New Beginnings Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of New Beginnings Books
Last One Home | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
A Girl's Guide to Moving On | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
If Not for You | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
New Beginnings is a series of romance novels written by Debbie Macomber. The books follow the exploits of heroines that are forced to start over with their lives after the unexpected happens.
+The Story
Debbie Macomber has been writing books for a very long time, having sold hundreds of millions of copies of her novels over the years. The author writes women’s fiction. She uses her books to tackle those issues that plague women.
While she has a tendency to contend with some pretty tough subjects, her books are normally light and heartwarming reads.
The New Beginnings series is fairly typical of the books that Debbie Macomber writes. The series features a whole host of strong female characters that are just trying to make it through life.
And through the exploration of their ordeals, Macomber attempts to deliver a positive message about hope.
The New Beginnings series initially focuses on the lives of the Carter family. As explained in ‘Last One Home’, the first book in the series, Cassie, Karen, and Nichole were very close sisters back when they were kids.
But then they started to mature and things went wrong. Their bonds technically began to break as a result of one particular incident. But after that, it took a series of occurrences to truly alienate the sisters from one another.
Cassie fell in love with the wrong man. She might have been their father’s favorite child but the seemingly well-behaved girl had no qualms about getting pregnant shortly after high school and abandoning her family.
Things were never the same from that point onward. Cassie and her sisters rarely talked. And even when their father passed, Cassie chose to stay away, a decision that finally broke any remaining shreds of interest and loyalty her family had for her.
None of them knew the truth. They had no idea that her husband was an abusive brute who made her life a living hell. They certainly did not know that Cassie would have given anything to reconnect with her family but she didn’t really know how to close the gap.
Cassie’s life begins to change when she settles in Washington with her daughter, having finally escaped her perilous marriage. An opportunity to connect with her sisters comes her way and Cassie does not hesitate to take it.
From there, things begin to spiral, sometimes for the better, other times for the worst. Cassie learns that while her life took a miserable turn, her sisters were hardly better off. Karen, the oldest sister, is struggling to make it as a wife, mother and career woman.
To prying eyes, Karen is practically perfect, what with her ability to care for two children whilst also keeping her successful career going. However, Karen’s household isn’t without its complications.
Then there is Nichole, the youngest sister who spends her days managing her marriage home while her husband plies her with every luxury she could possibly desire. After a life spent indulging in all the wonders that money can buy, Nichole’s existence shatters when infidelity enters her marriage.
The Carter sisters are a complicated bunch and the New Beginnings series initially focuses solely on their exploits. Macomber throws them down to the depths of despair, and then readers get to watch them as they pick up the pieces of a seemingly shattered life and start over anew.
Their journey is one of love, loss, heartache, and romance. The sisters must come to terms with the mistakes of their past, heal and open their hearts up to the new men in their lives.
While later books in the New Beginnings series stray away from the Carter sisters, the women continue to play a role on the fringes of the story. For instance, ‘If Not For You’, the third book in the New Beginnings series follows the trials of Beth Prudhomme, a privileged young lady who attempts to make a new life for herself in Oregon, away from the control of her parents.
Beth just so happens to be a friend of Nichole Carter. Her story doesn’t differ that drastically from what readers encounter in the books that precede ‘If Not For You’. Like Cassie and Nichole, Beth is a troubled young lady who is struggling to start over.
At the end of the day, the one theme that appears in every novel in this series is the idea of new beginnings and starting afresh. Each story typically juggles more than one plot.
Debbie Macomber also follows multiple characters. While some plots are resolved in the books that introduced them, others are left open for further exploration in sequels. The trend has been criticized by some readers who argue that it makes some of the novels feel incomplete.
+The Author
Debbie Macomber is a highly popular American author of romance and women’s fiction with dozens of books under her belt. The author started writing fiction after her cousin got really sick.
The author writes stories that explore family and friendships. She is best known for her Christmas stories.
+Last One Home
When Cassie settles in Seattle with her daughter, she’s just looking for an opportunity to start her life over. But Cassie also desires to reconnect with her sisters. Cassie, Karen, and Nichole were really close as kids.
But then Cassie fell in love, got pregnant and married the wrong man, eventually leaving her family and breaking her parents’ hearts in the process. Now in her early thirties, Cassie knows better.
Her horrible marriage is behind her and when she gets a letter from her older sister, she jumps at the chance it gives her to heal old wounds.
+A Girl’s Guide to Moving On
Most people thought Nichole had a great life. They had no idea about her husband Jake’s infidelity. Nichole finally decides to break the illusion, no longer willing to stand for Jake’s unfaithfulness.
She takes her son, finds a new job and tries to start over. She even meets a new guy. Rocco speaks a little too bluntly but he has all the signs of a great friend and a sensitive father.
Nichole would like nothing better than to pursue their relationship. But it seems like Jake is determined to win her back.
Book Series In Order » Characters »