Review: The Beginning After by Kiersten Modglin!

Publication date: 13th February 2018

Paperback edition: -
Source: Kindle
Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis: Peighton Claiborne’s perfect world is built on perfectly crafted lies. When the sudden death of her husband destroys everything she worked so hard to create, Peighton finds herself struggling to cope.

As the police begin digging into the mysterious death, they uncover secrets her husband had spent years trying to keep buried. The people Peighton believed she could count on, and the ones she needs more than ever, begin to turn on her, leaving Peighton to pick up the remaining pieces of her life alone.

When a police officer assigned to her husband’s case, Clay Nealson, takes a special interest in her, Peighton thinks they may finally uncover the truth she so desperately seeks. Together, Peighton and Clay search for answers. In a moment of weakness, she finds herself falling for a man she barely knows. But, when Peighton discovers Clay may have his own hidden motivations to finding out the truth of her husband’s death, she is forced to realize the only person she can truly trust is herself.

As the world she once knew spirals around her, Peighton must uncover the truth about her husband, his secrets and his death, before it’s too late. And, in an effort to protect those she loves, she must reveal a few secrets of her own—ones that threaten to destroy everything she worked for.

I haven't read any of this author's other books, but I was quite excited when I first heard about this book and saw the cover! The synopsis had me intrigued and wanting to find out more! The author then spoke to me about ARCs, so I signed up to request one! I started this book as soon as I received my ARC, and after reading, I can say that I enjoyed this book! The plot developed at a really good pace and it only took me a few sittings to read! I knew that the plot was going to have some mystery in it after reading the synopsis too, and it really did! I wasn't sure who to trust right from the first chapter and I actually found myself doubting characters more and more as the plot progressed lol! The plot had plenty of twist and turns in it too and there were actually a lot more than I was expecting lol! The plot had secrets too and these really had an impact on the plot! I loved the romance in the plot too! The characters were also amazing and made this book even better! Peighton was the main female character, and in this book she went through a lot, especially at the beginning! She lost someone that she really loved and this was bound to have an impact on her! I will be honest and say that I didn't agree with all of Peighton's actions in this book, but she was going through a lot of emotions and I understood it more as the plot progressed and secrets came out! Peighton was also very protective of her son and it was easy to see that she wanted what was best for him! Clay was the main male character and love interest of Peighton! Clay was a character that intrigued me as soon as he was introduced! I wasn't sure if I could really trust him or not and it did take quite a bit of the book for me to actually start trusting him! Clay had also experienced a huge amount of loss and this meant that I felt very sorry for him! I respected Clay a lot too because he had a good job and he was protective of Peighton! It was easy to see his feelings for her develop too! This book was written in third person! I have to be honest and say that I didn't think that it was going to be written in third person before I started reading it, so I was surprised! I'm not normally a fan of books that are written in third person, but I read quite a few books last year that were written this way and enjoyed them, so I'm getting better at reading them lol! This book was still mainly written from both Peighton and Clay's point of views, which I was really happy about! I was also still able to connect with the two of them and it allowed for more things to happen in the plot too! I can also completely understand why this book is a standalone! I'm kinda sad that it is because I enjoyed reading it and I'm going to miss Peighton and Clay! I can't wait to check out this author's other books that have already released though and find out more about what she's going to release next! The cover for this book is also absolutely perfect for it! It drew me to the book and made me want to read the story behind it! The cover suits the mystery/suspense aspect of the plot too! Big thank you to Kiersten for an ARC of The Beginning After!