The Art of Starting Over

In this journey from first love to second chances, New York Times bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin brings a single mom and a widower back home to renew the spark that will light their way forward.

Devorah Campbell's life falls apart under the pressure of one truth: her husband is having an affair with her best friend. So Devorah packs up her daughter and their shared heartbreak for small-town Oyster Bay, where she grew up. Her relationship with her father is still on the rocks, but Devorah has her brother there--and, unexpectedly, her brother's best friend.

Hayden McKenna lost his wife a year ago and has struggled with single fatherhood ever since. Moving back home with his son is a last but best resort, a chance to start fresh, surrounded by family and old friends. But when Hayden runs into Devorah, his childhood crush, sparks fly as bright as ever. If only he could make her see them too...

Amid a swirl of hurt and healing, Devorah and Hayden grow closer, rekindling what they had all those years ago to discover that, sometimes, a new start means going back to the beginning.

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288 pages

Average rating: 6.5

6 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

JL Reads
Apr 09, 2025
3/10 stars
A good book, but it felt too familiar... oh because it has the EXACT SAME plot as the movie Hope Floats. Wife finds out husband cheats with her best friend in a very public way. She goes back to her home town where she was the pageant queen and runs into her high school flame - who’s building a house, and whose wife died. The cheater fills their daughter’s head with broken promises. Wife hears a crash and finds out her dad had a heart attack and dies. Cheating husband shows up at the funeral, tells her to come back home so they can be a family again but he’s staying with the mistress. Their young daughter realizes he’s a POS and screams at him while high school flame guy is on the porch to declare his love and overhears everything. That’s this book. And Hope Floats. Book #32 in 2025

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