Beginning of Forever by Catherine Bybee
POV: 3rd Person Multi
Put out percentage: 44%
Tropes: Vacation Fling; Wine Country; Family Series
Series: The D’Angelos Book 3
Type of Series: Series of Standalones
Rate: 4/5 Stars
Release Date: 6/27/23
Is there a 3rd act break up: No
Beginning of Forever revisits the D’Angelo family and their big feelings. I wasn’t sure going into this book quite what to expect from Gio’s book. There was something about his appearances in book one and two of this series that put me off of his character a little bit. Perhaps it was his almost flippant attitude about things, I am not sure. That being said. I really enjoyed his character arc in this story. It shows how much he truly cares for those around him and the love he has for his family.
Family is such an important theme in this story. The good and bad sides of it. Emma’s father is one who believes that a woman doesn’t have a place int he business and she has been spending her life trying to prove herself. She has finally hit the point where she realizes that nothing she does will be good enough and tries to move forward. But she doesn’t know there are strings to that moving forward.
These two meet on a wine tasting trip across Italy. They are both in the wine business ad looking to learn, and this is where their beginning of forever starts to take hold even when Emma fights it. Their hunger for their crafts and passions was nice to see. But also the maturity that both of these individuals isn’t something that we always get in a contemporary romance book, even with adult characters.
“I was lost from your first kiss. And even when you got in my face and told me that this wasn’t the beginning of forever . . . I knew you were wrong.
I found myself loving this book so much more than the first two.
The protective nature that Gio has towards Emma but at the same time allowing her to make choices and mistakes on her own endeared me to him more. He had all the support that he needed with his family and didn’t hesitate to share that with Emma whenever she needed.
There was a secondary element to this story with Emma’s health, and honestly I thought Bybee did an amazing job writing the real fears and frustrations with health issue. All ideals of protecting ones health are realistic and make sense.
This family is something else, and I am excited to read the next installment to revisit the D’Angelos again.
