Once and Again by Rebecca Serle Review: A Compelling Story of Three Generations and One Life-Changing Gift

Once and Again is the story of three generations of women who grapple with a one-time power to rewrite the past, as love, loss, and life-changing choices collide.

Summary:

The Novak women are each born with a single chance to turn back time, a power that shapes their lives in very different ways. Lauren has long known that her mother, Marcella, used her chance to save Lauren’s father from a fatal accident, but has since lived anxiously, unable to fix anything else, while her grandmother Sylvia embraces life with a freer, more mysterious spirit. Caught between these influences, Lauren has always anticipated the moment her own life might unravel. When her husband’s job brings her back to her Malibu childhood home, she hopes to reconnect with her family, but is unsettled by the return of Stone, her first love who once broke her heart. As old emotions resurface, Lauren reflects on the choices that led her here and begins to question whether one moment in her past might be worth changing.

My Thoughts:

There’s something about a Once and Again story that just lingers—and this one absolutely did. Rebecca Serle has such a gift for exploring the emotional complexities between mothers and daughters, and this novel has firmly made her an auto-read author for me.

Told across three generations of women in the Novak family, the story centres on their extraordinary—and daunting—gift: each woman can turn back time just once. It’s a power that can quite literally rewrite fate, even restoring life where there was loss. Lauren, the youngest, has grown up witnessing this firsthand after her mother, Marcella, used her one chance to save Lauren’s father from a fatal accident. Since then, the weight of that choice—and the fear of what can’t be undone—has shaped all of their lives.

When Lauren returns to Malibu for the summer amid a strained marriage and the emotional toll of infertility, she finds herself surrounded by the past—her family, her childhood home, and unexpectedly, her first love, Stone. As old feelings resurface, so do the big questions: which choices define us, and if given the chance, would we really change them?

I loved how the story unfolds through alternating perspectives between Lauren, her mother, and her grandmother. It adds so much depth to their histories and the ways this singular gift has impacted each of them differently. That said, I did find it a bit tricky at times—especially in audio format—to immediately place which POV I was in at the start of a chapter.

The Narration:

Speaking of audio, Julia Whelan delivers a beautiful narration. Her tone and cadence feel so natural, and she does an incredible job giving each woman a distinct, age-appropriate voice. She remains one of my favourite narrators for a reason.

Final Thoughts:

Thought-provoking, emotional, and quietly powerful, this is a story about love, regret, and the weight of “what if.” A perfect pick if you enjoy character-driven stories with a touch of magic.