I cracked open this book, not really sure why I requested to read it, but the farther into it I got, the more compelled I was to continue on. One of the forces that drove me on in reading it was some of the main characters shared my maiden name--Wheeler. I mean, just because of that, I have to read it.

Everything is Just Beginning is a rather sad, angsty book wrapped around deep-seated hurts and anger. Some of the characters are less than reputable, some are upstanding in spite of their past, some are the kinds of people who reach down to lift others up. It takes all kinds to make a world and it takes all kinds to make a novel worth reading.

Erin Bartels has centered this novel in Detroit, Michigan, around the music business and shows the readers just how involved the music world is for those who would try to break into it and become successful. The plot line in this novel has a few twists and turns that take the reader by surprise, and there are a few issues that are dealt with on such a deep level that it requires thought and contemplation to fully get the ideas being presented through the words and actions of the characters. Michael and Natalie are incredible young people with a moral compass and maturity that is rare in someone of their youth. They have their faults and foibles, but they also have their strengths that make them the kinds of characters readers love.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a new set of guitar strings.

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Music has always been an important part of my life, so I loved that angle (along with the 80s)! At the core, this story is about forgiveness, reconciliation, and family. It was encouraging to see the characters growth, particularly when circumstances don't go as planned. Characters were realistic and easy to root for, as their struggles were relatable. Deb and Dusty were inspiring and filled with hope. The author easily pulls the reader in and makes them feel a part of the story.

Everything is Just Beginning is a very well written romance. I love music and enjoyed the plot that is about a musician. I definitely recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

For most of his life, Michael Sullivan’s uncle has called him bad luck. Dragging around familial blame can really knock a guy down. Michael starts believing what he hears—after all, his band kicked him out, he has to move in with his loser uncle, and he has a dead-end job at a hardware store.

While the rest of the world seems on the verge of new beginnings, Michael just feels stuck. This may explain why he decides to use his uncle’s invitation to the neighbor’s swanky New Year’s Eve party in a last-ditch effort to turn his luck around. He’s not stealing; Michael shares a name with his uncle.

At the party, he pins his hopes on meeting Dusty Wheeler, a legendary music producer. Instead, he brushes shoulders with famous people and meets the most intriguingly beautiful girl he’s ever seen.

Michael starts to feel wanted, valued, and worthy for the first time in his life. The closer he grows to the Wheeler family, the more this feeling grows. But his deadbeat dad, looser uncle, and unstable mom all have the power to drag Michael down.

What I Loved About This Book

Erin Bartels makes me want to write and perform music—even though I need a bucket to carry my tune. I want to crawl under her warm word blanket and linger longer over the world of West Arbor Hills, where Michael lives in a trashed trailer and the girl across the street lives in a mansion. Where failure meets hope and pride meets death.

Readers will find themselves immersed in winsome words, magical music, and a seemingly random relationship between two lonely people who each have what the other needs. Fans of Amy Lynn Green and Laura Melchor will love this book.

This was amazing.
I felt compelled to know more and continue reading since page one!
I loved the writing, how each chapter was a track, how it gives you hope for better days.
It felt like listening to a really good song that just connects with you in a such a deep way you have to keep listening to it over and over again.
I wasn’t expecting this book to have such an impact on me but it really did.
It’s funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, happy and sad.
Loved it.
(Review will be up on bookstagram on 17th January)

I enjoyed this story about a young aspiring musician in the 1980s whose life changes when he meets a music producer and his wife and daughter. The 80s references seemed a little forced, but overall, a good story.

Music is one of my love languages and I relished every minute I spent in these pages with Michael and Natalie. Traveling back to the 90s was actually a breath of fresh air. It’s not an era often used as a setting in the genres I typically read. Like Bartels says in her author’s note, it was a simpler time without all the technology we have today. It was also a time where we couldn’t just cherry-pick the songs from an album with a tap of a “button,” but instead enjoyed the storytelling the artist had to say to us from beginning to end on their album.

December 31, 1989. The world is changing - the Berlin Wall coming down, the Soviet Union is becoming freer and Michael takes a chance that changes his entire life. Up until he goes to a New Year's Eve party, his life was in a holding pattern. He worked in a dead end job and didn't see much of a future. He loved music but had been kicked out of the bank he played in. He loved to write lyrics for songs but the band refused to play his music. So here he is living in his uncle's run down trailer and he sees an invitation to his uncle for a party at the mansion across the road. He has the same name as his uncle so he decides to go to the party in his uncle's place. The party is hosted by a famous music couple who've been very successful He also meets the young lady who will change his life -- Natalie. They hit it off and become friends, spending a lot of time listening to music. She is the daughter of a popular music couple and she's blind and very talented with her musical abilities. Their friendship will totally change both of their lives because they bring out the best in each other.

I enjoyed Michael right from the first page. Even though his life has been tough, he appreciates the changes in it after he and Natalie start to make music together. Natalie may be blind but she sees more in Michael than he sees in himself. This is a story about family and forgiveness, hard life and hopes for the future plus fantastic music references. It's a look at two lonely young people who encourage each other in their quest to make music and work hard to look ahead at their futures instead of thinking about their failures in the past.

Another Erin Bartels masterpiece...

Music has been ingrained in my world since birth, and I appreciated the musical immersion of this book while I read Michael's often-tragic journey.

I liked Michael from the get-go. I mightn't've agreed with all of his choices, but I sympathised with his plight... even understood the "why" of his (at times) selfish thinking. The mess with his family was sad most of the time, and despite receiving some answers, those parts of his life were almost... stagnant... compared to his overall character growth.

Deb and Dusty were an interesting dynamic of hope, realism and mercy throughout the story. Two people shining their "light" in different yet effective ways.

And Natalie. Wow, I loved that tough yet fragile girl. I liked that, just as Michael did, I initially missed her particular difficulty (great writing!). I thought her worldview was innocent yet wise beyond her years. She saw more than Michael ever did.

A symphonic novel of reality and a hard life harmonised with heart, hope and the promise of a new tomorrow.

NB I received an ARC of this novel.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This was an interesting story of Michael Sullivan and his, unknown to him, neighbor. Michael is struggling with a dead-end job and living with his broke uncle in a trailer next door to a mansion. It begins on December 31, 1989.

Natalie is the musically talented daughter of a well-known father, in the music business. Michael knows his Uncle will not be using a New Year’s Party invitation next door so, he goes, in his Uncle’s place. Michael and Natalie find a friendship that only a blind girl and an emotionally struggling, but talented guitarist might.

The two discuss Michael’s band and learn from each other how to work together and share their talents. As Michael gets to know the family, he learns Natalie’s mother has had success with a lovely voice, but her beautiful heart is her best attribute.

There are ups and downs for the young couple and finding a family who love and support each other is
the best gift!

I really enjoyed a trip down memory lane hearing the names of bands I enjoyed when younger. I would
eagerly recommend this book!

Shirley Weidner - Reviewer 11-17-22

Micheal Sullivan crashes a New Year’s Party that was never his to go to, but he went anyway and it literally changed the trajectory of his life. He was kind of in an in-between space, and while he was there he met Deb Wheeler, who took an interest in him and which led him to her daughter, Natalie.

Micheal doesn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel but he loves music, and in Natalie, he finds a spunky and spirited, talented young musician who wants to also create music, and together they join their gifts to make music.

Everything Is Just Beginning is about family, forgiveness, reconciling with your past, and moving forward when the choices don’t look like you would like them to. I always enjoy reading Ms. Bartel's writing because it is authentic, full of depth, and reminds of you what real life looks like fictionalized. Everything Is Just Beginning ended too soon for me.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Revell. All opinions expressed are honest and mine.

Unique, enjoyable, loved the early '90s setting.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.