Start With Me

Although this book is not part of a series per say it definitely follows the book Can’t Help Falling which is where we actually meet the main character of this book Victor. This definitely can be read as a stand alone like I did but I think reading the previous one would have definitely help me better understand the dynamics in Victor’s family and Victor himself. He was obviously the bad boy in Can’t Help Falling but in Start with Me he is a guy just trying to live right and seeking forgiveness and redemption.

Victor is an alcoholic playboy redeemed by God’s grace and I for one felt for him. He was truly a changed man and no one wanted to at least give him a chance. It just made me think of how we as Christians hold on to grudges and resentment when others, especially those close to us hurt us but we can’t seem to find it in our hearts and minds to let it go.

We also meet Lacey who is trying to run away from the past and build a better future.She is ashamed of her small town roots and wants to make something out of herself. She is so focused on her advancing in her career she has no time for relationships. She has been hurt by the church before so the thought of even seeking God out is non-existent to her.

The story between them truly is the perfect blend. Its not a fall in love right away which I found really interesting. There are some comical laugh out loud moments and some moments where your heart just aches for both of them. The author does an excellent job at tugging at all your emotions but in the end I found it to be a great happy ending.

I really hope that Kara will continue the story with Lacey’s friend Anna. I think it was set up nicely and I for one can’t wait to read her story.

I received this book as part of the Just Read Books Tour. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion

Amazing story! Work drama, ( Meredith is crazy). Emotional baggage, family secrets, and romance. This book had it all and more. I enjoyed reading Victor and Lacey’s story so much! It does get a bit heavy at times but we get to see real growth and healing with these characters. Kara Isaac writes great examples of forgiveness, redemption and love.

Kara Isaac sure has a way of weaving a wonderful story. Her words are so captivating, calming and leave me always wanting more.

This is a story about second chances, lessons learned and forgiveness of self and others. It was a page turner that kept me reading late into the night. I was rooting for Victor to find someone who would give him the second chance he deserved. I was also hoping Lacey would realize there was more to life than a job, even if she loved it. This story has friendship, charm, humor, and love. Along with life lessons of kindness, forgiveness and redemption. Kara has never disappointed me and I cant wait to read what ever comes next!! I love the fact that minor characters from previous books get the chance to tell their own stories.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to read another Kara Isaac novel and could hardly wait to get my hands on this one. Her books are witty, hilarious, touching, and always a treat to read. I love her sense of humor, her creative settings and characters, and the ability she has to run the reader through the gamut of emotions—from laughing out loud to heartache.

The two main characters in this story are very realistic, endearing, and relatable, and I quickly found myself rooting for Lacey and Victor. Their flaws and personal histories make them so human and lovable that the reader laughs and cries right along with them. Isaac’s quirky, sometimes snarky, but always fun sense of humor adds so much to the story and makes for some laugh-out-loud scenes and visual images.

There are also tender, uplifting messages of redemption, forgiveness of self and others, honesty, grace, and healing that add emotional depth to the story. I loved Victor’s determination to put his mistakes behind him and change his life for the better.

“Sometimes it’s hard to accept that others have changed.”
“. . . you gave me the gift of not throwing my past back in my face. Nobody has done that for me before. Not ever.”

This book is bound for my keeper shelf along with this author’s other books. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary romance with wit and heart. 4.5 stars

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are my own

Start With Me by Kara Isaac gave me a book hangover. I absolutely loved the story and stayed up way too late reading it. The novel snagged my attention at the beginning and I just had to see the characters’ journeys through to the end. With the lovely balance of romantic tension and character development, I couldn’t put it down.

Start With Me had so much heart. While there were a handful of laugh-out-loud moments, the novel tackled serious issues. Lacey deals with a dysfunctional family and personal issues. Victor has a history of poor choices, alcoholism, and much more. The author didn’t skimp on his mistakes or give him a magical pass where everything works out. Making Victor struggle with the natural consequences of his actions added authenticity to the novel. Start With Me also takes on gender equality in the workplace. It makes no apology for women in leadership roles, asks hard questions, and doesn’t give male insensitivity or ignorance a pass.

Start With Me by Kara Isaac integrates several characters from the author’s previous books, but still works as a stand-alone novel. Lacey and Victor’s backstory is supplied and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything in regards to them. However, I clearly was missing information in Lacey’s relationship with her cousin and girlfriends. Sounds like a good reason to go pick up Kara Isaac’s other novels! I recommend Start With Me by Kara Isaac to readers who enjoy contemporary romances with gritty situations and inspirational themes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

OMG! Wow! I have a new favorite novel from Kara Isaac!!
After reading Peter and Emelia’s story in “Can’t Help Falling”, I never imagined Peter’s brother, Victor, in this case the villain of the story, would get his own chance at redemption and finding his Happily Ever After! And oh my! What a HEA so dificult to achieve!!
This was really a masterpiece story of unconditional love, forgiveness and redemption. One of the best I’ve read! It is so special because the hero in this story is a very flawed one, or at least he was, with past transgressions that people, even his own family are having a hard time to forgive and forget.
Victor Carlisle has gone through three rough years trying to make up after his many mistakes. After rehab, he has been sober and trying to mend as much as he can his relationships (except for one, but you’ll see). But in the end, he finds that whatever he does is never enough, people will never forget the kind of person he was. And he deserves it. But a slight hope for turning around his life and a chance at love appears in the form of Lacey O’Connor. They work for a Company (she in NYC and he in London) that have the same owner, which, after a scandal that rocks the Company, thinks the best thing is to merge both companies together, which will mean selecting who stays and who goes. After being sent to a wilderness camp together, in order to prove their own value to their boss, they get to know each other and there’s an undenying attraction, even if both are very reserved, due to respect and the no fraternalization company rule. But Victor isn’t aware of two things about beautiful Lacey: she’s her sister in law’s cousin (and his only brother is mainly the one person who hasn’t forgiven him for all the bullying he did to him since they were young), and he has not just met her six years ago, but kissed her as if his life depended on it… and he doesn’t remember even meeting her because he was drunk, which is a lowpoint in his chances for winning Lacey’s heart. I won’t say anything more because I would spoil you the story, but the plot is truly complex. This book is a real page turner, and I found myself, along with Lacey, falling hopelessly in love with Victor! It is so humbling to see a person trying to turn a new leaf with his life, and I was so admired of his quiet strength and humility, he’s not angry as he often was before. He has come to terms with his mistakes, and his faith will be very important at this point, but it is still hard for him to see that full redemption still seems out of reach, since he has wronged more than one person. And that makes him, to his eyes, unworthy of such a wonderful person that Lacey is. Will he find a way to mend his mistakes to start a fully new life without the heavy baggage of his past? Lacey has her own demons, and Victor’s struggles will help her see hers in a different light. Can they both fight them together? Or will Lacey’s career get in the way? Is it that love and career success can’t be had at the same time?
This is a must read, I assure you. It can be read as a standalone. But if you want to get to know Victor the bully, to fully understand his struggles of today, read “Can’t help Falling”. A wonderful story too! Still, Kara has truly outdone with this one! I’m more amazed because I know she wrote it during personal difficult times, so that makes it all the more valuable. You can see that God was truly behind this stort. There’s so much to learn from it, through the characters battles and struggles in trying to do what is right. The love story was beautiful and tender, I just loved it. There were some tears, but also many sighs.
Thanks Kara for such a wonderful and insightful book! I think we all have a part of us that is broken and we need to mend, and seeing Victor and Laney go through their hard times, and the beautiful ending, can give us hope that nothing is beyond God’s Mercy and Unconditional Love for us!

I am so pleased to see a new book from author Kara Isaac. At one time I thought there might not be any more from her and I was so disappointed but understood that life throws us curve balls and sometimes you just have to keep your head above water. Thankfully, Kara Isaac is back to writing and I’m grateful.

Because of the gap in time, it took me a bit to remember the last book this author wrote and how those characters lapped over into this book. I think this book can stand alone but you will be more satisfied if you read Can’t Help Falling first. It really sets the stage for this book and it’s main characters.

This is a story of forgiveness, redemption and love in many forms. Lacey and Victor both have complicated family relations. There is strain, tension and guilt for them both as they struggle with decisions they have made and how to repair mistakes and accept what cannot be changed. It’s like they are dancing a similar dance, facing outward until they bump into each other, turn, and really see the other person for the first time. Then they realize they are both dancing similar dances. They can see themselves in the other.

I enjoyed the slow burn romance and the attraction on the fringes. I love how Victor was willing to put so much on the line to prove himself to everyone. He felt so stripped down and vulnerable for so much of the book that I couldn’t help but cheer for him. He was the underdog in need of a good cheering section for sure. On top of the familial tension, there is the professional tension for both Lacey and Victor. They are battling against those things for most of the book. It definitely felt like a sigh of relief to get to some resolution by the end of the book.

The players for the next book have been set up nicely and I’m excited to read their story! This book is on KU if you have that.

Content: talk of substance abuse, intimate relations outside of marriage (no details at all), kissing. Talk of God, praying.

“Everyone would be better off if he wasn’t around. He’d given his whole family nothing but grief for decades…He pulled open the front door and let the night envelope him.”

Start With Me is a contemporary romance with a light faith theme that many will enjoy. Victor’s redemption story is quite moving; an alcoholic playboy redeemed by God’s glorious grace. And no one wants to believe the change is genuine and judges him rather harshly time and again. I have much affection for him.

Lacey’s spiritual journey was unfulfilling and rather weak, like watered down tea. I was expecting the faith element would be much stronger from some of the reviews that influenced me to read the book. And then the story ended…abruptly. I went back and forth on my Kindle trying to figure out where the rest of the story was. I’m pretty sure it was all there though.

I’m not sure of all my reasons for not appreciating this story as much as I had hoped to but it felt off somehow. I found the sentence structure weird at times and it had nothing to do with British diction. I’m the odd one out in the reviews, I know, so don’t take my word for it. Reading is subjective and what I didn’t care for might actually be what someone else loves.

I read this book on KU and wasn’t obligated to leave a review.

Ever since I read Can’t Help Falling, I waited in anticipation to see if Victor would get his redemption story, and he did. This book was more than I could have anticipated. Victor became the man he never thought he could be, and even though he still sometimes saw in himself the man he had been—arrogant, heartless, selfish, drunkard—he became a man of integrity and great worth.

Lacey was satisfied with corporate success, and dates that led nowhere. It was easier than allowing herself to ever be in a place where she didn’t have control. She knew Victor’s reputation and vowed not to fall for his charms. She had no clue that the man he was now would unsettle her and at the same time make her feel safe.

Both Victor and Lacey had to navigate through their regrets and insecurities to find the person they were each meant to be. I loved how through their brokenness a a little bit of faith, they each found a way to the other’s heart.

A wonderful redemption story with a message of selfless love. I recommend this book.

I love Kara Isaac’s books. I have been one of the ones counting down to the release date for each of her books. And she does not disappoint. Start with Me is a wonderful book. I loved diving back into the world that Kara Isaac has dreamt up. This time around we follow Lacey, Emelia’s cousin (Can’t Help Falling), as she navigates the merger of the US company she works for with the UK company Victor, Peter’s brother, works for. You do not have to have read any of the other books before you pick this one up but it will help and it will give away outcomes to the ending of Can’t Help Falling if you end up going back to read it (which you should totally read!).

Lacey is very driven and focused on climbing the cooperate ladder as publicist to prove something to herself. She is very good at her job and knows how to navigate a sales pitch as well as make a book on the New York Bestsellers List. She’s the one you want to be publishing your book. But she is very distant with her family and only allows a handful of people close to her.

Victor, once womanizing and on a path of destruction riddled with alcohol and drugs, is now on a path of redemption after the death of his cousin shook him to the core. If only everyone else would notice his effort. Victor has been sober for three year and hasn’t been on a date for that same amount of time. His relationship with his family is rocky at best and he doesn’t blame them one bit. Victor works for the sister company that Lacey works for and their worlds are about to collide (again even if Victor doesn’t remember the first time).

Because of the scandals that both Langham & Co, Lacey’s employer, and Wyndham House, Victor’s employer, were caught up in, Meredith Langham has decided to combine the two companies and restructure them. Meredith has a strange way of deciding who gets what seat in the pyramid of leadership. She is quick to start eliminating those she doesn’t think are fit, which comes across more haphazard than anything. She then sends a limited number of the remaining candidates to the wilderness to see how they measure up. It is her way of catching them off-guard and learning of their character and not just what they are like in the office or how they present themselves while in front of her.

In the wilderness the two are teamed up together. You start to learn who Lacey really is beneath the walls she’s built around herself and you learn about Victor and some of his demons. Victor has truly become a humble man these last three years. He has been going to counseling and AA meetings and has starting working through the things that had brought him to the event of his cousin’s death. It hasn’t been an easy road and he doesn’t blame anyone for not believing in him. At times I just felt so bad for him and how everyone views him while he keeps trying to be better, keeps pressing on.

After the wilderness trip work goes back to normal but there are spies everywhere. You never know if you are about to be escorted out the building or find your name on the list of leadership. Victor and Lacey see each other again at Emelia and Peter’s wedding, things continue to get complicated as Emelia and Peter start to protect Lacey from “bad boy” Victor, amazes me how they haven’t noticed a change in Victor. Things kind of explode from the comments made to Victor. He continues to say he knows he’s not good enough for Lacey. His family is so mad at his past behavior that they fail to see the man he has been changing into for several years.

There is a strong redemption story in this book especially for things not being the way they perceive them to be at first. Understanding is found when the truth is finally talked about and not shoved down because they are too proud to say sorry or say what their struggles are really from. God, and being a believer is a part of this book, but I wouldn’t say it was the core. Lacey is the only one on the edge between belief and disbelief and I think she is starting to believe by the end of the book but it isn’t a big “I believe in God now and everything is now perfect, my family is restored, my addiction is gone, I have the dream job, and the dream guy.” It’s more of a nodded of her starting to see where things lined up too perfectly not to be God. She wants to believe. She wants to understand how a messy life can be redeemed by the Father. I believe she will get there. I think with working through the messy and seeing how God uses those times to draw you near is more powerful for Lacey and what she needs to find a relationship with Him.