Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Any Given Lifetime 
AUTHOR: Leta Blake
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 215 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2018
BLURB:
He’ll love him in any lifetime.
Neil isn’t a ghost, but he feels like one. Reincarnated with all his memories from his prior life, he spent twenty years trapped in a child’s body, wanting nothing more than to grow up and reclaim the love of his life.
As an adult, Neil finds there’s more than lost time separating them. Joshua has built a beautiful life since Neil’s death, and how exactly is Neil supposed to introduce himself? As Joshua’s long-dead lover in a new body? Heartbroken and hopeless, Neil takes refuge in his work, developing microscopic robots called nanites that can produce medical miracles.
When Joshua meets a young scientist working on a medical project, his soul senses something his rational mind can’t believe. Has Neil truly come back to him after twenty years? And if the impossible is real, can they be together at long last?
Any Given Lifetime is a stand-alone, slow burn, second chance gay romance by Leta Blake featuring reincarnation and true love. This story includes some angst, some steam, an age gap, and, of course, a happy ending.
REVIEW:
Let’s just say this from the off – I loved this story. If you are the kind of person who wants a lump in their throat from the first chapter – this is a book you’ll want in your library.
This is a story of reincarnation.
Baby Neil is born with dead Neil’s memories and from an early age, acts more like an adult. Baby Neil’s mother is devoted to him while everyone around calls him weird. Even as a child young Neil knows where his heart lies. In both lives, Neil is direct, work-obsessed, heartless and absolutely wonderful at the same time. In this second one though he’d been an older man trapped in the body of a child. He’d also had a mother and best friend who taught him to be a better man than he seemed to be.
Joshua is left everything by dead Neil, including a family fortune dedicated to nanite research. For many years Joshua is faithful to his Neil’s memory, but he grieves and eventually moves on with every aspect of his life. He is a lovely man and one who deserves to be loved. Needing to know that Joshua is at least happy, it is heart-wrenching while young Neil reads about Joshua moving on with his life.
The story starts in 2012 and continues past 2018 into the future. It is told in three parts, with years and locations clearly labelled in each and a few time warp memory slots. Part One consists of Neil’s death/rebirth and Joshua moving on. Part Two includes Neil’s teen years and their converging destinies. Part Three contains the rest of the story, and events I’m not going to let you have spoilers on.
Neil is a genius and greatly reminds me of a combination of Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds and Rodney McKay from Stargate Atlantis. In Neil’s first lifetime homosexuality was a big deal, and something few admitted to. In his new lifetime, people were more liberal and accepting. The new Neil believes he will never have the chance to be with Joshua and has a sex drive that needs satisfying. Maybe there’s something in the water of the future, but Neil’s recovery time was a stretch of the imagination. Coupled with everything else though, I found myself not caring.
I liked the extended cast; they brought love, humour and reality checks. Despite being 70k, before long I was reading the final chapters. I just had to know what happened with these guys.
I found Any Given Lifetime a story that was simple in concept although hard to convey, but beautifully executed. I smiled, had lumps in my throat, and I shed a few tears along the way. A delight.
RATING: 
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