Starting Over by Michele Shriver : Review by Juls.

Starting Over by Michele Shriver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


** I Love Story Time was Gifted an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review ***

 4 Stars!


When I first started reading this story I was a little hesitant due to the age of the characters. I must say that all the books I have read usually range from high school to young adult. This was the first story that I've read where the male character is 47 and the female character is 54! It took some getting used to, especially the love scenes. However, I really found myself enjoying the story and the characters. This was a great story about Ben and Liz meeting on a blind date that led to a relationship they didn't plan on having.

Ben has a 16 year old son named Landon, and is getting over the loss of his late wife. He thought he was going to be with her forever but it didn't turn out that way. The last year had been the hardest to get through, so when he is asked to go on a blind date he wasn't too excited about it.

Liz hasn't been married for 17 years, but for some reason her ex-husband Brandt has always had a hold on her. So, in hopes of making him jealous, she agrees to bring a blind date to her daughters wedding. When the night started she knew it was all for show, but she couldn't help the feeling she got when she first meets Ben.

Ben and Liz hit it off from the beginning. The chemistry they feel for one another has Liz constantly reminding herself that it's a fake date. Ben feels the same connection with Liz and can't keep his distance from her and notices she's the first person to make him smile and laugh in the last year.

After the "fake date" they agree to meet for a "real date" and make arrangements to have dinner. After their first real date, things start to come together for Ben and Liz. They start having a relationship and hope for more.

Ben and Liz's relationship was really sweet. It wasn't easy in the beginning. Landon is still struggling with his mom being gone, and doesn't want anyone to replace her, which is totally understandable. So, when he first meets Liz he isn't very nice. As time goes on, he realizes that Liz is a good person and really makes his dad happy. But Landon isn't the only one that gets in the way of Ben and Liz's relationship. Now that Brandt sees Liz with another man, he realizes he wants her back. He does what he can in hopes to get between them.

If your looking for a great story about Starting Over you will definitely want to read this! It was really good. I loved the relationship that Ben had for his son Landon. Some of the heart to heart conversations brought tears to my eyes. This really is a heart warming sweet story that I would recommend to anyone that is looking for a great love story, that doesn't want to deal with the younger crowd drama. Don't get me wrong, this did have a little drama, but it was very tasteful.

I am really looking forward to reading Love & Light . I did enjoy Landon's character and while reading this I was thinking to myself... I hope he has a book! So when I got to the end and it said that he did in fact have a book coming out, I got excited! I will definitely be reading that!

~Juls

View all my reviews