Learning Curve

by Rachel Spangler

Genre: Lesbian romance. Ashton Clarke, a local Casanova with a long history of falling into bed with a different woman every night, is perfectly content with her free and easy existence until she gives in to her best friend’s request to spend an evening helping out at the local gay and lesbian youth center. There, Ash meets Carrie Fletcher, a women’s studies professor who not only intrigues Ash but causes her to question the direction her life has taken. As if this disquieting attraction isn’t aggravating enough, Ash is forced to deal with Carrie’s teenage neighbor Tess, whose bad attitude and biting wit seem to complicate every situation. Ash doesn’t want to be attracted to Carrie, who isn’t looking for a relationship with anyone, and Tess is angry at the world, but especially, it seems, with Ash. Despite resistance on the part of all three women, it soon becomes obvious that the trio’s destinies are hopelessly intertwined and the lessons in store will change all their lives.

Genres: Lesbian, LGBT, Romance, Lesbian Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Fiction, Queer

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Rachel Spangler never set out to be an award winning author. She was just so poor and so easily bored during her college years that she had to come up with creative ways to entertain herself, and her first novel, Learning Curve, was born out of one such attempt. She was sincerely surprised when it was accepted for publication and even more shocked when it won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Debut Author. She also won a Goldie for her second novel, Trails Merge. Since writing is more fun than a real job, and so much cheaper than therapy, Rachel continued to type away, leading to the publication of The Long Way Home and LoveLife. She plans to continue writing as long as anyone anywhere will keep reading.

Rachel, and her partner, Susan, are raising their young son in Western New York. They spend winters skiing and their summers traveling and watching their beloved Cardinals. Regardless of the season, Rachel always makes time for a good romance, whether she's reading it, writing it, or living it.

Rachel can be found online at www.rachelspangler.com or on Facebook.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the hallmark of a good book is one that sticks with you, one that you remember with careful detail.. This book was good, but I don't really remember what happened in it. I read it before leaving on a trip that went sideways and forgot to review it and until I reread the synopsis and skimmed it, I had all but forgotten about it.

I did like the characters, and while I'm a little over the player personality, I do quite enjoy a woman that works with her hands (or tools) and do recall enjoying it while reading it.

The one thing I did remember was the girl that continuously hit on the woodworking player and how she came from a broken religious home and how happy I was with a secondary character that made that much progress and got a happy ending.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Rachel Spangler fan and it’s cool to see how good she was even from the beginning. Is Learning Curve as sophisticated as what she’s writing now? Well, no, but it came out more than a decade ago and it’s still a solid book. The characters are interesting and engaging, the romance is lovely, and the story is developed well.

Full review: https://www.thelesbianreview.com/lear...

[Vita L. Licari · Rating 5 out of 5]

We find Ashton Clarke, the local Casanova meeting Professor Carrie Fletcher and being immediately smitten. A beautiful slow burn love story with spice! I love this story! I only wonder if the relationship hurts Carrie's tenure? 5 stars!

[Agirlcandream · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read. I needed something light to read and Learning Curve was all that and more. The main characters Ash and Carrie were interesting and realistic.Even the secondary characters were well done. If I have a beef with the plot it's that the angry Tess didn't get more page time. I would have liked to see what was going on in her house, not just being told that her mom and her were on the outs.
Great first effort. 4.5 stars and I will be downloading everything else Spangler has written.

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story deals with several emotional issues. Although Ash never says it you know she had a hard time growing up. Tess is the teenager Ash used to be and they clash at every turn. Carrie is so focused on her career she might let love pass her by. Rachel Spangler did a wonderful job telling each character’s story. Hope did a good job with the narration of this audiobook

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and uncomplicated book. Beautiful chemistry between Ash and Carrie! A womanizer who wants to change her ways, because of true love. Always fun to read. I liked the character of Tess, she added value to the story. I always like the Butch/Femme contrast, very sexy indeed!

[Kexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it - but not really my idea of an angry adolescent. Still, pay your money, takes your choice & it's a good read. Thank you.

[Alealea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the instant infatuation, the tempo was slow.
Nice love story of two very different people.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I may have set myself up to dislike this book. I read the synopsis and I already didn't like Ash. I read the book, and it was well written especially for a first book. I didn't hate Ash by the end of the book, but I didn't feel as though I related well. I feel as though some issues mentioned in the book were not wrapped in a way I would have liked. Open ends, or quickly fixed problems always leave me wondering what an author could have done to make the story have more depth. This really was a middle of the road kind of book, I didn't love it but it wasn't terrible either. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I will read her other books.

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light read. Uncomplicated story line. Ashton the "player" and Carrie the academic. Just about any story line that has to do with higher education, I am a fan.

[Nessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot: The book starts with player Ash meeting Carrie and becoming smitten. Ash doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings because she has restricted herself to one night stands for years. She tries to flirt with Carrie but isn’t as successful as she usually is.

Ash doesn’t get along with Tess, a teenager that lives next to Carrie. Tess has a difficult home life and lashes out. Eventually Ash feels the need to protect Tess. Carrie is attracted to Ash but doesn’t want to be associated with her reputation. Carrie eventually gives into Ash with no believe that Ash wants more than a one night stand. Ash makes her intentions clear and they start their HEA.

Characterization: Ash is a player who experiences love at first sight with Carrie. She doesn’t know what she is feeling right away. Once she figures it out she is devoted to Carrie.

Carrie is devoted to her career. She is attracted to Ash but doesn’t like her reputation. After they start dating the author never resolves Carrie’s career issues.

Writing: This was written in third person perspective. This author has had great chemistry in some of her other books but this is not one of them. Carrie doesn’t seem to be at all attracted to Ash but then she is obsessed with her. It didn’t seem genuine and was a bit disappointing.

[Jess Heyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually quite lenient with my ratings (I'm of the mindset most of the time that if a book made me happy, it deserves five stars), and if I had read this book before reading the authors newest book I probably would've given it five stars. The only reason it's getting 4 is because I know the quality of the authors writing now - compared to this. For a first book, the story is fantastic. I found it a bit difficult to get into at the start but once I hit a certain point I was hooked and didn't want to put it down. Yes - there are some problems with the writing and some of the Insta-love type stuff but honestly, it's a romance, I don't care all too much about that. I would've liked to see a bit more interaction and progression with their relationship before the love part but it's a minor fault in an otherwise enjoyable read. The characters, which for me is always the most important part, were well thought out and written and different enough to be interesting. I look forward to reading all the rest of the books by this author and seeing when my 4 stars will become 5!

[Hadleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in a nice, flowing style, but a bit of a well trodden and predictable plot. Picks up a bit in the last third, and I give it plus points for the 6 months later epilogue. For a first book, this isn't bad and by no means puts me off reading other Spangler books.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly meh.

Lovable butch, but couldn't really get into it.

Like some of Spangler's more recent stuff (Close to Home, Edge of Glory) better.

[Jane Hinton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read this author’s debut novel and see how she has evolved.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by this author. Though it's the first I put on my list as possibilities. I kept ducking the book, and the author, because of the description for this book. I paraphrase: A woman, Ash, who seeks nothing but one-night stands, and is very very good at drawing women in, meets a woman, a professor, who trips her up. Makes her wonder. Confuses her. Meanwhile this other woman, Carrie, has this teenager, Tess, hooked to her somehow or another. Part of the baggage. And Ash doesn't really like teenagers. Kids are okay, but teenagers, meh.

So. That kept looking off-putting. A female casanova. A college professor who probably wants nothing to do with that. And some random troubled teenager. So I kept skipping this book. Then I read a different book by Spangler. Somewhat without realizing it was by the same author. That would be Heart of the Game. I didn't love that one, but I did really like it. And it was different. Didn't play out as expected (or as some of the reviews lead me to believe). So . . . . I immediately tried Learning Curve right then and there, right? No, read 7 books by other authors before trying Learning Curve.

And it actually was better than I expected. I rather liked the characters involved. Well, except for . . what was the friend's name? May? I didn't particularly like her for some reason. Story was good. Believable. (which lead me to my currently reading book by Spangler, wherein I hate basically every character except maybe one, Beth; but that's a different book.)

I'm not sure where I am in terms of numbers. Have I read more lesbian romance than, say, lesbian mystery? There have been mysteries, fantasies, historical fictions involving lesbians wherein I could happily just recommend the book and note, somewhere along the line something about the sexual orientation of the characters. Or not. But lesbian romances are harder to just recommend. Like, this one is a well written book with a good story. As was the baseball book I read by Spangler. The baseball one has baseball as a hook to dangle before others, but even there I might not. And so, I'm left with: if you like lesbian romances, I'd strongly recommend Heart of the Game and this book, Learning Curve.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ashton Clarke is definitely the "love 'em and leave 'em" type, and she's not ashamed of it. She's never come across a woman who made her want to settle down for more than few nights. But that changes when she meets Carrie Fletcher, a college professor who turns Ash's head in a way she's never experienced before.

The book was good, but not great. It's a lot of romance cliches (the misunderstandings, the drama, the angst, etc), but it suits the purpose of reading a non-complicated romance. I like the character of Ash, and Carrie is likable, too. But there are a few loose ends that the author doesn't tie up, particularly one that was made to be insurmountable to a relationship (and then just isn't mentioned towards the end, even though nothing in that regard has changed). Hmm. I'll definitely read more by this author, though.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the characters likable and enjoyed a lot of nice humor popping up unexpectedly, particularly how awkward and clumsy Ash got when faced with a woman she likes.

It had some good angst and the dialogue was primarily pretty smooth. I did have issues with the consistency of the protagonists issues, and one major hurdle that was never really resolved at all, but overall a sweet book that I definitely enjoyed.

[Margaret L. Hedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Learning Curve. Nice strong female characters. Tess, the struggling teenager, is a character a lot of women can relate to. I like the strong emphasis on the fact that the ' blue collar' worker has as much to offer to the relationship as the professor.

[Nolly Frances Sepulveda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read, I loved the characters and their growth from beginning to end.

[Monica Burch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Estelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Typical. Nothing fantastic or worth mentioning. Its not terrible, just cheesy, cringey.