Learning to Fall

by Jillian Eaton

There are some lines that should never be crossed...
...and some desires that cannot be ignored.

Driven, meticulous, and a bit of a control freak, Imogen Finley is elated when her hard work and dedication culminates in a teaching position at Stonewall, a prestigious liberal arts college on the coast of Maine. Everything in her life is going exactly as she planned it… until she meets Daniel Logan.

Charming, mysterious, and wickedly handsome, Daniel is not the kind of man Imogen ever planned on falling for, but after a chance meeting at a bar that’s exactly what she finds herself doing and he quickly becomes the one thing in her life she can’t control. The one thing in her life she doesn’t want to control.

But as their passion escalates, so does the dangerous situation they find themselves in. Because Daniel isn’t just the man Imogen's falling in love with… he's also her student.

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

350 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2015

About the author

Jillian Eaton has written over forty historical romances and is known for finding the perfect balance between "intense emotions, sizzling chemistry, and light-hearted humor" (Swept Away by Romance). She grew up in Maine and now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their three boys on a 17-acre farm where they rescue and rehabilitate senior horses.

When she isn't writing, working at the barn, or playing a cutthroat game of Harry Potter Monopoly with her family, Jillian enjoys gardening, hiking, and being an adjunct professor at her Alma mater, Delaware Valley University.

If readers are new to her books, she always suggests the following:

Sweet and Swoony Romance: Duke at First Sight
Spicy and Mysterious: A Dangerous Seduction
All Around: Bewitched by the Bluestocking
Bit Darker: The Duchess Takes a Lover

Reviews

[Carissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting attempted twist on a Student/Teacher relationship, however, it didn't play off well at all. The synopsis says it all. It perfectly describes Imogen and the enigmatic Daniel.

Just when I'd finally accepted my feelings for him... when I'd finally found the right balance between my personal life and my professional one...when I'd finally been ready to tell him how I truly felt...this had to happen.

Tall, handsome...and a student. My student.

Imogen is an extremely quirky character, and I love when authors create vastly differing characters, however, Imogen got too lost in her own thoughts, that her initial quirkiness started to become annoying and made me as a reader frustrated with her. Also, I seriously didn't understand her own concerns over her and Daniel's supposed relationship.

She initially lied about her profession, but standing in front of Daniel, within the confines of a classroom, her classroom, Professor Finley; Imogen, realized, that because she was afraid of breaking down the final barrier, that stood between her and Daniel, that she created this mess.

I may have been trying to live a new life in the shades of grey that existed between black and white, but there was no grey here. There was only right, and there was only wrong. And loving Daniel was wrong.

I was his teacher. He was my student.

Basically, there was no student/teacher concerns. The problem started and lay solely with Imogen. She spoke of starting anew within the grays,and as much as she continued to lay trapped in a place of indecision. A place where black and white weren't easy to distinguish and what she wanted, didn't equal what she needed. Imogen pushed Daniel away. The best thing that could have happened in her life. She chose to conform and stay within the barriers of wrong and right. Black and White.

Daniel was such a lovable character. Strong and yet so vulnerable. The way he interacted with Imogen, showed how much he felt for her, yet he got so fed up of her being in her own head, that in the end, he knew she would end up right where she started.

All in all the author's attempt fell short.

*ARC provided by the author for an honest review* Thanks!

[Jacqueline J]

was liking this but it lost my interest when I could see they were going to break up.

[1-Click Addict Support Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note: We had two reviewers read this book and their star ratings differed. Our overall rating is an approximate average of the two. That's books, right?

When I read the prologue, I honestly thought I knew how this story would play out....but boy, was I very wrong!!

I have to say, once Imogen and Daniel both start to open up and tell their stories they had me tearing up, and I felt for them. There is a lot of passion between them that I kept saying, 'Just do it, for crying out loud!!'

There are misunderstandings and, needless to say, the closer I got to the end I thought to myself, "There is no way, please say it ain't so... Oh my goodness, no, it can't!" So, YES, this book had me on pins and needles. Though it was a teacher/student book, it was beautifully written. ~ Kara, 4.5 stars

~~~

A teacher/student scandalous relationship that builds beautifully.

Daniel, with his "chiseled jaw and brooding stare," falls hard for Imogen instantly. Even though she was known as the Ice Queen through school, he thinks she is adorable. She over thinks EVERYTHING and plans her days down to the minute. Imogen tries her best to let go of being a perfectionist and loosen up with the thought of being with Daniel. It happens slowly and with much effort.

I wish there was more to the characters though. Daniel seemed like all a book boyfriend should be, but he still couldn't get me in full out swoon mode. I did, however, enjoy the building drama near the end of the book with other characters. Karma is a beautiful thing. ~ Krissy, 3 stars

[CeCe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 Stars
The beginning of the book was a lot of Imogen’s background. There was a lot of inner dialogue and a lot of detail about everything which at times made me lose interest.

I love quirky heroines. They are some of my favorite, but what started with me thinking that Imogen was quirky and cute quickly turned that she was just annoying. At first, I thought the relationship with Daniel had potential, but their relationship became awkward. I wondered why Daniel wanted to be with her. I do not think I could be friends with Imogen. This is a teacher/student romance, but I felt by the time we got to that part, I already disconnected from the characters.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[M L R · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not for me

Imogen is so odd, could not connect with her at all. Her relationship with Daniel made no sense, it went from total awkwardness to I love you to nothing because of some preconception about a teacher/student relationship to a 5 minute resolution, the end. Why bother with the blurb about her mother or his family if this was not to be fleshed out. Almost a dnf but I skimmed to see if it would get better. Maybe someone else will be able to better engage with the characters and find value in their story, but I couldn't.

[Jillian Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning to Fall is currently FREE on Amazon!

"A beautifully written story" (Give Me Books) about friendship, finding yourself, and falling in love..."

https://t.co/ZmfoZz0DiO

[Jamie Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imogen is having her first day teaching English at a college in small-town Maine when we first meet her. She meets the hero, Daniel, sometime later when she and her friend are celebrating at a bar. Neither makes the best first impression, but as it's a small town, they are bound to run into each other again.

I liked Imogen’s character. Even though she's super smart, she has insecurities about herself as a teacher and as a woman. If you're looking for a fast-burn romance, this one isn't it. It's slow burn, like romance often is in real life, as people get to know each other, have insecurities, and hold back some part of themselves out of fear. Frankly, I don't mind this kind of romance if I understand the type of story that I'm getting into. I can sit back and simply enjoy the slow ride and the gradual unfolding of character and plot.

This book is supposed to be a revised edition, and I would be curious to know what the author actually changed. I know this book has gotten some very low star ratings. I'm wondering if she just had some proofreading done or if she added to the book. There were complaints about grammar, punctuation, and usage in the one-star reviews. I would say the book still has some issues with these, but not as many as I was led to believe from the bad reviews. I am a copy editor myself, and what I think this book actually needs is a solid line edit, where someone goes in and reworks the sentences and paragraphs to improve the flow. Especially at the beginning of the book, the author seemed to overly rely on dashes, making interrupters where there didn't really need to be any if the sentence was just structured differently. There are lots of phrases as well as single-sentence or single-phrase paragraphs which I think makes for choppy writing (which makes for disjointed reading) and creates a barrier for the reader. Or at least for me. I also thought that the author had too many false subjects (“there” sentences) and personal passive expressions (“it” expressions where the "it" doesn’t refer to a specific noun), both of which weaken prose.

Aside from the still existing issues with language, I enjoyed this sweet and sometimes poignant real love story between two people in much need of that.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

Read my other reviews at https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com.

[Marie Bourgery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imogen had always followed the plans her mother laid out for to get ahead and succeed on her terms until she realizes she is not happy and decides to go her own way. Instead of accepting a job at an Ivy League school, she settles for a small college in Maine. She meets Daniel at a bar and he is the opposite of what she would have chosen for guy. But she can’t fight the attraction and they fall into a relationship until he shows up in her night classes. She is not a rule breaker and she won’t break the college code for love. I can be shy and I thought it was cute that Imogen spouted random facts when she was nervous. Daniel was patient and sweet and liked that Imogen was different. I didn’t like the he was so flippant about the possibility that she could lose her job to be with him. Imogen’s friend Whitney was over the top and annoying. She kept dragging her into to situations where Imogen could have gotten in trouble or hurt. And she kept hooking up with random guys hoping to find love.

[Evonne Hutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up is easy, gaining emotional maturity somewhat more difficult!
A professor unwittingly falls in love with a student
A good story line with excellent characterization

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Navneet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and relatable story.
Enjoyed it a lot.

[Ryn Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore student/teacher romances but I feel like this story isn't really a s/t in the truest sense of the term.

Although the premise was good, the author spent too much time in Imogen's head. There were plot lines that were alluded to, but never developed. We know Imogen doesn't speak to her mother, and much is made of this fact but to no real end. Whitney could have been a fantastic character, but she ended up wishy-washy; her tantrum at the outdoor store being pointless.

I felt Daniel was too one-dimensional. We're "told" he's hot, and he has the all-important painful past, but I didn't connect with him at all and the "pain" felt gratuitous at best.

The s/t part of the book only comes to light about 3/4 of the way through; much too late to be classed as a s/t romance. When I pick up a book with this storyline, I do it to watch how the couple navigates through the issue. Here, the issue was skimmed over and resolved within two paragraphs. In addition, the issue of John and Maddy was dropped in needlessly, as it didn't progress beyond some (weak) blackmail from a character whom we hadn't heard about since the very beginning of the book. Again, we're "told" Imogen respects John, but not shown why.

The book did keep me reading (albeit with some hefty skimming in parts) and the potential was there, but it just fell short. Perhaps with the help of a developmental editor this could be salvaged, but the story does need work before I would consider recommending it.

2.5*

[Evelien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet love story about Imogen and Daniel. I liked that this wasn't a typical teacher-student romance. The relationship was already formed before Daniel was Imogen's student.

I loved Daniel. He's a sweet, caring and very patient man. I have mixed feelings about Imogen. She's so cold and introvert... But when you know what her childhood was like, you understand her behaviour a bit more. But still, there were some moments where I wanted to smack some sense into her!

But stil, this was a lovely read! 3,5-4 stars.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to say I really enjoyed this book, but truthfully I didn't. Imogen was just all around annoying. I don't think I have ever rolled my eyes to a character as much as I did with her. I get she has mommy/daddy issues, but for the love of God act your age. You are a college professor who acts like a 9 yr old girl. Daniel is the only part of this book I enjoyed. He was super sweet and should have just left her ass.

[Melissa B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh this book wasn't for me, the blurb seemed attractive but the story fell short and the characters weren't that great.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Suzanne C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had so much promise, but fell short for me;(

[★ Belle The Bibliophile ★ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 71%