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Verdict: A short, sweet and sexy workplace romance between a bisexual Jewish widow in her early fifties and the Black police lieutenant she goes to work for — warm and refreshingly diverse, but predictable, told only from one side, and careless about the boss-employee problem at its heart.
Best for: Readers who want heroines in their fifties, a bisexual late bloomer, an interracial and interfaith couple, and a quick, low-angst read.
Heat level: Not rated (romance.io has no steam rating; readers describe it as sexy)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.6/5 — a 3.79 Goodreads average across 90 ratings)
Tropes: Boss and employee, workplace romance, widow, bisexual late bloomer, second chance at love, first-person POV, police setting, HEA.
Twice in a Lifetime is Jodie Griffin’s 2018 contemporary lesbian romance from Riptide Publishing. Talia Wasserman, a widow with grown daughters, applies for a civilian job with her local police department and discovers she will be working for Lieutenant Eve Poe — an officer she met, and was attracted to, at a citizen’s police academy workshop fifteen years earlier. The spark is still there, and nobody else is in Talia’s life. The one problem is that Eve is now her boss.
It holds a 3.79 average across 90 Goodreads ratings, with 63% of them four or five stars, and 3.8 across 16 StoryGraph reviews. It is a small, older book, and most of its readers found it through NetGalley or reviewers who specialise in mature romance.
What Is Twice in a Lifetime About?
This is a gentle workplace romance with a small suspense subplot. Talia becomes Eve’s civilian assistant in police community relations and quickly makes herself invaluable. Eve feels the connection from the start but knows dating a subordinate is a bad idea, especially while someone is sending disturbing emails to her office. The two become friends, then more, and have to decide what to do about work.
Both women have lost someone before, which is where the title comes in. When Eve is badly injured in the line of duty, Talia faces the thing she fears most: losing the person she loves for a second time. The book is told entirely in the first person from Talia’s point of view.
What Makes This Mature Sapphic Romance Work
- Heroines in their fifties: The most praised element. Readers welcome two women with grown children, full lives and long histories, and several say it shows there is hope for love after fifty.
- A bisexual heroine: Talia has always known she is bisexual but has never acted on it. Readers praise the book for naming it and for how little anyone else cares — including Eve, whose hesitation is about Talia’s inexperience rather than her identity.
- Diversity that feels natural: Eve is a Black Christian lieutenant and Talia is a white Jewish widow. Reviewers say the representation is treated as normal rather than as a point being made.
- Family: Talia’s close relationship with her daughters, and the way both families embrace the relationship, is a highlight for many readers.
- Low angst: Apart from Eve’s injury, readers describe it as pleasant, quick and without much angst.
Book Synopsis
When widow Talia Wasserman applies for a job with the local police department, she is shocked to learn she will be working for Lieutenant Eve Poe, an officer she met — and was attracted to — during a citizen’s police academy workshop long ago. Fifteen years later, the spark is still there, and there is no one in Talia’s life or her bed. But there is one tiny problem: Eve is her boss, and completely off-limits.
Eve feels a sizzling connection with Talia from the start, but Talia works for her, and that is a bad idea. Besides, Eve needs to focus on whoever is sending disturbing emails to her office, not on the woman who quickly makes herself invaluable to the department. It is a shame her heart does not agree.
Then Eve is badly injured in the line of duty, and Talia’s worst fears come true. She may lose her chance at happiness with the woman she has come to love — and she cannot survive that kind of loss twice in a lifetime.
My Review
The heart of this book is its premise: two women in their fifties, both widowed, both with grown children, deciding whether to risk love again. That is still rare in sapphic romance, and Griffin treats it with warmth. Talia is a likeable narrator — rusty at flirting, sure of her bisexuality but nervous about being new to women — and her relationships with her daughters and with Eve’s son give the book a lot of its sweetness. Readers who wanted to see older women written as loving, lovable and sexual found exactly that.
The criticisms are specific and fairly consistent. First, the point of view: because everything comes through Talia, Eve’s reactions sometimes make little sense, and readers repeatedly wished they could see her side. Talia also tells us about her attraction more than the book shows it, which left some reviewers less convinced by the chemistry than they wanted to be. Second, the suspense: the most exciting events happen off the page and are recounted afterwards, and one question — why Eve was not wearing her vest when she was hurt — is raised and never answered. Third, the sweetness occasionally tips over; one reviewer found moments with the children almost sickly, and another felt the leads sometimes behaved more like giggly twenty-somethings than pillars of their community.
The most serious objection is about the workplace. Talia works directly for Eve, and one reviewer — describing herself as the target audience, a bisexual woman in her forties — was shocked by how casually the two conduct a secret relationship while knowing their reporting line could be changed. Another felt the power imbalance was not acknowledged enough. If boss-employee romances make you uneasy, this one will not win you over.
My honest note: If you want a quick, sweet, representation-rich romance with women in their fifties, this is a pleasant evening. If you need dual POV, real suspense or a careful handling of workplace ethics, it will frustrate you.
| Element | In Twice in a Lifetime |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Talia Wasserman & Lt. Eve Poe — bisexual widow and the police lieutenant she assists, boss and employee |
| Core tropes | Workplace romance, boss and employee, widow, bisexual late bloomer, second chance at love |
| Setting | A local police department’s community relations office |
| Heat level | Not rated — romance.io has no steam rating |
| Series | Standalone — HEA |
| Content notes | Past loss of a spouse, threatening emails, gunfire and a serious on-duty injury, sexual content |
How Spicy Is Twice in a Lifetime?
We have not scored the heat, because romance.io has no steam rating for Twice in a Lifetime — only three readers have rated it there. Readers describe it as sexy and emotional, mention several sexy scenes, and one joked that there was a remarkable amount of sex for women their age. That points to on-page scenes, but I could not confirm how explicit they are.
The content worth knowing in advance is the loss both women carry, the threatening emails sent to Eve’s office, and the gunfire and serious injury Eve suffers on duty.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want heroines in their fifties, a bisexual late bloomer, an interracial and interfaith couple, and a short, sweet romance with an HEA. It is on our late bloomer and mature lesbian romance lists.
You may want to skip it if: boss-employee romances bother you, you want to hear from both heroines, or you are hoping for a real police suspense plot.
In short: A warm, diverse, lightweight romance about finding love again after fifty.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a small book from 2018 with a modest readership, much of it from advance copies, and a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 27% five stars, 36% four, 24% three and 10% two or one. It was not in Kindle Unlimited when I checked, and I found no audiobook on Libro.fm.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The heroines’ age first. Second, the bisexual representation and the fact that it is not a source of drama. Third, the natural diversity of the cast. Fourth, the warm family relationships.
What readers argue about and complain about: The single first-person POV, above everything. Second, the handling of the workplace relationship. Third, off-page action and unanswered questions in the suspense subplot. Fourth, predictability and a rushed ending.
The standalone question worth asking first: Twice in a Lifetime is a complete standalone with an HEA. If you want more romance with women in their fifties, Honey in the Marrow and Gold Star Chance are good next steps from our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old are Talia and Eve in Twice in a Lifetime?
Both are in their early fifties. Talia is a widow with two grown daughters; Eve, a police lieutenant, has a grown son.
Is Talia bisexual in Twice in a Lifetime?
Yes. Talia has known she is bisexual for a long time but has never been with a woman before. Reviewers praise the book for using the word and for a bisexual heroine whose sexuality nobody makes a fuss about.
How spicy is Twice in a Lifetime?
romance.io has no steam rating for it, so we have not scored it. Readers describe it as sexy, with several on-page scenes — one joked that there was a surprising amount of sex for women their age — but I could not confirm the exact heat level.
Does Twice in a Lifetime have a happy ending?
Yes. Talia and Eve end up together despite Eve being badly injured on duty. A few readers felt the ending was rushed or a little disjointed.
Is there an audiobook of Twice in a Lifetime?
I could not find one. Libro.fm has no listing. It is available as a Kindle ebook and a paperback from Riptide Publishing.
If You Loved Twice in a Lifetime, Read These Next
For another widow finding love in her fifties with an LAPD captain, try Honey in the Marrow. Gold Star Chance pairs a fifty-something sheriff with her first love, and Mending Bones is another romance between two police colleagues past forty. For more, browse our late bloomer lesbian romance list, the women over 40 list, the mature lesbian romance hub, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Twice in a Lifetime sets out to give two women in their fifties a second chance at love, and it succeeds in warmth and representation: the heroines are grown-ups, Talia’s bisexuality is treated with welcome normality, and the families are lovely. What holds it back is a one-sided point of view, off-page suspense and a casual attitude to the boss-employee dynamic. For readers who want a quick, sweet romance with mature, diverse heroines, it is worth it. Check Twice in a Lifetime on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Twice in a Lifetime ranks as a pleasant, fair-to-good mature romance — warm and inclusive in its heroines, held back by a single POV, a thin suspense plot and an uneasy workplace setup.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ 3.79 average across 90 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 63% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ Small, older evidence base
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Friendship before romance
- ✓ Second chance at love after loss
- ✓ Chemistry told more than shown
- ✓ Workplace ethics glossed over
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Heroines in their early fifties
- ✓ Bisexual late bloomer
- ✓ Interracial, interfaith couple
- ✓ Occasionally act younger than their age
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Quick, easy read
- ✓ First-person POV from Talia only
- ✓ Action happens off the page
- ✓ Predictable
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Fear of losing love twice
- ✓ Warm family relationships
- ✓ Occasionally too sweet
- ✓ Low angst overall
Heat Level — not rated
- ✓ No romance.io steam rating
- ✓ Readers call it sexy
- ✓ Several on-page scenes
- ✓ Explicitness not confirmed
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ HEA for Talia and Eve
- ✓ Standalone with nothing left open
- ✓ Felt rushed to some
- ✓ One question left unanswered
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Short and pleasant
- ✓ Comfort read for mature-romance fans
- ✓ Little depth for a second pass
- ✓ No audiobook edition
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