An Unplanned Life: Beth Rinyu
(Unplanned series #2)
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In the sequel/prequel to An Unplanned Lesson, Nicole and Dailan are living out their happily ever after, raising Ryan and their daughter. Nicole has the perfect life and is no longer running away from her emotions. But when her past collides with her present, that perfect life slowly begins to crumble.
When Dailan gets in over his head taking on a huge case, that quickly becomes personal to him, Nicole and their marriage soon get put on the back burner. To make matters worse his new assistant is Rachel Wiser,the girl who made Nicole's life a living hell in high school.
Take the emotional journey into Nicole's past when she's faced with old ghosts, while she tries to cope with the effects that it's having on her present. Nicole must prove that she is no longer a scared teenager and fight with all that she has to protect the one person that she endured so much heartache for while trying to save her marriage to the one and only man who allowed her to open her heart.
An Unplanned Lesson(Unplanned series #1)
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See Kim's 4 star review
Nicole Morgan, the new second grade teacher at Pineview Elementary school, has it all together in the classroom; it’s her personal life that she can’t find peace with. Unable to let go of the guilt that she is harboring from her past, she punishes herself by running from all potential relationships.
Her patience is put to the test when Dailan O’Maley the obnoxious but very sexy uncle of one of her students enters her life. She slowly cracks away at Dailan’s crude, crass exterior when they are forced to work together for the sake of his nephew. The two of them learn a lesson in love that neither had planned as they discover that the guilt they are hiding deep inside isn’t the only thing they have in common. Unbeknownst to her, he holds more than just the key to her heart.
Sometimes the best things in life are those that aren’t planned.
Dailan and Nicole have been through a lot and are now in a happy place. They are married and raising their family with the support of family and friends.
But real life is not always a fairy tale. Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you. Sometimes problems in the present threaten happiness. They are faced with new challenges and struggles. There are situations and people trying to pull them apart. They have to rely on their love and commitment to help each other through. But it is a struggle that only intensifies.
We see the story in both Nicole and Dailan's points of view with past intermingled with present. It actually is both a sequel and a prequel. We learn more of Nicole's and Ryan's pasts. And we see some his and Nicole's earlier relationship through Dailan's eyes. But it all flows seemlessly together to create a well spun story blending past and present.
It was hard to see them hurting and struggling. At times I was as angry, disappointed, frustrated and hurt as they were. It was full of tension, worry, and swirling emotions. At times, it was heart breaking. But there were other times it was sweet.
I loved Dailan in the first book. His funny, cocky, bossy personality made him infuriating and lovable at the same time. And his devotion to Nicole and Ryan won me over. But there were times in this book where I wanted to throttle him. In his mind, he was doing the right thing for his family, but in reality he succeeded it making it all worse. He was trying to be protective, but in doing so he was risking it all.
And I have to say the same thing about Nicole. At times, she made me want to shake her. She had her reasons to be worried, hurt, and angry, but sometimes she really was also mean and unreasonable. But we see how much she has struggled since high school. How much she gave up for Ryan. How much hell she endured. And I had to admire her strength, fight, and determination. Dailan and Ryan had made a huge difference in her life and her ability to move on. But when her past keeps rearing it's ugly head, it brings back all of the insecurities and fears of a younger girl.
I loved him more than he would ever know. He was the only guy that was able to help me break the chains that were binding my heart for so long and I would be forever grateful to him for it.~Nicole
"Your unplanned life changed my life and made it so much better."~Dailan
They still had chemistry and loved each other. In the beginning, they still had their snappy rapport mixed in with their sweet and loving times. But as things became complicated, there was more tension, fighting, and problems. Their easy rapport became difficult and communication suffered. It seemed like they just kept getting hit with more and more. And as the cracks began to show in their marriage, more people became involved. There were antagonists that I really just hated. I mean I wanted to do bodily harm to. Seriously hated. But there were also supportive friends and family that provided sage advice and reason. And I still adore Ryan who is now ten years old, a great kid, and sometimes more mature than his parents. He provided so many moments of love and hope. It was hard to see him suffering as well.
Will they be able to pull their marriage out of the tailspin and get it back on course or will the problems from Nicole's past succeed in ruining her life again?
This book showed that real life is hard. It takes work and commitment. And sometimes you have to continue to fight for your happiness. And I could see a lot of true life in this book. We get tired, angry, upset, and snippy. We fight with those that we love the most. We fear their loss, but at the same time push them away when hurt. This book was realistic and at times hard. But it also made the sweeter times, just that much sweeter. I could identify with this couple and was rooting for them the whole time. I was not sure at the end of An Unplanned Lesson where this sequel would go since the first one did not end on a cliffhanger. But she managed to provide so much more of this couple both past and present and it was quite a journey. You do need to read An Unplanned Lesson first. And if you are fans of Dailan and Nicole, you will definitely want to continue their story.
Thanks To Beth Rinyu for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen - or in today's world a touch of the keyboard. I am the author of The Exception To The Rule, An Unplanned Lesson and Drowning In Love (releasing July 2013) I am currently working on a sequel to An Unplanned Lesson....stay tuned!
My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? I was born and have lived in New Jersey my whole life. I'm a mom of twin teenage boys, a teenage stepson, a crazy Border Collie and a cat with an identity crisis! I guess you can say writing is my form of Calgon! I am married to a wonderful guy - but we'll keep that between us, I don't want him getting a big head!
Thanks for taking the time to learn about my books and me! If you decide to read them (and I hope you do!) please be sure to go on and review it for me - yes, even if you don't like it!
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