Traumatic Love

by Ellen Hoil

Dr. Nydia Rogers was stripped of her future long before she had one, she now lives day to day. Her life focused on being a trauma doctor and saving others, not herself. Jo Powers, a cop doing her best to make a difference, is a survivor of domestic violence because of someone she thought was her protector. Chance brings them together, but will real life keep them apart? For the first time in her life, Jo will use every bit of charm and romance to gain the trust of Nydia to soothe both their wounds. Will it be enough to win the heart of the emotionally scarred doctor?
Traumatic Love includes themes of surviving domestic violence, abuse, and bullying and is recommended for mature readers.

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2020

About the author

Ellen Hoil lives in wine country on the North Fork of Long Island between The Sound and The Peconic Bay. “I can’t imagine living anywhere that isn’t near water and open space.” When she isn’t writing fiction, she does write for her other career as an in-house counsel attorney. During her down time Ellen enjoys her hobbies of photography and getting involved in local politics. She is an ardent Sci-Fi geek and can be found at various conventions. “My philosophy on life is that failure is never the end, but only a temporary stopping off point for a new adventure.”

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

From the writing of the first chapter, I thought this book was going in a completely different direction. Instead, it's a book focusing primarily on abuse and all of its forms--emotional, physical, child, domestic, etc. And yet, ironically, the "romance" angle of the story reads as incredibly unhealthy and manipulative as well, yet is framed by the author as normal. Sample scene: during a first date, Jo (the cop) asks Nydia (the doc) about her family, which leads to Nydia flipping out, going home, and crying (the first of many, many, many pages that this happens); Jo decides to bang on her front door, leave for a few minutes, cry (again, the first of many more pages of this), then return to tell Nydia she will not leave again because "they have something special", and proceeds to spend the night in her yard on a swing set. This isn't normal. This isn't healthy. Beyond the troubling romance though and the erratic behavior and emotions of these lead characters, the book is dripping with trigger warnings for descriptions of physical abuse and vehement, violent homophobia. I kind of get what the author was going for, however there were too many other plotlines all hammering home the same point; I would have liked to see more time spent on the emotional journey these leads had to take to their recoveries. Maybe then they wouldn't have been written with such erratic behavior.

[Best Lesfic Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books perform many functions. They entertain, yes. They are also portals to many thoughts, feelings and experiences that one may not live otherwise. Then there are books that sensitise reader to mindsets, emotions and behaviours that may seem difficult to fathom but have strong roots and basis. This book achieves all three.


Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...

[Izza]

DNF’ed @ 56% | there’s no point in me continuing this book. I keep rolling my eyes at the dialogue.

[gaile brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traumatic Love by Ellen Hoil tells a very honest tale of romance in the midst of domestic abuse. As was explained in a few parts of the book, look at it from their side. Initially when Nadia and Jo get together, their bond is super strong, and I thought that did not make sense considering what was happening between them. Considering that one of them kept tearing away at this bond, it seemed foolish and naive, not worthy of a romance. Some of the dialogue even seemed a little juvenile to me, but as I read on, I realized that this was a well played part on the author. She presents a realistic view of two people in love during the unveiling of their traumatic history. It is like straddling a balance beam as to whether their love survives or not. Leslie McDonal gives an okay narration. When voicing the male characters, she is good at differentiating their voices. She does, however, use the same broken voice for the two female leads. The broken voice works well for one of the characters, and shows deep stress, but giving that same inflection to the other character makes it hard, at times, to distinguish between the two. For the narration, I give it 3.5 stars, but for the novel itself, 5 stars. It was definitely a roller coaster ride, and provided a chaotic symmetry to love. Thankyou.

[RA Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done

The beginning felt rushed, but the rest pan Ed out pretty well. The tough issues were handled well. I felt like every time the story was pushed forward it was shoved too fast too hard. But overall it was a great story with good characters and I was emotionally engaged throughout.
Five stars because the flaws I found didn't detract too much from the overall experience and I would read more by this author.

[Carol Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional story!

Trauma doctor Nydia is surviving not living. Her life has taken a direction she didn’t plan and so she dedicates all her time to saving others. A domestic abuse survivor and cop, Jo is dealing with cases that trigger emotions of her ordeal and is determined to get justice for the latest victim. When she meets Nydia upon bringing a victim to the hospital, Jo is determined to get to know her, win her heart, and finally find happiness that she knows they both deserve.

A lot was covered in this story, and as the title suggests much of the content was traumatic. When learn what both Nydia and Jo have been through, how it’s affected them, and how they now handle situations, people and their own emotional connections, you can’t help but feel empathetic towards them. They have seen truly traumatic things, and even experienced that it was such an emotional journey you went through with them.

There were many twists and turns in this story that added an unexpected element alongside the connection forming between Nydia and Jo. Although they had a fantastic chemistry, it was their feelings, thoughts, and past experiences that kept wedging between them and causing tension. This relationship between Nydia and Jo provided for an intense, fast paced read that was constantly changing. You really couldn’t predict what was going to happen, and when the plot did take a turn it was always in a truly unexpected direction.

The topics covered in this story were handled realistically and sensitively and provided important moments to consider why the characters were acting the way they were, and consider the consequences of certain actions, decisions and just how badly the past and actions of others can have a devastating impact on a person.

An enjoyable, emotional story I recommend to anyone who likes romance with edge, and something a bit different.

[Women Using Words]

This is a contemporary romance that is driven by high drama and heavy emotion. The romance features two strong female characters that are trying to overcome past traumas while facing daily challenges that test their character and their relationship. The subject matter can be upsetting at times, as it deals with domestic violence and abuse. Some scenes can be graphic and possibly uncomfortable to read. If domestic abuse is a trigger for you, I would advise against reading it.

Traumatic Love is what I would describe as a nice blend of Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order. It contains passionate doctors, dedicated nurses and hotshot cops working together in high steaks situations to restore oder and safety to others. It excels in highlighting the dramatic elements and ratcheting up the angst. However, the palpable romantic tension between the leading ladies—Nydia and Jo—always remains central to the storyline.

Leslie McDonel does a nice job narrating the book. Her performance is spot-on. Listeners have no trouble following along and grasping who is speaking; her character shifts are flawless. McDonel’s narration definitely enhances the story; I would listen to another story read by her without hesitation.

Final remarks…

If you are one that enjoys angsty storytelling set inside the high tension and drama filled worlds of police departments and hospitals, then this story is for you. Traumatic Love is a classic romance that keeps the emotional steaks high. It’s perfect for those that like their romances dramatically heart-wrenching, but passion-filled at the same time.

Strengths…

Nice narration
Dramatic
Angsty
Good mix of cop/doc elements

[Michele Howell]

Wonderful Story

A nurse with a traumatic & abusive past. Brother's that are police officers and a fellow female officer, Jo, who comes across Nydia on one of her runs to the ER. They start off flirty but Nydia pulls back and turns cold. Jo tries to find a way into Nydia's life feeling they have a connection. Every time they try, Nydia's past rears it's ugly head. Jo tries to be patient but Nydia doesn't seem to be able to confide or trust in Jo. Nydia's co-worker and close childhood friend Trudy continually attempts to help Nydia see the issues from her past that continue clouding her judgement regarding Jo. Once Jo's ties Nydia's brother's to a criminal and bring Nydia in to be questioned, she once again turns on Jo protecting the family that spit her out and demoralizes her every chance they get. Can Nydia come to terms with her past and let Jo in? Has Jo's heart and patience given up especially once she finds out the truth to Nydia's past? Excellent story! I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for sharing your writing with us. I look forward to reading another of your novels 😊.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Maybe the beginning takes a while to get going and the end is a bit rushed, but growing up in a dysfunctional family I recognised many behaviours here. And not all of them are healthy. I do love a cops and docs story though and the opportunities they provide for a writer.

Jo is a cop who falls for Nydia, an emergency room doctor. Nydia has problems at work and in her family, but she can’t really manage both. Like most people in the circumstances, she pushes down the pain and gets through the day. She doesn’t want to get involved with a cop, and she fights against the attraction.

The ending is satisfying and there is a lot to commend this book. A good story.

[Red Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written story in which the author entwined the past and present to give you insight into the MC’s and how the one has impacted on the other.
I just wanted to keep on reading to the end to see how it would conclude but also wanted a little more info in the epilogue as to the actions and outcomes for some of the supporting characters.This was an ARC but I would happily have bought this book to add to my collection. A new author to me and certainly one to follow

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

Great.

I really enjoyed Traumatic Love. Certainly a lot of ups and downs on the romance theme. Quite a bit of police procedures. ER Dept. procedures. Warning. Some references to domestic violence. Both in the present tense and past actions.

[Adele Wallach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read!

This book captured my attention from page one. Since I also live on the North Fork, I could envision myself sitting at the beach listening to the waves and all the locations Ms. Hoil mentions. Definitely a very good read.

[MizLiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this was more of a factual story being documented, too stilted in the telling. Not that is a bad presentation.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book spends 200 pages running around in circles and it’s cliched ending doesn’t even hit the spot because of how the author sets it up