Given the relevant number of facts it’s normally easy to come to a decision. So based on the fact that this story is 398 pages long and that I did read it all with no fast scrolling involved, it ought to be an easy feat to decide if it’s worth a review, but never the less I’m ambivalent !
“Taught by Love” is the story of Noelle Potter a young and rather enthusiastic high schoolteacher who has been marked by a relationship that turned abusive, and Molly Cartwright the lonely hearted new Dean of Students at Noelle’s high school, who has been employed to tend to matters of student discipline, presumably to help avoid serious security issues like a school shooting.
Noelle and Molly get to meet each other head on out on the water where Molly – god knows why – has decided to go sailing even though she has no knowledge at all about sailing or swimming for that matter. In school Noelle and Molly is both placed in the SAP* team, where they clash right from the beginning as Noelle is a firm believer in her students, and Molly will take all aggressive measures to avoid a security risk, even at the cost of the individual student.
In between fighting Noelle and Molly cast each other hot glances and comments with a sexual innuendo, and this is where I get itchy. For one the women has had minimal contact with each other when they start desperately wanting to kiss, touch and the likes, and secondly there is no indication in the storyline, that either of the women has let the other in on the fact that sex with a woman is something that might be given a favourable thought !
Furthermore I get confused by the description of the character of Molly in the first quarter of the story, is she a sexual predator out to conquered a young beautiful girl, or is she a tender hearted woman with the empathy needed to help Noelle get through her fear and see that love can actually be a wonderful thing?
I can keep going on about bits of annoying things in the storyline. How about Noelle’s mother who is an active woman, who goes sailing with Noelle one day and a short while later she’s in her death bed – no medical treatment or doctors involved at any time! Or the fact that Noelle, who has been in an abusive relationship with a man, has somehow decided that she is a lesbian and told her mother this without ever having been in love with or had a sexual encounter with a woman.
So how did I come to read the story right to the end? Well I guess I was somehow caught up by the interaction between Noelle and Molly and wanted to see how they got through to each other – it’s a romance so there had to be a way – and somehow along the way towards a relationship the story got smoother. Maybe the fact that a good part of interaction between Molly and Noelle in the second half of the story happened between the sheets helped the storyline a bit – not that the sex is really that hot – but anyway I got to the end and I even looked in on the unfinished sequel “Summer of love”. Reading an unfinished story is something that I never ever do! Ok so maybe I had sunstroke or something as I did spend a good part of the weekend riding my bike along the seafront in the spring sun – lovely by the way.
As always it’s up to you to decide if you should go spend some time with the ladies mentioned, but this time I’m reluctant to wholeheartedly recommend that you do so. If you decide to give the story a go please bear in mind, that I forewarned you as to the quality of the first half of the story.
If you think that I’m being too harsh in this review – drop a comment so other readers might learn your point of view.
* Student Assistance Program