Heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of recovery, not just from the accident but from many aspects in life. A charming variety of characters that add spice and humor. The dogs are a terrific inclusion, and so is the turtle. The title put me off as I thought it was about teenagers finding their first love. So glad that I read the blurb and realized that was not true. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:
I LOVE the Wildstone series. LOVE it. Jill combines the perfect level of snark with her humor and her heroines are just flat out real and I LOVE this series.

What I Liked:
This Cover is GORGEOUS. So gorgeous.
The relationship between Emma and Allison. I loved the barbs those 2 traded back and forth. They had a history, but I so loved their present time relationship.
Simon. Oh, he had flaws- but I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers 😉



Bottom line: I’m a bit biased because I have SO much love for the Wildstone series, but Love for Beginners is a good book to check out- whether you are new to Wildstone or a long time fan like me!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone. Special thanks to GetRedPr, Novelgossip and Really Into This for their role in letting me join the buddy read!*

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. For a book about a woman recovering from a traumatic accident and a coma, this is a surprisingly cheerful book. I mean, yes, there is a lot of emotion involved, and your heartstrings definitely get tugged a time or two, but the real focus is on the resilience and strength of the main character.
Emma is a realistic, relatable woman, who is working very hard to bounce back after both her accident and rehab, and the betrayal of her exes squared. She has real growth throughout the book, and has to come to terms with the how her life and goals have to change after trauma. Simon, on the other hand, begins the book by being almost too perfect to be real, but as you get to know him, it becomes clear that even seemingly perfect people are just as screwed up as the rest of us. He definitely deserved to be smacked around a bit for being stupid, but he could have been far worse.
This book alternated between hilarious and emotional, but the vast majority of it was a good, fun, read. I ate it up like candy, and it was one of Jill Shalvis's best recent works.

Love for Beginners by Jill Shalvis is the 7th book in her wonderful Wildstone series. I have noted many times that I love reading any book by Jill Shalvis, as they are always wonderful pure romances. The Wildstone series can be read as standalones, as each book truly has different characters that are not recurring.

Emma Harris, our heroine, has been in a coma, after being hit by a car, and a surprise to many, she wakes up after a year. Now she has spent a long time in therapy being pushed to the max, as her physical therapist (whom she calls Baddass PT) continually puts her through the wringer daily.

Simon Armstrong, is considered one of the best therapists, and he is determined to keep on forcing Emma to push beyond. Slowly she has begun to recover, something no one ever expected, as her injuries were horrific. When she eventually leaves the hospital to return to her apartment, she learns her boyfriend was now living and in love with her best friend, and now they are both considered exes to her. Simon manages to find an apartment for Emma to live, and also for him to keep an eye on her to continue her grueling exercise.
Simon is extremely busy, as his father is recuperating, he must handle the family business (Armstrong Properties) with his cousin Alison. But he continues to find time to help Emma, whom he has begun to have strong feelings for her. Simon was a great hero, but he had his own issues, especially taking care of his family, his patients, and knowing his last relationship was severed by his too busy schedule.

Emma was a fantastic heroine, her strength, perserverance and independence was amazing, especially with all the pain she has, and her tenacity to keep pushing herself. Emma was also very attracted to Simon, even though at times she hated when he made her do more exercises. I loved Emma’s dog, Hog, who was a support dog, but who was also afraid of some other dogs. Cute and adorable. Emma has no job, working part time at a doggy day care center, and when she discovers the owner is selling, she tries to get a loan from the bank to buy it.

Alison Pratt, Simon’s cousin, plays a major part in this story. Alison worked for Armstrong Properties, managing the finances and office, especially with her Uncle Dale, out of commission. When Simon tells Emma to talk to his cousin about a lease for Paw Pals, a doggy day care; she is shocked to discover that Alison was her enemy from high school. Alison and Emma hated each other at school, and the two have not seen each other since then. Alison was hard and not totally likeable at times, but decides despite their old feelings to go into a partnership for Paw Pals, giving Emma the chance to run the place, and Alison an opportunity to run the financial side of the business. They agreed, and slowly worked to get beyond the frenemy. Alison was also getting over breaking up with her boyfriend, whom she still cares for. I really loved watching the two of them helping each other out, and a friendship began to form.

What follows is a heartwarming story, with a great couple, and wonderful secondary characters. It is also a story about love, family, friendship and relationships. When the doggy day care opens, it was fun to see Dale and other older generations spend time there, using the dogs as a reason to relax and feel safe. I rooted hard for Simon and Emma to be together, as well as Alison and Ryan.

Love for Beginners was a fantastic, captivating, heartwarming story that was so well written by Jill Shalvis. I always come to expect wonderful and emotional stories from Shalvis. If you have not read Jill Shalvis, what are you waiting for?

A sweet and sassy read from Jill Shalvis. While set in Wildstone this can definitely be a stand alone. The story revolves around two frenemies - Emma and Alison. The two women had major issues in high school and end up running a business together as adults. It also, of course, sets up their romances with their respective mates Simon and Ryan. The lead couple are Simon and Emma. Emma is recovering from an automobile accident and Simon is her PT.

As always the characters lead the story in the direction it is meant to go to. There is a lot of emotional growth and development between Simon and Emma. And Emma and Alison. I really liked the way the women interacted with each other, it was very enjoyable. The secondary characters and the different puppies and animals throughout the story definitely added to the joy of the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

“Your best days aren’t behind you. They’re right in front of you.”
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This book pulled at my heart strings in the best way possible! Emma had to re learn how to function again after a bad car accident left her in a coma. Throughout this entire book she never gave up physically but mentally, she had a long way to go. Her PT, Simon, has been with her since the very beginning and always pushes her to do more. His life was recently turned upside down when his dad had a stroke and had to be cared for. Dale, Simon’s Dad, was such a wonderful supporting character! He was funny, charming, straight to the point, and did NOT like to wear pants. The character growth as separate individuals often times gets lost (IMO) in this genre but this book had it and I am thrilled! I really felt connected to the city of Wildstone and can’t wait to go back and read the others in this series!

What a wonderful compelling story. Liveth strong characters. Great story of family and personal struggles and romance too. The dogs were just adorable. Your life can change is seconds but it's all how we deal with them that made this story stand out! Couldn't put this one down

Here we are back in the cute town of Wildstone with another precious and heartwarming story! I can always count on Jill's books to put a smile on my face and make me swoon over the sweetest guys! And boy Simon was such a sweetheart! An ABSOLUTE Cinnamon roll! 😍 I was one big PUDDLE over all the adorable things he did for Emma!

Emma's storyline was so inspiring too! I loved seeing her take her life back after being in a coma and waking up to discover some heart crushing news. But I loved her perseverance! Her friendship with Alison was so special too! Once again, I love how Jill includes cute doggies in her story! Hog was a big ball of love!

Another fantastic and sweet story by Jill! They're always packed with an inspiring story, sweet romance, friendships, doggies and the dreamiest guys!!!! I can't wait for the next one!

Emma comes out of a coma to find her life has been basically discarded while she was unconscious. Her fiancé and her best friend have fallen in love with each other and she no longer has a job, she is simply forced to start over. She starts with her physical therapy which is more like torture. And for work, she decides to open her own doggy day care facility. This endeavor has its ups and downs for sure. Will Emma make a full recovery after all?

This is another fun summer read from Jill Shalvis. It’s an emotional and very entertaining story of Emma’s recovery from her accident. The characters are great and most of them evolve as the story develops. If your looking for a good binge read for the summer, then I can highly recommend this one for you!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love for Beginners continues Shalvis' Wildstone series, but it's not necessary to read any of other ones books before you read this one. Emma Harris wakes up from a coma and has to relearn who she is on top of everyday functions, like walking. On this journey with Emma is her hottie physical therapist, Simon, who has his own struggles like caring for his dad after a stroke and taking care of his dad's business. The ending of this book can be seen miles away, but it's still a sweet romance and friendship story. The character development isn't as good as some of Shalvis' other books and the story develops very quickly which is a little unbelievable. All in, this would be a great beach read or weekend read.

This story had everything from deep emotional turmoil, strong female friendships, and adorable dogs! The story picks up about a year after Emma was hit by a car and is finally free from coma, hospital, and rehab. She is trying to get her old life back when love, friends, frenemies, and work collide.

The slow burn romance between Emma and Simon was so full of everything. Neither was ready for the other but they were so perfectly supportive and just there for each other even when they weren't romantically linked. Their friendship above all was paramount. The slow burn frenemies to friendship between Emma and Alison was also something to behold. These two were good ad being antagonistic and great at being friends. Their banter really lead to some of the best moments in the book for me. Honestly I'm finding myself calling everyone my favorite character because I loved everyone from Simon's dad, Dale, to Miss Kitty who was omnipresent at the pet daycare. The pets though were some of my absolute favorite in all the books Ive read.

This was an extremely uplifting read with a gentle and giving storyline. There were some emotional moments that had me in tears but after finishing I really felt joy and hopefulness.

Love for Beginners is a great title for this book. The main characters are named Emma and Simon and while the two of them are not exactly new to love, they may as well be. Simon uses his family and work responsibilities as a way to keep from getting close to anyone. Emma is recovering from surviving an accident and waking up from a coma, which means that it's been quite some time since she's experienced love, or even been on a date.

Interspersed through this romance story are different storylines. Simon's main confidante is his cousin Allison, who is going through a breakup herself. She and her boyfriend Ryan ended things because she just couldn't seem to fit in, with everything else going on in his life. Ryan is a people person and has lots of friends and family and events to go to. Meanwhile, Allison has trouble interacting with people, thanks to how she grew up.

In typical Jill Shalvis fashion, this book was filled with humorous situations and hilarious side characters. I loved Simon's Dad. Dale is a firecracker and never failed to have a funny viewpoint about his son or his niece's love problems.

I also enjoyed the dog characters in this book. Since waking up from her coma, Emma has been the owner of Hog, and adorable St. Bernard who serves as her emotional support dog. Allison also has a dog named Killer (who is actually a small, small Yorkie) who she shares with her ex, Ryan.

The relationships in this book made me happy. I loved how Simon and Emma slowly fell for each other, and worked through their issues together. It made my heart happy as Allison worked to become more friendly and open, so that she could show Ryan that she was ready for a second change.

But what I REALLY loved was the female friendship between Emma and Allison.

The two were enemies in high school and thanks to Simon, they find themselves in each other's lives again. Neither of them is in the market for a new friend, but thanks to certain situations, they find themselves being stuck together a lot more than they would like.

I thought their friendship/rivalry was so funny and it really made me happy how they learned to love each other and were really there for each other in the end.

Overall, this was a story that warmed my heart in more ways than one.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review. Jill Shalvis is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors and this latest installment in her Wildstone series did not disappoint.

Loved this, love Wildstone and absolutely loved the characters and of course Hog and Killer! 5 Wildstone stars for this one!

We follow Emma, who was in a coma after being hit by a car, she's lucky to have survived it, but is now faced with having to relearn how to walk, not to mention, her best friend and her fiance have fallen in love while she was in the coma! With the help of her physical therapist Simon, she learns to make strides in her recovery, and in fact more then her doctors thought she would. But now, she's developed feelings for him. Will her return her feelings or will he keep her at a distance as he usually does with most people in his life?

We also have Simon's cousin Ali in this story, who has her own issues she's dealing with, after losing who she thought was the love of her life in Ryan, Simon's best friend! You'll learn a lot about her in this story, and see if she can conquer her own fears.

There's so much in this story that I don't want to give away, it's the perfect book to read while sitting on the beach or by the pool! Don't miss out, grab this asap and sit back and enjoy!

This is the 7th book in the Wildstone series and the great thing is that you can read them in any order because the characters do not overlap. In this book we are following Emma who was just released from the hospital after spending 2 months in a coma and then almost a year in recovery relearning how to walk and use her arm. Also upon waking up Emma learns that her best friend and her fiancé decided to start a relationship, after being there for two weeks she has had enough! With no job or income her PT Simon helps her get a place in the same building he lives in. Through some weird turn of events Emma and her high school nemesis Ali decide to go into business together to operate a doggy daycare that also takes the elderly.

This book gave me all the feels and I binged it so fast! I think the books in this series are some of my all time favorites and this one might be at the top of that list. I loved Emma and how she never gave up on what she wanted, yes she struggled at times because of guilt but it never really stopped her. Simon was great in this book, not only as her PT but also as her friend encouraging her to get what she wants. Although he frustrated me at times because he has his own issues to deal with. I also loved the other relationships in this book, Jill writes all her characters so well that you feel like you know them all by the time the book is finished. Ali was a great partner for Emma because the two are so different and they compliment each other so well. But I think my favorite character in the book was Simon's dad. He reminded me of Marty Crane from Frasier, very surly but lovable at the same time.

When I first started this book it gave me major How To Walk Away vibes. Both are about a woman recovering from a horrific accident and learning to move on with their new life. So if you liked that book I would highly recommend this one! Both books were 5 Star reads! Thank you William Marrow and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review!

Emma wakes up from a coma to find her whole world has changed. Her fiance' and her best friend have fallen in love leaving her a third wheel living in her apartment with them. In rehab to fix her damaged body and brain she moves into a new place her fabulous physical therapist finds her. That's step one. Step two is to make it up the steps to her apartment without passing out. To make a living to buy the local doggy daycare. Unfortunately she has to take on a partner in the form of her high school enemy. Add in her hottie physical therapist you got a great story. I loved this book. Probably the best book I have read so far this year. I was delightfully entertained page after page. Emma is the toughest chick out there. No matter what she doesn't give up and is she starts to waver she's got people to back her up even if some of those people are a little reluctant. You laugh you cry and you feel good by the end.

“Love for Beginners" Jill Shalvis, is the perfect book for summer vacation, even if you are just staying home. It is the 7th book in her Wildstone series but these are all stand-alone books.
Even adults needs fairy tales and this book is a great one. A love story with animals what more could you need? It is also a core storyline that you don’t read in every book. The secondary characters were amazing and funny and added personality to the story. I didn’t want to put it down.
Thanks to William Morrow/Custom House and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

Did not realize this was part of a series but could have been a stand-alone book. I liked the setting and it was a good summer read, but did not grab me like it should have. Just ok but still recommended. Just ok. May be better for someone who has read all the books in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jill Shalvis and William Morrow & Custom House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/8/21

This is such a heartwarming story! You have Emma Harris who barely survived being hit by a car valiantly working her way back through lots of hard work and physical therapy. Emma has her support dog, a St. Bernard named Hog who needs Emma just as much as she needs him for emotional support. Then there's Simon Armstrong, the physical therapist who did a masterful job with Emma's physical therapy with a side order of emotional therapy thrown in. Add in some wonderful secondary characters and you have a great story. I loved all the characters in this story. They are so realistic and likable. This is my first foray into Jill Shalvis' Wildstone series. I am so glad there's lots more books in this series for me to enjoy.

I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I found that there was just too much going on in this story and too many characters coming and going so to speak.

I loved this story so much! Initially I was very drawn into the story, starting out with Emma Harris waking up from a coma to find her fiancé and best friend in a relationship. Yikes! From the beginning I was team Emma and rooting for her to find her footing in this scary and new life. She is such a strong character and endures a lot through this story. I enjoyed the depth of this story, diving into loss, grief, love, family, and friendship. I really enjoyed all the characters and how the story kind of bounced between their lives and different perspectives. While I loved the romance in the story, I also loved the friendship between Alison and Emma and how everything progressed in the story. While I feel like some things were rushed in the ending, I really enjoyed this story and basically read it all in one sitting! And I loved all the pets in the story at the doggy day care - such a fun addition!