Tag: #book-review

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Kandi Steiner’s Ritual ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I have a massive book hangover from Kandi Steiner’s Palm South University series. I’ve spent the past month preparing for the newest book in this series, Ritual, and every open moment has found me invested in the lives of Steiner’s characters: Skylar, Bear, Adam, Cassie, Erin, Jess, and Ashlei. Let me say this here: if you ever think about the money you spend on books, and some books feel like you don’t get your money’s worth, look no further. There is so much story in Steiner’s Palm South U series that it feels lie a bargain buying one of these books. 

Ritual, the newest book of the series, is no different. Here we find our favorite sorority and fraternity brothers continuing life in South Florida. Like the first four books in the series, they are met with drama, fun, and lots of time “Netflix and chilling.” I think what I love most about this series is its connection to reality. Many of the blurbs that speak to the “reality television” aspect of this series aren’t wrong. I teach college writing for a living and one of the reasons I didn’t jump into this series after reading Black Number Four (the book that crosses over the PSU book, Legacy) is my need to avoid college-aged students’ lives outside of my classroom. My mind allows me to see them as “kids” when I know this isn’t the case. This series makes you acknowledge the often precarious situations college students might find themselves as they learn to navigate the adult world. However, as I’m a BIG Steiner fan and wanting to read her booklist, I decided to embrace the Palm South U series on the advent of Ritual’s release, and it did not disappoint. If this is Kandi Steiner’s take on “reality television,” then sign me up if she ever gets it made into a series. Through her storytelling and commitment to reality, she has made me fall in love with her Palm South characters. 

So why read Ritual:

  1. It’s hot. With seven different characters, there are seven different points of view and stories, landing them in the bedroom sometimes more than we see them in class. 
  2. Steiner hits on real-world college stories. Ritual does more of this as a few of the characters will be graduating and entering the work world. We already see Ashlei in her internship with Okay, Cool. However, if you think Brandon and Ashlei are settled after book four, there is more coming in Ritual. Her internship illustrates the complication with workplace relationships, and it’s possible that Brandon and Ashlei won’t find their happy ending. We need these stories, laden with heartbreak because they remind us that every age endures pain. Oftentimes with romance, we read stories of billionaires or people settled in their lives. The Palm South series and, by extension Ritual, illustrates the challenges of finding yourself as you grow more deliberately into adulthood, and trauma and heartbreak don’t miss this age group. 
  3. The diversity of characters in this series makes it compelling. There are different colors, different sexualities, different socioeconomic backgrounds, and different levels of maturity in this story. In Ritual, we especially see Bear and Becca’s challenges as black people. This is also important as it reminds you that romance is not only white; it’s diverse and different. 
  4. Steiner takes her time in telling these stories. Like I said earlier in this review, you feel like you get your money’s worth and more because the storytelling is dense. That isn’t a negative here. It means that with Steiner’s careful storytelling you get the depth and breadth of story that can be missing in your average romance book. It’s impressive when you feel as though you know the characters well because Steiner takes care to fully develop their lives. It’s why they feel like people you know because their stories feel grounded in reality and like our own. That is definitely my favorite aspect of this series, of Ritual. 

Now, what would I love to see in the next book of the series, Hazed? (If you haven’t read the series, don’t read further…run and READ this series.)

  1. Kade and Jess grow into “a thing” in Ritual, but I really, really want her with Jarrett. If that isn’t meant to be, then I want Jess to have her space to challenge Jarret’s actions from book 3 in the forthcoming book. 
  2. More of Kip and Skyler. I fell for them first as I read Black Number Four before this series, so I want to see their happy ending progress. 
  3. Definitely more of Adam and Cassie. I know romance requires tension to build towards a climax and offer up the falling action, but these two need to “just be” for a bit given their constant challenges in their relationship.  
  4. I would love to explore Erin and Bear more. I know this is a big part of Ritual, but there is more there, and I need it. 
  5. If at all possible, Ashlei mends her broken heart. She’s one of the most interesting characters of this series as she is Steiner’s bisexual character,  and her relationships seem more fluid and interesting than the others, as they question attraction. I’m curious to see the direction Steiner takes with her. 

Had I known the wealth of storytelling in the Palm South University series, I would have dived in sooner. Thankfully, Kandi Steiner’s newest book, Ritual, is here, and I was forced to embrace college life. However, this has also left me bereft, as I. NEED. MORE of this series. As a college prof, if you think this series is only fiction, you are incorrect. The stories of these characters are the lives of my real-life students, and the challenges Steiner highlights in Ritual illustrate that trauma, heartbreak, and love are not exclusive for billionaires or the late 20/early 30 set. Love, life, and melodrama can be found anywhere. And thank goodness for that…

In love and romance,


Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 1/2 ⭐️ Review: Prescott Lane’s Knox, book 1 of the Merrick Brothers’ series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2

What do you get when you mix a little second chance romance, a handsome Hollywood movie star, a woman with a secret occupation, and some romantic suspense? The answer: Prescott Lane’s newest book, Knox. Knox is the first book of the Merrick Brothers’ series, and it’s a great start to a duet of books that mixes some sensuality with some sweetness. 

Knox follows the second chance romance of Mae and Knox. Mae and Knox meet as six-year olds, and their love affair begins. Throughout high school and college, these two fall deeply in love, but Knox’s interest in making a career in Hollywood derails their future. This story begins five years later. Mae still lives in Knox’s hometown, and she is a secret radio show host. One night, Knox hears Mae’s voice, and he is reminded of his reasons for loving her. His mission becomes winning her over. However, Mae’s heart was broken in the past, and she is reticent to try again with Knox. Will Hollywood’s Sexiest Man win Mae’s heart again?

Overall, I loved this story. For much of the it, Knox is a dreamy romance hero. He wants a life with Mae that he inconveniences his life for her. While his motives are oftentimes selfish, it’s purely due to his love for Mae, and romance readers can’t help but love a hero who is driven by his love. My one criticism of Knox is his inability to realize sooner that Mae was the missing link in his life. Lane crafts his character to realize it after hearing her voice. At that point, there is no turning back, but his re-interest in Mae seems quick after staying away from her for five years. Even more, throughout the story, I questioned by he didn’t fight for her more in the past. That being said, Knox easily makes up for it in the present. You root for him to finally get Mae, but Lane carefully creates enough tension between these two for a time that you are engaged to the very last page. 

Additionally, Mae is so likable. This is a woman who was spurned by the only true man she’s ever loved, and she morphs that pain into a lucrative career. Even when Knox comes back to Haven’s Point to woo Mae, she maintains this inner strength in the face of her deepest heartbreak. There are a stoicism and intelligence with Mae that the reader cannot help but adore.  However, Mae also becomes the impetus for the tension in this story. For obvious reasons, she fears a relationship with Knox, making his journey towards bringing her into his life difficult. As the story unfolds, Mae’s battle against her self and her love for Knox lends the gravity to Lane’s Knox. And it’s reasonable. Every step of the way, as Mae fights her interest in Knox, you believe it. That is my favorite part of Lane’s newest book. 

Lastly, Prescott Lane doesn’t make it easy on her reader. While her hero and heroine struggle for their second chance happy ending, she incorporates a bit of suspense. Interestingly enough, for most of the book, this plays a backseat to Knox and Mae’s evolving relationship. However, when it feels necessary to shake up their relationship, she incorporates more of that romantic suspense to add layers to her book. This makes the story more compelling. Additionally, the ancillary characters of this book, namely Mae’s grandmother, Gigi, provide some humor and wisdom to Knox when Mae and Knox’s romance feels slow. There is a great mix of tension, $exiness, wit, and mystery. 

The reason I stole a ½ star back from my review revolves around the style of the writing. Prescott Lane lays out her story well, and it flows for the most part. Sometimes, however, the word flow feels stilted, and you find yourself slowing down as the story progresses. That would be my only criticism of this story. However, I am now officially invested in The Merrick Brothers, so much so that I already preordered Ryder’s story, book 2 of this duet. 

In love and romance, 


Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review: Siobhan Davis’s Reign, the final book of The Sainthood series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Sainthood series is complete with Siobhan Davis’s Reign. And it is a wild, wild ride. Siobhan Davis is one of those authors who throws everything at you in her stories, and it keeps you grabbed in its grasp. Page after page of action, violence, $ex, and intrigue draw you in deeper to this story. If you’ve been reading the trilogy, thankfully, you get respite from the constant terror of Sinner. However, before you get that respite, Davis treats you to an edge-of-your-seat erotic thriller that results in the happy ending perfect for Harlow, Saint, Galen, Caz, and Theo. Every moment of this book burrows deep and makes you hold your breath, hoping they will all make it out in the end. This is Davis’s superpower: her ability to invest you in stories that seem awful and violent. You ache for the torment of her characters, but it drives you forward. Even more, the men of her stories seem so difficult to love until they are. The Saint, Galen, Caz, and Theo of book one of this series ARE NOT the men of book 3, and this is only possible with a strong, insightful, careful heroine such as Harlow. Her ability to stand toe-to-toe with them ameliorates Davis’s heroes, and it’s glorious. 

Look, you might not think bully romance or romance with a dark side is your thing, but you can trust that Siobhan Davis will engage you in her Sainthood series. When you are done, you will feel as though you’ve run a marathon, but the bliss at the end will make the journey satisfying. If you like romance with an edge, grab Siobhan Davis’s Reign. Make sure you’ve read the first two books, though.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Blog Tour & Excerpt: Max Monroe’s Hate the Player – Have you grabbed this yet? ✍🏻

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HTP - BT banner

I hate him.

I want him.

He’s a jerk.

A player.

Addicting.

Trouble.

Hate the Player, a slow burn and hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe is available now!

Read my 5 ⭐️ review HERE!

Hate the Player (official 9x6)

“Roses are red, violets are blue, stay away from Andrew Watson’s *ahem* because no other women ever do.”

That’s quite the way to start a conversation at a casual lunch, huh? Grilled chicken, French fries, and pelvic-fatigue, oh my!

And that’s not even the worst of it.

My friend Raquel didn’t pull any punches when she warned me about my brand-new co-star and his notoriously player-esque ways. Apparently, my most important mission on my first role in a feature film is to stay immune to his charms.

Are you kidding me? Production costs on this movie are in the hundreds of thousands a day, and staying away from a panty-whispering, vajayjay-charmer is supposed to be at the top of my list? Pfft. Puh-lease.

It doesn’t matter that he’s annoyingly attractive, uber rich, crazy famous, and lusted after by ninety percent of the female population; Andrew Watson is trouble with a capital T—especially for a woman like me.

As a preventative measure, I’ve decided to go ahead and hate him.

Don’t worry, you guys, I’m completely in control. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to do something stupid like fall in love with him.

I can hate the player but still secretly love his addictive game.

I’m sure of it.

HTP - AN

Download your copy today or read for Free on Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2C7tklj

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Excerpt

Birdie

True to my name, I’m about to take fucking flight. At least, I would if I could.

In this moment, it really would have been helpful if my trainer hadn’t successfully eliminated all the extra flappy meat on my upper arms. Surely, if I got them going fast enough, the wind beneath those bat wings could have carried me up and through the ceiling of this place.

C’mon, you big baby, I coach myself. You can do this.

One cavernous breath into my lungs and then another and another, and eventually, just before my vision turns tunneled, I will my feet to move away from the door.

Gleaming marble floors, golden statues, and a freaking fountain in the center, the lobby of Capo Brothers Studios is everything I should have expected and more.

If everything is bigger in Texas, then everything is most certainly richer in LA.

I check in with security quickly, my voice only a little croaky thanks to the frog in my throat, and head for the elevator bank at the far side of the lobby.

I’m to head to the fifteenth floor, I’m told, and then go straight down the hall to the glass doors on the left at the end. There, I’ll find William Capo’s office—the head honcho and only surviving brother of Capo Brothers.

My cowgirl boots are noisy on the marble floors when I do as instructed. The sound you make when you walk is such a small detail—one I don’t normally think about—but the echo of their clack today makes my heart feel like it’s knocking into my rib cage and each step across the ornate floor is merely a sound effect.

Fifteen floors eclipse quickly—clearly, they’ve spared no expense on their elevator—and the hallway that leads to William’s office seems strangely one-directional. Like once I go down it—once I take this step—there will be no going back. Which is probably why, after forcing myself to go the distance to the end, I pause at the open door, the points of my booted toes just shy of crossing the line.

“Good morning.” A pretty assistant dressed in a white power suit greets me before I’ve even cleared the threshold of the door, and all thoughts of escape are dashed. Like it or not, I’ve just been shoved over the line. I will my feet to do the same as she continues to speak. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Birdie Harris,” I answer and have to swallow hard against the dryness threatening to close my throat. “I have an audition.”

My nerves are so obvious, the assistant offers a sympathetic smile.

If she were from my childhood hometown in West Virginia, she’d most likely be thinking Bless her heart.

She taps something across the keyboard of her iMac and places her hand to the Bluetooth at her ear. “Mr. Capo, I have Birdie Harris here.” Immediately, she looks away from the computer and meets my eyes. “They’ll be ready for you shortly. You can take a seat over there.” She points behind me, back through the door and across the hall to what I’m assuming is a fancy-schmancy waiting room of some sort. I haven’t encountered a place in the building that doesn’t have some sort of gilded or marble inlay, so I highly doubt I’m going to step through that door and into a room styled by the set designer for Saw. Though, I can’t say some sort of torture device wouldn’t be completely misplaced right now. I’m already doing a pretty good job of mentally waterboarding myself with worry.

I offer a little nod, keeping my twisted, sicko thoughts to myself. I doubt they’re interested in hiring a woman on the brink of a hysterical episode.

The secretary quirks a brow, and I realize, though I’ve nodded my affirmation of understanding, I’ve yet to move.

Good God, Birdie! Go sit down.

Annoyed with myself, I turn on my boots and march across the hall so violently, it’s like there’s an invisible person helping me along with a heavy hand at the nape of my neck.

When I cross into the room, a man is sitting on a swanky leather sofa with his booted feet up on the coffee table. He glances up briefly before returning his eyes to the phone in his lap. Embarrassed, I smooth my clomps instantly.

You’re a gazelle, Birdie, not a herd of buffalo, I coach. Move like it.

With his attention occupied, I survey him more closely as I move to take a seat across from him. He’s wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt, and his jawline would make steel beams look weak. Seriously. Confronted with an earthquake, I would seek shelter right under the eave of his jaw.

I’d love to get another peek at his eyes just to study the color, but fearing the eye contact that would require, I’m careful not to make any overt noises that might draw his attention again.

When he smirks, a devilish proposition-like smile at the screen of his phone, I don’t have to wonder anymore.

Oh no. I know exactly who this man is.

Andrew Watson.

The very man Rocky warned me about and I subsequently Instagram stalked. A laundry list of different women dotted through his timeline, it confirmed everything Rocky told me and then some.

All relaxed and cool, he sits on the white leather sofa with one arm outstretched across the back. Confidence and charm ooze from every freaking cell in his body. No doubt, Andrew Watson is more than capable of commanding the attention of everyone in the room, no matter the situation.

No wonder he’s one of Hollywood’s most famous actors.

The only time I have that kind of quiet confidence is when I’m onstage, singing my songs, lost in the music I created.

Just play it cool, Birdie.

On a deep breath, I force the uncertainty and unease out of my shoulders and settle my ass into the sofa across from him. He shifts again, crossing one ankle over the other and casually adjusting the denim at his crotch.

My eyes are immediately drawn to his bulge, and thanks to Rocky’s colorful descriptions of his favorite appendage, a little penis-shaped soldier is burned in my brain. After a few seconds of imagining the shape of his helmet and intensity of his salute, I jerk my gaze away in a panic.

Jesus. As if this audition wasn’t screwing with my head enough! Now I have Saving Ryan’s Privates, a military-themed porno my head just made up starring Staff Sergeant Dick Richardson, complicating things even more!

I must make a noise I don’t realize—the sound of my saliva gurgling in my throat while I choke on it, perhaps—because Andrew looks at me with curious eyes. I try like hell to keep my calm and act like I haven’t just gone to mental war with the soldier in his pants, but there’s only so much hysteria containment my mind is capable of.

“Uh…hi,” I say, trying so dang hard not to glance back down at his crotch that I start spewing diarrhea of the mouth about goddamn military-themed movies. “I never saw A Few Good Men, but I hear Tom Cruise was good in it.” When I realize what I’ve just said makes absolutely no sense to him—punctuated perfectly by his eyebrows drawing together noticeably—the gurgling saliva turns into a full-blown choke, and suddenly, the only way to breathe is through a hacking cough.

Holy shit, I’m too anxious to be around other humans right now! Also, I’m going to kill Rocky for putting this crap in my head about this guy’s penis.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and I hold up my hand in some kind of gesture. I’m not sure of its technical name, but its meaning is clear—please forget I exist right now.

He asks me once more, but I nod, and once the embarrassing coughing fit passes, I meet his piercingly gray-blue eyes—seeing their color is strikingly unavoidable now—and I offer a halfhearted smile.

“Sorry,” I apologize. I didn’t mean to drag him into an impromptu SNL sketch where I choke on spit and say ridiculously inappropriate, off-the-wall things. “I guess you could say I’m a little nervous.”

His responding smile gleams so bright, I have to wonder if he has an endorsement deal with Crest toothpaste. His mouth would make a dental hygienist get on their hands and knees and thank the Lord above.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. There’s no need to be nervous around me,” he responds, punctuating his words with a wink.

If my mind were a screenplay, the nerves would be exiting stage left.

Did he seriously just wink at me after assuming that I’m nervous to be in his presence?

Surely, I’m hearing this wrong. No one is that obsessed with themselves…right?

“Excuse me?” I ask, and his megawatt smile is still ever-present.

“If you’d like me to sign an autograph or take a selfie with you,” he enunciates slowly, as if my being able to understand him clearly was the problem. “I can probably sneak that in before I have to head in there.”

His autograph? You have got to be kidding me. He sure is a cocky bastard—and for the first time today, I’m not even talking about his dick.

Like the tip of a match being swiped across the edge of a matchbook, aggravation bursts into my veins.

“I’m here for an audition,” I assert.

Unfazed, he quirks a brow as if to say, my invitation for an autograph still stands.

Attractive or not, this guy is one of the biggest asses I’ve ever been around.

“I’m Birdie Harris. I’m auditioning for the role of Arizona Lee.”

And I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna land this acting gig just to spite this prick.

About Max Monroe

A duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.

Connect with Max Monroe

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Website: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Max Monroe’s Hate the Player ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Dear Max Monroe~

Thank you! Over and over again, thank you for offering up hours of laughter, tears, and sighs. Every Max Monroe book release is a guaranteed experience that allows you to disconnect from the crazy of life and invests you deeply in these zany characters that you cannot help but love. Even Andrew. Especially Andrew. 

Your newest book, Hate the Player, introduces us to one Andrew Watson. I’ll be honest. He does not make a good first impression. Player – check. Vain – check. Instigator of trouble – check. Birdie’s nemesis – check. Man, I love me an alpha-hole, but this guy is not that kind of hero. Instead, he’s the guy you can’t help but hate because he is self-centered and self-indulgent in ways that make you roll your eyes. In my opinion, he was quickly becoming my least favorite Max Monroe character. I was Birdie, your heroine. Rolling my eyes at every page and wishing I could read through and punch the guy square in the nose. Yet, you worked your Max Monroe magic midway through this delectable book, and you redeemed that jackhole. One minute, he made me want to throw your book against the wall at his self-absorption. The next minute, you finally showed us his humanity. At that moment, you reminded me again of your dynamic duo magic. How you write a character who seems so unlikeable one moment and make him a swoony beaut of a hero is the reason I adore your books, why I adored Hate the Player. 

Now, the other voodoo you wield is the ability to craft heroines that your readers are compelled to adore. It’s a requirement. Birdie is no different. Obviously, she’s smarter than Andrew given that she’s lived in the “real world” much longer than him. You give her a tenacity and a genuineness that makes you adore her from the start. It’s those qualities, along with her beauty, that obviously wins over the BMOS (Big Man on Set), but she, like your super duo, must wield those qualities as a weapon against Andrew’s idiocy. For most of the book, Birdie is my favorite character. It’s that last quarter of the book where Andrew and Birdie switch places a bit for me. She needs a little smack upside the head. Thankfully, you remind us of The Power of
Billie, and you made it alright for your readers. I love that Luca takes a back seat to the Billie Show. Smart man…But again, that’s all of your witchcrafting, Max Monroe. Your ability to create women who are smart, insightful, witty, and a little nutty allows for stories where the men have absolutely no chance against the power of women. Thank you for creating spaces for these incredible women. 

Lastly, thank you for making me belly laugh through Hate the Player. When you write sentences like “[h]e’s like the Oprah of Hollywood douchebags,” I bust a gut and I grow greedy for more of your brand of humor and romance. Even in the midst of the book’s romance angst, I know I can trust you to bring the humor again. And you don’t disappoint with this book. The humor, the insight, the $exy moments, and the ending (oh…man…that ending…<swoon>) conspire to bring about a whirlwind of a read. The only reason I put this book down is I had to complete a training for work. While I was in that training, I had serious withdrawal for this story because it’s just that good. Again, thank you! 

Max Monroe, you offer a respite from the doldrums of life. Whether we’re struggling to remember our mask to get a cup of coffee, on the cusp of strangling our spouse from too much time together in close quarters, or drowning in our kids’ school projects, your books allow us to escape to a place where love and laughs reign. Once again, Hate the Player creates a stay-cation from the zaniness of our world. And this reader says “thank you very much.”

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Devney Perry’s Quarter Miles ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

When Devney Perry’s second book, Wild Highway, of the Runaway series ended, I was left wanting. Here’s the thing about a Devney Perry book. She wraps up her books with a glorious happy ending for her hero and heroine. She does this so well that I like to think of her as the queen of the epilogue. For example, Letters to Molly’s ending is still my favorite epilogue EVER. With that, when Wild Highway ended, I needed her newest book, Quarter Miles, immediately. Alas, that wasn’t to be, so I waited patiently for an ARC (or the release day) for Katherine and Cash’s story. For some reason, I was drawn to Katherine’s story. I think it has something to do with the idea that we just want to be chosen. Whether it’s teams for kickball on the playground or an audition or a romantic interest, we want to be seen and understood and chosen. At the end of Wild Highway, it looked as though Cash, Katherine’s long term crush, had chosen someone else, and my heart felt heavy for her. As such, the promise of Quarter Miles’s story tugged at my soul as I waited patiently for it. When it finally arrived, I couldn’t get to it fast enough. And in true Devney Perry fashion, her story melted my heart. 

Devney Perry is my top recommended author to new readers for two very important reasons: (1) her story shines before her steam (this means people such as my older mom can read her and I don’t blush too much) and (2) her storytelling is such that you want to reside in her books. It doesn’t matter which series Perry writes I want to live in her books because her characters feel believable with the added fiction of romance. That feels both relational and titillating. And every reader whom I have recommended Perry has fallen deeply in love with her storytelling. That’s a testament to Perry’s craftsmanship. 

Quarter Miles is no different than any of her other books in terms of Perry’s skill at developing characters who we feel a connection. From the beginning of Quarter Miles, Perry makes Katherine’s disappointment in life palpable. You want her to take this journey, the third leg of delivering the Cadillac. You need her to remove herself from her situation for a time, so that she can either move on or Cash realizes he actually sees her as more than a sister. When he invites himself on the journey, you feel discouragement because you want Katherine to have that space to examine and reflect on her life. You empathize with Katherine because Perry creates her to feel like your friend. This may sound simplistic, but it’s the best reason I can conjure for why Perry’s books are always one-click preorders for me. Her characters’ experiences feel like my experiences. As Katherine’s journey progresses, and she and Cash complicate their friendship, her pain and confusion feel important. Perry’s magic at crafting real characters allows you to imagine her struggles, and they become your own in a way. For me, that is the power of writing, and that power is illustrated time and time again in Perry’s books. 

Now, Cash is one of my favorite types of heroes. He is well-meaning. He is kind and thoughtful, but he is blind. Quite frankly, be prepared because he wears blinders for much of the story. However, from a reader’s standpoint, we see him drawn to Katherine, protective of her. Perry holds him back, though, from recognizing his true feelings, so that tension necessary for creating compelling stories is present in the story. In many ways, it’s delicious because it keeps you engaged in the book, but it also creates the angst that makes your stomach nervous and brings tears to your eyes. Through Cash and Katherine’s journey, your feelings run the gamut, one minute you feel happy for their potential coupling, and the next, you note Katherine’s despair. As I’ve noted before in other reviews of books, for me, invoking the feelings of your readers is a testament to a writer’s skill, and Perry’s skill is keen. 

Just like she did at the end of Wild Highway, Quarter Miles leaves us pining for more. This group of runaways with wounds so deep from their past find healing, and you long for their journeys because they remind us that we can find our own healing in our relationships with others. As we move into the next book, Forsaken Trail, Aria’s story, we can trust that Devney Perry will lead us through the minefield of emotions to an ending that feels like a promise for all of us. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Emma Renshaw’s Ignite, book 2 of the Burn series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“When you grow up with nothing, it’s easy to recognize a treasure. I know how rare you are, clover. You’re extraordinary. And you’re mine.”

First, Emma Renshaw introduced us to Hawk Valley in her first book of the Burn series, Ember. This reader fell hard for the fraught, but steamy journey of Griffin and Delilah. From that book, I knew Renshaw had hooked me into her Burn series. When Ignite was announced, I couldn’t get to the ARC sign-up (I read them for an honest review) fast enough. Why? Two words: Ridge Sanders. In Ember, we see very little of him, but there is a respect for him illustrated through his friends. Knowing that this man with the qualities of kindness, compassion, and insight would have his story told, I knew I needed this story, and Renshaw brings so much angst and passion to this story that I didn’t want this story to end. 

There are many beautiful qualities in Ignite, Emma Renshaw’s newest book, that require you to read it, so here goes:

  1. I’ve used this phrase often, and I’ll use it again to describe the general characters of this book. Ridge and Zoe, Renshaw’s heroine, are two sides of the same coin. Both Renshaw’s hero and heroine have been left behind by the people tasked with caring for them. In Ridge’s case, he uses his tenacious spirit to survive and become a successful, respectable man and firefighter. There is an inner drive in him that leads to his success and stalwart identity. For Zoe, her Aunt Georgia becomes a key influence in her life, always encouraging her life choices. However, no matter their journey, these two must deal with being left behind and those consequences. One does it well, while the other struggles to find their ground. I love these aspects of Ridge and Zoe because many of us feel the gravity of these hurts, and Renshaw’s story becomes a promise of opportunity for her readers whose experiences parallel Ridge and Zoe’s. This is one of the places where humanity resides in this fictional story. 
  2. Ridge as a hero is a key force of this book. Every turn of the page lends itself to considering Ridge as some kind of emotionally mature, superman. Given his background, it’s difficult to understand how he can be so emotionally mature. And Renshaw simply suggests through his characterization that we don’t have to mourn our past, even though we carry the hurt with us always. Instead, we can exist in the present and seek out the positives in the now. 
  3. In contrast, Zoe is trapped in her past. Much of Renshaw’s story explores her troubles with letting go of the past. And to be honest, Zoe becomes the most frustrating part of this story. Usually, when I think the author has taken a character’s angst too far, I will downgrade my review. Not with Ignite, though. While I would have LOVED for her to find reconciliation earlier in the story, I think it needed to progress as Renshaw develops it. In this story, it was more about my impatience to get to Ridge and Zoe’s happy ending than Renshaw’s apt storytelling that made me frustrated. Yet, there are people in real life who never move on from past trauma, and Zoe’s experience feels real to me. Thankfully, she finds people who love her into her healing, but it takes much of Renshaw’s story for Zoe to find her peace. Zoe’s evolution is the most beautiful part of Ignite’s story, even more than the romance between Ridge and Zoe. 
  4. There is lots of great steam in this story. While Ridge’s compassion and kindness are put on display quite a bit in this story, his alpha-level tendencies in the bedroom “ignite” the page. These two are quite the firestarters for this aptly named romance series, Burn. And most romance readers love the fire, and Renshaw doesn’t disappoint in this book. 

With each new book, I grow a greater appreciation for Emma Renshaw. There is an ease to her storytelling, characterization, and style. When you enter her books, she grabs you from the first chapter, and you simply don’t want the story to end. When Ignite ended, I was disappointed because I fell deeply for Renshaw’s characters. Thankfully, she has more books to come in this series that is equal parts romance and suspense. Emma Renshaw’s Ignite reminds us that we can love right now, leaving our pasts behind us, especially when those we love are standing right in front of us. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review: Kendall Ryan’s How to Date A Younger Man ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Are you looking for the perfect beach read right now? The type of book that you can layout in the sun and read, and it makes you think of summer? Do you love a reverse age-gap story with light angst, lots of story, and a smattering of steam? Then, you want to run and grab Kendall Ryan’s How to Date A Younger Man. This book is perfect for right now because Kendall Ryan entertains you with her newest book by bringing you a swoony hero and some steamy chemistry. 

How to Date A Younger Man follows Griffin, a twenty-something grad student, and Layne, a thirty-something attorney. Layne and Griffin meet when he comes to give her a massage at her workplace. From the very first moment, Griffin is drawn to Layne; however, all she sees is a man too young for her. Over the course of their story, Griffin’s interest in Layne grows, while Layne struggles to see him as a potential partner. They grow a friendship first and eventually love finds its place; however, the struggle to get there will keep you turning the page. 

For me, Griffin is a dreamboat. He’s all the names you call a contemporary romance hero: swoony, patient, compassionate, tenacious. Quite honestly, for much of HTDAYM, Layne seems unworthy of Griffin. His end goal is always her, but she’s so short-sighted that for much of this story, she fails to see the gem of a hero in front of her. If you want one reason to read Ryan’s How to Date A Younger Man, it’s Griffin. His characterization makes this book a romance to read. 

As a heroine, Layne offers up some of my favorite qualities: she’s independent, strong, and hardworking. We love women to be represented by these qualities. However, she is also foolhardy and lacks insight because she works too hard to control every aspect of her life. Much of Ryan’s story is spent on Layne reaching a level of maturity that allows her to see beyond her preconceived notions of younger men. And the reality is that we all carry a bit of Layne in us. Oftentimes we fail to see the opportunities in front of us because our thinking is reductive. Ryan shows her readers through Griffin and Layne’s romance that, once we open our minds and stop compartmentalizing our choices, we can find a situation better than we imagined. 

It’s this message that is the magic of Kendall Ryan’s How to Date A Younger Man. Besides this magic, Ryan treats us to what she does best: $exy chemistry between her hero and heroine, a story that engages you from page one to the last page, and a happy ending that will leave you with a smile on your face and a sigh in your heart. This is why I keep coming back to Kendall Ryan’s books. So…if you find yourself laying poolside or beachside and you want a quick, fun read with a tinge of angst and a happy ending that wipes it away, then Kendall Ryan’s newest romance should be on your Kindle right now. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: K.A. Linde’s The Breaking Season ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“We were the villains of everyone else’s story. We were the hardened, darkened core that did whatever we had to in order to survive. To come out on top. But here, together, we were something else. Something more. Together, we could move mountains.”

What do you get when one game maker marries another game maker? Fireworks. Explosions. Emotional Upheaval, and two people with fractured souls waiting on the other to help fill in the fissure. For this reader, that is my most favoritest type of romance. Why? Because it’s life. Life is full of moments that tear away little bits of our soul, and we are waiting for people to use “soul glue” to help fill in the gaps whether it be through friendship, praise, or love. When romance authors (or authors in general) such as K.A. Linde reflect that pain beautifully AND offer it through the vehicle of love and romance, it’s magic on the page for me. And K.A. Linde does this well in her newest book, The Breaking Season. I began reading Linde with her last book, The Hating Season. This left me at a disadvantage as I had to quickly understand the relationships she had curated in the books leading to Court and English’s story. Even though it’s one of my favorite tropes (enemies-to-lovers), I struggled with these two. While they had clear chemistry, it felt like something was missing. YET, in the midst of their story, I was drawn to Court’s friends, Camden and Katherine, and their “arranged marriage.” Having missed out on Katherine’s story with Penn, I had to use my powers of deduction and some of the explanations from Linde to determine the wound inflicted on her soul from that relationship. That Linde wrote this book, The Breaking Season, to unpack Camden and Katherine piqued my interest. Immensely. And, in the end, this book did not disappoint. In the least. 

I’ll be honest. I was a little trepidacious about reading the book, given my warm feelings about the last book. From the first chapter of The Breaking Season, though, I was gone. I could not put this book down for even one minute. I rearranged my day because the pain of these two inflicted on each other drew me in. I needed a happy ending for them; I needed them to realize that they were two sides of the same coin. As such, as they spewed ire and pain at each other, I kept turning the page. Linde so easily crafts a chemistry between Katherine and Camden that is equal parts lust and pain and you can’t turn away from it. One minute, she eeks out pieces of hope that they could possibly be in love with each other; in the next moment, that hope is washed away in a moment of anger and hurt. Over and over again, you watch and wait for the magic to begin, and Linde craftily grabs the moment from you. Until she doesn’t. Now, I’ve read this before in other stories, and the author takes it too far for too long and it feels like manipulation, not storytelling. Not here in The Breaking Season. In this book, Linde edges you to a point, and then she finally reveals the true gravity of Katherine and Camden’s love for each other. It’s inevitable that these two end up together because they are so alike, carrying the same life burdens. 

Interwoven with Katherine and Camden’s story is a deeper one about control and its effects on choices (I don’t want to give it away, so I won’t say what it is). Know that it’s a serious life situation, and again, it adds to the gravity of this story. Both Katherine and Camden find redemption eventually when they stop trying to control everything in their lives, including each other. And this is where, I think, real-life resides in The Breaking Season. 

While most of us aren’t Upper Eastsiders living lavish lives, becoming social media celebrities or CEO’s of billion-dollar companies, we are people who like to maintain control of situations so that we aren’t hurt by them or by others. However, as K.A. Linde aptly illustrates for us through Katherine and Camden in The Breaking Season, control causes us to relegate relationships and experiences to a back burner. We cannot fully fall and feel unless we allow others to hold our troubles in their hands. When we stop trying to control every moment or everything in our lives, what we might find is true happiness and relief from someone else helping us carry the burden of our world. This is the ultimate glorious truth of Linde’s latest book.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5+ ⭐️ Review: Dylan Allen’s The Jezebel ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Nothing makes me happier and excited than to go back to Rivers Wilde, the fictional home of some of Dylan Allen’s best characters. When you return to Rivers Wilde, there are three guarantees: a compelling story, an epic romance that burns the page, and human truth that challenges your thinking. Each and every time, Allen takes her readers on a journey of a 1000 sighs, tears, and smiles. And her newest book, The Jezebel exemplifies this beautifully. 

In looking at The Legacy, The Legend, and The Jezebel, it is impossible to choose a favorite because they each hold a specific character and voice that feels necessary. In true, Allen fashion The Jezebel is special. You might say, “well, why, Professor A?” The answer is quite simple: the female experience through history is underscored and challenged on each page. And this includes all women. This book is a scion for “herstory” in the romance community. In other words, this book is pro-woman. That’s right. The Jezebel is PRO-WOMAN. Why is that important? Because the world outside of romance demeans the existence of romance. They infantilize it to $ex. They don’t recognize the autonomy, authority, and agency of the feminine spirit in romance. They reduce it to actions. In The Jezebel, Allen centers her epic romance in the belief that women’s history must be heard, that the history we’ve been taught reduces women to objects, and that this same history fails to represent the truth of history, filtering the experiences through the specter of maleness. Time and time again, from its title to her story, Allen offers a rallying cry that the beginning of empowering women starts with giving them their due in the historical annals of time. If you read this story and miss this message, then you are missing out on Allen’s temerity as a writer. 

Added to this is a romance for the ages. Honestly, Allen’s writing voice is grounded in large, sweeping romances. If you’ve read her books, then you know that the beginning, middle, and end of a romance feels necessary. When you choose to read The Jezebel, you must know that Allen is going to take you on a journey where you will fall deeply in love with her characters. Stone and Regan’s characterizations are done so tastefully and carefully that, as the book ends, you mourn the end of The Jezebel. You simply want more of their story because Allen has allowed you entrance to their beginning, their middle, and the start of their future. As such, you want more of her description, narration, and story-building. As characters, Regan is my favorite (I love Stone for his tenacity. Boy, does this hunk of a man love hard!) because she is the ultimate illustration of Allen’s message about women. One of my favorite stories in my study of American Literature is The Scarlet Letter (a sister story to the story of Jezebel). Hester Prynne is demonized and exiled from society. Yet, she proudly wears that badge even though the consequences are heavy on her, and she must carry it alone when her lover fails to acknowledge his role. Hester Prynne is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment with grace. In The Jezebel, Regan is a modern-day Hester Prynne. She too is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment at the expense of her own happiness, and this sacrifice invests you in her character. You want to scream at Regan to push back, but she maintains her sense of self through her challenges. You can’t help but admire the type of woman that Allen has created in The Jezebel even if she hides it behind her carefully-constructed walls. 

And with a heroine whose experiences have left her with strong boundaries and the resignation of forgoing her own personal happiness, Allen had to craft a hero such as Stone. Interestingly, Stone is younger than Regan. While this is a reverse age-gap romance, Allen is so careful to create their romance. Nothing feels untoward. Instead, these two feel destined for each other from the beginning. Stone has a resolve and a maturity so early on that it’s believable that these two should end up together. Allen’s care in intertwining Stone and Regan is impressive. Then, she writes Stone as a hero who can stand with her other alpha-heroes: Hayes and Remi. Neither of these two overshadows Stone, which again points to Allen’s ability to construct believable characters. 

When I finished Dylan Allen’s The Jezebel, I felt both satiated and hungry. Those seem as odds obviously. I knew that Allen had weaved her magic once again in creating a gripping, sweeping tale of romance in one of my favorite imaginative places, Rivers Wilde,  but I was hungry for more of Stone and Regan. I still have so many more questions for their future which I hope her bonus epilogue might slake. Needless to say, Allen’s newest romance feels necessary in the world of romance. The more times we allow women’s voices to be heard and acknowledged, all women, the more we can change attitudes about their treatment in society. We are far from equality; we are far from having a place; and we are far from being protected from patriarchal attitudes that deride the power of women. Allen takes a leap and reminds us that every romance is an opportunity to give women their place, their presence, and their purpose. The Jezebel is a must-read romance. 

In love and romance,

Professor A