in his head as he remembers that night.
Again, it is a pleasant read, especially if you are a fan of the standard romance novel. It contained all of the basic elements: Young, innocent woman… handsome man, emotionally damaged, but not without integrity… the damsel in distress, saved-by-the-hero moment (pages 112-113)… hardened heart melted by her warm touch…. And of course, the happily-ever-after.
It had a steady flow – no lags and coming in at a 233 pages it’s a book that can be read in a few hours.
Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
The title, Once in a Lifetime, was a nice play on words. If you are a tried and true romance reader, you will enjoy this book.
Although the storyline is predictable, it is a pleasing read. The characters are likable, yet rather clichéd: Young, inexperienced, naïve girl thrown in the path of a virile, slightly damaged, (but deep-down noble) handsome man who unknowingly needs her to save him. Ever notice how both the hero and heroine always have either blue or green eyes?
I digress. It was a very pleasant read; although at no point did I feel it upped the game from the romance novels of the seventies. Overall, it was well written. There were a few spots where the author went into a bit too much detail on things that the reader would have known without any explanation at all. Example: Page 36 – when talking about the sale of her inheritance that has already happened, the narrative takes you through the steps of notary, legally binding, witness, no coercion, etc. It had already been stated that Cherise was a notary and the sale was done, there was no reason to itemize the steps for the reader. It’s equivalent to talking down to them as if they would not understand how the sale was completed otherwise. Another example was the explanation as to why Sam has a passport. Her relationship with Jason was brought up at another point, making that a needless info-dump. Most people have passports. No one questions why.
Fortunately, there weren’t many info dumps and they weren’t detrimental to the read.
I ran across a few senseless items, such as: Kieran sent her a ticket to fly to Ireland alone. He spots her helping an elderly woman off the plane before her and the elderly woman go their separate ways. He even thinks to himself ‘Samantha hasn’t changed a bit’ referring to her kind-hearted ways. Yet, he still feels the need to ask her if she knew the elderly woman outside of the flight? Why? Again, I felt it was one of those areas where the author felt the need to reiterate a point (Sam’s kindness) as if the reader wouldn’t ‘get it’ without her doing so.
For much of the story, the book seemed to follow one character’s thoughts at a time. But there were scenes here and there where the author fell into the omniscient POV and it felt like head hopping. Example: pages 72. We are in Sam’s head as she approaches the horse. She sees Kieran take a step toward her and then stop when Niall places a hand on his arm. Suddenly we’re in Kieran’s head as he thinks he will lunge forward to save her if need be, just as he would have done when she was buying the pencils from Benedict. Now we are in his head as he remembers that night.
Again, it is a pleasant read, especially if you are a fan of the standard romance novel. It contained all of the basic elements: Young, innocent woman… handsome man, emotionally damaged, but not without integrity… the damsel in distress, saved-by-the-hero moment (pages 112-113)… hardened heart melted by her warm touch…. And of course, the happily-ever-after.
It had a steady flow – no lags and coming in at a 233 pages it’s a book that can be read in a few hours.
Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
March 13, 2016
One of the best romance novels I've read in a long time.
August 24, 2017
OMG! WONDERFUL!
This book is a Once In A Lifetime book. My father was a thoroughbred racehorse trainer a d this book brought back so many memories for me. It's absolutely wonderful.
This book is a Once In A Lifetime book. My father was a thoroughbred racehorse trainer a d this book brought back so many memories for me. It's absolutely wonderful.
November 15, 2019
Absolutely Fulfilling!
This was a wonderful story and book. I felt so many emotions, just like the other reviewers had said, and read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. A true fairytale love story!
This was a wonderful story and book. I felt so many emotions, just like the other reviewers had said, and read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. A true fairytale love story!
October 12, 2018
Perfect Read
This was a sweet, thoroughly satisfying story. It gives one hope for happiness and love ever after. A true Cinderella story.
This was a sweet, thoroughly satisfying story. It gives one hope for happiness and love ever after. A true Cinderella story.
July 21, 2019
Racing to Meet the future
Irish horse racing and all it entails happens around a sweet insta love story that takes place around a Cinderella fantasy, complete with shoes.
Irish horse racing and all it entails happens around a sweet insta love story that takes place around a Cinderella fantasy, complete with shoes.
November 19, 2019
I loved it!
This was such a sweet story!I loved the characters and the descriptions of the scenery were wonderful! I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
This was such a sweet story!I loved the characters and the descriptions of the scenery were wonderful! I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
September 26, 2020
Good Story
First t reading this author. It was a very easy read and predictable ending. Will loot into other books by this author
First t reading this author. It was a very easy read and predictable ending. Will loot into other books by this author
September 22, 2016
“You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs,” Paul McCartney sang in 1976, with his tongue in his cheek: because of course our need to love and be loved in return is at the very centre of our being. “Once in a Lifetime” is a beautifully written, gentle and heart-warming, modern evocation of the Cinderella story, told by Jayne Nichols with her tongue in her cheek, smiling gently in Austin-esque fashion while paying homage to our basic human need for life to be like this for deserving people.
Reading it was like soaking in a warm bath of certainty that everything was going to work out for humble, Texan waitress, Samantha St John and handsome, troubled Irish race-horse owner Kieran McDade, just as it did for humble, faithful Jane Eyre and her troubled Mr Rochester, and for worthy, highly intelligent, middle-class Elizabeth Bennett and the troubled upper-class Mr Darcy. Jane Austen described Lizzy as "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." Two hundred years ago, her tongue was in her cheek too, for exactly the same reason.
Very sensibly, Jayne Nichols has not plastered what sometimes appears to be an obligatory, rippling, naked, male torso on the front cover of this relatively short, quintessentially romantic tale, and for that I am profoundly grateful. “Chick-Lit” it is not. It leans far more towards Jane Austin in tone and feel, and - dare I say it - in the quality of the writing. I have no hesitation in prescribing this book to anyone – male or female - who would benefit from a short but soothing, satisfying sojourn into a world where two lovely young people get to have an adventure and fall deeply in love, and live happily ever after.
Reading it was like soaking in a warm bath of certainty that everything was going to work out for humble, Texan waitress, Samantha St John and handsome, troubled Irish race-horse owner Kieran McDade, just as it did for humble, faithful Jane Eyre and her troubled Mr Rochester, and for worthy, highly intelligent, middle-class Elizabeth Bennett and the troubled upper-class Mr Darcy. Jane Austen described Lizzy as "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." Two hundred years ago, her tongue was in her cheek too, for exactly the same reason.
Very sensibly, Jayne Nichols has not plastered what sometimes appears to be an obligatory, rippling, naked, male torso on the front cover of this relatively short, quintessentially romantic tale, and for that I am profoundly grateful. “Chick-Lit” it is not. It leans far more towards Jane Austin in tone and feel, and - dare I say it - in the quality of the writing. I have no hesitation in prescribing this book to anyone – male or female - who would benefit from a short but soothing, satisfying sojourn into a world where two lovely young people get to have an adventure and fall deeply in love, and live happily ever after.
March 4, 2016
A beautiful story of two seemingly miss-matched souls from different continents who are brought together through the manipulations of a father’s last request and a special race horse.
Ms. Nichols fills her story with delightful characters, vivid settings, and tender romance. This is a Cinderella tale of magic with a blissful HEA. It’s easy to get swept up in the heart-warming storyline and characters who feel like family and best friends. With a writing style that immediately draws you in from the opening chapter, this is a feel good page-turner that leaves you with a warm glow long after you’ve read the last line. Don’t miss it!
Ms. Nichols fills her story with delightful characters, vivid settings, and tender romance. This is a Cinderella tale of magic with a blissful HEA. It’s easy to get swept up in the heart-warming storyline and characters who feel like family and best friends. With a writing style that immediately draws you in from the opening chapter, this is a feel good page-turner that leaves you with a warm glow long after you’ve read the last line. Don’t miss it!
February 23, 2020
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August 28, 2016Dnf- just not my style.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews