A heartwarming story about loss, grief, family, love and life. Rachel has just lost her husband in a car accident and she has to figure out her new self. Through grief she will find herself and her new future again. Great reading.

I normally avoid books with the topic a griving widow because I don't like to think about these kinds of things like most people but I'm glad I took the plunge with this book. This book is am amazing story about loss and learning to live again after loss. It is an inspiring story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

A good story about change and coming to terms with loss.
Rachel deals with her the loss of her husband for a good portion of the book, including the extreme interest of her former boyfriend.
I liked how Beth was an entrepreneur and involved Rachel.
Even Rachel’s mom, and I loved how her kids referred to her as Mommie Dearest, wasn’t so bad and offered really safe advice at the end.
I spent the entire book pretty sure Rachel would act the way I wanted her to, but the ending was a bit of a let down. Yes, it ended the way I wanted, but it left me hanging. I wanted an epilogue so I could see about Edinburgh and the house.

It took me a while to think about how I felt about this book once I’d finished it. Although there is one important event that takes place, nothing else major happens throughout the rest of the book but I still really enjoyed it.

I felt gripped by Rachel’s journey following the loss of her husband Josh and experienced literally all of the emotions with her - grief, heartache, uncertainty and eventually hope. This book felt comforting and I think that’s down to the author’s way with words, the story just flowed and it was so easy for me to be consumed. I loved the variety of relationships, in particular those between Rachel and her siblings.

Overall this is a heartwarming story that is beautifully written and hard to put down!

Thanks to Kensington Books & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting look at family, death, romance, work, and more. I was surprised at how caught up in the story I became. Many heart-breaking moments, but also personal growth and enlightenment. A look the real estate situation in San Francisco/ Also a peer into life as a Jew. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This Is How It Started was a very well-written book about recently widowed Rachel who moves back into her childhood home that is now owned by her stepmother, Brooke, after her father‘s slightly less recent death. The reader follows along on her journey towards learning to deal with the grief, finding a job she is truly passionate about and maybe even falling back in love.

Rachel is absolutely convinced that Josh and her were a perfect match, that he was the one for her and that she will never find someone she will love as much ever again - or at least, that‘s what the reader is told. From the things that are shown, however, even before the whole previous-girlfriend thing that Rachel gets way too worked up over for no reason at all, I didn’t see their special bond at all. Especially the part where Rachel says that sometimes she felt like Josh was glad she sucked at her job rubbed me the wrong way.

But the whole stand-offish, pointing fingers, petty animosity was a constant throughout the book. All the siblings hate Brooke because they can‘t wrap their head around the fact that Brooke might have loved their dad who simply fell out of love with their mother, whom they are siding with when they don‘t seem to like her much either most of the time. I think Brooke was actually my favourite character, she seemed very sweet, kind and generous.

The whole story developed at a rather slow pace. Much of it was just Rachel trying to live day to day, and I guess that’s a good representation of what life feels like after losing one‘s partner. It was good to see her process, the way she learned to move on and grow and let others into her heart, and to forgive Brooke.

I wasn’t very invested in the story as I didn’t really like Rachel or care for either Josh or Campbell, but the writing was good and the book was a quick read. I guess I had hoped for more depth to both the characters and the plot.

3/5 stars.

This is how it started is about a story of a women who loses her husband Josh in a tragic accident. It walks through her life with her family, her mom, dad and step mom and siblings. It teaches you about loss and moving on and change. It rounds out in a cute way. It was a cute story. Not my type of read but I liked it. I would recommend if you like this kind of story.

A story about grief, love, forgiveness, and moving on. Rachel's husband Josh has died, leaving behind a secret she's shocked about (no spoilers). She moves home- sort of home- to her father's house to live with his widow Brooke, a woman the family had always referred to as a trophy wife. But Rachel's got a lot to learn about her parents too. And then there's Campbell, her first love, I liked this for Brooke who made this different from the trope-y novel I expected. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling.

Are you looking for the perfect heartfelt Valentine's Day read this year? Look no further!

This is How It Started really surprised me. This story is half romance and half family drama. After the sudden loss of her husband, Rachel is left alone as a young widow trying to navigate loss and new love on her own. She finds comfort in the least expected relationships along the way and learns more about love and why we do what we do than she ever thought possible.

I loved the sibling relationships and drama in this one, it gave me major We Are the Brennans vibes! This book would be perfect for fans of:

- Family Drama
-Second Chance Romance
-Love After Loss

Thank you to Kensington Books, Lyrical Press for the e-ARC and to TLC Book Tours for a physical ARC.

This book will be available Feb 7th.

This book insightful and engaging book illustrates the hold grief that can have on someone. Rachel has just lost her husband and is confronting grief once again. She is no stranger to grief having lost her baby years ago and her father in the past year. This time, though, her grief takes her under to a place where the passing of time and life outside of herself has no meaning. Her friends and family do their best to support her, rally her interest and force her to move forward, but she is still struggling. Then she makes a decision that surprises even herself. She lets go of the apartment she shared with her husband, and asks her father’s widow, her stepmother, if she can stay in her childhood home, a place that holds no memories of her husband. This sets off a variety of reactions in her rather dysfunctional family. Her mother sees it as a betrayal, her siblings don’t understand, and her stepmother not only unsterstands her grief, she is still grieving herself. Rachel’s journey through grief involves a great deal of introspection, examining relationships, sorting through memories, learning coping skills and letting go of the intense pain in order to move forward in life. She discovers so much more about herself, her late husband, her own father and his widow. As she begins to heal, Rachel finally takes her first steps forward toward the future.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

A poignant story of love, loss, and what comes next.

It took me a bit to get invested in this book, but once it started moving for me it went fast. Rachel and her family have experienced loss in different ways over the years, but no one is prepared when he husband, Josh, is suddenly killed in an accident. Rachel is devastated, of course, and doesn’t know how to move forward.

No one expects her to move back to her childhood home, now owned by her stepmother after her Dad’s death. But she does, and finds herself getting to know Brooke and forming a real connection with her. She is also supported by her family and her former high school boyfriend, Campbell.

I think that the author captured the grief process well, and I admired Brooke’s character for her selflessness, despite having been treated badly by Rachel and her siblings. Overall, I would read other books by this author as well.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

This is How it Started was an emotional book with a lot of family drama. It was slow for me at the beginning but as the author developed the characters and story, I was captivated. There is grief and loss as Rachel learns to move forward after the death of her husband. She learns a lot about life and her family discovering family secrets. There is a lot of depth to this book and in the end, a lot of hope for the future.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 Stars
This books begins with the funeral of Rachel Gold Ackermann’s husband Josh. This book tells Rachel’s journey to this point in time, and how she deals with the aftermath of her husband’s death. The book is full of her dysfunctional family, the history of her love story with her husband, and her first love Campbell Scott. I’ve read previous books by this author, which are more traditional romance and this fits more in the Chick Lit/Women’s literature genre. While there were times that Rachel frustrated me, I couldn’t put this book down. This is a story of grief and how Rachel eventually gets out to the other side. Definitely a really good read. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book completely swept me away. There is so much I loved, from the writing style, to the family dynamics, to the raw honesty of emotions. There’s just so much enjoy. There is a lot of sadness and grief in these pages, but there is also that reminder that life continues, and things change and move along. There is a low of personal growth in a lot of the characters, relationships grow and change. While this is Rachel’s story at its core, it also felt like her family’s story as well. The setting was really the icing on the cake. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Rachel Ackermann lost her father a year ago, and now her husband has died. Rachel is struggling to even get out of bed, and she finally decides she has to do something. She wanted to go home, where she grew up, and she asked her stepmother if she could come back to her childhood bedroom. The family never liked Brooke, because she was only a few years older than they are, and she was the reason, her parents got divorced.
Brooke tells her she can move into her childhood bedroom, and things begin to change. Rachel, not only learns a lot about herself, but about her father, her stepmother, her family, and how to move forward in life.
Her journey, takes her through, loss, grieving, hope, discovering that she let hurt, cloud her judgement, taking the first step to moving forward, and discovering that what she thought about some things was holding her back. It isn't easy, but she moves forward, and discovers, life goes on, and she has to move forward, discovering who she is now.
I received an ARC from Kensington Books-Lyrical Press through NetGalley.

Stacy Finz is an author that I have come to count on for an excellent story. She did not let me down with This is How It Started, even though it is pretty different from her other stories. I loved the characters dealing with grief and trying to move forward after devastation. This was definitely not what I expected, but I loved it nonetheless.

Another great book by Stacy Finz! I have enjoyed many of her books and although this one was very different than the others - I enjoyed it just as much! The characters are interesting and well-developed and the story line makes this book hard to put down.

Review: This is How it Started by Stacy Finz
     
5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️     
     
Thank you to Net Galley for my advanced copy of this new book by Stacy Finz. This was my first time reading a book from Net Galley, and really enjoyed every moment of this one!!      
     
I found it such an easy read which is just what you need over the Christmas period! Something that you want to keep picking up, and that flows nicely. The way the author writes is so beautiful, that it just gripped me instantly!      
     
The story follows Rachel who is a young widow, who used to have everything she wanted until her late husband Josh was taken away from her. She decides to move back to her childhood home that is now occupied by her late father’s new younger wife Brooke, who nobody in her immediate family likes. Then lots of other storylines unfold and Rachel and Brooke have to learn to get along.      
     
I really did feel Rachel’s pain throughout the book. Even though she is going through the most awful time in her life, the book just had such a nice warmness to it with everything that happens after Josh’s death.      
     
With Jewish culture references, a story about life and death, heart-wrenching chapters and a lot of love, this book is definitely one I would recommend!

Stacy Finz is one of my top five favorite authors but I am sad to say this story just did not do anything for me at all. I was disappointed as I had looked forward to reading it.

This book is emotional and captivating. It deals with grief and moving forward, family, reevaluation, and hope. The story is complex, the characters are distinctive, and I couldn’t put it down.