Better Beginnings

Better Beginnings

by Cyprus Hart

After breaking up with her boyfriend, Leigh just wants to get as far away from LA as possible. Small town Maine seems like the perfect place. After being surrounded by fake people looking out for themselves, she is shocked by the realness of her new neighbors, who seem to look after each other. Except Ulysses. The bearded lumberjack just doesn't seem to like Leigh, and that doesn't sit right with her. Can she win him over, or will finding out his secret be too painful? For both of them.

I'm not sure if it was the author's intention, but I really did not like Leigh. Like Ulysses, I found her shallow and egocentric and vain. I only kept reading beyond the first few chapters because I was convinced she would change. I hope it's not a spoiler to say that, in my opinion, I did not see much growth in her character. While she does eventually show she is capable of caring for one other person, I would have liked to have seen her show even more compassion toward her new small-town neighbors. I felt she received a lot of support from others, but never showed any herself. And, despite her minimal growth, she never lost that vainglorious confidence that things will go her way, that she will make them go her way, no matter what.

Unfortunately, Leigh was the only character who felt well-developed. While we learn a little more about Ulysses, I still never felt I understood him. When Leigh discovers his secret, I would have liked to have learned the entire story, not just her guess as to what had happened. We never hear Ulysses explain it. We never learn why he moved to Maine or what he did for a living, either in Maine or his previous life. Similarly, although we are introduced to a few residents, we never really get to see much of them and know very little about any of them.

The story was also a little narrative heavy, especially in the first chapter. Combined with a character I didn't like, it took me a few chapters to really get into the book.

However, I did enjoy watching the main character adjust to her new life. I would have liked to have seen a few more struggles. A blizzard where she and Ulysses get trapped somewhere. A scene where her car without snow tires gets stuck in the snow. Someone in town learning what she did for a living.

Ultimately, the story seemed to focus on the relationship between Leigh and Ulysses and everything else was kind of background chatter. As a result, most of the characters felt underdeveloped. I would have liked to have seen more.

That said, the story was well-written and engaging. Overall, I would rate this story three and a half quills and place it on my middle shelf.