Once We Were Lovers – review (AD)
I was kindly given an advanced electronic copy of Once We Were Lovers by R J Gould in exchange for an honest review*.
Once We Were Lovers book blurb
A heartwarming and heartbreaking story of lost love, regrets, and the chance to put things right.
When Georgie walks into a London café quiz night, Peter turns away without a word. Fifty years earlier she betrayed him on the eve of graduation, and he’s never forgiven her for breaking his heart.
Their lives since have gone in opposite directions.
Georgie soared briefly to fame in a punk band before falling into addiction, while Peter built a quiet, steady career in academia.
Now fate has thrown them back together, and two determined young women are convinced they belong with each other.
But to have any hope of a second chance, Georgie and Peter must confront the night that tore them apart.
The clock is ticking.
Once We Were Lovers is the fifth book in the At the Dream Café series—perfect for readers who love witty, character-driven fiction about second chances, messy families, and rediscovering love when you least expect it.
My overall thoughts on Once We Were Lovers
Having enjoyed the previous outings in the Dream Café series, I devoured Once We Were Lovers in just over a day — a real treat from start to finish.
This book is beautifully engrossing, the kind of read that holds you close and pulls you deep into “what ifs” and “could haves”.
It centres around regret — those small decisions or betrayals that quietly linger in the background of our lives until fate forces a confrontation.
Georgie and Peter are our central pair and what a story they have.
They were together when young, Georgie’s betrayal sent Peter walking away, and they each tried to get on with life.
Until fifty years later when their paths cross again.
Can a betrayal that old ever truly be forgiven?
Can two lives that have lived separate journeys still find common ground?
What I adored was the way their separate lives were portrayed — the triumphs, the quiet compromises, the joyful times, the bad — and how they both tried hard simply to forget the past.
Watching them talk through the past and reveal their interpretations of each other’s actions made you feel for them.
If only they’d been honest back then, things might have been very different for both of them.
And the setting — the Dream Café itself — plays such a lovely, subtle role.
That sense of community, the monthly quiz bringing people together, the gentle background hum of everyday life: it works so well.
It reminds you that sometimes the place we gather offers more than just a cup of coffee — it offers connection, perspective, invitation.
It’s so easy to give advice to others but much harder to take the same advice ourselves, and the café scenes reflect that.
I was particularly pleased to see older characters taking centre-stage.
It’s refreshing to read about second chances, reflection in later life, the slower pace of hearts learning and healing.
I also enjoyed getting to see a different side to Rachel who has been a background character who has popped up throughout the series.
This book has a very human feel — full of emotion, longing, hope, the subtle ache of “if only”.
An absolutely enjoyable story with real warmth, depth and that gentle reassurance that it’s never too late to face the past and perhaps find a future.
A huge thank you as always to Richard for writing such wonderful books and inviting us readers into this brilliant little slice of London that he’s created and for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the author
Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould and is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA).
His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers’ Scheme.
Having been published by Headline Access and Lume Books, he now self-publishes.
He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, loosely though not prescriptively within the Romance genre, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic journeys of his protagonists in search of love.
Dream Café is his sixth novel, following The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies, The bench by Cromer beach and Nothing Man. [It is a rewrite of A Street Café Named Desire].
Ahead of writing full time, Richard led a national educational charity.
He has been published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people.
He lives in Cambridge, England.
Follow R J Gould
Website: www.rjgould.info
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
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