Begin Again

Tahoe #4

by Nicole Pyland

This is book #4 in the Tahoe Series. Chris Florence’s circumstances had never been ideal, but they’d gotten worse after a car accident took the lives of her parents and left her with a kid brother to support. She’d always wondered if she was raising Wesley the way they’d want him to be raised while she juggled waiting tables at a pizza place in South Lake Tahoe with parenting a now teenage brother. She had friends, but their lives were so different from her own, Chris had always felt like she was on the outside looking in. Paxton Williams only planned to visit her sister, Adler, in South Lake. She was supposed to stay for a few days, check in on her big sister, and return to Seattle. Instead, Paxton finds an old rundown hotel, meets Christina Florence, and her life suddenly has a purpose. She could return to Seattle and remain the owner of her real estate business, or she could take a chance and turn a rundown hotel into the best place to stay in Tahoe and take a chance on the woman that doesn’t let her get away with anything. With the arrival of Paxton, Chris’s life turns upside down. It’s Chris’s decision, though. All those changes, all those feelings could cause Chris pain or could possibly give her the life she’d always dreamed up for herself and her family. Recommended order of reading the books in the

Genres: Lesbian Romance, Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Queer, Lesbian Fiction, Family

244 pages, ebook

First published December 12, 2019

About the author

Nicole Pyland is a best-selling author of sapphic stand-alone novels and series.

Since 2017, she’s published over 60 romance novels in different sub-genres (contemporary romance, erotica, mystery, sci-fi, paranormal, historical, fantasy), and more of her books are on their way!

She grew up in Indiana, studying English & Film and then getting a master's degree in Behavior Analysis. She lives with her wife and their opinionated cat, who spends his evenings helping her write stories by occupying half the chair.

​"I’ve always had fictional characters trapped inside my head. Now, I’m giving them their voices in my books. I started publishing in November 2017, but out of all the words I’ve ever used to describe myself, writer has been the only constant."

Reviews

[MaxDisaster]

3 stars
This was not bad, I guess. Just like the last one: the characters weren't bad, the story wasn't bad, but it just didn't impress me in the slightest

[XR]

I liked this better than the other three, but overall the Tahoe Series was quite an enjoyable read. I thought Pax and Chris were great together especially after their bumpy start.

[Michelle Schuler]

Begin Again

Nicole Pyland is talented. I love the pairings she creates. The angst is there but not overdone. Its resolved efficiently. I loved this series and look forward to more books.

[Chelles]

Begin Again

"The Perfect View" was really good, so I decided to jump right into "Begin Again." This is Paxton (Adler's sister) and Chris's (another Lake Tahoe local) story.

Paxton and Chris did not start off on the right foot. It was actually pretty comical how bad things went for the two in the beginning. However, a business opportunity brings them together, and they get a second chance at a first impression. Cue the fireworks!

The Lake Tahoe series has been awesome!

[Kexx]

Ok, OK, I admitt it - I can't get enough of this group of friends - had a fabulous binge read of all four books over the last 3 days - really classy and I think leaving Chris to the end was a masterstroke - a brilliant character. Superb.

[Karen]

I am super sad that this will be the last book in the Tahoe series. Next to the Chicago Series this has been about an even tie with that series in terms of how good the romances are. You don't have to read books 1-4 to make it through this one, but why would you? The others are worth the read.

Chris Florence has had a rough life. Her parents died when she was 20 which meant she had to leave school to take care of her 6 yo brother. All these years she has supported them by waitressing at this pizza place in Lake Tahoe. Some of her friends invite her to a cookout one saturday and there she meets Paxton. Paxton is the sister of Adler from Book 3. During the first few meetings, Paxton rubs Chris the wrong way and Chris thinks she is an asshole.

So what did I enjoy? I really like the way Pyland stories move so easily. She is able to create just the right amount of agnst and the right amount of chemistry between the mains. I liked the way this story was crafted to keep you interested in what you are reading. The two mains are actually two strong woman and I really liked the way that Paxton treats Chris. I was trying to find something negative to say about this one and the only thing I can think of is that this is the last romance in this series. Oh, for those that might want to know....there is some hot steamy sex that is different from book 3.

5 stars.

[Lorraine Rusnack]

A new favorite

Pac and Chris are an amazing couple. They had me laughing out loud with their banter. This is one of my new favorite books by Nicole. I love that she does a book to bring us into the future with all of the characters. It's a nice way to wrap up the series. You really get attached to these characters

[Deb]

The first impression when Pax and Chris meet isn't really good both ways. The impressions after that aren't either. Yet Pax offers Chris a job and Chris strangely takes it. Still they don't seem to like each other. I didn't really get why they kept looking for each other while they both didn't seem to like it. They even seem annoyed and kind of fighting already before their relationship is really hitting of. While it got better later on, I still didn't like the chemistry. Actually
I didn't even like the MCs much in the beginning. Pax really grew on me, but more than halfway in I still wasn't sure about Chris. She's acting a bit weird. I often wondered why Pax was even making an effort. All in all it wasn't bad, but not as enjoyable as I'm used to regarding Pyland's other books. 3,5⭐️

[Vanna Book-Mage]

Nicole Pyland always delivers in that I know what I'm getting and I don't have to worry about triggers or tropes that aren't for me. There is mention of a cult and minimal cult-like things and I don't think they took Cheyanne & her motives serious enough, but nothing happened ultimately so I guess oh well, but everyone trying to make Chris feel bad for being wary wasn't cool at all. I didn't read most of the other books in this series and now I might go back and do that 🤔
Also idk if this book truly fulfills the 'only one bed' trope, sure there was a situation with only one bed, BUT they did not sleep in the bed together.

[C]

This was ok 3.5

I wanted to really wanted to love this and it started out so well. Then it sort of fell short for me. The dynamic between Chris and Pax was good but it was too quick and too easy for them to fall for each other. Then the grandmother aspect just seemed unnecessary or because it was too quickly done it left me unsatisfied. Not my favorite in the series but still a nice read.

[Judy - JC]

This was the book I was not expecting. The MCs were not mentioned in the series as potentials book holders.

I did like this story, you event get a U-Haul even if they say is not.
This is the only book where you see emotional and professional development that’s congruent.

[Alexa Steli]

3/5
Not my favorite obviously but they were cute sometimes.


And final ranking of couples:
1) Riley and Kinsley 🫶
2) Kellan and Reese🥹
3) Pax and Chris(apparently)
4) Morgan and Adler (I just don't like them)

[bookster]

2.75 Stars

[Rey Hawke]

4.25

[Marybeth]

I always enjoy Nicole Pyland's books. This series was set in a beautiful location with engaging characters.

[Canders5]

Hmm, what to say? I'm usually a huge fan of Pyland, but I have to say this one fell short for me. I got through about 40% of the book and I simply didn't see/feel any chemistry. The lack of chemistry was only highlighted by the weird pacing/quickly alternating POVs/internal dialogues.

One major recurring thought that kept popping up was that Pyland was "telling" rather than showing. I had felt 0 chemistry for the first 1/3 of the book. I was truly confused when one of the characters declared that they'd been crushing on them for quite awhile...was I reading the same book?

Anyways...on one last side note...I really liked Chris's backstory and character in the beginning. But honestly? She was exhausting, in a very, very, bad way. A spoilsport. A nag. Holier-than-thou.

2.5 rounded up.

[Marty Preslar]

Fantastic characters

Another wonderful volume in the interconnected series of stories that started with a woman wrongly convicted of murder and a hotel manager. This fourth volume in the Tahoe Series brings us the story of the hard working waitress at the friend group's favorite pizza place and the younger sister from Seattle of Adler, who just moved in with her girlfriend from the story in the series. These two characters are believable, have chemistry to spare, and compelling backstories that all lead to one fantastic, character driven story.

I received an ARC copy of this book.

[Robert M]

I enjoyed this one a lot. It was sort of an enemies to lovers story with a cult thrown in. The beginning was a little choppy to me. The author made it seem that Paxton wanted to meet Chris, but then was inconsiderate to her. But once Paxton was all in, she had to melt Chris' heart. Chris was then the inconsiderate one for a while due to a chip on her shoulder. I also wasn't sure if she had a problem showing her emotions she was hard to read. Both characters had arcs and grew in the story and ultimately they were able to communicate. Though there were some bumps along the way, the HEA was actually believable.

[Jessica Roberson]

Great story

I love this story and this series. I cant wait for "What Happened After" to be released. I was slightly disappointed with the typos in this book, but the story itself wouldn't let me put the book down. Definitely read all of Nicole Pyland's series, they are all great stories with loveable characters.

[Eugenia]

I love Nicole Pyland stories. I've enjoyed all the standalones and the series. This one was not my favorite. I found it predictable, Chris' character was not very likable, the most suspense in the story was the grandmother from the cult. I particularly disliked "Champ" which is what Chris called Paxton.

[Charlie]

Look, I tried starting this one multiple times, and I just couldn't. My brain can't retain the characters between each reading, and it's just too much for me to try and reacquaint myself yet again just to read this book. It makes me sad, because I generally enjoy them, but man by the time you get to those last books in each series, I'm really struggling to remember all the players.

[Jen]

Not my favorite of the series

Maybe if we had more of a connection, or interaction with Paxton & Chris this story would've been more but by basically being two people we just met, there was a lack of investment that made these series so successful.

[Shannon Herron]

love it

These two had that straight away enemies but also wanting them to be together. Chris needed someone to finally take care of her and Paxton needed someone to make a home with.

[Rolande Vien]

Really enjoyed the story looking forward to reading other books by this author. Story well written

[Margaret L. Hedman]

Excellent!

I loved Begins Again. Great characters. Loved Paxton and Chris. Nice wrap up of all the characters we got to know in the Tahoe series.

[Helen]

Well written story with a great ending. I loved it.

[Jeff]

Wonderful story

I love this story and am glad Chris found the love of her life in Paxton after her hard life taken care of her brother.

[Bia Paixão]

4.25

[Diana Nigro]

I enjoyed reading the books about the girls in Lake Tahoe. This was an enjoyable group of books about a group of friends that found love in Lake Tahoe.

[Patricia M. Ferry]

Another great read. Nicole Pyland never ceases to amaze me with her stories and characters.