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Learning to Let Go Series #4
Be Your Everything
Life is slowly returning to normal for Darrin James now that his short relationship with Sara, the daughter of his mentor, is over. A strange chain of events puts Darrin, a headstrong former Navy Corpsman, directly into the path of Becca Breyton, an open-minded, straightforward free spirit from the big city. Not able to handle the mental anguish from a horrific attack in Afghanistan, Darrin has learned to shut off and hide everything that might cause him pain. His mind starts dredging up those long-forgotten memories and puts them in the forefront of his mind again. All of this leaves Darrin trying to handle a relationship for the first time in his entire life, while he works on dealing with his past that he just wants to forget. Can Darrin let Becca inside his walls so that they have a chance at staying together? Is his emotional pain more than either one of them can handle?
135 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2013
3 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Hazel St James
8 books96 followersHazel is a contemporary romance author from the Midwest. She incorporates some sensual BDSM themes, as well as many different facets of "vanilla" relationships. Her diverse background in a plethora of fields, from journalism, literature, graphic design, computer science, accounting, veterinarian medicine and even chemistry have given Hazel a diverse background on many facets of the very things that she writes about. She recently became a full-time author, giving up her day job to focus on her writing. And loving every minute of it! Hazel LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to hear from her fans! She is always willing to talk about whatever is on your mind!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 25, 2013
This is one of the most extraordinary books you will read this year.
Previously introduced characters from past books in this series get their day in the sun or night under the stars.
Darrin’s PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) will have you aching for him. He is so destroyed on the inside with survivor’s guilt and the horrors of working in a combat zone. Tears will stream down your cheeks as you read his thoughts and meet his inner demons.
Again, Ms. St. James has done a wonderful job of researching and showing a topic that most Americans are ignorant of its existence. PTSD is real; it is an illness that affects so many American soldiers. Many times, it goes untreated.
In Darrin’s case, he was trying to handle it himself and did not want the labels that come with seeking mental health help. This really touches your heart, a man who shuts down feeling anything to avoid feeling the devastation he has survived.
Becca, a smart attorney, has her own issues. Hers stem from childhood and have bled over into her adult life. She is the perfect match for Darrin. The no-BS attitude and honesty she brings to the storyline, draws him to her.
This couple has their fair share of ups and downs. Both have communication problems, she is literal and he is flying by the seat of his pants. Darrin doesn’t know how to act or feel; he has never met someone so consuming as Becca. It scares both of them. It draws you into their story and relationship.
Ms. St. James characters seem real and with every book, you become more invested into the world she has created. You will find yourself hating when the book ends, but happy when you see these characters appear in the next books written by this brilliant writer.
The Ratings*:
Hero: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Story/Plot/HEA: 5
*The rating system is based on 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 the worst.
Hero - The main male character of the story. Heroine - The main female character of the story. Story/Plot/HEA (Happy Ever After) - The over all story line and culmination of the main plot or theme.
Member of the Wicked Reads Review Team
Previously introduced characters from past books in this series get their day in the sun or night under the stars.
Darrin’s PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) will have you aching for him. He is so destroyed on the inside with survivor’s guilt and the horrors of working in a combat zone. Tears will stream down your cheeks as you read his thoughts and meet his inner demons.
Again, Ms. St. James has done a wonderful job of researching and showing a topic that most Americans are ignorant of its existence. PTSD is real; it is an illness that affects so many American soldiers. Many times, it goes untreated.
In Darrin’s case, he was trying to handle it himself and did not want the labels that come with seeking mental health help. This really touches your heart, a man who shuts down feeling anything to avoid feeling the devastation he has survived.
Becca, a smart attorney, has her own issues. Hers stem from childhood and have bled over into her adult life. She is the perfect match for Darrin. The no-BS attitude and honesty she brings to the storyline, draws him to her.
This couple has their fair share of ups and downs. Both have communication problems, she is literal and he is flying by the seat of his pants. Darrin doesn’t know how to act or feel; he has never met someone so consuming as Becca. It scares both of them. It draws you into their story and relationship.
Ms. St. James characters seem real and with every book, you become more invested into the world she has created. You will find yourself hating when the book ends, but happy when you see these characters appear in the next books written by this brilliant writer.
The Ratings*:
Hero: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Story/Plot/HEA: 5
*The rating system is based on 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 the worst.
Hero - The main male character of the story. Heroine - The main female character of the story. Story/Plot/HEA (Happy Ever After) - The over all story line and culmination of the main plot or theme.
Member of the Wicked Reads Review Team
June 11, 2015
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
We finally get to see Darrin after his break up with Sara. At first he seems to be a little broken up over the break up. She was the first woman he thought he might actually be able to love, but he was too afraid he was going to hurt her, so he kept his emotions to himself. Darrin is too afraid to open up to anyone; he would rather keep everything bottled up so that he doesn’t hurt anyone he cares about. He thinks about changing his ways though, when he meets the feisty Becca.
Becca is a major spitfire, and isn’t interested in playing games. She goes for what she wants and if she doesn’t get her way, she moves one. She is very attracted to the quite Darrin; he is drop dead gorgeous and seems to be someone who isn’t interested in games either. So she goes after him, and taken by surprised by their chemistry, and how quickly things develop between them.
Both Darrin and Becca have a broken past that interferes with their future. Will they be able to get over their pasts and focus on what could be? Or will they let their pasts define them and lean them down the path of being alone?
This was a great book, and I was very glad to see that Darrin was able to find his happy ever after. I would really like to see what happens with Corey though. I know we don’t see him a lot in the books, but from what I’ve seen; I’m totally rooting for him to have his own happily ever after! I would also love to see another book on Chris and Sara, maybe a book on their wedding?
We finally get to see Darrin after his break up with Sara. At first he seems to be a little broken up over the break up. She was the first woman he thought he might actually be able to love, but he was too afraid he was going to hurt her, so he kept his emotions to himself. Darrin is too afraid to open up to anyone; he would rather keep everything bottled up so that he doesn’t hurt anyone he cares about. He thinks about changing his ways though, when he meets the feisty Becca.
Becca is a major spitfire, and isn’t interested in playing games. She goes for what she wants and if she doesn’t get her way, she moves one. She is very attracted to the quite Darrin; he is drop dead gorgeous and seems to be someone who isn’t interested in games either. So she goes after him, and taken by surprised by their chemistry, and how quickly things develop between them.
Both Darrin and Becca have a broken past that interferes with their future. Will they be able to get over their pasts and focus on what could be? Or will they let their pasts define them and lean them down the path of being alone?
This was a great book, and I was very glad to see that Darrin was able to find his happy ever after. I would really like to see what happens with Corey though. I know we don’t see him a lot in the books, but from what I’ve seen; I’m totally rooting for him to have his own happily ever after! I would also love to see another book on Chris and Sara, maybe a book on their wedding?
June 13, 2013
*Received a copy from the author for an honest review*
I read this book in one go - I literally could not stop reading it. Ms. St. James possesses the ability to suck you in and keep you right there until the last page is turned.
From the very beginning, I fell in love with Darrin. He reminds me of someone I used to know and I instantly felt that connection with him. When he meets sparky Becca, I was rooting for him to take her ASAP.
But he didn't. Grr! Gentleman? Perhaps. Or maybe he's just so bloody sexy that I wanted to know what he was like without those clothes on ;)
I absolutely loved the back-and-forth between these two, and to find out they were both 'damaged' in some way only served as the glue that kept them from parting completely. I was drawn to them and their story just as they were drawn to each other.
The sexy was steamy - I only wish there was more!
Five stars very well earned.
I read this book in one go - I literally could not stop reading it. Ms. St. James possesses the ability to suck you in and keep you right there until the last page is turned.
From the very beginning, I fell in love with Darrin. He reminds me of someone I used to know and I instantly felt that connection with him. When he meets sparky Becca, I was rooting for him to take her ASAP.
But he didn't. Grr! Gentleman? Perhaps. Or maybe he's just so bloody sexy that I wanted to know what he was like without those clothes on ;)
I absolutely loved the back-and-forth between these two, and to find out they were both 'damaged' in some way only served as the glue that kept them from parting completely. I was drawn to them and their story just as they were drawn to each other.
The sexy was steamy - I only wish there was more!
Five stars very well earned.
May 23, 2013
I love that Becca is a bad ass. I love that she doesn't need a man to be happy but is happiest with her man. Being a milso is difficult. The job is hard and deployments are rough, but the time after your significant other comes home from deployment is nearly impossible. No one comes home from a combat deployment the same as they were before they left, and if you can handle that, you're amazingly strong. Becca is amazingly strong. Hazel did an amazing job writing this book and it's the best one yet! God bless our troops and thank you Jon Doliana for your service and being the model and muse for this amazing book. And thank you Hazel for being such an amazing person and writing this amazing story.
September 29, 2013
This is the latest installment of the "Learning to Let Go" series. This book has everything in it: humor, angst, trauma, and of course, love. Darrin, the war - ravaged Naval corpsman - and Becca, the smart-mouthed big city lawyer, let their personalities get the better of them. Becca wears her heart on her sleeve, while Darrin keeps his emotions bottled up. Its an interesting to journey as both Darrin and Becca come to terms with the demons that haunt them.
I hope that this isn't the last book of this series. I really enjoy the stories that Hazel St. James creates. If you are looking for a story with an HEA but takes a little work to get there, I would give this story a try.
I hope that this isn't the last book of this series. I really enjoy the stories that Hazel St. James creates. If you are looking for a story with an HEA but takes a little work to get there, I would give this story a try.
February 19, 2016
I was hooked from the very first book. In fact, it was so good I had to go find all the books remaining in the series. Each story is hot, steamy and intriguing. The books are well written and characters are developed well. I was drawn into each book and once I turned the last page I had to go find the next one. They are so good! This is the first book/series that I have read by this author and definitely won’t be my last.
July 21, 2013
Loved Darrin's story! He wasn't broken and although he hadn't learned to give his heart to Sara, he is a loving and protecting man. He was so lonely after Sara left and never expected Becca to break through his barriers. Their journey isn't easy, but it was worth every step. I want more of Sara and Chris!
September 5, 2013
This was the tamest of the series, I thought. It was a great read and went into the some deep issues. It dealt with PTSD as well as childhood traumas. It was well written and enjoyable to read. It also wrapped up the other story lines, so you weren't left wondering what happened to any of the characters. Which I always appreciate.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews