Synopsis:

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.

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Review:

4.5 Stars

I want to just outright say this…I was asked to review this book and knew I wanted to read it, but I just hadn’t made any time for it. Was it going to be a typical love story; rich boy, poor girl, finds love, happy life, carry on? I mean, who knew if I would like this book? Well, I didn’t like this book.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

Now that I have your attention, let me explain: The prologue of this book sucked me right in….hooked me from the get-go. I was hoping the rest of the book was that way, and it did NOT disappoint! It was a very emotional, eye-opening beginning that brought out so many feelings. I love when a book can make me feel emotions….actual emotions. Wow.

Trudy was in an abusive relationship with Brad and a horrible bad life surrounded her. She needed to get out and do it quickly; she knew she had to do it to “survive”. She also had to do it secretly, so she applied and was accepted to college. Brad found out that she was leaving, but he was having none of that…..Trudy barely escaped with her life. She paid a horrible price….but she got out.

Fast forward six months, Trudy is on campus for an orientation and meets Jax after an unfortunate event (a ‘slight’ altercation). Trudy was instantly drawn to his eyes, but she was NOT allowing herself to become friendly with him….she didn’t need a ‘hero’. She knew she was there to get an education, get a job and make something of her life. Jax sure liked what he saw and was sure he wanted to get to know her. He tried to get her to talk to him….but she wasn’t giving him the time of day. He was instantly drawn to her….

“Yeah, I guess, but there is something about her. I don’t know. She’s crazy hot, but it’s something more than that. I feel like I need to know more about her. There’s this pull between us when I look at her.” ~Jax

In her dorm, she meets her bathroom partner, Jazz. They each had their own room, but it had a shared bathroom between them that they could pass through to each other’s room. Jazz was super sweet, super hyper, full of life and lots of love. I instantly loved her! She did everything she could to welcome Trudy to their dorms and they bonded. It was a true friendship. But….Jazz was Jax’s sister. Hmmmm, you say?? Yes!! This is just the start of a very fun, very romantic and super sexy story. Jax finds out that Trudy is Jazz’s new friend and makes sure he has his sisters help in getting to know ‘Tru’.

I loved seeing how genuine Jax was in his affection for Tru. She eventually learns to trust him and was able to finally break down and tell Jax about her awful past….which allowed their love to deepen. As their relationship progressed, the more I fell in love with his alpha male protectiveness. He was also a very serious romantic at heart. Jax is very swoonworthy. He really is just an amazing young man….I fell in love with him. The relationship between them grows very fast, but it is very understandable. Jax has the need to protect Tru. He feels that need. So protective, so real, so true.

“I want you so fucking bad, Tru. Not just this beautiful body…” he glides one hand from my neck, down my sides, then brings it back up and covers my heart “….but here too.” ~Jax

I can’t talk at the moment because the emotions he evokes in me are so overwhelming. I can only feel and that’s exactly what I do. I feel everything that is Jax, his gentleness under a tough exterior, but also the fierce protection he offers me, and I want to feel it forever. ~Tru

Now, I know that Tru was broken down, but she made sure she wasn’t going to be the victim anymore! I like how she handled herself throughout the book. I felt that she was a strong minded young lady, hell bent on moving forward in her life. Her spirit and determination were very prominent. She was going to ‘learn to live’. She gets to have so many new experiences, most of them with Jazz, Jax, their friends and family. She had goals and dreams, and she was making sure she made them happen.

“I just want you to know that whatever happens in life helps make us who we’re meant to be and leads us to people we’re meant to meet.” ~Jax

Eventually Tru’s past comes back to haunt her in a big and very dangerous way…..and that is when she needs her hero. A phone call, some changed plans and fear very evident in her voice; Jax knew his girl….his girl. He knew what she sounded like, he knew when something wasn’t right and he had a gut instinct…thankfully! (I don’t like posting spoilers, so there is only so much I can tell)

The journey through this book was an emotional one; a very believable one. A lot happened and a lot went on to give the story the depth that it needed to keep you interested. I loved everything about it and found that I could relate quite a bit. This was very definitely a page turner for me!

I am especially excited for Jazz’s story coming out December 2013. When she was giving thanks at Thanksgiving….I instantly knew her book would be a great read.

I would rate this book 4.5 stars.

Love,

Bethany

I will leave you with this last quote that I absolutely loved….it was in the front of the book:

“Sometimes life can throw rocks big enough to leave cracks in your soul. You can either hide them or turn the cracks into something beautiful. Like a story.” ~Author R.D. Cole

Purchase:

AMAZON | AMAZON UK | NOOK | SMASHWORDS

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About the Author:

R.D. Cole

My name is Robin and I live in Grand Bay, Alabama. I grew up an army brat and traveled a lot until we finally settled down along the Gulf Coast when I was 4. My husband is 9 years younger so I guess that makes me a COUGAR.

I have a little girl who is 9 and is blind as well as autistic. My life is not boring with them two in it. Believe me. I have always loved creating and I would constantly draw on my walls. I love painting and reading. Writing is something I wanted to do but didn't think I could, until I woke up at three a.m. a few months back and started writing. Life has a way of throwing rocks at you and putting cracks in your soul. Either you can duck and cover or you can make something beautiful from the cracks.

After that, the story took over. Even though some pieces of my life experience are within it, it is Tru and Jax’s story now. I have truly fell in love with this story and hope you all do too.

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