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A new beginning might just change everything.

Madeleine Whitaker doesn’t have room for love—trying to stay afloat in downtown Chicago, working and splitting the bills with a roommate while studying for her Master’s, the cool, barely-there relationship with her boyfriend seems pretty ideal.
Until runaway corporate heiress Sapphire Stanton taps her shoulder in the park and asks for a place to hide.

The millionth argument with her parents over her sexuality finally drove Sapphire out the door. It doesn’t take long for her to realize her sheltered upbringing leaves her helpless in the world, but when Madeleine and her friends take her in, maybe Sapphire has a chance after all.

And with the situation as delicate and fragile as it is, they could never risk it by falling in love.

New Beginnings is a romance of starting over and first love set in downtown Chicago, and the first of the Printer’s Row romance trilogy following a group of friends living in the titular neighborhood. Features a whole bunch of found family, self-discovery, a really gay friend group, Britt causing problems, Haley also causing problems, and a creepy butler who, you guessed it, causes problems. Content warnings for open-door sex scenes, homophobic and controlling family, financial stress and housing insecurity, and people causing problems.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2025

70 people are currently reading
44 people want to read

About the author

Lily Seabrooke

37 books335 followers
Lily Seabrooke is a lesbian, trans woman, and author of sapphic romance that stars food, because odds are, at any given time, she's hungry.

Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.

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5 stars
91 (59%)
4 stars
50 (32%)
3 stars
6 (3%)
2 stars
7 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Kexx.
2,329 reviews100 followers
April 26, 2025
A good premise, well written but a bit too ‘Janet & John’ for me. Also large number of characters which confused me: who is with whom, who was with whom, who no longer with whom…. I’m sure if I read all 3 I’d get it. Sorry.
Profile Image for Siddie.
545 reviews10 followers
March 15, 2025
Madeleine is out in the park, sketching for her coursework in architecture when suddenly she gets tapped on the shoulder by a beautiful woman, asking her to help hide her. Sapphire has escaped from the clutches of the family butler, run from her parents and siblings after coming out, and they try to control her. She is now asking the attractive stranger in the park to help her.
This is a sweet story. Madeline and Sapphire are quiet, gentle people; Madeline because she is a people pleaser, always giving and never wanting to take, Sapphire because having been raised in a closeted environment she doesn’t know any different, and she doesn’t seem to have inherited her mother’s coldness and aloof attitude. I like that even though Sapphire is a rich youngest daughter, she is still down to earth and enthusiastic, willing to learn. Neither of these women have reached their full potential yet, but Sapphire especially seems a very strong person.
Profile Image for Tess.
175 reviews19 followers
January 30, 2025
A woman running away from her rich, homophobic parents who have kept her isolated in a gilded cage (metaphorically) is saved by a woman who is a perfect partner for her. But they have a lot of barriers to being together—the situation they are in, and stuff they each have to work through. Can they have a happily ever after?

Lily Seabrooke always creates wonderfully rounded characters and a really sweet, caring and loving dynamic between the MCs, and this is no different. I love healthy relationships and communication!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Amber Justice.
42 reviews3 followers
February 1, 2025
I absolutely loved this story from start to finish. A sweet tale of two souls, Sapphire and Madeleine, finding one another under unusual circumstances and they just *click*. Though it takes a bit to realize they are indeed more than just friends, the entire journey is entertaining. There are ups and downs of course, but I mostly found myself laughing at the banter between the two, not to mention Madeleine’s dramatic roommate, Britt. If you enjoy a story with fairly low angst and a lot of humor, not to mention a few spicy scenes, then pick up a copy of New Beginnings.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Courtney.
3,092 reviews7 followers
January 27, 2025
New Beginnings is the first of Lily Seabrooke’s latest series, Printer’s Row, and it has all the hallmarks of some of Seabrooke’s previous work, being cozy and a bit of a slow-burn.
I really liked both leads, especially the emphasis on self-discovery in both their personal arcs. Madeleine is in a bit of a dead-end relationship, and likes it that way at first, as she’s rather cynical about love, but it turns out she hadn’t found “her person” yet. Sapphire, meanwhile./ goes on quite the journey, being a rich girl who left her parents’ house and privileged life because her parents refused to accept her sexuality, and I loved the journey of her forming new bonds as she tried to find her feet when she’s on her own for the first time in her life.
I love the bond between the two and how they really support each other at a time when each really needs it. They end up bringing out the best in each other and I rooted for them to work things out and get together.
With this being first in a series, the story also introduces some other fun supporting characters in the friendship group, like Britt and Haley, who will likely be the focus of future stories. I also enjoyed how the characters all really supported one another, and it was like a found-family unit, especially with some of the biological parents that are alluded to (Sapphire’s in particular) not being the greatest.
While I did sometimes feel the slower pacing was a detriment to the story, Sebrooke doesn’t often write particularly fast-paced, overdramatic narratives anyway. So while this was a slight mark against my enjoyment, this is purely subjective and reflective of my feelings at the time of reading.
This was a solid read, and a great first entry to this series. I’d recommend it to readers looking for a sweet, affirming sapphic read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
11 reviews
January 18, 2025
Would you leave everything behind to be your truest self?

Madeleine believes that love like you see in the movies doesn't exist and she actually likes space in a relationship until a run in with a mysterious girl starts her questioning everything she knows.

Sapphire's parents cannot accept that they have a gay daughter. So she runs away with the clothes on her back and some money she's been hiding from them. Luckily the first person she asks for help is Madeleine, and that sets them off on an adventure that draws them closer and closer together.

I devoured this book. Lily Seabrooke has a way of weaving a story that has me sitting up at 3am wondering where the time went. I loved the characters. Naive characters can sometimes be annoying but Sapphire's was tinged with such optimism it was genuinely quite fun. Madeleine somehow made me care about architecture in Chicago, which considering I know nothing about architecture or Chicago is quite a feat.

The extended cast is excellent, as I have come to expect from Seabrooke. I cannot wait for the next book so we can learn more about some of them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one of the main characters in the next one is the mess of a person that is Britt.

Also, the spice is great. Absolutely loved the spice.

If you like a sapphic story about a living ray of sunshine falling for a cynical knight in shining beret or if you're just looking for a well written romance, I urge you give this book a read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Scott Cutlip.
33 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2025
The last ARC copy of Lily Seabrooke I read was A Break in Communications, which I found such a disappointment that I didn’t even read its sequel. I’m glad to say that book (and possibly its sequel) seem to be one of the infrequencies in Seabrooke’s work. New Beginnings, the first in the Printer’s Row Romances Series, is a delight, and the next two books, with characters I think I will know, look to be good, too.

Sapphire, a rich girl, hasn’t been allowed to really be part of the world because of her parents. Their disdain for her sexuality sends her out in the worl, where she meets Madelaine, who helps her hide from the butler seeking her and helps Sapphire become integrated into the world. Almost every character in here is a delight and not an annoying trope like you think they might be (the interfering best friend, the ruthless pursuer). Sapphire’s mother is pretty stereotypical (and her father is just a background figure), but she also doesn’t play a big part. The romance between Sapphire and Madeleine is believable and endearing and is one of the cutest opposites-attract you’ll find.

I rated this 4.5 stars and will bump it up to 5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
43 reviews2 followers
February 8, 2025
Madeleine Whitaker is pursuing her Master's in Architecture and working part time in a cafe to pay the bills. So the fact that her boyfriend is too busy to do anything really, is just fine. She wants her space anyway.

To say that Sapphire Stanton has led a sheltered life would be an epic understatement. Home schooled and isolated until she gets a peek at what life could be in college, she is desperate to escape her controlling and homophobic family.

While on the run from her family's butler, she randomly picks Madeleine to ask for help. Sapphire's total innocence and complete lack of real world skills pulls Madeleine in and touches on something she didn't even realize she wanted or needed.

Madeleine is a little snarky and a lot sarcastic, but pales in comparison to her roommate Britt. Sapphire is sweet and naive but also strong and brave in her own way. Her strength grows as she discovers how the other half lives.

New Beginnings is a slow burn, sapphic romance about spreading your wings and making your way in the world. And sometimes true family is the one you find along the way.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
7 reviews2 followers
January 28, 2025
New Beginnings is a rom-com that dissects the relationship between Madeleine, an out lesbian, and Sapphire, who knows she's a lesbian, but her parents won't accept her. Sapphire runs away from her sheltered life and wealthy parents to forge her own path. She meets Madeleine when she asks her to help her hide from her parent's butler, who is trying to find her.

A plethora of characters in this book become Sapphire's friends and help her learn the ins and outs of life. She's never had sex before, but the first time she does with Madeleine, she instinctively knows what to do!

New Beginnings is a sweet romance that calls Sapphire's parents out for not letting her be who she is, not letting her find her own way, and trying to shelter her from the real world. The characters are fun, and the electricity between Sapphire and Madeleine is palpable. If you're in need of a little romance in your life, I suggest reading this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
205 reviews2 followers
April 28, 2025
Love story, friendships well done

Lily Seabrooke successfully has crafted another romance featuring engaging characters and rewarding relationships both between the two MCs — Madeleine and Sapphire — and Madeleine’s circle of friends.

The friends are one of the tightest groups ever assembled for a sapphic novel and make a huge contribution to the book’s overall entertainment and emotional value.

Sapphire enters the plot by asking Madeleine to help her escape from her pursuing butler/surrogate parent Andrew.

Andrew’s been dispatched by her rich, possessive parents to bring the runaway back home. After Madeleine takes Sapphire under her wing, Madeleine’s roommate Britt, co-worker Haley, and others quickly swoop in to assimilate Sapphire into their flock.

While Sapphire’s extensive naïveté and lack of awareness about the real world tested my ability to buy into the story 100 percent, nonetheless, I enjoyed the book. I also would eagerly pick up a sequel starring Britt and Haley if Seabrooke wrote one.
397 reviews3 followers
January 29, 2025
Madeline a self styled love cynic is going about her life when she meets a mysterious woman who is trying to hide from a butler. Her parent’s butler. Her very rich (but awful) parent’s butler.
Madeline decides to help her and gradually starts to share her life and her friends with Sapphire who left her comfortable rich life because her parent’s wouldn’t accept her being queer.
Even though she’s a heiress, Sapphire is not a spoilt one, nor is she worldly wise about love and intimacy.
Madeline is worldly wise but just doesn’t believe in all that malarkey.
There’s lots of wit and humour as always. It’s a slow, slowwww burn romance, with a supporting cast of wonderfully zany characters, a couple of who are shouting to have their story heard next. People cause problems. Bring on the next book! Soon! Please.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Profile Image for May.
26 reviews3 followers
February 1, 2025
New Beginnings was a lot of fun. Seabrooke is always fantastic at writing extremely fun characters, whose chemistry is absolutely addictive. Madeleine and Sapphire compliment each other incredibly well, and watching both of them struggle with their own securities as they try to live up to the other is such a delight. Both of them grow quite dramatically over the course of the book, and their developments are easily my favorite part.

This was an incredibly sweet story, accented with a fairly strong supporting cast. Seabrooke does an excellent job realizing Chicago, a setting that stands out from much of her other work. My only major complaint is that some of the pacing felt a little bit off, with certain developments, although satisfying, coming off as a bit abrupt. It’s mostly a minor issue, as the overall writing is such a blast throughout.

I received an advance copy in exchange for a review, but all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.
1,266 reviews
January 24, 2025
Uniquely Seabrooke all the way!

What a unique cast of characters in New Beginnings. I loved the main characters of Sapphire, a warm but naive friendless young woman running away from her parents to pursue a life of her own to live her true authentic self and Madeline, the woman who sheltered het, encouraged her, gave her confidence and shared her friends with her. Their romance was genuine, cute and sexy.

Friends Britt, Haley and "creepy butler" Andrew added so much loyalty, yet zany, crazy behavior and dialogue. They are just full of fodder for additional books in Lily's Printer's Row trilogy.

Although the dialogue is a little outrageous at times, the centerpiece of the story is authenticity, love without barriers and a family found from acceptance. This book is truly a Seabrooke Special!
Profile Image for Heather.
733 reviews11 followers
January 25, 2025
The Beginning of Something New…

Wonderful story! Just the right amount of angst, drama and spice along with a sweet and satisfying sapphic romance. We are introduced to an interesting cast of characters that are ride or die and I look forward to getting to know them more in the next stories. I loved the depth of Madeleine that came out more and more. She was so kind and I loved how she grew into herself, although she was amazing from the start really! Sapphire was innocent and brave and positive. She could have been annoyingly perky and clueless but she was thoughtful and strong and sweet and awkward in the best ways. Together they were unstoppable! I loved them. I loved how their relationship developed. I loved how they communicated. Highly recommend!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Lenny.
12 reviews
January 22, 2025
I just love Lily's writing style, and you know you'll be taken on a fun and thrilling ride. This group of characters are so great and you can't help but love them. You become invested in their story and this one didn't disappoint.
Sapphire and Madeleine's characters are well written and you are just routing for them throughout. I personally loved Britt and she made me laugh so much, I hope she gets her own story in this new set of books.
All in all, a great feel-good, laugh out loud, book. Lots of twists and turns and at one point I was shouting, 'Nooo!' (albeit in my head!)
Thank you Lily for bringing us a great group of new characters. Can't wait for the next one! 😉.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for zb.
95 reviews
January 23, 2025
This might just be Lily Seabrooke’s best work yet. An excellent sapphic romance centred on a sheltered and charming runaway corporate heiress, Sapphire, and her burnt-out, romantically-beaten-down, cynical student saviour, Madeleine. They have incredible chemistry, and the found-family that comes Sapphire’s way is heartwarming.

Overall, this was a wonderful book: with believable, well-rounded characters and fantastic romance: I can’t wait to read the next books in the Printer's Row series when they come out — going by their mentions in the blurb, I can only assume these will be books for Britt & Haley, respectively, exciting!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
55 reviews1 follower
March 16, 2025
One of the best ever!

You’ll smile and cry and love the ending. Our two protagonist, Madeline and Sapphire, are both adorable and supportable women. I reread numerous times before writing this review. There friends all add to the story.
The problem with the story is one that,sadly, exists in too many city stories. “Friends “ was set in New York and went for years with only white people. This story is set in Chicago and the only non white character is mentioned in passing as Sapphire’s coworker. The first nongroup friend she ever made deserves better treatment.
Women in major cities interact with all types of women and one of the joys of cities is their homogeneous nature. Books should reflect this more especially in this day in this country.
92 reviews
January 31, 2025
Madeline and Sapphires story was very cute. Sapphire is the perfect amount of air headedness and intelligence. Seeing her interact with “normal people” outside her normal rich circle was funny at first. I like how dramatic the character meet was. It did lead me to believe this would end up with some type of mob story line but it definitely does not. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone interested in the genre and anyone who is a fan Lily Seabrooke!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
5 reviews
June 27, 2025
I really enjoyed this book — the idea behind the story was so interesting and felt fresh. The plot had a great balance of emotion, tension, and heart, and it kept me hooked the whole way through.

The characters were well-developed and easy to connect with. I especially loved how real and layered they felt. As always, Lily has a gift for writing people you genuinely care about.

She knows exactly how to make a story captivating, and this one was no exception. If you’re a fan of thoughtful, character-driven romance with a unique twist, this is definitely one to pick up.
4 reviews
August 23, 2025
From an unusual meeting between Madeleine and Sapphire to wanting to protect both of them at all costs. It's a story about the power of found family and ride or die friends. One of the few books I have read that can bring me from all smiles to pissed off all in one page. Character development was wonderful and deep, even the side characters that I hope have their own stories coming as the series continues.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
124 reviews
January 28, 2025
My absolute favorite thing about this book was how real and relatable these chaotic characters are. Even when I didn’t understand their motivations, they 100% reminded me of people I know in real life. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a comedic read filled with a fun cast of characters. Can’t wait for the next book in this series and more of this group of friends!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Milena.
419 reviews
February 10, 2025
New Beginnings was an interesting read. It was a bit different from her other books. It didn’t hold my attention as others of hers did, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
Madeline really has a heart of gold and helps Sapphire when she needs it most. It was definitely a sweet slow romance. There were some surprises along the way that demanded I laugh out loud over the antics of some of the characters. I’m looking forward to more stories based on the overall Printer’s Row series.
Profile Image for Rose.
15 reviews
January 23, 2025
This was a very easy to read story about found family. I really enjoyed the lovable characters and amazing support in this friend group. These women radiate accepting your self-worth, and they are a reminder to fight for what you deserve.

I received a free ARC copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
114 reviews2 followers
January 24, 2025
Another good read from LS. A new friend group for a new series and I am looking forward to reading more about Haley and Britt too in later books.
A sheltered rich girl rejects the family who reject her and runs away. Maddie comes to the rescue and helps her find her own strength. Found family, authenticity and love all feature along with Chicago’s architecture.
Strongly recommend to all.
Profile Image for Frances Bell.
429 reviews11 followers
February 15, 2025
Love it

At first
I wasn't sure about the book but as I got into it I couldn't put it down so love the characters Great love Great love loves story And funny Some of the characters were off the chain as they say But That would make the book into interested Can't wait can't wait for the next book
Profile Image for Carolyn G. Manuel.
1,070 reviews
March 2, 2025
Creepy Old Butler

Madeleine is sitting in the park when a woman approaches and asks for help in getting away from a man. This is how she meets Stephanie and they start a new relationship. A story of accepting one’s self and fighting those who only want you to be their vision of you. Great author.
Profile Image for Meredith.
333 reviews6 followers
March 8, 2025
Can't wait to read more about this friend group!!💞 The book really got me invested in all their relationships, and i want to see more.
The plot was refreshing and cozy, it does have its sad moments but overall it's low angst. This was such a good choice after i read a heavy book, a really good palate cleanser.
11 reviews
January 30, 2025
I know this is a romance book and while the relationship between Madeline and Sapphire is sweet and hot, I love the dynamic between the friend group the most. It was also fun to see someone experience everyday stuff for the first time and enjoy it.
Profile Image for RA Young.
321 reviews6 followers
February 14, 2025
Sold me on the series with book one

Full of adorableness as usual. Seabrook introduced a loveable cast I'm excited to keep reading about!

Today's program is brought to you by the word: Ostensibly
4 reviews
August 11, 2025
A litle different twist on an heiress. I liked the solid fridndships and loyalty of the characters to each other. Well written..I enjoyoed ir ver much
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