ARC Review - Publish Date September 28, 2023
Author: Jackie Fraser
Series: Stand Alone
Category: Contemporary Romance
Spice: 🌶️
"Can you say you 'ran away' when you're my age? I don't know. That's what I did though. I didn't just leave. I ran away, escaped." - Jess
I ended up with mixed feelings about The Beginning of Everything.
On one hand, it was such a sweet story about friendship, helping others, and building yourself back up after life knocks you down. Both Gethin and Jess are at low points in their lives, and watching them navigate a new normal, and finding new purposes in life was heartwarming.
On the other hand, Jess and Gethin were opposites in how they came to be together. One constantly tried to run away from self-introduced poor situations, while the other buried their head in the sand and should have done something a long time ago. I didn't really like either of the characters on their own, but their interactions and dialogue together were cute.
Gethin was so patient with Jess, from their first encounter onward, and he really just wanted her to spread her wings and be happy. He gave her everything she needed to succeed and gave her space to put the pieces together, all while being there for steady companionship. I felt like he was a little too meek at times, happy to go with the flow whether it was in his best interest or not.
"It's the way he pays attention, I think, that makes me like this. I'd forgotten what it was like, when someone pays attention to what you say, learns things about you, and doesn't use those things against you but instead uses them to make your life...more pleasant." - Jess
Jess, despite everything she experienced in life, had a positive can-do attitude. She was so strong, weathering the storm and trying to find out who she was on the other side. Her life was a hectic line of not-so-great choices, and while it was commendable that she is self-reliant, in her mind she was always the victim.
"But everything about me was smashed to pieces, pulverized, turned to dust. There's nothing left, and what you see...is just a really wobbly simulacrum, a faked-up thing, a stitched-together monster." - Jess
I appreciated the author's mention of Jess feeling like an invisible middle-aged woman, part of the background and less noticeable than she was in her youth. This experience many women have as they age is very real and I loved how it was woven into the story as a plot point.
There were a lot of philosophical questions that emerged from this book. The characters spoke many times about looking back on life, the consequences of small actions, and wishing they made different choices in hindsight. Both of them were good at deflecting hard questions, and it took them a long time to break down each other's walls.
"How did I get to this point? Where did the time go? Spent, wasted, frittered away, stolen. It doesn't make any difference; it's gone all the same." - Jess
I think this book will be a hit for some and a miss for others. I'm somewhere on the fence between those two camps for this book review. It was a very slow burn friends-to-lovers story and while the connection between the two main characters was toothachingly sweet, the romance was too one-sided for me to give this more than three stars.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity.
Tropes and Themes: Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Contemporary Romance.
Blurb
After escaping a bad relationship, Jess Cavendish is running and leaving it all behind, carrying just a few treasured belongings in her knapsack. She needs to start over, but that means sleeping where she can and making the most of her slim savings. Luckily, she comes across a recently sold, unoccupied house. It couldn’t hurt to stay there while she saves up enough to get her own place, right?
Gethin Thomas is also looking to move on after the end of a long-term relationship. He’s returned to his hometown, anxious to renovate the fixer-upper he bought and move out of his sister’s cramped guest room. When he walks through the door one morning, he finds Jess, who’s ready to run again, and surprises them both by offering to let her stay. It feels like the right thing to do, but Jess doesn’t want a handout. They strike a bargain: Jess will help with the restoration, furnishing, and decorating in exchange for room and board.
While they peel wallpaper and shop for new furniture, an unexpected friendship develops as they bond over music and food, and slowly open up to each other about their pasts. When it’s time for Gethin to move in, he convinces Jess to be his official housemate and she agrees—so long as he lets her pay rent. The connection between them soon shifts to an attraction that seems both inevitable and overwhelming, and Jess must decide what she wants. With so much hurt in her past, can she risk loving again? She was brave enough to reach for a new life—and now a future she hadn’t even dreamed possible could be just within her grasp.
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