Once

by L.T. Smith

'Whether you feel the victim or the offender, you might, in fact, be a little of both.' Once upon a time, there was a woman called Beth Chambers. She wasn't a princess, by any stretch of the imagination, nor did she live in a fairytale kingdom far far away. What she did have was a broken relationship, a broken spirit, and a shattered view of life. After four years in a destructive relationship, Beth decides enough is enough. Then she meets Amy Fletcher, the woman who has it all . the woman whom she believes would never want more than friendship. But what she fails to realise is that everything is relative, and there is definitely two sides to every story.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Lesbian, Lesbian Fiction, Queer

150 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

L.T. Smith is a late bloomer when it comes to writing and didn’t begin until 2005 with her first novel Hearts and Flowers Border (first published in 2006). She soon caught the bug and has written numerous tales, usually with a comical slant to reflect, as she calls it, ‘My warped view of the dramatic.’ Although she loves to write, L.T. loves to read, too — being an English teacher seems to demand it. Most of her free time is spent with her furry little men — two fluffy balls of trouble who keep her active and her apologies flowing.

She is also a very popular author at websites such as The Athenaeum and The Academy of Bards under the name of “Fingersmith”. She is the Royal Academy of Bards 2008 Hall of Fame Author.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one. I have only ever read one book by Smith before. She is an author that I have longed to read more of so I was happy that YLVA let me review a book from her back library. I ended up enjoying this even more than I hoped which is always nice when you pick out a book. Just a note that while this was originally published in 2008, if you are interested in reading this make sure you grab the revised 2015 YLVA edition since it went through a good amount of revisions.

This was a real interesting mix of genres. I would actually call it a dramatic rom-com. Now trust me I know that drama and comedy don’t go together but that’s the best way I can describe this book. This was a comedy that was actually laugh out loud funny at times, but it also dealt with some tough subjects the main one being verbal and mental abuse. Whatever you want to call this, in the end the combination worked really well for me which I was surprised about. If you know me or read enough of my reviews, you will know that rom-coms can be my kryptonite. I don’t do well with comedy books since either my funny bone is apparently broken or I seem to have a different sense of humor than everyone else does. But not only did this book make me laugh out loud more than once, I actually had to take notes of quotes to remember. I don’t normally do that unless I’m reading a book from one of the big guns like Noyes or Winter. But Smith had some great comedic lines that I did not want to forget.

While there was some really good comedy here, I thought the whole premise was really well done. This is a story about Beth who is coming out of a mentally abusive relationship. She is trying to gain her confidence and put herself back together. When she meets Amy she realized she could possibly be her true love. But Beth needs to get stronger first and she doesn’t know if Amy will ever feel the same about her.

The romance itself is where this book really shines. It’s a wonderful slow-burn romance. A few times I did want to yell at Beth to just tell Amy how she really feels, but that tension, the waiting, was well done. I also have to mention that the sex scenes were just wow. Smith sure knows how to add some heat and steam.

I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more by Smith. I think romance fans, that were like me and have not read this yet, would enjoy this too. It has a lot of good fun, plenty of steam, and it tackles some tough subjects but handles them in a good way. This is just well done all the way around. Oh and it has a dog this is just adorable for my fellow pet fans out there.

A copy was given to me for a honest review.

[Starsandsun18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss my dog because of Dudley. They look almost the same time.
If you like slow burn, kinda running circles type of book I think you like this one. I know some like that stuff.

Beth came from an abusive relationship. Not physically but verbally or mentally. She lacks self esteem and doesn't really have a back bone to tell what she really feels. After the break up she had a hard time talking or connecting with people even with her family and friends. All she got is her dog Dudley. So, I guess you know why the story is more on running circles or over thinking.
Then came Amy, a fresh face who's up for a little bit of fun.
Right the moment they met sparks fly and they instantly felt the connection. They became friends sort of heal each other. They test the waters but they always end up disappointed not always the right time.


I think the star of this book is really Dudley. And it's kinda cute actually. Little match maker. :)


Nice message for those who are in experiencing abuse on the relationship or those who are afraid to tell how they really feel.
And every story has 2 sides or 2 views. You just have to listen to both.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once by L.T. Smith is about two women, Beth Chambers and Amy Fletcher. Beth is still recovering from an abusive relationship that she recently ended when she meets Amy with the help of her small dog, Dudley. This meeting is the beginning of a sweet romance.

The story is told in the first person narrative through the eyes of the main character Beth, and I have to admit the author did this in a very unique and different way. The story is written almost as though you are sitting down and having a conversation with Beth. She is telling you her story and also talking about how she is writing the tale. That was rather disconcerting to begin with. I wasn’t sure I liked it, but I kept reading, and I’m glad I did. I eventually got used to the conversational tone, and by the end of the book, I liked the style. It kind of made the whole tale more real in a sense. The only problem I had with the story is that it dragged a bit in the middle. There were quite a few times I wanted to grab Beth by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, but that actually is an example of me being involved in the story which is a good thing. I liked the story. Once is a sweet romance with well-developed characters, just the right amount of angst, and a unique style. And it also has Dudley, who would tell you that he is the cutest and the smartest character in the whole book. If Beth and Amy had only listened to him in the first place, they would have been much happier much sooner.

Get the story. Once is cute. It is sweet and different in a good way.
I received an ARC from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story of two people, full of emotional baggage (which I'm sure some people can relate to) and how they eventually navigate obstacles of self doubt to a happy ending.

Both main characters have been involved with emotionally abusive partners. This was mainly dealt with well, except I did not feel it was appropriate for one of the main characters to violently punch her ex in the face. At the time she believed, wrongly, that she had been hurting her dog. It felt out of character and unnecessary.

I love the British humour, the writing style and over all its a well crafted and executed story.

[Angie Engles · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly sincere and often sweet read, _Once_ is definitely good and definitely worth reading, though L.T. Smith's _See Right Through Me_ remains my absolute favorite of hers. Lovable and very endearing and adorable Dudley (a dog who will just melt your soul) is my favorite character in this touching book whose cover truly matches its spirit and heart.

Normally, I love that almost all of L.T. Smith's novels share a common theme in how insecure two people can be about each other's feelings when they are first getting to know each other. I really, really get self doubt so it would seem perfectly natural to me that two people could actually like each other and yet have no clue about it or any confidence in their own appeal. This motif in Ms. Smith's fiction is a big reason why I love her books so much.

But with _Once_ I became physically exhausted by it all, at times. It's not the writer's fault at all...if anything, this time around she's captured the pain of self doubt better than ever before, along with an underlying darkness and deep sadness to both women's relationship histories.

I also found myself very, very troubled by an early scene in the novel where the main character punches her ex very, very hard in the face. It made painfully lovely passages lose some of their power because Beth really is not all that likable at times: "It wasn’t that I didn’t believe that Amy was the person I wanted to be with; it was more a case of not being able to trust that anyone would want to be with me. Like Groucho Marx said, he didn’t want to be a member of any club that would accept him as a member."

Perhaps I am being a bit overly sensitive to this part and the main character does believe her ex has been abusing her dog when she punches her. The thing is she does not know for sure her ex hurt her dog and when she realizes later she did not there is no real remorse on her part and that just disturbs me so very much.

[Alena · Rating 1 out of 5]

And then there are the books I don't know what to do with. Like this one.

I don't think I've ever quit a book after a mere 5 pages. This one managed to annoy me that quickly.

I can't get with the style. It addresses the reader directly, which I'm sure is meant to be witty and funny, but, err, no. I flipped through the book to find that there are funny titles added to the chapters, like Chapter Two (ish), Chapter Nine and a Half, Chapter Ten (The one where...), okay, so I made the last one up, but I'm too lazy to get up and use an actual example.

I learned one thing from the first pages: I never knew that the poor punctuation device ... had the power to annoy me if way overused. I know now. Also, describing your crotch as 'my lady garden' in combination with the other things listed above is enough to make me close a book and decide not to go on. Who knew?

I was surprised to find out it was published in 2008, the whole layout, paper, font, etc. gives it a decided 80s look, not that that's either here or there.

[Aj Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I enjoy most about LT Smith's work is her playful and Modern approach to writing. By this I mean that from the off she addresses us directly and makes it very clear that it is she as the writer who is in control and what information we get and the order in which we get it is very much up to her! She also very deliberately draws attention to many of the clichés that have infested romantic literature and thankfully manages to avoid falling prey to them. All in all she is an excellent writer and well worth your precious time and money. (even though she twice or three times writes 'myriad of' *shudder*)

I suppose you want to know a brief something about the plot...well, it's redemptive; two good people meet one of whom is our narrator and she is recovering from an abusive relationship. Her ex is an ass and keeps trying to reel her back in, funny stuff happens and there's a cute dog. All in all it's a complete package.

[Ameliah Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Beth as she learns to stand on her own two feet after leaving an emotionally abusive relationship. She and her little man Dudley, the terrier, meet Amy one chilly fall day. As their friendship continues to grow Beth relaxes about the old relationship with Sue and begins to have feelings for Amy. Would Amy hurt her by leaving or controlling Beth? Will Dudley finally get to bite Sue and is Amy even a lesbian??? Sound good? It is!

I loved this drama! It was so funny (even the chapters were funny and sweet too) and real and gosh darn it, emotional too. The story is told by Beth. Its as if I was sitting by the fireside with her and she as she regaled me with her tale. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and develop into strong women as their relationship/not relationship continued all the while precious Dudley was in tow.

I was privy to Beth's musings and emotions as she bared her soul. I saw her insecurities, her courage, determination and her soft but strong side. I can so relate to her self doubts and reactions and how she was able to move forward. Turns out Amy was hiding a little something of her own...

This tale touched on so many levels but all of them were handled with grace and courage. This is defiantly on my must read list. Thank you Ms. Smith.

[Loek Krancher · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're going to love it!

I had to get used to the way this book is written. This didn't last long because I was engrossed in the story very quickly. Why do we behave as we behave? L.T.Smith let us look to our self. It is a look at the past, on our own insecurities, on our own experiences. It is not written in a pedantic way but with a lot of humor. Two women who help each other to find themselves without being aware of this. And of course the attraction for each other helps immensely and Dudley also makes it easier. I loved that guy. I have greatly enjoyed this book and the characters are very well developed, strong, loving and humouristic. This was my first encounter with L.T. Smith and I am definitely going to read more from this author.

[Eva Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely hilarious read. Loved it!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed score: 3.75

I’ve had this on my ‘to read’ shelf since 2015 and only picked it up because of @Lex’s recent review. I’d say just read @Lex’s review as they captured the essence of this book so much better than I will but first to start with what I found annoying or distracting


Some key points

- the conversational style I got used to but never really enjoyed. I started to find it took me out of the story - particularly when it was used at the introduction to a chapter. Having said that, always kudos to an author for trying something new / different

- I HATED the last 3 chapters. I found them preach and condescending. BUT. This shouldn’t stop you reading. Just know that there’s no more relationship growth in the last 3 ... can’t say more cos of spoilers. Basically don’t not read this book just cos I hated the ending because I’m still satisfied. Probably just knocked off .25

- you *will* want to shake the narrator out of her cluelessness and self doubt. But I less this really gives you the irritating then go with it - we do need some sort of barrier to love dont we?!!

- it’s a wee bit preachy and naive around abusive relationships. Not so much for me but if you have a background in it, it might.

Even thought the conversational style annoyed me in parts it did provide a mechanism to hear the thoughts and motivations of both leads (particularly the narrator) at key points without it being intrusive - which gave depth to the story and the characters that other books miss

I’m also a sucker for hurt/comfort and there’s a lot of that in this book so that floated my boat

It’s a slow burn but the payoff is there

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a definite crush on the way L.T Smith writes. Her books leave me laughing and quoting things she's said to anyone that will listen.

This book isn't my favourite of hers but it is still a very good read. I know people have said they find it difficult to get used to the way she writes but I find it refreshing and really enjoy it. I feel very connected to her main character Beth, almost like I am inside her head. This is something I feel about each of her books.

The comic scenes which Smith writes are second to none, Amy's response to her ex saying she was like a rag doll in bed is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

She manages to create characters I love but also want to throttle...which in my book is always a good thing!

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be unrealistic (What kind of business allows its customers to take off their clothes from the waist down and offer them blankets to warm up?! What are the odds that both parties are going to get tangled up in said blankets and see one another's "lady garden" or whatever it was called?!) and offensive (The "R" word was used to describe a broken gay-dar: "gay-dar r*****ed".) I quit this book after about 25 pages and will not be keeping it. For what it is worth, I have the earlier version of this book. Apparently a later version has been released and I can only hope that it has improved - I will never know because I will not read it.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely surprise. A friends-to-lovers romance where it's hard not to root for either one of the characters because they're both recovering from abusive relationships.

The story is told from Beth's point of view. Her confidence is shattered after a really ugly breakup. But she has her dog, and the rest is a bit of a wild card. After thinking she'd lost her dog during a momentary lapse in concentration, Beth finds herself waist-deep in a river, screaming and crying in panic over losing her dog. But he's not lost. He's with a woman who found him trying to get his ball from the same river. Both women are soaking wet--from the river, of course--and decide to warm up in a cafe. Hilarity ensues, a connection is made, but no numbers or contact details are exchanged. Without any other means of contact, Beth returns over and over to the site they met. And so does Amy. Until eventually their paths intersect and a friendship is born. And friendship is all Beth can currently offer. Plus, she doubts Amy is even gay. Spoiler alert: She is.

I really liked Amy Fletcher. She is incredibly charming and I get why Beth is so smitten. Amy's family family and the way they respond to Beth's place in Amy's life was definitely a highlight of this book for me. Beth was a bit harder to get to know, which is weird since we're in her head the whole time. But because we see all her thoughts, it's hard to see what Amy sees in her. I don't mean that in a bad way, but Amy has to be the world's most patient person to continue hoping Beth will be ready and be able to face her feelings full-on.

And this leads to my big problem in this book. Most of the tension/angst comes from Beth's inability to open up and actually divulge what she's feeling. I realize Amy doesn't either (she knows Beth isn't ready for a relationship yet and isn't pushing), but Beth's thoughts go quickly to the irrational over and over, and I get that there's been trauma in her recent past and that trust is hard and her confidence has disappeared, but I just wanted to reach into the pages and beg her apply logic and reason to the situations she found herself in rather than believing whatever worst-case-scenario version of events her brain conjured up.

But it's a really cute romance. And I'm not mad I read it at all.

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beth decides to finally leave her toxic relationship with no more than her dog Dudley. He is instrumental to the story because he has a way of brining people together. Amy meets Beth under the worst conditions and still finds her interesting. Their friendship is a real boost to Beth she just doesn't think Amy could ever want more with her. It is a touching story that is beautifully written. Hannah Martin narrates this lovely story and is very nice to listen to.

[Bookgirrll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great

Having just read another book by this author I gave this one a go, overall I quite like this writers quirky style, but this book had too many cliched ramblings that, I like the last book, didn’t add to the story but distracted from it.

[Alison A · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

very real. sometimes you just need a hug.

[Chand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and interesting, though dragged quite a bit towards the end.

[Louise Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, L T Smith has written a wonderful tale. This book is packed with humor and feeling. The story unfolds as a woman shows us what it is like to come out of a destructive relationship and how she overcomes her feelings of not being good enough. This is helped along by the seemingly unobtainable Amy and the decidedly wonderful Dudley - her dog.

Definitely a five star read.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skipped pages

I've read previous books from this author and they were good. I skipped so many pages just to get to the end. I guess for me the constant talking in her head and the zoning out of conversation was just to much.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

brilliant book! I could not put in down and this does not happen to me often. It had its fair share of cliche and cheesiness but the homour is excellent. Definitely recommended.

[Xejx · Rating 4 out of 5]

brilliant book! I could not put in down and this does not happen to me often. It had its fair share of cliche and cheesiness but the homour is excellent. Definitely recommended.

[Pipsqueak97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you L.T. Smith for another well crafted, funny and emotional story.