I couldn't get into this story I'm afraid and I'm DNF'd it.

Although this book seemed to get high reviews from most of the community, it didn't strike that same love with me. While the book was meant to be a Cinderella inspired story, I found a lot of what takes place very unbelievable. The main character's dad just abandons her and it was really sad and kind of turned me off to the family in general.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night, which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client. If Tatum is reading his emails right, her virtual Prince Charming is funny, smart, and talented—and he seems to think the same about her. Too bad he’s spending his summer across the ocean in Ireland…not that Tatum would be allowed to go on a date anyway.
But over the course of the summer, Tatum will learn that sometimes going after what you want means breaking all the rules. And when Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

Another YA novel that promises quite a lot but doesn't really deliver on any of it in any real way.

That's not to say that it is a bad book in any way - it certainly isn't that. If you like teen-angst, cheesy romance novels, then this excels at that. As for the story-telling, it was slow and pretty boring, to be honest...and Tatum as a main character? Just wasn't very likeable - and if you don't like the MC in a YA novel, you are really going to struggle to like the book...

And that, sadly, was the case for me.


Paul
ARH

Cute for a YA book and kinda retelling of Cinderella

I am totally in love with this adorable, fluffy Cinderella retelling. I like that it had little twists and turns that were Cinderella-esque, but it didn't turn out completely like the story other than the Happily Ever After. I really loved all the characters and I love the growth of each of them in the story. It was just the sort of contemporary I needed in the hustle and bustle of the holiday time (although it would be great as an end of the summer read like when the story takes place).

This was unfortunately a book I requested when I was interested in seeing how it was, but now that time has passed since approval, I'm not longer interested in the story. My apologies.

Between It Started With Goodbye and Geekeralla, Cinderella retellings are KILLING it lately, something I absolutely love considering, in the past, I've never really found one I've been a fan of.
Tatum is a super fun character, and she actually reminds me quite a bit of myself. My favorite character, well I have to give that to her step-abuela(grandmother), she was an absolute riot and really brought the whole family together in a slow burn kind of way(if that even makes sense!). If you're a YA Contemporary Romance fan, this read is for you. I loved the sneak peeks into Tatum's graphic design business, and the fun back and forths via email she had with one client in particular(no spoilers!). Overall, this is a book to move to the top of your TBR - I can't wait to read about Tilly in Everywhere You Want To Be - I was so psyched to see that she'll be getting her own story!

Going into this book I was unaware that it was a Cinderella retelling. I have read several retellings in the past and am a fan of Disney movies like A Cinderella Story. Therefore, I had high hopes before going into this book. I agree that this book was a nice change from the typical middle-grade stories that are being published. It is nice to see something clean and lighthearted for middle school aged kids to read. I would definitely recommend this to young YA and middle grade readers. It wasn't necessarily something new and special. It was also very cheesy at certain points. However, there was a special quality to it that was added by the writing style (which I thoroughly enjoyed). I would highly recommend for those looking for a light hearted read that is appropriate for many different age groups.
Overall:
4 out of 5 stars
90% out of 100%

It had been a bit since I'd read a YA book and I had completely forgotten that this was a slight Cinderella retelling, so that was kind of fun to figure out as I was reading. Parts of this felt a bit contrived to me (would the stepmother actually get away with that, really?), but I liked the SK parts and the friendships and the stepsister development. This book was fun and cute and reminded me of Tell me Three Things, which I adored.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blink for the review copy of this fun YA book.

This was a super cute read. Predictable, but still very enjoyable. Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for a honest review. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

I obviously enjoyed this one to finish it in two nights. It was a quick read, and I adored the characters. I think a lot of girls can relate to Tatum, and her situation. Maybe not the severity of it, but we all have falling outs with our parents as teens. I really enjoyed virtual Prince Charming, Tatum’s step-abuela slash fairy godmother, and some of the other characters like Abby.

Nothing really surprised me while reading this book, but I don’t think books always need to do that. And since it’s a spin on Cinderella, you kind of already know what’s going to happen. Prince Charming was just that…super charming. He’s going on my book boyfriend list for sure. I get swoony just thinking about him. *sigh*

I liked the growth Tatum reaches by the end of the story, and how she–and everyone around her–is better for it. I guess I wanted a little more romance, but I know the focus was more on the family dynamics, and Tatum’s journey of discovery. Props for making me a little emotional towards the end. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes a cute contemporary read with heart.

A modern day Cinderella story that explores family, friendships and the complexities of relationships. An excellent debut novel which should appeal to young readers and those who are young at heart. Good character development and an interesting and amusing read. A good easy read!
The publisher’s blurb is an excellent introduction.
Recommend to those who enjoy a charming story.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Harper Collins for an ebook copy to read and review.

I am a huge fan of YA books and I loved this cover and blurb, so I decided this would be a book for me. I was right. I really enjoyed this YA twist of a modern Cinderella story !

Tate is held under house arrest by the wicked step-mother she has. I liked Tate's story a lot. I enjoyed the romantic aspect, even though it wasn't a huge part of the story. This is mostly a story of self discovery and finidng yourself. I recommend this to YA lovers!

I loved Tatum! It's refreshing to read a book with a main character that actually feels real, feels relatable. I think It Started with Goodbye is a great debut novel! Can't wait to read more from this author!

Cinderella Stories are some of my favorites and I absolutely loved this one. It's a light read for when you want to read a quick book and feel good towards the end of the book.

This book is a sorta of retelling of Cinderella, really enjoyed it. This is a fun, light read, but it delves into some deeper issues, like taking responsibility for your actions, relationships, and honesty. Sixteen-year-old Tatum is seemingly in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I enjoyed this story, purely for how the author told the story of Tatum, the moment her life made a change due to a wrong decision, as well as being wrongly accused of something she didn't do.

I was given this book for an exchange for an honest review, and I would definitely recommend it. My first book by Christina June.

I read it all in one setting. A totally captivating read and I highly recommend it.

Such a fast read! I love retellings (when they're good) and this one is FANTASTIC! I fell so in love with the characters, and I especially liked how they all get fleshed out more than in the original Cinderella story. I felt like I got to know each one of them more individually, and that made the story richer. What a fun summer read (I mean, who doesn't like a good retelling in the summer?). If you like fairytales, this is a great pick for you. It's like a pumped up leveled up Cinderella story.

As a whole, this book was cute, but if you know me, cute doesn't quite cut it.

Let's start with the Cinderella idea - I honestly wouldn't have instantly thought this book was a modern day retelling, but don't worry! If you forget, the book will beat you with that fact repeatedly.

Tatum isn't a helpless Cinderella per say. She is absolute piss at defending herself, but she manages to start her own freelance business which helps her make her own money. That's like the the equivalent of teenage success. However, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time and she gets punished for being in the driver's seat of a car. And honestly - I get it. When your parents need to pick you up at the police station, you know there's a punishment at the end of the car ride home. She ends up grounded and her travels are limited to baby sitting, her community service, and her sister's school events. Colour me surprised...

I get it though - some of the rules that were implemented were a little much, but I've heard of those punishments before in other books. Maybe it's 'cause my parents are more restrictive than most, but I didn't find the whole thing that weird or restraining. I get why she thought it was unfair, but her defence on the matter sucked. She barely stood up for herself and I wouldn't have sided with her either if I'd been her parents.

With all that being said, I really liked the idea of Tatum being independent and earning her own money from baby-sitting and freelancing. She took something she excelled at and pursued it. I really like that this part was in the book as it's the gate to a lot of what comes later, but also because it shows that if you enjoy something you should explore it and see where it leads!

The character development in this book was also pretty great. There are a lot of lessons to be learned here and I really liked how the characters grew with the story and how more and more is revealed about each character as time goes on. It's so easy to judge people and I enjoyed seeing how the characters grew and changed from the MC's perspective.

As a whole, this was a cute, light story that is fairly conservative when it comes to the romantic aspects of the novel. With all the more graphic romance books out there for teens, this was a breath of fresh air!

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.82/5

eARC obtained via Blink via NetGalley.

It Started With Goodbye tells the “Cinderella” story of a girl named Tatum who is grounded all summer for an unfortunate situation that happened between her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend. She played an unknowing part in a crime and had to pay a hefty fine and community service for her trouble. Like a Cinderella story, she has a step-mother whom she calls her “step-monster”. Her step-sister is quiet and cold to Tatum. So naturally she feels isolated regularly except her new punishment has heightened that feeling. The role of “fairy godmother” is played by Tatum’s step-grandma who is staying for the summer to help monitor Tatum’s daily actions while her dad is out of the country.

She sends a lot of emails with people over the summer, including her mystery “prince” named SK, and each time this happens we aren’t alerted to the switch between email and story line. This might seem minor but it really interrupted the flow of reading the story. A different font, or italics would have been nice here. I was a little surprised that we didn’t see more text message dialogue in this story of teenage juniors in high school.

The story is fairly predictable. 🙁

Once you tell someone it will be a Cinderella story you pick up on who is who in the story very fast. It isn’t hard to determine who in her family also has a secret. Also too easy to guess what the secret would be. The mystery boy “SK” was an obvious one. I know that was a little unavoidable in a book. It was also obvious as soon as she lost her key chain (the glass slipper in this case) that she would be getting it back in the end of the story, as well as how it would be returned to her.

I enjoyed following Tatum around through her troubled summer. I related to her days of manual labor because I spent one day at a wildlife reserve pulling plants for a college project requirement. The one day was enough, so I sympathized with her story of a whole summer in this labor. The moment she meets SK is sweet and just the right level of teen summer romance. I could remember being a teen and that innocent fun when getting to know your crush. That is about where I started to lose interest though. Being a mother myself, I didn’t believe the makeup moment between Tatum and her dad. Without revealing the story, I’ll say that it didn’t feel realistic in the way it happened. Also unrealistic (in my opinion) was the turnaround of the step-monster. It was too much and too quickly for a real person. Overall, the adults and their methods of parenting just weren’t quite realistic to me. Perhaps I need to broaden my parenting horizons. 🙂

All in all, a good read for the teenage audience.

I think they could relate to Tatum and her angst. I’m sure several teens will identify with her. Hopefully they’ll appreciate her growth and maturity toward the end of the story.

It Started with Goodbye is a modern spin on Cinderella, a story with solid and substantial themes, and told in a spirited, genuine voice. The main character Tatum is believable and worthy of a reader's interest. She’s stuck in perpetual battle with her too-strict stepmother, but the author carries this off without making Tatum appear to be a whining teen. Tatum is under "house arrest" after a brush with shoplifting leaves her with a summer of community service and a fine to pay off. To earn money, she starts taking on a few design clients, including the enigmatic SK, who is on vacation with his family in Ireland but needs her help with a website for college applications. The story unfolds with just the right mix of humor, angst, romance, and revelation.