Review of Learning to Love by Jennifer Wilck

Welcome to the review tour for Learning to Love by Jennifer Wilck, which is probably one of my favorite books of 2018. Read an excerpt from this book as well as more of my thoughts. Download your own copy and leave your comments and questions for the author as you follow the tour. Be sure to enter the giveaway!

Please note that affiliate links are present within this post. Should you make a purchase through one, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Learning to Love

Dina Jacobs is a single librarian who has never fit in due to her off-the-charts intelligence, frizzy hair and rounder-than-socially-acceptable figure. She left her past behind until she receives an invitation to her ten-year high school reunion, and all her insecurities return.

Adam Mandel is a single corporate attorney who just missed his third deadline at his father's law firm, the law firm where he is up for junior partner. With his reputation on the line, Adam needs all the help he can get to convince his father that he deserves the promotion.

When Dina and Adam run into each other on a deserted road, Dina thinks Mr. Flashypants can't possibly be interested in someone like her. Adam thinks Dina is just the person to help him improve his reputation. Lies and insecurities force them to take a look at themselves. Can they trust each other to look beyond the surface?

Read an excerpt:

“Cold?” Adam turned and stopped in front of her.

She nodded, and he adjusted her scarf, the backs of his fingers caressing her cheeks and jaw. His warm breath tickled her nose and up close, she could see flecks of silver and brown in his eyes. A small scar marked the top of his cheekbone, beneath his eye, and without thinking, she touched it.

He froze, a sharp intake of breath making Dina realize she’d actually made contact. As if the texture of his skin beneath the tip of her finger wasn’t enough evidence.

“I’m sorry,” she said, drawing her hand away.

“No, it’s okay.” He took her hand and held it against his cheek. She could see his pupils dilate, feel the rasp of stubble beneath her palm.

“How did you get it?” she asked.

“A fight in the third grade. Tommy D teased me for talking to the girl everyone used to make fun of in class. So I decked him. He got me back and we both got detention.”

Dina couldn’t help smiling. “Aw, you were her knight in shining armor.”

He reddened. “You’re the only one who thinks I was.”

“Not true. She probably thinks so as well. Since I know who my competition is, I’ll have to give you my ribbon to carry or something.”

At his look of confusion, she continued. “In medieval times, a lady gave her knight a favor, such as a ribbon, and he’d joust for her.”

Taking her hand from his cheek, he raised it to his lips and kissed the backs of her fingers. “So you want me to fight for you?”

Buy links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * The Wild Rose Press

**My thoughts**
I truly loved this book. These two characters rang more true to me than any I have read in a long time. I think it's because I saw so much of myself in Dina and so many men I have known in Adam. Both of them are horribly flawed and hard on themselves. They have both had a rough time of it in life, despite their surface successes, and have low self-esteem as a result. Dina manages hers by withdrawing; Adam manages his by putting out a fake persona that he thinks people want to see. They meet accidentally, find themselves strongly attracted to each other, and almost don't know how to handle it. Their conflict is trying to realize that they are good and worthy people who actually deserve happiness in their lives and that they are truly meant to be together. 

They have a heck of a roller coaster ride as they try to figure it all out. Dina finds a strength within herself that she didn't know she had. Adam learns that he is more than just his father's son. They learn how to communicate with each other and important people in their lives. I felt like I rode the roller coaster with them, laughing and crying along the way.

About Jennifer Wilck

Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.

In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. When she’s not writing, she loves to laugh with her family and friends, is a pro at finding whatever her kids lost in plain sight, and spends way too much time closing doors that should never have been left open in the first place. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.

She writes contemporary romance, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and The Wild Rose Press.

She can be reached at www.jenniferwilck.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Wilck/201342863240160. She tweets at @JWilck. Her blog (Fried Oreos) is www.jenniferwilck.blogspot.com and she contributes to Heroine With Hearts blog monthly http://www.heroineswithhearts.blogspot.com.

Jennifer Wilck will be awarding a $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway