Being alive and living are not always the same.Trudy Love is
used to being on her own and has rarely been shown affection. Between
growing up in foster care and her abusive boyfriend she has no idea what
life can be. At 19 she goes through something no one should ever
experience and is left alone once again. Six months later she moves to
Mobile, Alabama where she meets someone whose eyes bring back memories
of the one person she misses everyday. Too late she finds herself caught
in a storm of emotions that are unwanted, but she's determined to fight
them off.
Jaxon Coleman has a good life, and for him
to attend one of the finest Med schools in the country and follow in his
dad's foot steps is a dream come true. However, dreams can change in
life and when he meets Trudy he knows his will never be the same. Jax
knows she has secrets she is unwilling to share, but he's never given up
on something he wants and he wants Tru.
Can Trudy
stop resisting her feelings and welcome the chance to live a different
life than she pictured or will her defiance and haunted past eventually
take her out of Jax's reach?
After tragedy living is not easy, but with the right person it can be learned.
Let me start by saying that I love Tru. That she
manages to be strong and move forward despite the truly crappy hand that life
has dealt her - and it's a REALLY bad hand complete with abandonment, abuse,
and death - is quite impressive. I appreciate how the author showed Tru's
emotional struggles and portrayed them in what I found to be a realistic
manner. Not everyone feels the need to broadcast their issues and sometimes it
just takes one person saying something that you didn't know you needed to hear
to wake you up.
On the other hand, Jaxon (love that name) has had a
nice life full of opportunities and privileges, yet manages to be a nice,
unpretentious guy. I like that he wasn't portrayed as the soon-to-be reformed
player and/or bad boy, but rather just a "normal" guy. Don't get me
wrong, I love my players and bad boys, but it's a refreshing change. Jax is
also an observant guy and quickly comes to realize that he must handle Tru with
care and fortunately he has the help of his sister Jazz to aid him in this
endeavor. Jazz is Tru's neighbor in the dorm and they quickly become best
friend - she's also my favorite character in the book, so I'm looking forward
to reading Learning to Heal.
This book has a strong storyline that relies upon
events and interactions rather than internal angst to make it an enjoyable
read. The characters are realistic and I found myself caring about them. And I
freaking LOVED the ending! It's a cliffhanger in that you can't wait to read
the sequel to find out what happens next, but it's not really a cliffhanger
because it's not about Tru and Jax ... it was perfect.
Learning to Live by R.D. Cole is a well written and enjoyable read - it is a solid 3
star read. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Cole's writing, especially Learning to Heal.
"If Fools rush in, then most people in love are idiots. And I'm the biggest one of all."
-Jazz
Meet
Jasmine Coleman. She's the girl that's outgoing, beautiful, and full of
self-assurance- a confidence that’s forced to cover the scars she
hides. When rushing into love becomes a heartbreaking mistake the last
piece of it disappears. Now she is left uncertain, weak, and full of
self-loathing. But her strength is needed now more than before.
Mason
Reed is the quiet computer geek that's always the friend and never the
boyfriend. Putting his social life on hold to help his single mother has
left him shy when it comes to the opposite sex. And Meeting Jazz is no
different. However being in love makes you do crazy things and his crazy
has major consequences. Especially when the truth is revealed to others
who are determined to rip them apart.
Rash Decisions have major consequences. Some good. Some bad. All Life Changing.
"The Truth doesn't always set you free. Sometimes it breaks you apart and leaves you in pieces."
When I read that Learning
to Heal was about Jazz and Mason, I couldn’t wait to read it. I absolutely
adored Jazz in Learning to Live and
wanted to read her story, especially after the bombshell she dropped at
Thanksgiving dinner at the very end of L2L – Mason was too quiet for me to form
an opinion on. Thankfully, neither Ms. Cole nor Jazz nor Mason let me down.
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one and I
credit it to the characters. Jazz is such a force of nature that you cannot NOT
be dazzled by her. Her personality and energy are so infectious that when she
is delivered the devastating blow by the man she was seeing, you feel her pain
and you want to cry for and with her (at least I did). So it came as no surprise
when Mason steps in to help her out. The reader quickly learns that Mason is
the ultimate “nice guy,” so it’s not hard at all to root for him as he works
his way into Jazz’s life and slowly wins her heart, much to her dismay.
Alas, all is not smooth sailing for these two as their
relationship develops and Ms. Cole throws in some serious external events that
make for heartbreaking scenes for Jazz and Mason. As with L2L, I felt that the
obstacles they faced were far more realistic than a lot of novels I have read
in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, to discuss the specific obstacles
is to reveal spoilers and I don’t do that. What I will say is that Learning to Heal ended with a
non-cliffhanger, cliffhanger just like L2L and I cannot wait for the next book
in the series. Thanks for another well-written and enjoyable read Ms. Cole.
Join our Facebook Party Release and Tour Event scheduled for June
Book #3 - Learning to Forgive - Coming June 2014
“I’ve learned a lot this past year, but there are two things I’ll never forget: one, People aren’t what they seem, and two, I fucking hate liars.” –Blaire Blaire Morgan was a quiet, grief stricken girl when she left Mobile, Alabama, a year ago after her brother’s unexpected death. She returns a year later with fresh wounds from another betrayal, and she’s not the same person. A woman letting her tortured past rule her life, her “take no shit” attitude is catching the attention of everyone that crosses her path, including the bad boy front man of Lyrical Obsessions—the new band that plays at Jay Jay’s. When she learns he has something she wants, she plans on doing whatever it takes to get it. What is a demon? An evil spirit possessing a person, acting as a tormentor in Hell? Lyric “The Demon” Devereux is that tormentor and Hell is any place he sees fit, either in the fighting ring or on the streets. He killed his first person at seventeen years old, and that list has grown over the years—as well as his list of enemies—but his biggest enemy is himself and he doesn’t know how to win that battle. When Blaire comes into town like wildfire and turns heads, Lyric’s temper emerges—uninvited and unexpected. His plan to stay at a distance for her safety, and his sanity, changes when she continuously shows up with her defiance and seductive pull. He now has no choice but to face his past that could possibly destroy the both of them. Tempers will detonate. Lust will consume. Truth will destroy. But will love forgive?
R.D. Cole is a lively person with a determination to make it in life. Once her mind gets set on an idea she pursues it with passion. As long as she has God and her family she feels she can conquer everyday. Besides reading and writing she loves to sing, dance, and go mudding on her Souped-up Can Am. Her hubby is 9 years younger but he seems more mature than her at times and they level one another out. She has a beautiful daughter named Bethani who is a miracle and a fighter. She’s the only known living survivor of Matthew Woods Syndrome and when no one thought she’d live R.D. said “yes she will.” R.D. takes nothing for granted when it comes to life. “Everything can be ripped from your fingers before they can grasp it. So if you want something in life, do it. Go for it.”
That same mindset has helped R.D. write small pieces of her life mixed in to fictional settings and characters that will capture your heart.
“Read on. Dream on. Write on.” –R.D. Cole
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