Hello, my bookworms. Happy Sunday! I know it’s been a little bit since you’ve heard from me. I was out of town last weekend, and when I got home on Monday evening, I got sick almost instantly. I had no choice because I had just taken a few days off… so I had to work through my under the weather stint. I’m actually still in bed recovering a bit this weekend, but I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging any longer with reviews and bookish adventures. I have a few entries building up, so I plan on getting them to you as soon as I can!

So, I spent last weekend in Nashville, and while I did a fair amount of wandering around and exploring, I did also get some reading done, which I was happy about. I always say I want to read on trips and then I always wind up too preoccupied or too tired at day’s end to actually binge the way I’d like. This trip had a nice balance of both, so I was content.

Anyway, I finally got to a book that’s been sitting on my kindle for months now. A Different Blue by Amy Harmon. I downloaded it after one of my re-reads of Gabriel’s Inferno when I was looking for another teacher/student romance to immerse myself in. While the subject always seems taboo, I can assure you, once you’re in the story, it’s anything but. This was the second book of Harmon’s I read, so while I had a taste of her style, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

This story didn’t go how I thought it’d go at all. What I adore about Harmon’s tales is that there seems to be elements of fantasy or folklore woven into the pages… even if they’re running alongside a more realistic subject matter.

I found Blue Echohawk fascinating, but I also ached for her because of how lost she was for so long. How do you go through life not knowing who you are… and at such a young age? Thank goodness for Wilson.

Darcy Wilson is the slightly unconventional history teacher with a lovely British accent. Blue is the willing rebel in his class. By using classic literature, Wilson ties fiction into real-life, historic events. Not only that, but he encourages his students to tell their stories as well. It’s when he becomes an unlikely shoulder for Blue to cry on that things become so much more complicated for the pair. She’s all alone in this world, and he finds himself willing to do anything to help her find happiness and success.

I swooned over these pages, not because it was an outright romance, but because it was life and the events described could really happen. Wilson teaches Blue to not only be herself, but encourages her to thrive and find out about her past. Whereas she teaches him to see what the naked eye can’t. To find beauty in the mess of life. I was thrilled with what these two taught each other, as well as all the things they taught me. I feel like I came away from this book with so much more than a love story and I can’t recommend their journey enough. Go meet these two right now!

My Final Rating: five out of five stars