{"id":35171,"date":"2018-08-02T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=35171"},"modified":"2019-11-28T04:23:05","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T09:23:05","slug":"review-from-the-ground-up-by-jennifer-van-wyk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=35171","title":{"rendered":"Review: From The Ground Up by Jennifer Van Wyk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 <\/strong>Paperback<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n
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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

OMG, this book! I loved it so much! A stunning romance that is as unique as it is beautiful and realistic, it\u2019s a truly special story and one of those books that you just want to curl up inside of and never leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was seventeen I fell in love. And I never fell out. I was lucky.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Barret. I was the lucky one. Still am.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barrett and Tess were high school sweethearts who fell in love at 17. Now in their 40s, they have been married for 22 years, have four children and two businesses, and they\u2019ve lost their groove a bit while dealing with life, work and kids. They\u2019re still madly in love, they just miss the \u2018us\u2019 they used to be and are trying to find their way back to each other.<\/p>\n

My gut clenches at the thought of her feeling less than anything but the love of my life. How did this happen between us? Did I pull away first, or did she? Or did it just happen because we both forgot to care? Forgot to put effort into each other and started to take the other for granted?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I read Feels Like Home<\/a> by this author earlier this year and it instantly became a favourite. At the time I read it I didn\u2019t realise that each of Van Wyk\u2019s books, though standalones, tie together, and this is the first of the inter-connected standalones that she has written and I\u2019m SO glad I went back and read it as it forms a strong base for the books to come, while also delivering a beautiful story. And the writing is stunning! I highlighted like a lunatic while reading, and I can\u2019t believe this is a debut novel!<\/p>\n

Through the trials, tribulations, and arguments, we\u2019ve never lost one thing. We\u2019ve never fallen out of love. Never once have I wished for our lives to be different. Sure, it\u2019s more fun to always be happy. But that\u2019s not life. Life is ugly and mess, and marriages are hard. If it were easy all the time, no one would appreciate the wonderful times. It\u2019s in the messy that we appreciate the pristine. And the pristine that is Tess and Barrett Ryan is a beautiful thing. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barrett and Tess have the kind of soul-deep love that everybody wants to experience. We see it in their everyday interactions, and in the flashbacks to their past, and all of it builds their relationship, bringing depth to the story and making us understand exactly what they\u2019re going through. The problems they are experiencing are relatable, and I suspect everybody who is married with children will have experienced some of what they\u2019re going through. It\u2019s a wonderfully written dynamic and they are so amazing together and this book completely captured my heart as I got swept up into life with this wonderful family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss you,\u201d I say.
\nHer body sags against me, and tears immediately form in her eyes. She\u2019s always been an emotional sap, but I know it\u2019s more than just her normal emotions getting to her now. She feels it too. I need to do something about it, and seeing her to the point of tears breaks my heart. She should never feel that our relationship will cause her tears.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t cry. Please, Tess. It breaks my heart. I can\u2019t take the tears.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d She sniffles. \u201cI can\u2019t help it. it\u2019s not just the sex. Yes, I miss it terribly, but it\u2019s you. I miss you too. We have to find a way to get back to ourselves.\u201d
\n\u201cCome on now, I know it\u2019s really just my magical penis that you miss,\u201d I tease her.
\nShe looks up at me with a watery smile and says through her chuckling, \u201cYou know it.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What makes this book so special is that Barrett and Tess never doubt their love for each other. In fact, they revel in it. They know each other inside and out, and are madly, wildly, deeply in love with each other, it\u2019s just all of the other stuff that\u2019s gotten in the way without them even noticing, and they are both desperate to reconnect. So they take off for a week of alone time in order to get back to \u2018them\u2019, and to start rebuilding their life together. And OMG, what a reconnection!<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t realize that I missed dating my husband.
\nHe reminded me that I did.
\nHe reminded me that I loved falling in love with him the first time.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s sweet, romantic and sexy, and Barrett\u2019s huge heart and unabashed love and adoration for his girl, and his efforts to show her that, had me in a world of swoon!<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, Tess. You need to understand that. You need to feel that my soul is empty without yours attached to it. My heart, my love responds only to you. Even after I take my last breath on this earth, my love is yours.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*dreamy sigh*<\/p>\n

This man.
\nHe\u2019s far from perfect.
\nBut he\u2019s perfect for me.
\nOur dream is wide awake, and we are living it.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And more than heartfelt declarations, their passion for each other is still very much alive, and the sexy time is seriously sizzling! Tess is a very lucky girl!<\/p>\n

\u201cAll. Week. Long. You\u2019re mine. Mind and body. Every single part of you is mine.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it\u2019s not all soul-searching and deep and meaningful conversations. There\u2019s a wonderful sense of playfulness to this couple. They laugh, tease, joke and banter, and seeing them joking around with each other, their kids and their friends shows how real they are, and how fun and light-hearted their lives are, and the little glimpses we got of that are just gold!<\/p>\n

\u201cI said no. End of discussion.\u201d
\n\u201cBut, Dad, it\u2019s not to get boys to notice me! The shirt is cute!\u201d
\n\u201cI have no doubt the shirt is cute. I also said no.\u201d\u2026
\nShe throws her arms up in the air and screeches, \u201cInconceivable!\u201d before stomping away. It\u2019s possible we may have made her watch <\/i>The Princess Bride one too many times.
\nBarrett roars with laughter at her response, smiles my way, clearly satisfied with the way his end of the discussion went.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s no massive drama, no angst or heartbreak, it\u2019s just a story of two people who are very much in love and dealing with all that life throws at them.<\/p>\n

I love being yours.
\nThere\u2019s not a single person on this earth who I\u2019d rather do life with.
\nYou have my heart forever.
\nWe fumbled.
\nWe picked ourselves back up.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I seriously loved this book. I was completely hooked from the moment I opened it all the way through to the final pages. Knowing some of the future stories already, I enjoyed seeing their beginnings, and I\u2019m excited to continue exploring this fantastic group of characters.<\/p>\n

Such a special read \u2013 5 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Wyk – Interconnected Standalones<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Each of these books can be read as standalones, but there are strong character tie-ins.<\/p>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0 \"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

From the Ground Up<\/strong> (Barrett & Tess)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

A Better Place<\/strong> (James & Carly)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Feels Like Home<\/strong> (Andy & Christine)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Waiting For Her<\/strong> (Grady & Bri)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

All I Need<\/strong> (Walker & Ellie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Other Guy <\/strong>(Jack & Sierra)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here for our suggested reading order and to see how all of these characters tie together.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback Review 5 stars! OMG, this book! I loved it so much! A stunning romance that is as unique as it is beautiful and realistic, it\u2019s a truly special story and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,50,49,9,29],"tags":[790,48],"class_list":["post-35171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epic-romance","category-favourite","category-feeeeeeels","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-jennifer-van-wyk","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/From-the-Ground-Up.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-99h","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}