Love for Beginners: A Novel

Jill Shalvis

Jun 2021 · The Wildstone Series Book 8 · HarperAudio · Narrated by Erin Mallon

About this audiobook

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

What would you change if you had to start your life—and love life—over again?

When Emma Harris wakes up from a coma she learns that her fiancé and her BFF have fallen in love, she’s lost her job, and the life she knew is gone. Overwhelmed but grateful to be alive she starts over from scratch. Not as easy as it sounds, of course. But she’s never been a quitter, even if she wishes she could quit rehab, where her hot but evil physical therapist, Simon, puts her through the wringer. 

Eager for a new beginning, Emma opens a doggy day care. Unfortunately, the only space she can afford is owned by her childhood nemesis Ali Pratt. But hey, she’s been through worse, right? She tries to roll with the punches, but a friend drops his grandpa off at the doggy day care in desperation then on top of that, she and Ali bring the term ‘frenemies’ to a whole new level. And then another grandparent shows up. And another.

In the midst of all that, Emma realizes she’s accidentally fallen for Evil PT. But the most horrifying thing of all is that Ali just might have turned into the best friend she’s ever had. And as Emma grows from the pain of her past and takes on her new path, she comes to realize that life isn’t what you’re given, it’s what you make of it. 

Ratings and reviews

Love for Beginners is a sweet, heart-tugging addition to the Wildstone series. I love how all these books can be read as standalones, the small town of Wildstone the thread that holds them altogether. Emma is on the road to recovery from an devastating accident that threw her entire world into an upheaval. Although she's suffering survivor's guilt, which holds her back from fully living 100%, she's doing her best to heal and move on. Emma is so strong, which was hard for her to see. I like how she persevered and fought through her pain, even if at times she just wanted to give up. Simon is so wonderful with her, patient but not afraid to push when he knows she has it in her to give more. I don't think either of them expected to fall for the other, and there was some back and forth as they tried to navigate the feelings between them, while also dealing with everything else life was throwing at them. Emma wasn't the only one who needed to learn to move one, Simon seemed to think he needed to carry the weight of the world, or at least his family, on his shoulders. I really enjoyed that this book was told from multiple points of view. While the main focus was on Emma and Simon, and their love story, I liked that Ms. Shalvis also included Alison's point of view- she kind of stole the show for me, I think I saw a lot of myself in her! I loved seeing all three of these characters grow and change over the course of this book. They each had things they needed to work out for themselves, before they were able to fully open their hearts, and it was such an entertaining, enjoyable journey being right there with them.

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning novels wherever books are sold and visit her website, jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.