Genre: Coming of Age
~Blurb~
I was never supposed to see him again.
One night of passion with a complete stranger.
My last tryst before senior year.
But I was lost the moment his tempting lips were on my skin.
His intense touch on my body.
It should have ended there.
But he’s not a stranger.
He’s my history teacher.
And wanting him is against the rules.
Off limits.
Forbidden.
Illicit.
~Book Review~
2.5 Stars
After catching her boyfriend
cheating at a party, eighteen year old Gwendolyn “Lynn” Adams finds comfort in
the company of a guy she meets on the beach where they share a look at the
stars, a dip in the ocean, and a fling on the sand.
“He is an Adonis among men, like all the myths and tales he likes to weave.”
Turns out, he’s also her new prep
school history teacher. And Carson Blake is kind of alluring till some unappealing
OW drama gets inserted. Ugg! This is the ultimate mood killer in a romance, and
honestly it served no purpose here other than to diminish what Lynn and Carson
had going and to infuse unnecessary angst into a story that was soon to indulge
in it to the hilt.
Told via their dual first person
POV, I think the initial bones to the story have a lot of promise. I never read
the previous novella version so I can’t compare the two, but I can’t help but feel
as if this reads more like a working draft of a fleshed out version than a
polished final product. To be sure, the plot relies way too much on angst and melodrama
and not enough on romance. It falls prey to the typical ‘we can’t be together’
pitfalls that drag down some taboo romances while at the same time relies on
avoidable misunderstandings that could be remedied with some basic
communication. Add in a ton of family angst and some OM drama too and the whole
thing just became too much. The story
became too sensational and the writing suffered as a result. More time spent on
developing certain scenes between Lynn and Carson as well as revising their
early awkward or stilted dialogue would have been time better spent than lining
up a slew of tumultuous obstacles.
I do give the story points for
stressing the importance of seeking professional help. So often these type of
angsty coming-of-age new adult reads never even give it a mention. But it plays
an important and needed role here to the benefit of the characters.
Bottom line, neither Lynn nor
Carson wowed me. Lynn’s a bit immature, though perhaps not unrealistic for her
age. Carson had potential to be a more endearing romantic hero, but I couldn’t
get past the OW drama to fall in love with him, even after Carson pulls his
head out of his ass and sets it on his neck straight. Essentially, if you enjoy
a lot of angst and melodrama, this might be the one for you. But if you are
looking for a cute and sexy, swoonworthy forbidden romance, keep browsing. There’s nothing special or smoking hot about
this teacher-student love affair.
Ava Harrison is a New Yorker, born and bred. When she’s not journaling her life, you can find her window shopping, cooking dinner for her family, or curled up on her couch reading a book.
No comments:
Post a Comment