Series – Love and Betrayals #1
Rating – 4 out of 5
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Blurb – Raised in a safe and sheltered environment, Jenny Wright may have no life experiences, but she has goals and the perseverance to achieve them. When she came to the charming Cedars resort, her intentions were only to study in preparation for her med school exams. That is until she meets the handsome Ray.
Ray Benson is career-driven, highly educated, and not used to taking no for an answer. Since taking over his father’s business, he has no intention of starting a relationship. However, he has no objections to a summer love affair with a beautiful young woman.
Can Jenny and Ray, two people from completely different worlds truly make love work? Do they even have a choice?
Review – Well, this book was very different to a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately. Most of my reading has consisted of smut lately, and that’s not a complaint at all because, let’s be honest here, I love a bit of smut. But this book was a very pure and incredibly sweet romance, and it was very refreshing after so much erotica lately.
Jenny is 19 and she is studying to get into medical school so that she can become a doctor like both her parents are. She is very serious and very innocent, with little real life experience. It’s obvious that her parents have sheltered her from the real world a lot. But I really liked Jenny as a character. Her shyness is so endearing and yet she has a very feisty streak that means she’s not afraid to stand up to someone if she feels they are not treating her right.
In this book, Jenny has visited a holiday resort called Cedars with her friend Leah. Leah is slightly older than Jenny and they are VERY different. To be honest, I didn’t like Leah all that much as she seemed really selfish and at times she was almost cruel in the way she treated Jenny, and Jenny often seemed oblivious to the ways that Leah was manipulating her to get what she wanted. But once they are at Cedars, they meet two guys, Ray and Gary. Although they are not related, Ray and Gary consider themselves to be brothers, as Ray’s parents helped to raise Gary after his parents died. Leah and Gary get together straight away, which wasn’t really surprising as they both have very similar characters and Gary often enjoyed being cruel to Jenny too.
Now the relationship between Jenny and Ray could definitely be considered a slow burn. Due to her lack of experience with men, it takes her a while to even recognise the fact that Ray likes her, or to even understand that what she is feeling is an attraction to him. But Ray is patient and kind and always treats her so lovingly, which was so heart-warming to watch. And once Jenny does realise that she likes Ray, and that he likes her back, it is the start of an adorable romance. Jenny is a virgin and needs to take things slowly, and Ray is the perfect gentleman with her, bringing her flowers and taking her to dinner and always making sure that she is comfortable with him. During their courtship there were even discussions about topics such as consent and contraception, which may not seem all that sexy, but I was pleased to see it included as it showed how much Ray wanted to take care of Jenny.
When Jenny is ready, Ray leads her on a journey of sexual awakening that is both sweet and incredibly sensual all at the same time. The level of heat between them is extraordinary and almost surprised me in its intensity considering how shy and inexperienced Jenny was before meeting him. I loved watching Jenny open up to Ray and gain some confidence through his love for her.
Overall, I really enjoyed Beginning and I am looking forward to reading more sweet romances from this author.
Chrissie's Romance Reviews 