Original Read Date: 2013
Re-Read: March 2019
~Updated Book Review~
4.75/5 Stars
Atticus Grimes, 28,
is a tatted bad boy history professor in need of a research assistant for his
book on pirates.
Where were those professors when I was an
undergrad?
Avery Emili, 21, is
college student in need of some cash to attend her sister’s Jamaican wedding.
So how
did the story hold up years later on a re-read?
I was easily reminded how I liked both
of their characters. This is really critical to me for giving 5 stars so I can
still see why I rated it that way. Atticus is a little surly and he gives mixed
signals at first, but I was sympathetic to the fact that he was still trying to
put his life back together. And he was hot in a take-what-he wants, conventions-be-damned kind of way. And yet I wouldn't call him reckless.
I seriously enjoyed how Avery had a
backbone and a brain.
“‘Time to put on your big girl panties and face the music. Hanging on a guy who so obviously doesn’t want you?’ I shake my head. ‘Have a little dignity.’”
We’re missing more girls like her in
the romance market today. While I was rooting for her to just love this sexy man
who was all in for her, at the same time I appreciated her concern for their
academic careers/professions.
While I usually don’t care for the
amount of OW/OM drama that crops up, I have to say that it worked here. The key
components being that:
1). Avery and Atticus share a common ground having both been hurt and betrayed by people they loved and trusted. Their experiences weren’t unbalanced.
2.) Neither want their exes back…and they have no problem putting the other’s OM/OW in their place.
1). Avery and Atticus share a common ground having both been hurt and betrayed by people they loved and trusted. Their experiences weren’t unbalanced.
2.) Neither want their exes back…and they have no problem putting the other’s OM/OW in their place.
“‘Lose her number. Bother her again, and I swear to god I will drive to Virginia for no other reason but to kick your motherfucking ass. Are we very clear?’”
Atticus has just enough alpha in him
without it ever going overboard.
I felt their sexual tension and
chemistry from the start, and there’s a good blend of story and steamy times.
“‘Two months and I can still taste you—I still know exactly what you sound like when I slide my dick into you. I know what you look like when you come for me.’”
Told via their alternating dual first
person POV, it incorporates the taboo student-teacher romance theme. The second book, Beautiful
Broken, features Atticus’s sister, Scout, and his buddy, Dane.
*Title purchased from Amazon. All reviews written by Book-Bosomed Book Blog are honest opinions.
~Interview with Nazarea Andrews~
Original Interview Date: August 2014
5 Questions with Author Nazarea Andrews
Q1. What was your inspiration for creating the University of Branton
A. My hometown, which was very small and plays more heavily on the setting of book two, Beautiful Broken, and my college. Which was small and beautiful and where I fell in love with my husband.
College and a small town influenced me and made me the person I am. Both are hugely important to me and have a special place in my heart, even now that I live in a big city and I'm years past college. Branton allowed me to go back to that, briefly.
College and a small town influenced me and made me the person I am. Both are hugely important to me and have a special place in my heart, even now that I live in a big city and I'm years past college. Branton allowed me to go back to that, briefly.
Q2. Did you ever have a teacher/professor like Atticus? How did your own university experience compared to Avery’s at UB?
A. Ha!!! No. Atticus, amazing as he is, was very much my imagination. Avery had a very normal college experience, until Atticus threw her for a loop. I didn't. I left school early, worked several jobs between classes and never partied. But I loved my college experience.
Q3. Atticus and Dane are best friends but they have rather different personalities? If you were in a character in one of your books, which one would you be more attracted to/who is more your type and why?
A. Dane. In a book, anyway. Dane is rough and rude and oh my god, I love him. He's also broken and furious and hurting. He's a MESS.
Atticus? Atti is the boy that Dane was, after he's sorted himself out. He still has his sharp edges and mess moments. But he's got his shit together for the most part. And in real life, who wouldn't want to be with that?
Atticus? Atti is the boy that Dane was, after he's sorted himself out. He still has his sharp edges and mess moments. But he's got his shit together for the most part. And in real life, who wouldn't want to be with that?
Q4. Avery is a great female character—she’s smart, organized, and determined. Can you give us any more background about how you created her character? What are your favorite qualities about her?
A. Her determination. I love love how she's so intent on what she wants. I'm that way. The problem is that sometimes we're so focused on that we miss what's right in front of us. Avery needs to learn that.
Q5. Will we ever get another book with Atticus and Avery as the main characters? I know they make appearances in later books, but any plans for them to have a second story? A second pirate book that Atticus writes and they research together? A wedding? Kids?
A. Haha, well. Maybe. If you read Sweet Ruin and Fractured Perfection (Oct 2015) you definitely get their next chapters. We might see novellas in the future. Maybe. :)
Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog. Connect with her via her website, blog, Twitter, or Facebook.
