Starting Over: Cardinal Sins: Greed

by Brooklyn Bailey

Rising from the ashes and rubble like a Phoenix.

For 19 years Sylvie Rice has lived her life to serve her husband and child. An untimely death opens the door to a world she had only fantasized about. With her inheritance, Sylvie has been released and is once again wild, and free. New house, new car, new phone, she won’t be denied the luxuries once deprived of as she begins to live her best life.

Stephen Kirshner, the 25-year-old police officer that has the world in front of him. The ruggedly handsome cop operates by the book but when he’s called to the new home for noise ordinance issues, the knock on the door could forever change his life.

Stephen and Sylvie’s lives continue to intersect like the lines of an infinity symbol. These two have lots in common and try as she might to deny this young man from her life, Stephen’s persistence will pay off. He’s naturally attracted to her quirky personality and carefree demeanor.

Can these two come together to find their happy every after or is the age-gap too much to overcome.

Grab your copy of Starting Over, a sweet, age-gap, contemporary romance novel today, and rock on!

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2022

About the author

Brooklyn Bailey’s writing is a life-long dream coming to fruition. Brooklyn’s under five-foot, fun-size stature houses a full-size attitude. Her uber-competitiveness in all things entertains, frustrates, and challenges family and friends.

As she continues to write sweet romance and young adult books, she also writes steamy contemporary romance books under the name Haley Rhoades, as well as children’s books under the name Gretchen Stephens.

Brooklyn’s guilty pleasures are Lifetime and Hallmark movies, especially Christmas movies. Her other loves include all things peanut butter, Star Wars, mathematics, and travel. Past day jobs vary tremendously from a radio station DJ, to an elementary special-education para-professional, to a YMCA sports director, to a retail store accounting department, and finally a high school mathematics teacher.

Brooklyn resides with her husband and fur-baby in the Des Moines area. This Missouri-born girl enjoys the diversity the Midwest offers.

Reach out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or her website…she would love to connect with her readers.

Reviews

[ladybreww · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book. The main character was very juvenile, and did not behave or speak as if she was in her 40s. It felt like she was a 13-year old girl (especially when she used phrases over and over again like "young hottie"). The dialogue and terms used were immature and made it hard to enjoy the conversations. It was very "tell" and not "show." I could not connect with either of the main characters, and did not find the storyline believable.

I would have liked to see more of the main character's personal development - the story had a lot of potential with respect to her therapy sessions after losing her husband, learning how to start over etc. Instead, the book was mostly Sylvie buying new things, giggling, and not knowing how to use a cell phone while trying to date a man who is significantly younger than her.

The main character was quite annoying, there was not a lot of depth or believability to the plot, and this book was not what I was expecting based on the description. Maybe would be better targeted to a YA audience.

[Jane litherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book , told from two points of view ,I think it carries well ,a good story and lustful as it is the romance charming and familiar