About the Book
In
one century she loved him madly, and in another she wants nothing to do with
him
In 1844 Ireland, Liam O’Connor, a rogue and a
thief, fell madly in love with a squire’s daughter and unwittingly altered the
future. Shy and naive Cora McLeod thought Liam was the answer to her prayers.
But the angels disagreed and they’ve been waiting for the right moment in time
to step in.
Now Liam finds himself reunited with his
beloved Cora in Providence Falls, North Carolina. The angels have given Liam a
task. He must make sure Cora falls in love with another man—the one she was
supposed to marry before Liam interfered. But this Cora is very different from
the innocent girl who fell for Liam in the past. She’s a cop and has a
confidence and independence he wasn’t expecting. She doesn’t remember Liam or
their past lives, nor is she impressed with his attempts to guide her in any
way.
Liam wants Cora for himself, but with his soul
hanging in the balance, he must choose between a stolen moment in time or an
eternity of damnation.
 |
| Liam O'Connor |
About Jude Deveraux
Jude Deveraux is the author of
forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including For All Time, Moonlight in the Morning, and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with a Romantic Times Pioneer Award in 2013
for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies
of her books in print worldwide.
 |
| My favorite Jude Deveraux novel |
Author Links
About Tara Sheets
Tara Sheets is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and
women's fiction. Her debut novel, Don't Call Me Cupcake, won the 2016 Golden
Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America. Tara began her career as
an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty
mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee. She now lives in the warm,
wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that
pretty inspiring too. When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving
family and a book-eating dog named Merlin.
 |
| Providence Falls |
My Thoughts
Chance of a Lifetime by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets has Liam O’Connor found wanting on Judgement Day by
Samael and Agon. Liam is getting a
second chance. In 1844 in Kinsley, Ireland, Liam was a thief
who stole from the rich to benefit himself, his family, and his
accomplices. He is a charmer who had his
pick of the ladies. But then Liam fell
in love with the Squire McLeod’s daughter, Cora. She was engaged to Finley Walsh, but her
heart had other ideas. Cora picked a
different path which forever changed her destiny. Liam is sent to Providence Falls, North
Carolina where Cora current incarnation works as a cop. She looks just like the Cora that Liam fell
in love with over a century and a half ago, but her trust is not easily
given. Liam must get Cora to fall in
love with another man within the next three months. If Liam succeeds in this task, he will go to
his eternal reward. If Liam fails to get
Cora to fall for Finn Walsh, then he will spend eternity in one extremely hot
locale.
Chance of a Lifetime by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets is the first novel in the
Providence Falls series. This book reminds me of Jude Deveraux’s early
novels which I just loved (
Wishes,
A Knight in Shining Armor,
Sweet Liar). I thought the story contained good writing
and it moved along at a steady pace. The story has humor, drama, mystery, and,
of course, romance. I liked the
characters with my favorite being Liam O’Connor. He is a thief, a charmer, and a rogue. I like that Chance of a Lifetime combines the
present in Providence Falls with Liam and Cora’s tale from 1844. The parallels between the two time periods
was intriguing. And let us not forget
the two heavenly judges determined to keep Liam on task. I liked the humor in the story as it added
lightness and levity. I enjoyed reading Chance of a Lifetime until I
got to the end and realized the story was incomplete. I must now wait for the next installment in
the Providence Falls series to find out the identity of the killer (I have an
idea and want to see if I am right) and Liam’s fate. With
Chance of a Lifetime, Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets combine history,
romance, mystery, and heavenly intervention into one engaging tale.
Excerpt
For
an angel as old as Agon, there was nothing new under the sun, or above. After
thousands of years studying the human condition, he’d pretty much seen it all.
Time didn’t lie. It proved over and over again that human beings were flawed.
They led messy lives. They didn’t always learn from their mistakes. And yet, as
he swooped into the Department of Destiny and prepared for another day of
judging souls, he remained ever the optimist. Because time also had a way of
proving that even in the face of all odds, love would prevail.
He
landed silently in the misty chamber and slapped his associate on the back.
“What’s up, Samael?”
The shorter angel jerked, fumbling for the
clipboard in his hands. He gave Agon a scathing look of disapproval. “How many
times must I tell you not to sneak up on me like that?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry,” Agon said breezily. “Who’s
up next?”
Samael
checked the clipboard with a heavy sigh. Pale curls framed his round face. Next
to Agon’s imposing figure and dark hair, Samael looked almost boyish. But he’d
been in charge of the Department of Destiny for over three hundred years, and
he ran it with a stoic sense of justice that made him seem much older. “A grave
disappointment, to be sure. The soul of Liam O’Connor stands judgment today.”
“Ah.”
Agon shook his head sadly. “Poor Irish ruffian. Such a tragic love story, Liam
and the fair Cora.”
“Those
two should never have fallen in love,” Samael said with a scowl. “It
shattered all of our plans. For over a century! So many destinies were ruined
because of it.” He tucked his wings neatly behind his back, then glanced at
Agon. “Are you ready to call him in?”
“Yes.”
Agon turned toward the wall of mist and pasted an encouraging smile on his
face. “I
told you not to do that,” Samael said. “This is serious business. We must
reflect the gravity of the situation through our appearance and mannerisms.”
“But
humans like smiles,” Agon said. “I thought perhaps it would make him feel more
comfortable.” “His
soul hangs in the balance between heaven and hell, and we’re about to judge
it,” Samael said flatly. “Who could possibly be comfortable with that?”
“Right.” Agon arranged his features to appear
as bleak and unyielding as the surrounding chamber.
“Much
better,” Samael said with a nod. Then he raised his hand and called into the
void. “I summon the soul of Liam O’Connor.”
Like
a cannonball hurled through a cloud, a man shot out of the mist, tumbling head
over heels to land before the angels in a tangle of curses and grunts. Unlike
other souls who were called to the Department of Destiny, Liam did not rise on
unsteady feet, shaking with fear, terrified to stand judgment for his past
life’s choices. Instead, he jumped up, slapping at wisps of fog still clinging to
his hair and clothing, dark eyes casually scanning the room.
Samael
regarded him coolly. “Do you know why you’ve been summoned to the Chamber of
Judgment?”
Liam
raised a dark brow. “Judgment day, I’d imagine?” For someone who stood on the
brink of eternal damnation, he was far too nonchalant. But the angels knew this
was part of his act. Liam O’Connor was no stranger to deception.
“We
have reviewed your past life and found you wanting,” Samael said. He flicked
his hand, and moving images suddenly appeared in the misty wall. Liam picking
pockets. Breaking into houses. Liam running through the forest carrying a bag
of stolen jewels. A stagecoach in the background with victims shouting after
him. A musket ball shattering the branch of a tree near his head. Liam laughing
in the face of danger.
“You were a thief,” Samael said. “And you
stole from innocent people. Often.”
“Well…”
Liam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of mist. “Crops were failing.
I only stole to help put food on the table. Simple as that.”
“Do not attempt to lie to us,” Samael said
coldly. “We can see into your soul, Liam O’Connor, and we know the truth. You
enjoyed stealing. You reveled in your life as a thief.”
“Fine.” Liam pushed off the wall and began to
pace, dragging the tips of his fingers through the roiling fog. “I did enjoy
thieving, and I was good at it, too. I was never any good at farming. But I
kept my brother’s family from starving, didn’t I? That has to count for
something.”
Samael
gazed at him sternly. “You didn’t only steal objects.” He flicked his hand and
another image appeared, a sweet, innocent young woman with glossy blond curls
and rosy cheeks. She had a round, pretty face with a nose just a little too
prominent, and a smile just a little too trusting. She was holding out a rose.
“Cora,”
Liam breathed. He stepped closer, but the image of the young woman vanished.
“Bring her back!” He grasped at the fog with both hands. “Let me see her
again.”
“She wasn’t meant for you, ruffian,” Samael
said. “You stole her from her fiancé.”
“But I loved her,” Liam shot back. “And she—”
“You
interfered with her destiny,” Samael interrupted. “She was supposed to marry
that man, and together they were going to raise a child who would someday help
the world.”
Liam
scowled. “Her fiancé didn’t deserve her. She wanted me. It was me she
loved in the end.”
“Ah,
yes,” Samael said icily. “The end.”
Liam
glanced away.
“Things
ended very badly for her, as you well know,” Samael continued. “For both of
you. And now, because of you, Cora’s soul has never found peace. In every new
life we’ve given her, she’s afraid to fall in love. She never lives long enough
to fulfill her destiny.” He flicked his hand again.
This time, terrible images appeared. Cora as a
young nurse, caring for soldiers during an outbreak of scarlet fever…dying in a
hospital bed. Cora as a nanny, rushing to save a young child from the path of a
runaway horse…dying in the street. Cora working in a factory during WWII…dying
in an explosion.
The
angels knew Liam wouldn’t understand some of the things he was seeing, but the
message was very clear. Cora’s life always ended in tragedy.
“Enough!”
Liam flung his hands up, scrubbing his face. “Just tell me my fate. Is it to be
hell, then?”
The
angels exchanged glances.
“It
is true you’ve done much wrong in your life,” Samael said. “But you’ve also
done some good. For this reason, we’re going to give you a chance at
redemption.”
Liam’s head shot up. He glanced back and forth
between the two angels.
“Cora is on earth again in this twenty-first
century,” Samael said. “You must make sure she fulfills her true destiny in
this life.”
“But…how?”
“There is a man named Finley Walsh. He is her
true soul mate—the man she must marry. The man she was destined to marry until
you ruined everything. This time, you will see that Cora falls in love with the
right man.”
Liam scowled and kicked the floor, displacing
wisps of fog. He grumbled under his breath, then glanced up. “Will she remember
me?”
“Of course not,” Samael said. “Certainly not
as you remember her. The role you play this time will be…much different.”
Liam
narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
“You have three months to complete the task,”
Samael continued in clipped tones. “We will bestow upon you some knowledge of
the current century, but it won’t be an easy transition. If anyone questions
your struggles with modern technology, just explain you’re from a very rural
town.”
Liam raised his chin. “What if I tell them the
truth?”
Samael let out a huff of amusement. “That
you’re a transplanted soul from 1844 Ireland? Good luck with that.” He slid the
clipboard into a pocket of mist. “Three months, Liam O’Connor. Get Cora to fall
in love with Finley. It is imperative that this happens. If you fail—and that
includes sleeping with her—you will be sent straight to…”
All
the light in the chamber vanished, plunging them into icy darkness.
“Hell.”
Samael’s voice echoed off the chamber walls like a war drum.
“And if I succeed?” Liam whispered.
The
light snapped back on.
“Heaven,”
Samael said matter-of-factly. “Now, off you go.” He started to lift his hand.
“Wait!”
Liam cried. “If Cora’s been on earth living all these different lives, where
have I been the whole time?”
“Suspended up here,” Samael said. “Waiting for
us to decide if you deserved a chance at redemption. I do hope you are worthy
of it. Goodbye, ruffian.” He waved his hand a final time, and a hole opened in
the mist beneath Liam’s feet.
They
could hear him yelling for a long time as he fell, even after the hole closed.
Agon
chuckled. “That was a rather dramatic exit, don’t you think?”
Samael
shrugged. “I thought the moment could use a bit of theatrics.”
“And
the flickering lights with the echoing voice?” Agon elbowed him in the ribs.
“Nice job.”
Samael
pressed his lips together and tried to look stern, but Agon could tell he was
pleased.
They
turned to the wall of mist as the image of Liam appeared. His body floated to
earth, landing softly on a bed of leaves on the forest floor. He glanced around
in a daze, his lips slowly curving into a smile.
“He always loved the forest,” Agon said
wistfully. “I
thought he could use a moment here to reflect on his past, before we send him
to work,” Samael said.
Liam’s eyes drooped. His dark lashes fluttered
once. Twice. And then he slipped into a deep, dream-filled sleep.
“You
didn’t tell him the truth.” Agon turned to Samael. “About the child.”
“He’s not ready to hear that—and neither is
she.”
Agon
glanced back to the image of Liam’s slumbering form. “Do you think he’ll
succeed?”
Samael
frowned. “What’s that human saying about a snowball’s chance?”
 |
| A large snowball melting |
Agon
shook his head. “It eludes me.”
“No
matter.” Samael expanded his wings and stretched. “Time will tell.” “Yes,”
Agon mused.
“Time always does.”
Are you ready to read
Chance of a Lifetime?
Chance of a Lifetime is available from
Amazon*,
Harlequin,
Indiebound,
Barnes & Noble,
Books-a-Million,
Walmart,
Google,
iBooks, and
Kobo. You can find Jude Deveraux's other novels including my favorite--
A Knight in Shining Armor--
here. You can find Tara Sheets other books
here. Thank you for visiting today. I hope I have helped you to find a new book to read. Tomorrow I am featuring
The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer. I hope that you have a satisfying day. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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