Ever since I heard that Demi and Brody would be having their story told, I proceeded to jump around like a lunatic and facebook stalk Tamsyn Bester (guilty as charged). It can sometimes be difficult to pull off making a sequel as great as the first book, but Tamsyn Bester nailed it! From the word go ‘Begin Again’ just drew me in and had me so enraptured and invested in the storyline and characters that I would scream at people if they disturbed me during my reading time. My heart pounded as the story went on, and I wanted more than anything for Demi and Brody to get their happily ever after.
The emotion with which Tamsyn Bester wrote Demi and Brody’s story just seeped off the page, I could feel the passion, love and devotion that went into these characters, making them seem very real to me as a reader. She very cleverly switched from past to present, breaking my heart with every little snippet of the past that had lead to Demi and Brody’s present separation.
I loved the psychological aspects that were entwined so neatly throughout this book. Demi’s gradual development in accepting and moving on from the past, really nicely contrasted with Brody’s descent into confusion and devastation as he finds out about what has been kept from him, and how he hadn’t been there for Demi through her ordeal. I loved how Demi and Brody really had to work through their past and the pain that they had put each other through before they could even begin to think about starting over. The slow development of their forgiveness made it so beautiful and heartfelt to read, and made me really see the strength of their feelings for each other that they were desperate enough to save each other from more pain.
What really made this story even more amazing was the great insight we had into Huntley and Grayson’s relationship in the future. Huntley is such a loving and kind-hearted person and I just admire her strength so much. I loved seeing the brilliant mother she was to Hunter, and seeing how well her and Grayson had adapted to parenthood. To see what happened after their happily ever after in ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ was just such a gift, and had me grinning from ear to ear, and desperately wishing for my own happily ever after.
‘Begin Again’ was just a wonderful, heartfelt and beautifully written story. Tamsyn Bester is definitely an author to watch as everything she writes is just so heartfelt, pure and amazing.
5+ stars!
* ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*