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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review of Siobhan Davis’s Cruel Intentions ✍🏻

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I might be a pawn in a game I don’t want to play, but that doesn’t mean I can’t win.”

As I was reading and finishing Siobhan Davis’s Cruel Intentions, two questions/thoughts came to mind:

  1. How much abuse of power can one heroine take onto her self?
  2. Cruel Intentions is a modern day dark romantic Great Gatsby if Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan were high schoolers.

Siobhan Davis is wise to include a warning for this book because it is indeed a dark bully romance to the highest degree. And it is everything wrong and right about this genre.

Now, to be fair, I am fairly new to this genre. I’m still trying to determine if it is my fare. I’m open to most romance. I don’t generally discriminate. However, this book oftentimes crosses a line that makes the reader a bit (or a lot) uncomfortable. Please keep that in mind if you intend to read this book. Davis is right in warning that the book includes “mature content, graphic sexual scenes [one, in particular, is VERY uncomfortable and could trigger someone with past sexual abuse], and cursing.” Take this warning to heart; it is very, very true.

Like Fitzgerald’s Gatsby, this book illustrates the tension between old and new money within the confines of an elite high school. On one side are the elite, the children of the founding families of Rydeville. This includes our heroine, Abigail (Abby). This group also includes her twin brother, Drew, her fiance, Trent, her best friend, Jane, and their friend, Charlie. They run the school, even more than the school administration. Their power comes from their families’ positions of power in history. They are wealthy, entitled, and supreme. However, their lives are constructed by their fathers, and their freedom, even the men, is controlled for the advantage of continued power.

On the other side is the new elite: Camden, Jackson, and Sawyer. They have recently blown into town to challenge the power of the elite.  This group is as wealthy as the elite, but their money is “newer,” not founded in tradition. And their goal: to upend the elite from power. Or so it seems.

What we realize quickly is Camden (the leader of the new elite) and Abigail share a past, a chance one night encounter, and it causes Abigail problems when her brother, Trent, and Charlie leave town placing her in charge of the dynamics of their society. During their time alone, she is mercilessly bullied and bullies in return to protect herself. However, it also charges her attraction to Camden, complicating the existing power structure. Abigail’s place is challenged, and her forbidden attraction to Camden complicates her position in elite society. This complication causes much of the strife in this book. Will she gain power again? Will she and Camden truly find happiness, uniting the two sides, or are they destined to hate each other forever? Or will she be destroyed in the end?

This book has so many complications. For one, I think I struggle a bit with this genre: the dark bully high school romance. Yes, the book tells us that Abigail, Camden et al. are high school students, but they definitely do not act as such. They read like adults, just set in a high school. They are sexually experienced in ways that aren’t the norm for high schoolers, and they wield power like they are 40-somethings. I made several notes in my margins about my confusion over their ages because they do not read as high school aged. I share that because some people shun NA romance. If you like something such as dark romance, you could read this book and feel confident that you wouldn’t feel strange reading younger characters. They simply don’t seem to act like typical high-schoolers.

Secondly, as I mentioned at the outset of this review, I wondered time and time again how a heroine could take so much abuse because Abigail is abused on multiple fronts in this story. She is emotionally, mentally, and physically abused. Sometimes, it occurs in ways that are terrible. Yes, the blurb suggests that she holds power, and she uses it to her advantage at certain times, but her character takes on so much to her body and soul that I was often surprised that she survived it. Even more, I found it troubling at times. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE dark romance. I have no triggers for the type of treatment typical of dark romances, but, given that she is high school aged, it made my stomach crawl at times. That being said, I also could not put this book down, even when I was uncomfortable with the bullying/abusive situations. Keep that in mind when you decide to read this book. There is something addictive about this story and these characters.

Additionally, Abigail is quite the “badass” heroine. She has skills in so many areas from ballet to motorcycle riding to surveillance/hacking that you cannot help but admire her, even when she’s abused and brought to her knees (literally and figuratively). I think she represents a strong woman given the structure and cage of her life. She finds her power within those confines, and it is admirable.

Thirdly, the males of this story are fairly interchangeable. There is some crossover of personality with Charlie seemingly synonymous with Sawyer, Drew and Camden being fairly alike, etc. Trent and Jackson are standouts for very different reasons. Trent is horrible. You will hate him, and that is his intent. Jackson is the comic relief, which is necessary to relieve the stress of the story. And trust me, you will feel stressed throughout this story.

Now, one of the complications with the men is the triangle-ish nature of Jackson, Camden, and Abigail. Abby tells us that she will always choose Camden because she feels more with him, BUT I struggled with this. It felt as though she and Jackson had a similar depth of chemistry. Yes, Jackson uses humor and drugs to mask his pain, but I thought she could have easily chosen him, even over Camden. If I had any critical feedback for Davis, I would suggest that she create a deeper connection between Camden and Abbey in the next book, Twisted Betrayal. If the intent is Abigail; finds her HEA with Camden in the end, then I want to ensure that Jackson is NOT an option, as they too have undeniable chemistry.

I feel strongly that Camden and Abbey are a destined couple. They have a strong $exual chemistry. When we end on the cliffhanger of this story, your heart will feel broken from the betrayal between the two. And this is the point of this story. The reader should feel their pain and strife, which is a warning. There isn’t an ending to this book. Instead, we are left with lots of questions and very few answers. The book ends with our hearts in our throats and a deep pit in our stomachs.

Again, how much can or should a heroine take? I think in the coming books in this trilogy, Abigail will wreak havoc on this world and for good reason, much as Gatsby did in West/East Egg.  If you love some serious drama, a lot of pain, and delicious darkness in your romance, then you should be reading Siobhan Davis’s Cruel Intentions. It is dark, dangerous, and devastatingly hot, much like Fitzgerald’s Gatsby.

In love and romance,

Profesor A

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✍🏻 It’s Release Day for Siobhan Davis’s Cruel Intentions – Available NOW! ✍🏻

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In the power struggle between two elite groups, one feisty girl will bring them to their knees…

Cruel Intentions, an all-new dark, high school bully romance from USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis is available now!

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Life is a cruel game where only the most ruthless survive. It’s a truth my mother rebelled against, and she paid for it with her life. Now, I play their game. Publicly accepting the destiny that lies in wait for me when I turn eighteen.

But, behind closed doors, I plot my escape.

Trent, Charlie, and my twin, Drew, rule the hallways of Rydeville High with arrogance and an iron fist. I execute my role perfectly, hating every second, but they never let me forget my place in this world.

Everyone obeys the rules. They have for generations. Because our families have always been in control.

Until Cam, Sawyer, and Jackson show up. Throwing their new money around. Challenging the status quo. Setting hearts racing with their gorgeous faces, hot bodies, and bad boy attitudes.

Battle lines are drawn. Sides are taken. And I’m trapped in the middle, because I made a mistake one fateful night when I gave my V-card to a stranger in a blatant F you to my fiancé.

I thought it was the one thing I owned. A precious memory to carry me through each dark day.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Because the stranger was Camden Marshall, leader of the new elite and my perpetual tormenter. He hates me with a passion unrivalled, and he won’t be the only one. Fire will rain down if the truth is revealed, threatening alliances, and the power struggle will turn vicious.

My life will hang in the balance.

But I’ll be ready, and I’m not going down without a fight.

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Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2WHTYti

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Add the rest of the series to GoodReads today!

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About Siobhan

USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis writes emotionally intense young adult and new adult romantic fiction with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She is the author of the international bestselling Kennedy Boys, Saven, and True Calling series’.

Siobhan’s family will tell you she’s a little bit obsessive when it comes to reading and writing, and they aren’t wrong. She can rarely be found without her trusty Kindle, a paperback book, or her laptop somewhere close at hand.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

She resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.

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✍🏻 Ilsa Madden-Mills’s Boyfriend Bargain is NOW on Audio ✍🏻 If You Listen to Anything New, THIS Book should be IT!

✮ ✮ ✮ NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIO ✮ ✮ ✮

Wall Street Journal best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills returns with a swoon-fest of a novel about what happens when you take a chance on love.

Boyfriend Bargain, a sexy and emotional sports romance from Ilsa Madden-Mills and narrated by Savannah Peachwood and Stephen Dexter, is now available on audio!

Listen today!

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2XuCr56

Amazon Audible Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BoyfriendBargainaudio      

Tantor: https://adbl.co/2I7fpvX

Wanted: one hot guy with rock-hard abs and a big stick.

Broke and desperate, Sugar Ryan has no use for arrogant, bad-boy athletes…until she’s forced to bargain with the cockiest of them all.

If only he knew she was alive.

Her mission? Get on this hockey player’s radar any way possible.

Zack Morgan is the king of the ice and the bedroom, but nothing prepares him for the mystery girl who shows up everywhere he does – frat parties, his favorite bar, and finally his front door with an offer he can’t refuse. The only rule in her boyfriend bargain: no falling in love.

But after one (um, two) smoking-hot hookups, he’s done with pretending and vows to make their fake relationship real. Too bad she can’t trust a player with a reputation for breaking hearts.

Will this hockey star score his forever girl, or will this boyfriend bargain end in heartbreak?

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Patricia Eddy’s Second Sight ✍🏻

Overall Rating: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have been subscribed to an ARC service for about a year, and I found Patricia Eddy through that service. I read her book, On His Six, and quickly fell in love with her story-telling. As is the case with someone like me who reads A LOT of books, I almost missed the release of the next book in the Away from Keyboard Collection, Second Sight. And I’ll be honest. I am incredibly thankful that I didn’t miss it. I have wanted Dax’s story, and Eddy created a story that quickly made him my favorite character within this series.

Second Sight is the story of Dax and Evianna. In On His Six, Ryker’s story, we meet Dax, Ryker’s best friend from his days in the military and a fellow POW survivor. Unfortunately, neither of them fared well back in the real world: Ryker hides from his friend and much of society and Dax, blinded during his captivity, hides behind work. Both of them struggle with their experience, and it has created problems in their friendship, namely Ryker’s absence from Dax’s life.

As the story begins, Dax is still reeling from Ryker’s re-entry into his life. He prefers to continue on as if nothing has changed, even though Ryker is making an effort to repair their friendship. However, Dax is struggling. Can he let Ryker back in?

Enter Evianna, a CIO for a tech company, preparing for the release of an industry-changing technology. This tech is her baby, and her life has revolved around its creation. Unfortunately, after firing one of her top employees, she finds herself threatened by him. After several frightening situations, she decides to hire Dax’s security company for protection. From the outset, Dax is drawn to Evianna. As the threats become more life-threatening to Evianna, Dax feels an innate need to protect her. In their time together, Dax and Evianna’s attraction grows, but Dax struggles with letting people into his life due to his disability and disfigurement from the months of torture as a POW. Will Dax allow Evianna into his heart? Will he recognize that she doesn’t see him as damaged or a burden? Will he let go of his past to find his future? Those are the questions of Eddy’s book.

If you asked me what I love most about Eddy’s writing, I would say her story-telling. Oftentimes with romance, the development of story is secondary to the chemistry of the characters or their $exual chemistry or even the character development itself. Eddy is a masterful story-teller. She absolutely knows how to create characters who move a story along. The depth of Dax’s character is the angst of this story. There is a moment in the Boston Arboretum that is essential to understanding the depth of Dax’s despair over his “brokenness.” Eddy crafts this moment to illustrate the significance of Dax’s worry over acceptance. She puts these words in Evianna’s voice: “This one’s…broken. Damaged. But it’s still beautiful. […] It fell, but …it still smells just as sweet as the rest.” It’s this quintessential moment in Eddy’s story that grabs the reader’s heart as the realization of Dax’s pain is evident. And at that moment, Dax too realizes he is not broken. He is simply a different version of an earlier self. You can’t help but read this part of the story and not feel goosebumps up your arms because Eddy makes you feel the heaviness and importance of it.

I think the other part of Eddy’s writing that I love beyond her storytelling is her willingness to allow her characters to fall in love without too much angst. There is usually a bit of a fight, but it is never prolonged, and the hero and heroine then work together to overcome the outside threat to their relationship.This happens in this book with Dax and Evianna. They are quick to become attracted, quick to realize their feelings, and fairly quick to fall in love. This is the power behind her stories; they are more than just romance. They are romantic suspense with more suspense than romance, in my opinion.

I’ll be honest. I couldn’t put Second Sight down. It has equal parts romance, action, and angst. It is driving and keeps you engaged throughout. Even better, the epilogue is EVERYTHING. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, By Lethal Force, Ford’s story. I read the Prologue for the next book, and all the qualities of Second Sight and On the Six are in it.

Read this book. You will definitely not regret it.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review of Rebecca Jenshak’s The Fadeaway ✍🏻

Overall Rating: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Can a “player” find love? Is he redeemable? Or is he doomed to “play the field” forever?

In Rebecca Jenshak’s The Fadeaway, Joel is the consummate manwhore. He has no interest in relationships. Anyone to warm his bed for a short time is fine with him.

Enter Katrina.

One day, Joel walks into the campus’s coffee shop and becomes instantly attracted to Katrina, giving her the nickname “Kitty.” His sole purpose is to bed her and move on. Unbeknownst to Joel, Katrina is a single mother and letting him into her life will make it much more complicated.

After months of weekly visits to the coffee shop to woo her, Joel finally persuades Katrina/Kitty to go on a date with him under the auspices of helping her with her screenplay. One date turns into another. Before he realizes it, he has stopped his man-whoring ways, and he finds himself wanting to spend more time with Kitty and her son. Unfortunately, relationships are not Joel’s “thing,” and he realizes he might be in too deep. Will Joel choose the eternal single life, or will he find his HEA with Katrina?

I’m not sure about most readers, but I really do love a redeemable player. There is always something amazing when they realize that it is better to be with one person than sleeping with different girls every night of the week. At his core, Joel is a good guy. He comes from an amazing family, he has the ability and interest to play in the NFL, and he cares for others, although he hides it behind a mask of humor. In this story, after all of those positive qualities, he can also be incredibly frustrating, as it takes him some time to figure out his life.

Thankfully, Jenshak has created an amazing heroine in Katrina. For all that Joel puts her through in the story, she has the maturity to handle her feelings about him. Oftentimes, the heroine pushes back as a way to earn back the hero when he walks away. This isn’t the situation with Katrina. She shows so much maturity in simply wanting the best for Joel as a friend. And it’s her maturity that eventually brings them together. I loved this about her. She was my favorite part of this story.

This is a story about an unlikely character (Joel) finding his forever in an unlikely place (Katrina). It’s full of humor and angst and sweetness and love. Rebecca Jenshak has quickly won me over as a new author in my reading repertoire. I’m always a little afraid of new authors, but after reading The Assist and The Fadeaway, I gobbled up her book, Electric Blue Love, and realized that I’m now a true fan of her books.

You should definitely read The Fadeaway. You will love these characters and their story.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Cover Reveal Day: Kendall Ryan’s Seven Nights of Sin – Coming June 25th ✍🏻

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN

By Kendall Ryan

Release Day: June 25

About the Book

He’s the powerful CEO. I’m the know-it-all intern.
Things went further than they should have, but I don’t have any regrets. Well, maybe just one . . .
I went and did the one thing he told me not to–fall in love with him.
Now I have seven days to prove my trust and devotion. Turns out money is a powerful drug, but love is even more addictive.

Seven Nights of Sin is the stunningly sexy and heart-tugging conclusion to The Two Week Arrangement.

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2IaMjKO

Amazon UK ➜ https://amzn.to/2ETq4YT

Apple ➜ https://apple.co/2QCvwnL
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Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/2WAnEbL
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About Kendall Ryan

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 2.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.
Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 70 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras.

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✍🏻 It’s Coming! Jana Aston’s Plan B. Eeekkss! Available July 2nd ✍🏻

Plan B by Jana Aston

Release Date: July 2nd

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Add to Goodreads:
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PRE-ORDER NOW AVAILABLE!

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Blurb

Mistakes were made, okay?

The moment I laid eyes on Kyle Kingston I knew he was a mistake. A satisfying, toe curling, hair pulling, best night of my life mistake, but a mistake all the same. I didn’t yet know his name, or who he was, but I knew he was a bad idea.

I take comfort in that, because it means my instincts are still good. Too late, but it’s something. 



Because, FYI, I’m pregnant

… and did I mention my baby daddy is both heir to a retail empire and impossible to get ahold of?

I do what any girl would. I break into his Grandfather’s retirement gala by telling the prissy gatekeeper Kyle’s my fiancé. It was a halfway decent plan at the time, trust me.

But it blows up in my face, disastrously so. You see, Kyle Kingston is all about representing the family values his family’s retail empire was founded on. At least in public. In private- well I’ll tell you about that later.

He proposes – a marriage of convenience.

Convenient for everyone but me, because while I’m falling in love with my convenient husband, he’s keeping a billion-dollar secret. From me.

About the Author

Jana Aston likes cats, big coffee cups and books about billionaires who deflower virgins. She wrote her debut novel while fielding customer service calls about electrical bills, and she’s ever grateful for the fictional gynecologist in Wrong that readers embraced so much she was able to make working in her pajamas a reality. Jana’s novels have appeared on the NYT, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, some multiple times. She likes multiples.

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Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBJanaAston

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✍🏻 Jewel E. Ann’s newest book, Jersey Six, is Available for Pre-order and the Paperbook is LIVE Today – This is a MUST Read! ✍🏻

Jersey Six, an all-new mind-bending, romantic suspense from Jewel E. Ann, is now available to pre-order for the special price of $2.99!

Pre-order your copy today!

(Price will be $4.99 upon release)

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EXNz3c

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/JerseySix

How far would you go for revenge?

A hit-and-run accident leaves Jersey Six orphaned and homeless on the streets of Newark, shattering her dreams of school dances, pink nail polish, and a diploma.

Eight years later, a burn victim with amnesia wanders into Jersey’s barely-existent life. She resists his efforts to form a friendship until he reveals knowledge of the person responsible for derailing her future. Through their unusual friendship, she discovers a way to avenge the deaths of her foster parents.

All she has to do is destroy the world’s biggest rock star.

In the ultimate game of sex, lies, and manipulation, can Jersey discover the truth? Or will she be blinded by attraction, deceived by love, and destroyed by her past?

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review of Jolie Vines’s Hero – Available Now ✍🏻

Overall Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Before I could think of a way to start, Ella spoke again. ‘I had hardly anyone for a long time. So making claims…’ [Gourdain:] ‘Touches on something deep down and broken. I know exactly how you feel.’”

In one word, Gourdain. That is really all you need to know about Jolie Vines’s newest book, Hero. Hero is the third book in her Marry the Scots series, and, thus far, it is this reader’s favorite.

This book begins with a moment from Vines’s second book, Love Most, Say Least (by the way, another great book in this series), when Gourdain, James’s (the hero from LMSL) best friend and a military pilot, saves James’s sister, Ella, from their raving uncle. From the moment, there is a driving, intense chemistry between the two. However, there are a couple of issues: (1) Ella is his best friend’s sister and (2) Ella is younger than Gourdain (her 17 to his 22). For most of the first part of this story, these two engage in the unrequited dance of chemistry, as Ella doubts that Gourdain could be attracted to her and Gourdan struggles with a personal crisis and issues related to this past (not to mention his worry over her age). However, as in any good romance, that dance turns into something more, and the two must make a choice about their future together.

Gourdain. For me, he is the highlight of this book. He is handsome (always a plus), a sexy Scottish Highlander (who doesn’t love a man in a kilt), ruggedly capable in most situations (he seems to save everyone), and he’s broken, the hallmark of a well-written hero (at least to me). Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Ella’s character in this book. She has a wisdom and grit about her that it never really feels like you are reading a 17/18-year-old heroine. She easily matches Gourdain, who also has a worldliness about him. But it’s Gourdain’s struggle with himself that provides the true depth to this book. He can be frustrating at times because he makes choices counter to his heart, and it causes issues between him and Ella. However, he comes to the rescue when it’s needed and redeems himself within the story. He’s kind, broody, so sexy, and incredibly capable, even when he wraps himself in his head. If you love swoony, broken heroes, then you absolutely need to read Hero.

Ella and Gourdain are very much alike, even though they don’t see it initially. Yes, there is an age difference and potential issue as Gourdain is Ella’s brother’s best friend. Yet, Vines doesn’t write the “forbidden best friend’s sister” trope here. She only teases at it. Instead, this story is one about overcoming one’s past to find one’s future. Ella and Gourdain are alike in that they have been seeking after love, deprived them by the “father figures” in their life. Both have had to grow up quickly in the absence of love and care, and this causes brokenness that is only found whole in each other. For me, this revelation is the beauty of Vines’s story and the reason that it sits currently as my favorite of this series. Two broken parts coming together makes for an angsty, heartwarming romance.

Thankfully, there are two more forthcoming books in this series, of which I cannot wait to read. Jolie Vines is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors because she creates heroes whose angst comes from within, but it doesn’t keep them from loving the heroine of the story. Oftentimes, authors create too much tension between the hero and heroine in the rising action of a romance, and, for me, it seems unnecessary, as there are other areas where complexity can be built into the story. A hero denying his love for most of the story can be as much an overwrought trope as a specific genre of romance. But this is not the impression derived from Vines’s stories. She allows the hero to love the heroine, to be consumed by them. The strife comes from outside the relationship, and the hero and heroine fight together as a couple against it. This is the power of Vines’s story-telling, and it’s the reason that you should read her books, namely Hero.

“Instead, we were two souls taking refuge together. Handing over our hearts for the other to store. Our hands shaking and breath catching. Testing the edges of the new us and all the pleasure that would bring.”

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Rebecca Jenshak’s The Assist ✍🏻

Overall Rating: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an email the other day asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing Rebecca Jenshak’s books. Her PR group likened her to Sara Ney (whom I love), and I was “game” (pun intended). Whenever you encounter a “new to you” author, there is always a little trepidation. Will I like their style? Can they develop a story that allows me to escape into his/her characters’ worlds? Even more, is it readable? At least, these are the questions I ask myself.

Let me say, Rebecca Jenshak’s writing was a PLEASANT surprise. Her PR group was right. She reads a lot like Sara Ney, but she has her own voice, which I think is important to point out.

My first book was The Assist. This book is part of her Smart Jocks novel series. First of all, what’s not to love about a series written about “smart jocks”? Not that I love typical stereotypes, but The Assist was refreshing in that Wes, the male hero, of the book is fairly intelligent. This story follows Wes and Blaire who meet in a business statistics class. Blaire, the over-achieving, sorority girl, is struggling with the class, and she wants to do well in it as it will set her up for the college’s MBA program. Noticing Wes and his fellow basketball players in class, she quickly realizes that he barely pays attention to class, yet scores well on the tests. Wanting to figure out his secret to success, she engages in several embarrassing exchanges with him when she realizes that he isn’t your typical “lunkhead” jock. Instead, his experience as a basketball player coupled with a photographic memory makes the subject easy for him. Their story really begins when Blaire negotiates tutoring with him, using her persistence and moxie. Through the course of their tutoring, they realize their mutual attraction to each other and waffle on acting on it. Wes’s life, college basketball, is all-consuming, and, given it is his senior year, he wants to give everything to it. Will his life make room for Blaire? Will they find their HEA? That is the crux of this story.

So, right off the bat, I loved these characters. They were equal parts funny, frustrating, and $exy. As a jock, Wes is refreshing, as it’s important for others to see him as more. He’s affronted when Blaire thinks he’s cheating or receiving tutoring as a reason for his success in the class. While her tenacity in pursuing his truth about the class annoys him (for good reason), it is also the impetus for his initial attraction to her. He feels a connection to her pretty early, but his experience with girls on campus slow his actions towards her. When he realizes that she isn’t like most of the girls he’s encountered on campus, Blaire absolutely turns his head, and the story begins. There is a depth to Wes that resounds through the story. He is more than a guy with a drive for basketball; he is the heart of his team. When an unexpected turn of events occur, it changes the tenor of the book for a time, adding layers to Wes and Blaire’s story. I loved it.

Additionally this book is funny especially Wes’s relationships with his fellow basketball players, Z, Nathan, and Joel,  as well as his connection with Blaire. I found myself laughing aloud at their antics. The humor is a nice balance to the seriousness of some of the topics within the book. Remember, these are college students, so their future is tentative and scary. Wes is a senior who must face the end of his basketball career at the end of the year. His insecurity about it provides some of the angst of the story. Contrasting that with the humor shows Jenshak’s ability to intertwine humor with drama.  

Lastly, Blaire is everything you love in a heroine. Here’s the thing. I’m not usually a fan of sorority girls. Call me judgmental, but they are usually shallow and mean in most NA romance books. However, Blaire breaks that mold in this book. She is compassionate, tenacious, and makes everyone better. She improves everyone’s lives in this book, especially Wes’s. She doesn’t do it through manipulating him. Instead, she pulls back when he pulls away from her, and she waits for him to pursue her. Even though she was the pursuer at the beginning of the story, Wes takes on that role to attempt to win her over in the end. She is the type of heroine with a strong sense of self-worth that she doesn’t get overshadowed by Wes. Instead, they complete each other, making their story special.

I took a chance on Rebecca Jenshak, and I am so thankful. I quickly inhaled The Assist and launched quickly into the second book in the series, The Fadeaway (the review is forthcoming). And I haven’t looked back. If you love New Adult sports romances with a balance of humor and angst, then you’ll love Rebecca Jenshak. Yes, she is similar to Sara Ney, but in the end, she is all her own.

In love and romance,

Professor A