From the Start by Melissa Tagg

Book Description:

Kate Walker used to believe in true love and happily ever after. While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn't kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays...until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley.

Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend's hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he's lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he's never really done normal before.

While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it's like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jump start their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn't part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that's ever happened to them?

My thoughts:

There are days that you just need to read a good, old-fashioned love story. And From the Start by Melissa Tagg is just that. The story follows the road to falling in love of ex-NFL quarterback Colton Greene and writer Kate Walker. As both of their careers are coming to an end as they know it, the two are brought together in small town Iowa under a common cause. What follows is a story of 2 lost souls, learning to trust their own feelings and dealing with their own insecurities, and following separate paths that are destined to join.


I really like Tagg's writing style and her development of the characters, especially of the 2 main characters. Even though Colton was an ex-NFL player, his character is very down to earth and approachable. Kate has just enough insecurities in her life, but real life wisdom, that her character seems like the girl next door. I felt like I learned so much about the 2 main characters, not in their interactions with the other main character, but in their interactions with the secondary characters. I hope that Tagg writes a sequel to this book, as I would love to know what happened with some of the secondary characters including Bear and Reagan, and what becomes of Megan.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a good, old-fashioned love story. If that is what you are looking for, then I would highly recommend From the Start by Melissa Tagg.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.