From the Beginning

by Tracy Wolff

Okay, life has been tough recently. Dr. Amanda Jacobs is finally ready to admit that—and do something about it. Stateside again, she's focused on reestablishing her medical career. Sure, it's not the stop-your-heart stress of working in war-torn countries. But right now she needs a little less stress.

And that means she doesn't need the distraction of Simon Hart. The way Amanda sees it, their on-again-off-again relationship can stay off. Even though he's more charming than ever, is there too much between them to get over? Still, a part of her wonders if this is their chance to be together…forever.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family. tracywolffbooks.com

Reviews

[Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good emotional read,liked both Simon-Amanda a lot,Simon was a coward when it came to hard situations in life,he escaped those situations by burying himself in his journalism and shutting rest out which hurts Amanda a lot,when their child needed him yet again he did choose his stories over them which resulted more distance between them but now that Amanda is breaking Simon realizes this is his only chance to get Amanda back or lose her also.He starts his pursuit of winning Amanda both mourn their child but when ever there is slight hope Amanda's mistrust puts them back from Simon started.Inspite of so much of mistrust,heartache and fear of losing each other their love wins and they get their HEA.

Recommend it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

xcellent book. There was so much emotion in this book it was overwhelming at times. When Simon showed up in Africa he was shocked by her condition. She also wanted nothing to do with him. Once he had her back in Atlanta, he had to try to overcome his mistakes of the past and try to convince her to give him another chance. She had a hard time trusting him not to abandon her again, as he did after the death of their daughter. She had to feel as though she was in control of her life, and able to stand on her own, and didn't want to risk depending on him. He wanted to show her she could depend on him to be there for her, but had to keep from making her think he thought she couldn't do it herself. There were several times I wasn't sure they'd ever be able to make it work. By the end, their relationship was stronger than ever.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

The H and h have an on again off again dynamic that works for them. Each of them so busy on holding parts of themselves and protecting their hearts, its easy to see how the relationship fell apart. The H is a pulitzer winning reporter who missed their daughter's death as he was busy denying her cancer prognosis while h is a doctor for 3rd world countries who is in the middle of a nervous breakdown over the loss of her daughter. The history clearly works for them as they don't take cues and move on from each other. Somewhere in between gunshots, random car crashes outside homes, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Somalia there is romance and love.

[Dawn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely do not judge this book by the cover...since the two people of the cover look absolutely nothing like the two main characters in this book. If you are looking to cry, read this book. If you want to examine major stress, read this book. If you are looking for a light read, do not read this book.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this out of order and I'm not sure why but regardless it wasn't nearly as good as the following two stories: Healing Dr. Alexander and About the Baby)
in this unnamed series by Tracy Wolff.

We spent way too much time in Amanda's head.. from the beginning of the story she was irrational and up until 15 pages from the end she was still irrational.. yawn!! There was a glimmer of hope there when she was fixing up her house and I could see things working out but her need to control Simon and his whereabouts was tiring.

I know I should be sympathetic because Amanda lost her baby but the dialogue by Gaby had her pegged in my mind at 26 not 6 or whatever age she was supposed to be. She seemed like an annoying kid. Curses on me for speaking ill of the dead.

Bizarre quick ending, too. It happens a lot in these stories by TW.

Also, Lucas was described as having a family who struggled to put him through Harvard and suddenly by About the Baby he was from one of the richest families in Atlanta. Did I miss something?

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an emotional read about a couple beginning to heal from a tragedy. Simon is called by a mutual friend to fly Amanda out of Somalia where she is slowly wasting away. Once they get back to the States, they both begin to change, grow and redefine their relationship. This was a book I didn't want to end. Not an erotic read but a sexy one!

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroine is burning herself out trying to forget her child's death. Hero is her ex, father of her child. He comes to help her when she's on the brink, and she resents it-they work it out, of course, but the getting there is done very well.