The Beginning of Everything

What a perfectly lovely and uplifting read The Beginning of Everything was. I absolutely loved the story of Tash and how she goes from escaping unhappy relationship and being homeless to finding kindness and love. A real feel good book that was easy to read and left a warm glow in my heart!

This book was a beautiful read. I was able to relate well to fearful Jess with the slow reveals about her past, and the gentleness and kindness of Gethin.
The blurb will tell you what you need to know, but this book is about ‘the feels’. The anxiety, the worry, the kindness, the friendship, the hope, the safety and the love.
I loved this book.
I am already highly recommending it to others.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

A heartwarming story about Jess, who finds herself sleeping in a graveyard and trying to navigate life! I love the detail and the descriptions about Jess, the town and eventually the house.
I like that Jess feels real, with issues and insecurities and I love that I got to see her get her life into order, with a bit of help from the kind Gethin, I like how their friendship grew and with gentle steps love blossomed.

I'm a long-term fan of Jackie Fraser's writing, and The Beginning of Everything doesn't disappoint.

Jess, who is run away from an unhappy domestic situation to try to start again finds shelter in an unoccupied house. The house belongs to the charming, kind Gethin who also has a troubled recent past. An unlikely friendship forms, which could become something more, but trust issues and the shadow of the past prove to be unyielding obstacles.

As ever, Jackie Fraser shows the world brilliantly through her viewpoint character - in this case Jess - allowing us to feel what she feels and understand why she acts as she does. We are moved, we laugh, and we hope as the story progresses, with the house an ever present character in the action. The dialogue is excellent.

A highly satisfying read.

This book is a beautifully written emotional roller-coaster. I enjoyed reading every chapter, finding out the characters' stories piece by piece.

I was so engrossed by this story that I stayed up until 2am to finish it. Fraser has a knack for creating believable characters that draw the reader in straight away - they're a pleasure to spend time with. I often struggle with reading first-person narratives as from a less-skilled hand they can feel forced, but seeing the world from Jess's perspective felt very natural. I loved her determination to get back on her feet, the portrayal of what it is to be knocked down to nothing and have to start again, alone, unsure and vulnerable at an age when most people are settled into their lives. I loved seeing the house come together under her guidance, as well as the slow reveal of what brought her to be living rough in the first place alongside the unfurling of her complicated connection with Gethin.

Fraser writes with a deceptively light touch to convey the fragility and convolution of modern life and relationships in a story that is moving, uplifting and witty. I'm looking forward to many more tales from this author, please!

This is such a warm fuzzy, curl up on the sofa book. If you are looking for something to immerse yourself in on a rainy weekend, this one is for you!
Jess is starting over, running away from something she doesn’t want to think about. Gethin is a lovely, lonely man who has recently bought an old house in a sleepy Welsh town and, one ordinary day, their paths collide. Be prepared to lose yourself in their lives ….

This book takes you on a emotional but powerful journey along with Jess, it brings to life some of the real and raw feelings we get when dealing with the things Jess is in life, Jess is a loveable character from the start!