The Art of Starting Over
(2026)(The third book in the Serenity Crossing: The Hartwells series)
A novel by Tara Baisden
Some hearts need to be built by hand.
Nicole Sullivan came to Serenity Crossing, Tennessee, to find herself again. After walking away from a two-year engagement—and a fiancé who loved the version of her that fit his plans—she's determined to build a life on her own terms. Her new third-grade classroom is the fresh start she's been praying for. But when her brightest student turns out to be a motherless little girl with sad eyes and matchmaking schemes, Nicole finds herself drawn to the one man who could make her repeat every old mistake: a grieving widower who might only see her as a solution to his daughter's longing.
Mike Hartwell has spent three years learning to survive without Jenny. He goes through the motions—devoted father, reliable son, skilled craftsman—but somewhere along the way, he stopped actually living. When the town asks him to build a time capsule box for the elementary school's anniversary celebration, he's forced to create something meant for a future he's been afraid to imagine. Worse, the project throws him into constant contact with Lizzie's beautiful new teacher—a woman whose warmth slips past defenses he didn't know he still had. But loving someone new feels like betraying everything he lost.
As late-summer heat gives way to crisp mountain autumn, Mike and Nicole can't seem to stay away from each other''or escape the complications closing in. His mother-in-law fears being forgotten. Her ex-fiancé arrives with apologies and second chances. The whole town is watching, and Nicole's career hangs on keeping things professional. When a decades-old time capsule reveals Jenny's childhood dreams in her own handwriting, Mike must finally face the question he's been avoiding: Does honoring his wife's memory mean staying frozen forever?
In this tender small-town romance, two wounded hearts discover that starting over doesn't mean forgetting—it means trusting that love, like grace, was never meant to be contained.
Tropes:
Nicole Sullivan came to Serenity Crossing, Tennessee, to find herself again. After walking away from a two-year engagement—and a fiancé who loved the version of her that fit his plans—she's determined to build a life on her own terms. Her new third-grade classroom is the fresh start she's been praying for. But when her brightest student turns out to be a motherless little girl with sad eyes and matchmaking schemes, Nicole finds herself drawn to the one man who could make her repeat every old mistake: a grieving widower who might only see her as a solution to his daughter's longing.
Mike Hartwell has spent three years learning to survive without Jenny. He goes through the motions—devoted father, reliable son, skilled craftsman—but somewhere along the way, he stopped actually living. When the town asks him to build a time capsule box for the elementary school's anniversary celebration, he's forced to create something meant for a future he's been afraid to imagine. Worse, the project throws him into constant contact with Lizzie's beautiful new teacher—a woman whose warmth slips past defenses he didn't know he still had. But loving someone new feels like betraying everything he lost.
As late-summer heat gives way to crisp mountain autumn, Mike and Nicole can't seem to stay away from each other''or escape the complications closing in. His mother-in-law fears being forgotten. Her ex-fiancé arrives with apologies and second chances. The whole town is watching, and Nicole's career hangs on keeping things professional. When a decades-old time capsule reveals Jenny's childhood dreams in her own handwriting, Mike must finally face the question he's been avoiding: Does honoring his wife's memory mean staying frozen forever?
In this tender small-town romance, two wounded hearts discover that starting over doesn't mean forgetting—it means trusting that love, like grace, was never meant to be contained.
Tropes:
- Single dad romance
Child matchmaker
Slow-burn love story
Healing hearts / second chance at love
Strangers to lovers in a small town
He falls first (but quietly)
Reader Promise:The Art of Starting Over is a clean Christian contemporary romance with kisses-only heat, authentic faith woven naturally through the story, and a deeply satisfying happily-ever-after that will leave your heart full.
Genre: Romance