Official Review: Start Again by J. Saman

[AA1495]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Start Again" by J. Saman.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Review: Start Again by J. Saman

Start Again by J. Saman is the first book in the Start Again series and belongs to the romance genre. A secondary character of this book features as the protagonist of the next book.

Kate wants to leave the city. She needs to get away, to leave all her memories behind. However, she does not know where she wants to go, or what she wants to do. She comes up with a plan of going from city to city, in search of a place which feels right. After ridiculing Kate’s idea, her mother proposes an idea of her own – to drive her friend’s son across the country, to Seattle. An argument later, Kate has two choices – either to drive her mother’s friend’s son to Seattle or to talk to her mother constantly (over the phone) while she goes on her own trip. She chooses the former.

Ryan needs to go to Seattle in a month, and he does not fly. He plans on renting a car, but when the option of driving along with Kate comes up, he takes the offer. After all, Kate (or Katie, as he remembers her) has been his dream woman since he was ten. When they meet, he proposes to make the trip a little more enjoyable by stopping at a few cities along the way. That’s when the adventure begins.

Without giving away any spoilers, I have to say that the book is much more dramatic and complicated than it seems. Both Kate and Ryan have issues of their own. In fact, the book begins with a scene where Kate is devastated. Two years later, she is still trying to move on. She tries to convince herself that she can get into a relationship, but feels guilty every time something happens between Ryan and her. In addition to this, Ryan’s fear of aircrafts, his ex-girlfriend, his alcoholic parents and creepy strangers come into the picture. If you are looking for a quick and sweet romance story, this book is not for you.

Kate and Ryan’s characters are well developed and described. Kate was adventurous, sensible, practical and funny. There were times when she seemed weak, when she chose the easy way out, but in all instances, her choices and actions were understandable. On the other hand, Ryan was the perfect travel companion. He understood and respected Kate’s choices, was loyal and loved spoiling her. The story is told from both the characters’ perspectives, which allowed me to understand their feelings and connect with them.

I loved the author’s writing style. While the plot was predictable at times, the writing style made the book very interesting to read. The events and surroundings were well described. There were many secondary characters, but the author handled them well and each character was relevant to the plot. Further, after reading a few chapters, I had many questions in mind and I liked how each question was addressed by the end of the book. However, I thought that some scenes were irrelevant to the plot and made the pace of the book a little slow. I would have enjoyed the book much more if the author had skipped a few scenes in the first half of the book.

I came across a few grammatical and editing errors such as “She has on more makeup” and “under neither” (instead of “underneath”). However, these did not interrupt my flow of reading. Overall, despite the errors, the book seemed well edited and formatted.

I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed reading the book and wanted to finish it in one reading. The characters are likable and well developed. Further, the author’s writing style is what I liked best about the book. However, a few scenes seemed irrelevant to the plot and made the pace of the book a little slow. The book has some mature content. I would recommend it to adults who like romance books and do not mind the slow pace.

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Start Again
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Like AA1495's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I don't read many romance books, but this seems interesting. I like that is more complicated than the typical romance, however I don't like books that are slow pace. Thanks for the review though.

[AA1495]

I don't read many romance books, but this seems interesting. I like that is more complicated than the typical romance, however I don't like books that are slow pace. Thanks for the review though.

I agree with your point on the slow pace. Thank You for the comments!

[bookowlie]

Great review! I don't know if I would like the slow pace, but the plot sounds interesting. Too bad about the errors - "under neither" made me laugh.

[Jessica Samuelsen]

Great Review! I don't like when there are unnecessary scenes. It makes sense that they slowed the plot down.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

I'd probably skip those few scenes whilst reading, I'm guilty of doing this all the time! Overall though it sounds like a sweet book. Thanks for the review.

[shish_by_design]

Start Again has officially made it to my bookshelves. Thanks for an awesome review

[Dolor]

I would surely love to read and re-read the intimate scenes in a slow pace. ^_^ GEEEZ...

I love the way you review the book.

[Whitney Marchelle]

Great review. I enjoy romance, and I like a slow pace when I'm trying to really get into a book. So thanks for that heads up!

[Whitney Marchelle]

Awesome review. I'm always intrigued by people who have crushes for years. Seems like a good story.

[kemp1kor]

Sounds like an interesting read. I like a romance with some complications, and I’m curious about Ryan’s issues. I’ll add this one to my list and see if I get to it. Thanks for the review!

[Bewa]

The author brought out the characters of Kate and Ryan so well. I loved the review too, it doesn't give a lot of spoilers, just enough to get someone interested in the book. Well done.

[qsusan]

If well written, I am always ready to appreciate a story. Stories with slow paces have their own unique charm which is why the pace of the book won't be a turn-off for me.

[Nanig83006]

I like romance and I enjoy it most when there's a good story to it. There's depth to the Kate and Ryan and, based on your review, they don't fall in insta-love (aside from Ryan's childhood crush on Kate) and hook up almost immediately. Thanks for the review.

[Eileen R]

I love reading romance books and from your review this one is very intriguing. I will definitely add it to my shelf