REVIEW: For Twice in my Life by Annette Christie

For Twice in my Life by Annette Christie: Wallowing post Ian break-up, Layla is barely keeping the pieces of her life together when out of the blue she receives a phone call from the hospital requesting she come at once as Ian’s most recent emergency contact. As one thing leads to another, Layla finds herself spidering through an interesting lie web knowing that at some stage someone in her life is likely to catch her out, pretending that they haven’t broken up courtesy of a bout of concussion induced amnesia.

Struggling to find her self-worth and move on from some poor choices in her past, Layla’s new relationship with Ian begins to take on different dimensions, enabling her to believe the lie that she’s been telling the world, until of course, Ian’s brother Matt returns to foil her fake reality.

Despite the amnesia trope which seemed pretty unbelievable, Layla fundamentally believes that this is a sign from the universe – that her and Ian will have their second chance, irrespective of the soft reasons Ian gave for their break-up in the first place. And further, this became pivotal to Layla’s character development and inner monologue given she was a quirky character who was striving to self-actualise but unfortunately struggled with self-forgiveness or the ability to let past regrets go. Ian, was presented as five star all-rounder, generous, compassionate caring and sadly, this level of perfection was a bit too much to jump into.

Alternatively, Ian’s broody, dark and unreadable brother Matt, who also shapes up to be the new up-un-coming playwright at Layla’s theatre who is literally saving the day, was far more dynamic and some of their co-scenes were brilliantly constructed. Pacing was also a little off, with some big lull’s in the middle and what felt like a 50 metre 10 second sprint to the end, rushing what was really a perfect climax and resolution.

On the whole though, there were some light themes unpacked and some of the side-relationships were key to giving Layla and her journey depth. For those who love a good RomCom with a few interesting twists at the end, then this will happily deliver on the right type of love forever after.

Book Info:

Publication: 27th February 2023 | Little Brown and Company |

Layla’s chaotic life transformed when she met Ian Barnett. Ambitious, committed, and thoughtful, Ian has been everything she’d dreamed of, and she knows he’d say the same of her. So when he breaks up with her out of the blue, Layla is stunned. What went wrong? But then, Layla gets a call from the local hospital. Ian’s had a biking accident. He’s okay, but he needs someone–his someone–to get him home safely. As it becomes clear Ian doesn’t remember he ended things, it also becomes clear that the accident has given him a new outlook on life . . . and Layla a second chance to get things right. That is, until Ian’s younger brother comes to town. Matt is restless, unpredictable, and threatens to upset the careful balance Layla and Ian have rebuilt. As things get more complicated both at home and at work, Layla realizes she might lose her chance at real love–and real happiness–if she doesn’t come clean about the stories she’s been telling: to Ian, to Matt, to her family, and most importantly, to herself.