Review on From the Start

From the Start by Melissa Tagg was an enjoyable read. :)

Be forewarned. There are some spoilers ahead.

Kate Walker is a born romantic turned romantic screenplay writer. There's just one problem: her own broken heart has left her closed off, and frankly, a little sick of it all. Desperate to write something real and important, Kate is looking to hit the restart button on her life and her career.

Colton Greene has been recently and permanently sidelined by an injury from the NFL. Due to his own troubled past, Colton is closed off and guarded. Football was his outlet, and now that's gone. Colton is having a hard time trying to figure out what comes next. Sure, he's got a book deal, but that doesn't bring back what he's lost.

A tornado brings Kate and Colton to Maple Valley, Iowa. Reluctantly at first, Colton agrees to stick around and help the town recover from the devastation of the tornado. There he meets Kate in a meet-cute that is guaranteed to have you grinning from ear to ear. Turns out, Colton needs a writer, and Kate needs money to finally fulfill her lifelong dream, and follow in her mother's footsteps. The answer to two un-prayed prayers.

From the Start is filled with enjoyable scenes, romantic tension, and fun characters. There isn't a Gilmore Girls fan in the house that wouldn't find the buy-a-basket-get-a-date scene awesome. There were a number of zippy one-liners that had me laughing and thinking, "Now when can I realistically say that in a conversation?" For my personal taste as a reader, the backstory and character thought process were a little on the heavy side. Tagg does a great job with dialogue, but sometimes it was too broken up with the character's long thoughts. I loved the idea of a writer in a career slump! The ending was happy, and it was great to see Kate's renewed heart for romantic writing, and Colton going after a backup plan that could only be crafted by God.

Bottom line: this is a good read. I'm looking forward to the following books in the Walker Family Series.

I was given a copy of From the Start by Melissa Tagg from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

V. Joy Palmer