Reviewed by Sammy
TITLE: The Beginning
SERIES: Starting Over #5
AUTHOR: Matthew J. Metzger
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 230 pgs.
RELEASE DATE: November 3, 2020
BLURB:
Is this the end of the road, or the start of a whole new journey?
Aled’s had enough. His family is hundreds of miles away from him, his job is pointless and the feeling that he’s missing out on his own life has grown too big. But how can he call time on Yorkshire when it’s the place that Gabriel calls home?
Chris doesn’t know what to do. Inheriting property in the childhood village where he felt such a freak growing up wasn’t what he wanted, and he didn’t expect to miss Aled and Gabriel as much as he has since returning to Somerset. He’s out of place yet again, but doesn’t know where to call home.
When Aled is offered a job in Cornwall, Gabriel senses an opportunity to fix Aled’s misery, shed Chris’ unhappy history and bring their entire relationship under one roof. It will be the biggest gamble Gabriel’s ever taken on them…but this time, it doesn’t feel like taking a risk.
They’re starting over at the beginning, and there’s nothing left to fear.
Reader advisory: This book contains expressions of homophobia and transphobia from multiple characters. There are scenes of rough sex, BDSM and RACK.
REVIEW:
Author Matthew J. Metzger continues the polyamory relationship between Aled and Gabriel in the fifth novel of his Starting Over series called The Beginning. For those following this story it will be no surprise that Aled has been unhappy since his “sister” and best friend, Suze, married and moved hours away. Finding out she is now pregnant with her second child, Aled begins to realize just how much he has missed the many milestones in her life and how big a hole her leaving has left in his life.
Gabriel, Aled’s partner, is the polyamory aspect in the relationship. His relationships that have real meaning, (i.e., meaning he loves the partners), are with Chris and Kevin. Moving from where he and Aled currently live means leaving Kevin-his other dom and someone who he considers his family. Kevin, his wife and kids have been Gabriel’s anchor since helping him kick his alcohol addiction. It is important to note that the more intense (some might say violent) sexual scenes Gabriel enjoys are with Kevin; Aled is also his dom but doesn’t enjoy the rougher scenes.
However, moving closer to Chris would be the real upside to everything. Gabriel is ready for that. Chris, while being asexual and not enjoying the actual sex act nearly as much as being emotionally close and cuddling with Gabriel, still misses him terribly and vice versa. So for Gabriel the con of leaving Kevin is far outweighed by the pros of being closer to Chris. But Aled doesn’t know that and his biggest fear in quitting his current job and moving is losing Gabriel—something that Aled cannot let happen.
By now I am sure you have realized that if you haven’t followed these characters and their story by reading the prior novels you may well be a bit lost in this review. Needless to say it is easy to understand the different relationships if you have kept up with Gabriel and Aled from the start and I eagerly suggest you should do so by starting with the first book, The Divorce. Theirs is a complex story—one where, due to Gabriel’s love for sex, has been peppered with secondary characters—some Aled has endured, some he’s liked (Chris and Kevin) and some that disappear after a one night stand. Aled is incredibly understanding of Gabriel’s needs and supportive of the different ideations of how his love spreads out over he and two other men in their tight knit circle.
In this story we see some real changes in both Aled and Gabriel. For Aled it is leaving behind a very lucrative job to accept less money, which for him means security, in order to be close to Suze and her family. For Gabriel we see that his need for Kevin is no longer one that keeps him sober—instead he is strong enough to do that on his own now and while he will always love Kevin and have him in his life it is not as imperative as it once was. That leaves us with Chris who finally comes to terms with the fact that he is both asexual and gay and puts to rest his incredibly complex emotions regarding his deceased mother and brother. Now completely alone, Chris realizes he has only Gabriel and Aled and their move closer to him is the catalyst for a more complete acceptance of who he is and his love for Gabriel.
The Beginning is a moving combination of goodbyes and new horizons for all three men. Together they will make a family—one that is accepting, loving and uniquely theirs, surrounded by friends who understand their dynamic and support them. I really love what Mr. Metzger has done with this series—the growth and acceptance he builds into these different characters expresses just about every ideation on the spectrum and teaches us that love is beautiful in all its forms. The simple message here is love is love and it is really quite wonderful.
RATING: 
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