Book Review: "If You Believed In Love" By Staci Stallings

I was gifted a copy of "If You Believed in Love" by the author, Staci Stallings through CrossReads Reviewers in exchange for my review.   

This is the book description:  

Jonathon Danforth has checked out of life. Stinging from an unimaginable loss, he has withdrawn from life, wanting only to live out his existence with as little interference as possible. However, when his sister talks him into auditing an English Literature class at the local community college, he reluctantly accepts the invitation to abandon his lonely apartment. Intent upon making an appearance for his sister’s sake and then disappearing for his own, Jonathon sulks into class. But when he meets Elizabeth Forester, the professor, Jonathon learns there is more to life and to love than he ever could have imagined.

I found myself very into the story and felt as if I was sitting in Room 103 along with Jonathon and the rest of the students as Elizabeth helped them find the meanings in classics like Browning and Austen.  I thrilled at every advancement and was saddened by every setback.  I found it sort of funny how as I sat there reading the book and feeling like the people were actual people, the characters in the book were discussing the fact that the characters in the books they were reading seemed like real people!   

"If You Believed in Love" was a little more edgy  than I'm used to reading.  It didn't tell anything graphic or vulgar, the characters' back stories just had them "going farther" than they should have in my opinion.  The relationship between Jonathon and Elizabeth was pure and "Victorian", which I liked.  

Staci Stallings has done an excellent job of writing a story that is realistic and entertaining.  I had to keep reading it straight through so I could know how it all worked out!   It also inspired me to keep working on my own novels. 

You can get a copy of "If You Believed in Love" from Amazon for $8.82.