This was a nice story of finding yourself again and learning to be in a healthy environment, love the story and the plot , very nicely written. Definitely will recommend

This was a sad story of overcoming obstacles to be happy in love again. It's about fighting fir what you believe because your in love. This book was approved by netgalley and the publisher for me to read and review

I loved the setting, the idea, and that it focused on characters in their 40’s. Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me and I had a hard time really connecting with the characters. It was a quick, easy read but a bit forgettable

This book made me feel melancholy in the best way. Jess has had a tough go of it in life so far, and while that is significant to her story, when we open, she is finally perhaps going to get what she needs. I loved the quaint backdrop in Wales, although I personally don’t know enough about Welsh geography to understand how far she went from her previous home. I do wish that Jess had made more contact with her sister, more than just the promise of a future visit. My most favorite part though was Jess and Gethin’s age. These are two people who have lived and loved and are finally at a place where they can understand themselves in context. If these characters had been 20, their connection would have felt misplaced.

2.5⭐️s
was a difficult read to be honest. The main characters are in their mid forties, which i was unprepared for, but other than comments where the main characters call themselves old, you would not know it. The dialogue was hard to follow for me, and i just couldn’t get behind him letting her stay in his house?? I loved the setting, and was amused by the amount of detail that went into describing the furniture they picked out.
Thank you netgalley, Jackie Fraser, and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review .
this review will be posted on goodreads and storygraph on 05/05/2023.

This is a very cozy and touching story. Jess is in her mid-40s and is unhoused after leaving a bad relationship. Soon, she discovers an empty house and stays there while she hopes to earn enough money from her job at a restaurant to start over again. Gethin is in his late-40s and has broken up with his long-term girlfriend. When Gethin sees Jess living in the house he recently purchased he wants to help. He suggest she stays there and helps renovate and decorate (which she enjoys and is good at). Jess accepts and soon they embark on a tender friendship.

I enjoyed reading about characters in their 40s, Jess and Gethin are both kind, totally different, and yet so great together. 3.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Honestly, this was just an okay book. Important topics were discussed here and it had its sweet moments but ultimately, it was very forgettable and I wouldn't pick it up again.

#TheBeginningofEverything is another enchanting read by Jackie Fraser. Told from the first-person POV of the FMC, Jess Cavendish, this is a lovely story of starting over, learning to believe in yourself and to trust others.

At age 45, Jess has run away from an abusive relationship and found temporary shelter in an uninhabited house in a Welsh village several hundred miles from her previous home. After a few weeks, Jess is getting ready to leave for her job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant when the new owner, Gethin Thomas, shows up. Jess runs away and when she returns after her shift to see if she can salvage some of her few belongings, she finds her things in a neat pile, with a note telling her that she is welcome to sleep in the house that night, and that Gethin would like to talk to her when he returns the next morning.

Gethin is sympathetic to Jess’ situation because he had an older brother with substance abuse and mental health issues who had been homeless. He has also just ended a long-term relationship with his TV personality girlfriend and has moved back to his hometown after a long absence.

His generous invitation to Jess leads to them becoming housemates, friends and eventually lovers. In addition to paying rent, Jess helps Gethin to refurbish his house, stripping wallpaper, painting and helping select furnishings. Gethin is an incredibly kind person who is ultimately able to surmount the many barriers that Jess has understandably built up to protect herself.

Although the books deals with a number of serious issues, there is also a lot of humor in it. The pages just fly by as the reader gradually sees Jess and Gethin grows closer and more involved in each other’s lives. Like Fraser’s previous book (#TheBookshopOfSecondChances), this one is also a well told, charming story of resilience and renewal.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseBooks for the ARC!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️

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.

Jess, despite everything she experienced in life, had a positive can-do attitude. She was 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.

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 breakdown each other's walls.

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. 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.