The cover had nothing to do with the story that I could see.

This is the second story in the Anchors' series. I haven't read the first story as it is M/F and not a genre I read.

This was a 2 to 3 hour read but I have to admit that it felt longer, I think this is because the story got bogged down in unnecessary parts of the story.

I enjoyed parts of the story more than others and I think the author missed an important focus of for story, and one that she had set up at the beginning of the story.

Pros:
Dante - come on, he owns a comic book shop, he needs a 'hobby' so decides to open a drop in place for trans/queer teens, he's respectful and considerate to his partners. What's not to like?
Did I mention the drop in centre for trans/queer teens?
The relationship between Dante and Kit. Very sweet. Respectful.
The relationship between Dante and Con (his brother, who is trans) and the support given between the two.
The 'family' dynamic was perfect.

Cons:
Story got bogged down in too much information when it came to the law suit. I skimmed a lot of the law suit information. It had no bearing on the relationship and added nothing to the story.
The teen centre idea was introduced early on but wasn't given full rein until the end. I would have liked this to be a partial focus of the story rather than the law suit.
Not enough on-page relationship development. This links into my next point...
Time jumps. There were several annoying time jumps where you would expect important relationship developments to take place. In fact after one of the most important events there was then a 4 week time jump, which was disappointing.

Overall I enjoyed this story but it could have benefited from a deeper/stricter edit.

Bad Beginnings is a sweet romance that does a fantastic job of modelling respectful behaviour in a number of different ways.

It's a friends-to-lovers story. Kit is a lawyer who has started a private practice with his best friend. Having recently split up with his boyfriend, he's beginning to realise how claustrophobic his life has become: it's all work and no play. While he's not exactly happy about this and yearns for the steady relationship his best friend has, Kit is not the outgoing sort. The end of his relationship was a blow to his already low confidence. He's uncomfortable in his own skin and he's a bit embarrassed when Dante finds him at the gay nightclub he's been pushed into visiting.

Dante is the brother of Kit's best friend and has all the confidence Kit lacks. He runs his own tabletop gaming store, which automatically made him my favourite. He's also great with people, a caring and considerate guy who tries to help others. When he discovers Kit is single again, he's thrilled--and he makes his interest plain--but he also never pushes Kit. At every turn, he seeks Kit's consent and backs off when it isn't given or is withdrawn.

Consent is not the only way in which the book models respectful behaviour. Kit's BFF, Con, is a trans man. This is not looked upon favourably by Con and Dante's parents, who persistently misgender and deadname Con. However, this is never shown on screen. Whenever it takes place within a scene, the author is careful to paraphrase rather than trigger readers by depicting it directly.

Sex is also not depicted directly, so if you like your romances sweet rather than steamy, Bad Beginnings is a good choice.

The relationship between Kit and Dante is the biggest strength of the book and is let down by a weak crisis point. When Kit loses a work case, it triggers a crisis of confidence. However, it's a sub-plot that never had much strength behind it. It's a little too vague how Kit managed to lose the case and not entirely plausible that he's never lost up until that point--particularly since the business has been running long enough to have two employees other than Kit and Con. Kit displaces his feelings of inadequacy by starting an argument with Dante. While this works, the resolution between them came a little too quickly. Instead of seeing Kit wrestle much with what he's done, we jump back in after he's already got his life pretty well put back together. It felt a little glossed over, with the story all too eager to focus on the next obstacle of Dante's parents. The book could have benefited from a bit more length.

Nevertheless, Bad Beginnings was a charming read. I'm delighted to discover that Con's story is told in the first book, so I will definitely be checking that out.

A friends to lovers story. Dante has had a crush on his brother's best friend for years and Kit has just come out of a relationship. The plot is something I normally like but I found this book hard to get into and had to put it down and come back to it. I also felt like we were missing some back story about Con and Maggie and it wasn't until I finished the book that I realised this was book 2 in a series. The book doesn't really work as a stand alone in some areas and I got a bit lost with some of the dialogue.

¸.•*´¨)¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ ★Bad beginnings had a way of working out.¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ ★

The cover threw me for a loop. When I first saw it, I was sure it had to do with a chef or restaurant, or someone who loved cooking. The other thing was I felt as if there was a story behind Con and Maggie...yeah, found out at the end that they have their own story. That's what you get for not researching first, LOL. I may not run to read about them, not a true MF ( even trans male/F) reader. MM holds my attention and that is what I drift toward. But the fluidity between Dante's brother and his partner was effortless.

Kit Williams felt broken. After being dumped by his boyfriend, the confidence he always held onto was lacking. Now he was finding his way in the deep blue and still felt lacking. It didn't help that Dante was there to catch his fall, or that the younger man was willing to go above and beyond to keep him on even keel.

Cushing on your brother's bestie for over twenty years and acting on it were two different things. But Dante could not help the tear in the seam that allowed him to just BE with Kit. Allowing the older man to come into his own while skirting the dynamics of friends, family and the job should have been easy. But having Dante in his grasp just made it all the better.

With slow burn, easy camaraderie, and some tension, Kit and Dante allowed their friendship to grow and become something neither men could hope for.