For Once In My Life is the twenty-second stand-alone novel by Australian author, Karly Lane. At fifty, as resident nurse practitioner at the multi-purpose hospital, mother of three adult children and grandmother of one very sweet two-year-old, Jenny Hayward is quite satisfied with her life in the small NSW rural town of Barkley. She knows everyone, and everyone knows her.

But, at two years divorced from unfaithful Austin (and well rid of him!), her best friend Beth and her daughters tell her “We’ve waited patiently for you to take the first step back out into life again, and you haven’t done it. We can’t sit by any longer and watch you wither away”. They have decided she’s too young to be an old, lonely woman, and have taken action.

They’ve set her up on a dating app, and the attention garnered isn’t a surprise to them: Jenny is attractive and the interests they have listed on her profile appeal to many. She finds herself very reluctantly going on three blind dates.

After nineteen years in the army, thirty-eight-year-old Nick Mason is finally doing something he has wanted for a long time. He’s taken over The Coach House, renovated it with sensitivity for its origins, and turned it into a gastro-pub. His deal with a local beef farmer means paddock-to-plate control and, coupled with a world class (if temperamental) chef, the meals are a big draw card. The only fly in the ointment is that he could only buy the business with his career-driven, corporate, imperious older sister, Susie as his (not-so-silent) partner.

He watches as the lovely divorcee endures her three terrible blind dates and wonders why such a desirable woman is bothering with these no-hopers. He can’t help flirting and, when The Coach House hosts a Hayward family party, leaves Jenny’s ex in doubt that she is attractive to younger men. But Jenny takes a lot of convincing that his intentions are genuine, and that the age difference isn’t an issue.

Jenny succumbs to his attentions but, wary of criticism, is hesitant to make their relationship public. Her daughters, though, welcome it, and Nick “If he’s brave enough to enter the temple of oestrogen and put up with all of us, then I say he’s already proving he’s a keeper”. The course of true love doesn’t run smooth, though, and they need to overcome a few challenges before they can relax.

This is a delightful rural romance that touches on some topical issues before the happy-ever-after ending. Lane’s plot is entirely believable, her characters are appealing, and her nursing references are spot on. Very enjoyable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Allen & Unwin.