TITLE – Time to Begin
SERIES – Ward Sisters, #5
AUTHOR – Patti Korbet
GENRE – Contemporary Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – September 15, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – estimated at 125k words
PUBLISHER – Patricia Korbet
COVER ARTIST – Patti Korbet
Summary:
She'd been dealt too many blows to count. He'd always lived life on easy street. Are they Yin and Yang or a mistake of epic proportions?
Makeup artist Reggie Reynolds has endured a life as colorful as her ever-changing hair. After a painful childhood and a tragic adolescence, by sheer force of will, she found success – first in Hollywood, then on Broadway. Returning to her hometown offers a chance to help her aging grandfather and realize her dreams, not to mention soothe a broken heart. But even her storied past won't prepare Reggie for what happens in her next chapter.
When reporter Eddie Besson meets Reggie on a flight to New York City, he thinks he's at an all-time high-point in his cushy, perpetual-youth life. Twenty-four hours with Reggie changes Eddie's perspective. Despite the fact she doesn't want anything to do with him when he leaves, Eddie can't stop thinking about the girl from New York City long after he's gone from the Big Apple.
As Eddie's perfectly-orchestrated life falls apart, he has some tough decisions to make, with only one thing certain: there will be consequences to pay for his lackadaisical approach to adulthood. Reggie's own soul-searching reveals some painful truths, including guilt about passing judgment on the guy from Maine. When she runs into Eddie again – this time on his home turf – sparks fly and decisions must be made, choices that aren't universally well-received. Will this unlikely pair go all-in, find a way to balance the scales and live life on their own terms? Or will tragedy tear them apart for good?
I hadn't read any of the previous Ward Sisters series but I wasn't lost by any means. I do feel that I may have been lacking some personal family insight to Reggie's character but not enough to lesson my enjoyment but enough that I had to give it 4 bookmarks instead of 5.
The author has done such an exceptional job with the character composition that I felt like I could easily be living next door to them and actually like them, unlike some of the neighbors I actually have.
I may not have read the previous entries in the Ward Sisters series, but after reading Time To Begin, they are going on my TBR list as is the author going on my watch for list.
Rating: 
The girl with the pink and black striped hair kept looking at him. Eddie thought he was just being paranoid at first, but she was definitely staring. He didn't think he could possibly know her – after all, she looked like part of a Punk crowd, and despite his appreciation for the genre, that was definitely not his speed of social group. Maybe they'd had classes together in college. She might be around his age. But though he felt like he knew her somehow, he didn't recognize her.
Pink Hair didn't make any effort to engage him. Nonetheless, there she was, staring again. This time, though, her eyes watered and she looked like she struggled to keep the tears away. Maybe she wasn't staring at him so much as through him. He should probably ignore her. But then her eyes drifted shut and a tear escaped, running down a surprisingly angelic face.
Shit, he thought. Don't do it, Besson. Just stay where you are.
Too late.
He got up and moved to sit next to her. When he put his hand over hers, she jumped a little and looked at him, confused.
“Hey, you okay?” Eddie asked.
“Um, not really. But it's nothing. Don't worry about it.”
“If it was nothing, then you wouldn't be crying. Want to talk about it?” Jesus, what was it with him and providing an ear these days? First Kay and her marital troubles, now a stranger? Who next? Maybe she'd say no. Hopefully.
“No, that's okay.”
Oh, good. That's a relief, he thought. Eddie's hand was still covering hers and she looked down at it. Since she didn't pull her hand away, Eddie left his there. Maybe it comforted her. Maybe it would be enough and she wouldn't use him as a sounding board. She sniffed and when she looked up she smiled at him.
“I'm Reggie.”
“Eddie. You headed to New York?”
“Yeah. You?”
He nodded. “I've got a meeting.”
“Oh? You in finance or something?”
Eddie laughed. Hardly. “No. Reporter. I work at a small-town newspaper up north. My boss is sending me to meet with a potential new buyer for the paper.”
She'd bristled a little at the word 'reporter', but relaxed again when he said he worked at a small-town paper. Huh.
“Because you run things?”
“Nah. They want to meet with all the editors and I was away when they came last month. I guess it's nearly a done deal and they want to figure out where we all fit in their organization.”
“Oh. How long are you in the city?”
“A day. Fly down today, fly back tomorrow. What about you? Why are you headed to NYC?”
“I live there. Well, in Brooklyn, anyway. I work in the city.”
“What do you do? If you don't mind my asking. Sorry. Reporter's instinct to ask questions.”
“It's okay. I'm a makeup artist.”
“Oh yeah? Where do you work? In the movies?”
“I did. For a long time I worked in L.A. on movie and TV sets. I've been on a Broadway play for the past seven months. We were supposed to be done after six weeks. Then it stretched to six months. We're regrouping right now, but we're back to work tomorrow. They're talking about a long-term run.”
“Sounds like you're pretty excited about it.”
“It's basically my dream job. I always wanted to work on Broadway, but it's hard to get into the business there. Much easier in Hollywood, where there are a million different productions. Eventually, if you meet the right people, you're set. I got lucky and hooked up with a stylist when he was just getting started. That led to where I am now.”
Eddie smiled. “Seems like you made some smart moves.”
“I did. Now I get to work in my hometown and be near my family.”
Eddie laughed. “Me too. But somehow, I don't think my hometown quite compares with yours.”
“No? Population isn't in the millions? No loud noises, smelly exhaust or ridiculous traffic?”
“No all-night takeout, no clubs with up-and-coming music. No way to escape your family, even when they're driving you nuts. I love everything about New York.”
“Me, too,” Reggie said. “Those are just people's usual complaints. But everything you said, that's the reasons why I love living there. Plays, music, art, culture, food, history. It's all there.”
Now boarding Delta Flight 1220 to New York's LaGuardia at Gate 8. Please have your ID and boarding passes ready.
“I guess it's time to board. Where are you sitting?” Eddie asked.
“Um, 14C,” Reggie said, looking at her boarding pass.
“No way. I'm in 14A. Looks like we're sitting together.”
Reggie smiled. “Good. I was going to have to ask your seatmate if I could switch. Now I don't have to do that.”
Eddie Besson is that guy, the one who still acts like he's in college, despite entry into his 30's. As the sports editor for his small, hometown newspaper, he lives above his parents' garage, spends his free time hanging out at the one bar in town and strings along his high school girlfriend. The kicker is that he doesn't really think there is anything wrong with his life. Until he meets Reggie Reynolds, and suddenly, his world seems pathetic and wasteful.
Broadway and Hollywood makeup artist Reggie Reynolds fought hard for the life she has now. Abandoned by her parents, she clung to her beloved grandparents as long as she could. But her grandmother was taken by illness, and now her grandfather is succumbing to age. She has never been lucky in love and is sure she is doomed for a life without it. Then she meets Eddie Besson and the world gets a little brighter, even if just for a moment.
Dream Cast
Inspiration pictures at author's
Pinterest page.
My playlists are all on Spotify:
Beautiful Disaster – Jon McLaughlin
Falling – Jon McLaughlin
Faster – Matt Nathanson
Wake Me Up – Avicii
Love Stinks – The J. Geils Band
Who Says – Selena Gomez and The Scene
Thank You – The Shapes
Escape From New York – The Shapes
Claim Your Prize – The Shapes
Overflow – The Shapes
New Revolution – The Waking Hours
How Does It Feel – The Waking Hours
Survive – The Moog
I Like You – The Moog
All On Me – The Shys
Bom Bom Bom – Living Things
Not Thinking Straight – Pint Shot Riot
Five Year Rut – Supergarage
Turn Me On – Bromheads Jacket
I Couldn't Imagine – Julie the Band
Pretty Good Day – Best Not Broken
Take My Picture – Best Not Broken
Restless Heart – Matt Hires
The Mess I Made – Parachute
Hanging By A Moment – Lifehouse
Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) – Nine Days
It's Time (Live London Sessions) – Imagine Dragons
Static Waves (Featuring Katie Herzig) – Andrew Belle
Baby, I Love You – Ramones
Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend – Ramones
Family (featuring Tim Armstrong) – The Interrupters
Strangers – The Kinks
Author Bio:
For a majority of her life, two things have been true about Patti Korbet: she loves to read and she has a very active imagination. You can often find her with a book or her Kindle in hand. And in the last few years, she's frequently been typing away at her little netbook, turning the myriad thoughts that run through her head into story ideas.
Her career path to author has had many twists and turns, but Patti has been making up stories in her mind for as long as she can remember. Just as her son turned 9 months old, she made serious work of molding those stories into works of fiction. She put her nose to the grindstone in the fall of 2012 and hasn't looked back since.
When not reading or writing, Patti pretends to be a gardener, loves to dance, watches a variety of shows with compelling characters and most importantly, takes care of her family of four. She hopes one day to convince her husband that fiction writing is a worthy pursuit. In the meantime, she's proud to see the seeds of imaginative storytellers and prolific readers in her daughter and son.
Sterling Silver "Hope" Pink Ribbon Necklace
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