Review: Beginning Again by Peggy Bird

Beginning Again
By: Peggy Bird
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Published: June 4, 2012
Genre: Romance
Rating



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When Liz Fairchild's husband leaves her for a younger man, she decides it's time to start over. So she sells her house, takes her generous community property settlement and opens an art gallery in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon. A little sweat equity, some interesting art to exhibit and assistance from a surprising source and she'd ready to open.

Enter Collins, an up and coming sculptor who also happens to be younger, sexy and determined to bulldoze his way into Liz's gallery, her life and her bedroom. He succeeds on all levels. His art is a hit in her gallery; his "to do" list for the bedroom eye-opening and his attention to her like nothing she's ever seen.

But something isn't quite right. He disappears for hours at a time, returning from "business" looking unhappy and acting withdrawn. What's he keeping from Liz? Is it another woman? Another gallery? A family?

My thoughts...
I thought this was a fun read about an older woman who has been burned twice by men. She just recently got divorced to her long time husband when he confessed that not only is he gay and has been cheating on her their entire marriage, but he's fallen in love with the other man. For me, I was a little confused with how Liz could be okay with her ex-husband after everything went down. I mean if you spend over a decade with a man whom you have an intimate relationship with, wouldn't you be upset with them for not only lying to you but for cheating on you? Not only is she not upset with her ex-husband but she hires his partner to help out with her gallery. Now that right there takes huge cajones. 

I know that I'm supposed to be conflicted with Collins but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to dislike the guy. Yes, his whole reasoning for seeking Liz out was to get information from her but you could tell that something switched inside him when he met her. With that being said though, I felt like he was a bit too pushy when it came to being with Liz. Maybe it was the whole trying to get close to her for information, but it just felt a bit too much for me... but then again this is a novella. I feel like I should add a disclaimer to that... I am not the biggest fan of novellas. It's really hard for me to find a connection with the characters in under 100 pages. However, with that out of the way I must say that I did enjoy this story.

Favorite quote...
"All I can say is, I hope you tipped him well enough that he'll keep his mouth shut."