Book Review - The Start of Something by Miranda Dickinson

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Title: The Start of Something

Author: Miranda Dickinson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ

Publication Date: 3rd February 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Two lonely people.

One note in the window.

And what happens when they reach out…

Lachlan Wallace is stuck at home after a car accident stalled his army career. With months of physiotherapy still to endure and only his rescue dog and cat for company, he’s taken to gazing out of the window, watching the world spin on without him. And then he notices a vase of flowers on the windowsill of the apartment opposite his. Drawn to their hope and colour, he decides to reach out and sticks a message in his window…

Bethan Gwynne is a stranger in a new town. Bringing up her son Noah by herself, she is slowly rebuilding her life, but loneliness is one obstacle she has yet to overcome. She’s intrigued by a glimpse of her neighbour in the apartment across from hers – and then, one evening, she sees a message in his window just for her:

WHAT ARE THOSE FLOWERS CALLED?

And so begins a love story of two people reaching out, daring to trust a stranger…

How utterly compelling this story is, especially given how little time the two main characters spend together. 

Told in alternating chapters between Lachlan and Bethan's stories, we are treated to a rather engaging story, of two interesting characters, who both are drawn to each other. But both have certain things in common, a demon of sorts to overcome, especially with how they are perceived and how others view them. 

And the majority of their interaction are through notes written and put in their windows,  as they live in apartments opposite each other. Both unexpectedly finding a friend when they are at their lowest ebbs. 

I was invested in both characters stories, as different as they were, and I really enjoyed getting to know them both.

The individual journeys they both go on, over the course of the book were fascinating, and I really wasn't sure how things would turn out. It is one of those that could have gone either way, and I wasn't completely sure I'd get the ending I wanted, until perhaps a couple of chapters before the end.   And wow Miranda puts her characters through the wringer a bit in this. Nothing is straightforward at all. 

I also loved who was living in Lachlan and Bethan's apartments with them.  On Lachlans side we have Bert and Ernie, a gorgeous cat and dog duo, who are a great double act just like their namesake.  And on Bethan's we have her 3 year old son Noah, who is dragon mad and comes out with some great and amusing lines. 

Just an all around fabulous story, that my only regret was having it on my kindle for over a year before I finally sat down to read it,  as its brilliant. 

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.