meh ( )

didn't felt connected because it was in german, loved the relationship and trustdevelopement between the two characters. I had difficulitys to rate this because I have mixed feeling. I wouldn't recommend it to readers or friends just because it wasn't bad but it wasn't so good either it felt really basic. It was good but not the best. ( )

"At this moment I could not only imagine the freedom that I’d been longing for—I felt like I had achieved it, like it was filling me. The energy of life tingled through my body; I didn’t even feel my muscles ache anymore. A slight breeze tickled the ends of my hair. I was breathless."

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Also, the quote I used may have changed or been altered in some way, but I am quoting from what I received.

Begin Again was originally published in German, but I'm delighted they decided to translate it! The night I started this, I could not put it down. I kept telling myself "one more chapter," because you know how that is, but the story was on my mind even when I wasn't reading it. It wouldn't take long before I was engrossed in the pages again, housework be damned.

Obviously, we know Kaden's rules are doomed to fail, and it was so fun watching them crumble. He's a hypocrite when it comes to his rules, too. He even admits that he can break them when he wants to because they're his. Kaden has freely admitted to being an asshole from the beginning, but we can see how he uses that as a shield against the world. He has demons to deal with, but so does Allie.

Allie is forced to confront her problems a lot sooner than she would have liked because her mother is psychotic. If I were Allie, I would have disconnected my phone service long before arriving in Woodshill. She may have been her mother, but that woman was not motherly. I don't care how much money someone throws at you, your child should always come first. I can't even think about Allie's parents without throwing up in my mouth.

The scenery for this book is beautiful. I love it when Allie and Kaden go hiking (some of my favorite moments happen off the trail), and it makes me want to grab my boots and go climb a mountain. I feel like this is where the two of them really connected. There were no distractions, just them and nature.

I want to be best friends with the secondary characters! They were all so wonderful and such good people. Kaden and Allie both needed those friendships, and I hope to see more of these characters in the future.

I do have one tiny issue with this book... I didn't like how Kaden's past was revealed and explained. I feel like we were given bits and pieces of information throughout the book, but then we're smothered with it at the end. I would have enjoyed it more had it felt natural instead of rushed. Allie has to deal with her issues the entire book, but we only get a few chapters of Kaden being confronted with his.

Overall, it's a captivating story that I could not read fast enough!

Side note: I loved the tattoos and the music!

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on Friday, February 9, 2018.
http://www.doyoudog-ear.com/2018/02/begin-again-again-1-by-mona-kasten.html ( )

3.5 Stars

Begin Again is a story that New Adult readers will connect with, finding strength in Allie's desperation to strike out on her own and succeed without the help of her parents. She's left behind pain, she's left behind fear, and she's left behind the girl she used to be. This version of Allie has short hair, eats what she wants, makes friends with who she wants, and...lives with a boy. Not just any boy, either, but the boy on the top of nearly every girl's "I Want" list. Kaden is tattooed, attractive, and neat, he's the sort of roommate anyone would want, except for the odd rules he makes for Allie.
1. Don't talk about your girl problems.
2. Keep your mouth shut if I bring someone home.
3. We will NEVER hook up.
They form a strong bond as roommates, later as friends, and eventually as something more. They lean on one another for comfort, deny the attraction they are feeling, and find meaning in their lives together. These rules were made to be broken.

I enjoyed Begin Again, the heart of the story is one that anyone can connect with, that feeling of wanting to be yourself and wanting to figure it out on your own. Allie is a sweet girl who, despite all her life experiences, is still a bit naive. She's so desperate to be on her own though that she makes it work and her effort is believable. Kaden, of course, is the bad boy we all love and yet want to fix. There's a reason behind his jerk-ish attitude and mood-swing like personality. What starts as a attraction turns into the two getting to know each other, working through the good days and the bad days, and ultimately revealing their true selves. Begin Again takes place at a beautiful, wooded campus, there's the usual college parties, and of course, there's lots of friend interactions. I really liked the secondary characters more than I even liked Kaden and Allie, I could see how Mona Kasten could create a series with them.

Kaden and Allie make a cute couple, but they're almost too driven by their lust. As readers we are told their friendship has blossomed, but the interactions we see, at least until later in the book, are surface level interactions. Allie, who at first seems very courageous, turns out to have incredibly bad habits and thrives off drama in a way I didn't expect. The partying, the way she spends money, and the lack of character development over the course of the novel is ultimately what turned me off of Begin Again. I wanted to see Allie become her own and instead she reverts back into dangerous ways and then suddenly things are fixed. So much more could have been done with this.

Begin Again is a traditional New Adult novel that will appeal to NA fans and NA aged readers. It's sweet, relatable, and a fairly easy read. I didn't find many issues with the German to English translation, but there could be some. If you're looking for a standalone series featuring college aged characters and romance, Begin Again just might be right for you. ( )