A review by theladysparks
Where We Started by Ashley Munoz

4.5

 

Usually, attending the funeral of a well-known biker club's president would be risky. Unless, of course, you are family. Callie never saw herself as part of her father's legacy until she discovered what he had left for her in his will. A property of ten acres, including the headquarters of his beloved motorcycle club. Unaware that accepting her inheritance would lead her into a conflict with the new club president, Wesley Ryan. Wesley, with his striking looks and intimidating presence, challenged Callie, pushing her to give up her rightful place as the club's princess even tighter. However, things took a turn when he resorted to underhanded tactics. Wesley not only teased her about their past but also wanted to revisit their shared history. Back to when they were children, and Callie was the girl next door who snuck into his treehouse. Back to when he defended her against bullies. Back to their first kiss and the moment he stole her heart. Callie needed to remind herself that Wes was after her father's property, not her. She once walked away, now she must demonstrate her strength by doing it again.

"We’re bound, her and I. In this life, and even in the next. She will haunt me for eternity, and when the devil tries to pry my soul from her grasp, he’ll realize there’s nothing to claim because it’s hers."

I am wildly picky about MC romances that I read and this one ticked all of the boxes for me. This was my first book by Ashley Munoz and she did not disappoint. I am very excited for the next book release and to dive deeper into her backlist because I really enjoyed her writing and the character dynamics that she set up in this book. I'm invested in finding out what happens with the Stone Riders now especially knowing who the main characters are in book two.

I thought it was super unique that the story was not only told in dual pov but it also had a bit of dual timelines playing out. Callie's chapters were mostly in the present, moving forward as the story progressed but Wesley's chapters started off when they first met and continued on through all sorts of milestones in their relationship until they met up in the present-day timeline. It sounds like it could potentially be confusing or weird but Ashley wrote it in such a way that it was literally perfection and I'm glad we got to see that sort of story pan out - especially with the obstacles that these two have to overcome throughout the plot.

Callie was a loveable lead. She wanted nothing to do with the club and seeing her reactions and how she handled basically being thrown back into the fray without fully being immersed was so fun to read. Her frustration could be felt while you're reading it. There were so many times where I agreed with her out loud whenever she would get into it with Wes, so she's definitely the kind of character that you just want to be in their corner rooting for them.

Wesley aka Wes, was so interesting. The first POVs we really get are Callie's so the way we're set up to meet him is such a fun way to push forward the story because she is very strong-willed in her feelings. I mean, there is a whole lot of history there between them and because we're getting her POV initially I think it allows us to go through the journey of changing our thoughts towards him as Callie changes and grows as well. I'm also just a major sucker for nice guys named Wes on motorcycles.

I highly recommend this one, especially if you're a Giana Darling / The Fallen Men MC series fan because I think you'll have a great time with this one as well. The audiobook is fantastic as well and I think the narrators both did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life!

- friends to enemies to lovers
- biker princess fmc
- boy next door turned biker mmc
- close proximity
- second chance
- mc romance
- small town
- burn the world down for her
- he falls first and hard