The Art of Starting Over

By: Heidi McLaughlin

Narrated by: Kacy Combest, Christian Barillas

In this journey from first love to second chances, New York Times bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin brings a single mom and a widower back home to renew the spark that will light their way forward.

Devorah Campbell’s life falls apart under the pressure of one truth: her husband is having an affair with her best friend. So Devorah packs up her daughter and their shared heartbreak for small-town Oyster Bay, where she grew up. Her relationship with her father is still on the rocks, but Devorah has her brother there—and, unexpectedly, her brother’s best friend.

Hayden McKenna lost his wife a year ago and has struggled with single fatherhood ever since. Moving back home with his son is a last but best resort, a chance to start fresh, surrounded by family and old friends. But when Hayden runs into Devorah, his childhood crush, sparks fly as bright as ever. If only he could make her see them too…

Amid a swirl of hurt and healing, Devorah and Hayden grow closer, rekindling what they had all those years ago to discover that, sometimes, a new start means going back to the beginning.

©2025 by Heidi McLaughlin. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Sweet read.

This has all the Hope Floats kind of feels. Beautiful story. Engaging characters. I really enjoyed listening to this.

heart warning

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

Hallmark Movie

This book is like a Hallmark movie with a satisfying sex scene. Great performances. Easy to listen to. But a bit predictable.

Mechanical narration

The mechanical narration really made this book feel like an AI written novel. So sad, it had a decent premise.

Good Book

The story was good kept me listening. Parts of the story seemed to drag on. Could have had more excitement in the story. Was pretty bland and you knew what to expect in the story.