Back to the Start by Elle Keating

Morgan Kelley has left Boston and is settling in Philadelphia…to a city that harbors her most painful secrets. Will these secrets destroy Morgan’s new beginning or will coming clean give her the second chance she’s longing to have? Find out in Elle Keating’s BACK TO THE START!

Title: Back to the Start

Author: Elle Keating

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Dangerous Love

Release Date: June 19, 2018

Format: Digital eBook

ISBN: TBD

Synopsis:

Jake McGinnis has the life he has dreamed of since childhood: a professional football career with adoring fans, financial security, and the unwavering support of his family. From the outside looking in, he has everything. But nothing could be further from the truth. Because there isn’t a day that goes by that Jake doesn’t think about his first love... and what his world would look like if she was still by his side. When he hears that she is relocating to start a new job less than a mile from him, the pain of their breakup feels fresher than ever. For eight years, he has wondered why their relationship ended and now she's settling in his city. A city that isn't big enough for the two of them.

For Morgan Kelley, moving to Philadelphia means living closer to her family and practicing veterinary medicine with two of her closest friends. It’s also her chance to start over and move on from her failed marriage. There’s only one con: the close proximity to Jake McGinnis. Once upon a time being near him was all she wanted, but now he is practically a stranger... and it's all her fault. Faced with awful memories and the possibility of bumping into him at her favorite coffee shop, Morgan is haunted by the real reason she once broke both of their hearts. Deep down, she knows she won’t be able to embrace this new chapter of her life without finally telling Jake the whole truth.  

But how will he react when she shares her secret? Their love story once felt inevitable, unshakable. Is this where it ends for good, or is it the beginning of a second chance

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Review:

Morgan and Jake have been in love since Morgan was five, right until she was eighteen and broke both their hearts. Now, it's eight years later and she's moved back to Boston, to her friends, her mom, and to Jake. Can they move past the heartbreak and deception to continue the love story that never should've ended?

This is a story of second chances, of friendship and football, of jealousy and forgiveness. I enjoyed how real both the characters were and how they made mistakes but fought their way to make things right. There is a large cast of characters to help them out: her friends and his family, and I look forward to reading their stories (Carina's book is currently on sale, by the way).

I felt like this is almost two love stories in one - a sweet childhood romance and the passionate affair years later. They are both well written but quite different in tone, so much so that the present was often overpowered by the past. Compared to the flashbacks, the present comes across a little one-dimensional, like it was there to hold the string the memories together with sex and angst (of which there is plenty).

While I enjoyed reading this, the excessive flashbacks pull a star off my rating. Also, trigger warning for miscarriage and IVF.

Four #fbf stars.

I received an ARC of this book from Barclay publicity.