*** RELEASE TOUR, REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY *** Under the Peaches by Shana Vanterpool

Title: Under The Peaches

Series: Teaching Love #1

Author: Shana Vanterpool

Genre: NA Romance

Release Date: February 28, 2017

Unwanted. A word eighteen-year-old Kaelyn Jefferies knows better than most. Given up at birth, she knows nothing of love. Now she navigates this world blind, worrying only about her present to survive. And sometimes when you’re the only guide you have, you don’t always do what’s best for yourself. After another confrontation with her bully, Kaelyn flees to her hiding spot to be alone and nurse her wounds. Instead, she finds Julian Ean, the gorgeous twenty-four-year-old calculus teacher the other girls whisper about, nursing a few of his own. Until that moment, Mr. Ean was simply a man she passed in the halls. Afterwards, he is impossible to ignore … to forget. Mr. Ean only wanted to help Kaelyn. Patch her up and show her she was worth so much more than she was giving herself. He didn’t mean to fall in love with a student. It’s wrong, he knows it, but he can’t help himself around her. Not when her pain feels like his. Kaelyn didn’t mean to fall in love with a teacher. It’s wrong, she knows it, but after Mr. Ean shows her what a real smile feels like, there’s no going back after that … 

Book one in the Teaching Love Series, comes a poignant coming-of-age novel showcasing the beauty of strength and the delicious lure of forbidden love by Shana Vanterpool.

“A beautiful romance. I cried. I laughed. I swooned (a lot!). I added Mr. Ean to my book boyfriend list for sure (*wink*)!” - Reader Review 

“This book is the BOMB!!! YOU HAVE TO READ IT!!” - Bookish_Affair 

“This Book, this book!! Is there anything Shana Vanterpool can't write??” - MillsyLovesBooks 

“This book has easily been my favorite for this year. Shana has a way of bringing out the tears from me but also putting smiles and feeling happy for the characters.” -A Bibliophile's World

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In my current state, between ignoring and hanging on every word, I admit that’s what he is to me too. A shield between the hurt and me. I know exactly what he means. When I am around him, I forget to hurt, and it isn’t fair because he’s hurting too. But I can’t help it. No one warned me about him either. “Julian.” “It’s like,” he whispers. “Like and attraction doesn’t mean love.” What did mean love?

Under the Peaches is a story about the choices we make, the reality of abuse and that sometimes conventional relationship norms can be broken in the face of something more meaningful. Julian and Kaelyn have a bond that defies what is expected and flourishes  because what they have is more important than what others think. This book was hard to read in parts but was well worth the journey. 

Kaelyn is suffering from a traumatic childhood and current reality when she meets her teacher. Julian is also struggling and seeing Kaelyn hurting doesn't sit well with him. As they create a friendship, it borders on going past what society deems as okay. But as their relationship evolves, their own lives and their current situation become more tenuous to the point that neither will come out the same as before. 

Student/Teacher romances are admittedly touch and go for me. Having been a teacher this kind of taboo can be difficult for me to read and connect to at time but Ms. Vanterpool made me sympathize with these characters to the point that I wanted so much more for them than they were getting. I did at times get a bit frustrated with both Kaelyn and Julian, the choices they made and their reactions to some of the events that happened, but at the end, their story was built so that I could't fault them and only wanted the best for them.

Reviewed by Paige

★★☆ 3.5 "Taught" Stars ☆★★

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Romance author, coffee drinker, and bad boy aficionado. Every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and actress dog, Halle Bella. (Just Bella when she decides to cut the crap.) Escaping with a good book is something I live for and I write so others can do the same. 

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