Begin with Me

Chaotic Love, Book 1

By: Claudia Burgoa

Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Muffy Newtown

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From the outside, Abby’s life looks like a fairytale.

Loving family, wealthy lifestyle, education at a prestigious university. The truth? She’s barely managing to survive. Few know the nightmare she lived before she was adopted. And no one knows the secret agony that still haunts her nightmares.

With a degree from Berkeley, she could have gone anywhere, but she’s back in Colorado. Not for a fresh start—fresh starts are only an illusion—but for Wes Ahern. Her protector, who throws around words like “therapy” and “talk to me.” Her brother in every way but blood. The one man she wishes could be so much more.

But does she dare let Wes see inside the darkest closets of her pain…or will love be the biggest mistake of her life?

An inspirational and emotional contemporary romance, Begin with You is a heartbreaking tale of fresh starts and old wounds. This jarring and dark novel will leave listeners at the edge of their seats. This is part one of a duet, thus containing a cliffhanger that leads into the next installment. It contains references to childhood trauma, rape, kidnapping, and PTSD.

©2018 Claudia Burgoa (P)2022 Claudia Burgoa

Begin with Me

Claudia Burgoa does a nice job with an angsty and emotional story and characters who have a lot to overcome before they will get their HEA. Wes and Abby have a connection from the beginning and their story kept me reading.

Begin with Me is the first book in a duet, and as such it does end on a cliffhanger. While I don't normally love cliffhangers this one worked. Also, both books are available now and you can pick the second one right away!

I thought this was a good wrap up to their story and a well narrated audiobook. Jason Clarke is one of my favorite narrators and both he and Muffy Newtown brought the characters and story to life.

Heartbreakingly tragic romantic suspense!

Begin with Me broke my heart in all the ways. Well written with tragic circumstances in the past. Jason & Muffy deliver wonderful performances of these difficult characters!

Gripping, Emotional & Intense~Great Story & Listen

Claudia Burgoa takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride with her first book of her “Chaotic Love” duet. This book is captivating from start to end and it leaves you wanting more, or rather needing the next book, pronto. The characters are realistic, easy to connect with and easy to care about. The Aherns have two sons, Weston “Wes” who they fostered when he was young and then adopted and their own son, Sterling, and have fostered other children over the years. They placed Abigail “Abby” in foster care after they removed her from a horrific home life and the Aherns were kind enough to take her in and accepted her with open arms. She did not feel like she belonged there or deserved to be there, but Wes helped her settle in, since he understood how it felt to be placed with a family, though he or the Ahern’s knew what she endured before coming there. Wes and Abby become best of friends, she never talks about what happened to her but Wes knows it was bad because she has nightmares and anxiety attacks. Abby finishes college and Wes is stuck working at his father’s company, despite wanting to do something else. He has been wanting Abby to come back to Denver, which she finally does, and the two grow even closer. Both harbored feelings for one another but never made a move until now, he is finally ready to and it goes well for them both. Coming back to Denver triggers Abby’s her nightmares and anxiety, Wes tried to get her to talk about it, but she wasn’t ready because she was afraid he would think less of her. When it gets worse and he convinces her to open up, and hearing what she went through was gut-wrenching. Wes wants to help and get the people who are responsible, but it is all too much for her and she considers running. But that is not what happens in the end and wow, I was not expecting that mind-blowing ending. Abby was right all along and her past has caught up to her. There is never a dull moment in this cleverly plotted story, there is plenty of drama, angst, heartfelt emotions, mystery, thrilling and suspenseful moments, and a slow burn, friends to lovers romance. Claudia Burgoa, thank you for another amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the fantastic narration, Jason Clarke and Muffy Newtown did an amazing job portraying these characters and did so with a complete understanding of who they were and were believable in every role they played. Newtown played Abby’s role with perfection, grasping all sides of her personality, including insecurities, inner battles and her strength and determination, and Clarke nailed it as Wes, as the caring, genuine and understanding man that he was. Both were great performing the roles of the secondary characters too. They set the perfect tone, captured all the character’s emotions and projected them into their performance and had you feeling every single one. These versatile voice artists are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another amazing listen.

Raw, Heartrending and Seductive Romance!

The title of the duet, Chaotic Love, doesn't begin to reveal how raw, heartrending, and seductive this romance will be! I thought I knew what to expect from Ms Burgoa, but she left me stunned and speechless with this one! Abby has suffered a traumatic experience, and is now placed in a foster home. She is welcomed by a loving family, including Wes Ahern. They connect right from the start, because he experienced some of the same things that Abby did, before being adopted by The Aherns. As Abby grows to love and trust her new family, she and Wes grow more dependant on each other, keeping each other focused and grounded. But Abby keeps deep, dark, secrets she can't reveal, if she wants to keep herself and those she loves safe. Ms. Burgoa keeps us on the edge of our seats, trying to figure out the truth of what happened in Abby's past. She makes us yearn for these broken souls, to find healing, peace and love. This story is a rollercoaster of emotion with twists and turns that will keep you totally engaged and rooting for their HEA.
Jason Clarke, and Muffy Newtown delivered a phenomenal narration. Clarke's smooth, deep voice, and perfect inflections made Wes come alive and Newtown's brilliant delivery gripped my imagination. They both compelled me to feel everything these characters think and experience. They embodied these characters perfectly making my heart race from beginning to end. I was totally stunned at the end of this book, and can't wait for the conclusion in the second book of this duet!

Hauntingly, Beautiful Romance....

Oh, my heart! Begin with Me by Claudia Burgoa was an intense, emotional romance that made my heart feel all. the. things. Claudia has a way of creating real, raw, and flawed characters in this story that have tragic pasts. Wes and Abby's story is dark, haunting, and dangerous, but also steadfast and true. Since this is book 1 in the duet, I need to know more! (That ending!)

This audiobook is narrated by Jason Clarke and Muffy Newtown. Their performances squeezed at my heartstrings. In Jason's performance you could feel Wes struggle with his own demons, and take his time showing Abby his love after years of friendship. Jason has this genuine, protective tone in this performance that will make you swoon over Wes. Muffy does an amazing job portraying Abby's dark, disturbing, fearful past that will have your emotions all over the place, but at the same time wishing for her to find her inner peace.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and need to know what happens next! This book has several trigger warnings, so just be aware, and it does end on a cliffhanger. Claudia left me guessing with that gripping terrifying ending, so I will immediately start Back to You! I always look forward to more from Claudia Burgoa.

Very Dark

This is a sad and disturbing book about one woman's struggle of her past abuse and the desperate need to overcome those demons to find love and acceptance. Abby was taken in by a wonderful and loving foster family who provided her with guidance, stability and an education. Abby develops a close friendship with Wes her foster brother. They are best friends. This book ends in a cliffhanger. Narrators Jason Clarke and Muffy Newton voiced this book with compassion and genuine emotion.

Gripping and raw

Having read numerous books by Claudia Burgoa I knew that this book was going to be an emotional roller coaster of a read and I was not wrong. The Begin With Me is the first book in the Chaotic Love Duet. This book ripped my heart out and had me in tears on so many occasions I gave up counting. I was left with one heck of a book hangover after finishing and am thankful that we do not have to wait too long to read the conclusion to this duet after it’s cliffhanger ending..

This book is not for the faint of heart, so please heed the trigger warnings before you start this duet as it deals with heavy topics and may be a trigger for some.
I am on the edge of my seat waiting (not so patiently) for the conclusion to this emotional, heartbreaking story. The performances by Jason Clarke and Muffy Newton brought this emotional story to life for me. Their voices were easy to listen to and they did justice to the story that Ms. Burgoa wove.