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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
edit: 10/3/17 because I'm remembering how kick ass this was.
WOW this book is genuinely beautiful. First word that comes to mind is frenetic. The general premise is student/teacher relationship but it's more about figuring out what you want from life and your place in it. The writing is out of this world poetic without being purple and I especially loved Wake's descriptions of smells.
The NA genre is a guilty pleasure of mine but even with my favorite books I feel like they lack something (usually maturity of main characters) but this book left nothing out.
First, we have an amazing and complex female lead. How damn RARE is it to find a female character who owns her sexuality, is brazen, and still has insecurities? The way Maise is written is unlike any female character I've ever read, and might be the most relatable I've come across. Honestly, for her character alone this book is worth reading.
And Evan is great too. He's sexy and tries his hardest to get to know Maise. He's also not perfect, and his reason for engaging in these kinds of relationships is addressed in the book. If teacher/student things are iffy for you I think you'll be cool with this one. It's not shiny or super unrealistic.
Bonus? None of the sex scenes wax poetic about rock hard 8 packs. Refreshing.
Anyway, would recommend to anyone especially if you're: in a reading slump, looking for something sexy, or want something completely different than you've ever read.
Forbidden teacher/student love affair. Loved this book! Hard to put down. I pictured Aria & Ezra from PLL as the characters..
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Elliot Wake's work. CAM GIRL is one of the books I point at every time someone asks me for a book request. (...As long as I think they'd be okay with the subject matter. Cause it's...uh. A bit dark. XD)
It's also not a huge secret that I'm a sucker for the teacher/student trope in romance, though I can be a little picky about how it's executed. But I'm like that with most romances, so that's not specific to the trope. So when I realized that Wake's first novel (I believe, back when he was writing as Leah Raeder) was a student/teacher romance, I jumped on it so fast.
(And you know, let it sit on my Kindle for way too long. But...again. That's kinda my MO.)
Now, I was keeping two things in mind walking into the novel. One, this was Wake's early work, so it wasn't going to be as polished as his later stuff. I'd been warned about that going into BLACK IRIS as well, so I was pretty sure I knew what I was walking into. Two, was the same thing that I walk into all romances with: the pacing of the relationship was going to be way faster than I wanted it to be.
Both of those counts were true. And it still charmed me just as much as I wanted it to.
As it is a bit of a tendency in Wake's work, our lead female is a bit of a broken soul. Maise O'Malley is old for her grade, both in spirit and in age. And when she goes to the carnival on one of the last days before school starts again, a one-night fling with a gorgeous older man is just one more in a line of men she'll sleep with and never think of again. Even...if there seems to be something different about this guy. Even for a fling, he wants a connection...he wants to know her name. And he stays on her mind, long after when she might have wanted to forget him.
But of course, the film studies class she fights her way in to has a brand new teacher in charge: Evan Wilke, the man from the carnival. And Maise's life flips upside down.
I figure there are two ways to write the teacher/student dynamic effectively. One is the slow burn, where the tension builds up in the classroom until they desperately try to find some subtle way to diffuse it. The other is how Wake tackles this one: have them meet outside of the school year, have the fire flash of a connection, and then force them into a classroom together.
Even in his early days, Wake's writing is intense and evocative. The struggle between Maise's desire to keep all interpersonal relations at an arm's distance and her desperate attraction to Evan is palpable, and visible in each scene we get with them. Wake doesn't shy from the party mentality of late high school students, nor does he pretend that Evan and Maise live in a bubble where no one else is going to see them undressing each other with their eyes in class. Rumors fly, secrets are kept, and as it must be, when it all comes to light everything struggles to keep from falling off the cliff. Maise has friends (well, a friend at least) outside of Evan, and Evan has an existence outside of Maise. It's well balanced without seeming forced. It's real, something that not all romances can convince the reader.
Is it perfect? No. There seem to be a lot of plot lines going on at once, and several of them I question their ability to exist in a world outside of fiction. Even in a book, there is a level of suspension of disbelief (a concept Evan would be well familiar with) that needs to be upheld and that barrier wavers several times. But, I have to admit to my personal bias being that I grew up in a very small town, went to a small college, and never really ventured into the darker paths of my schools. Maybe it's more realistic than I know.
All things said and done, it's still a fun read. It's a whirlwind from start to finish, with a good balance of wanting to cuddle the both of them until everything is better--and then smacking their heads around until they stop acting like morons. I would be interested to see how Wake would tackle this story now, as opposed to back when it was first written, but perhaps that's neither here nor there.
It's Elliot Wake. It's fun. Go read it.
Rating: *** (Worth a Look)
It's also not a huge secret that I'm a sucker for the teacher/student trope in romance, though I can be a little picky about how it's executed. But I'm like that with most romances, so that's not specific to the trope. So when I realized that Wake's first novel (I believe, back when he was writing as Leah Raeder) was a student/teacher romance, I jumped on it so fast.
(And you know, let it sit on my Kindle for way too long. But...again. That's kinda my MO.)
Now, I was keeping two things in mind walking into the novel. One, this was Wake's early work, so it wasn't going to be as polished as his later stuff. I'd been warned about that going into BLACK IRIS as well, so I was pretty sure I knew what I was walking into. Two, was the same thing that I walk into all romances with: the pacing of the relationship was going to be way faster than I wanted it to be.
Both of those counts were true. And it still charmed me just as much as I wanted it to.
As it is a bit of a tendency in Wake's work, our lead female is a bit of a broken soul. Maise O'Malley is old for her grade, both in spirit and in age. And when she goes to the carnival on one of the last days before school starts again, a one-night fling with a gorgeous older man is just one more in a line of men she'll sleep with and never think of again. Even...if there seems to be something different about this guy. Even for a fling, he wants a connection...he wants to know her name. And he stays on her mind, long after when she might have wanted to forget him.
But of course, the film studies class she fights her way in to has a brand new teacher in charge: Evan Wilke, the man from the carnival. And Maise's life flips upside down.
I figure there are two ways to write the teacher/student dynamic effectively. One is the slow burn, where the tension builds up in the classroom until they desperately try to find some subtle way to diffuse it. The other is how Wake tackles this one: have them meet outside of the school year, have the fire flash of a connection, and then force them into a classroom together.
Even in his early days, Wake's writing is intense and evocative. The struggle between Maise's desire to keep all interpersonal relations at an arm's distance and her desperate attraction to Evan is palpable, and visible in each scene we get with them. Wake doesn't shy from the party mentality of late high school students, nor does he pretend that Evan and Maise live in a bubble where no one else is going to see them undressing each other with their eyes in class. Rumors fly, secrets are kept, and as it must be, when it all comes to light everything struggles to keep from falling off the cliff. Maise has friends (well, a friend at least) outside of Evan, and Evan has an existence outside of Maise. It's well balanced without seeming forced. It's real, something that not all romances can convince the reader.
Is it perfect? No. There seem to be a lot of plot lines going on at once, and several of them I question their ability to exist in a world outside of fiction. Even in a book, there is a level of suspension of disbelief (a concept Evan would be well familiar with) that needs to be upheld and that barrier wavers several times. But, I have to admit to my personal bias being that I grew up in a very small town, went to a small college, and never really ventured into the darker paths of my schools. Maybe it's more realistic than I know.
All things said and done, it's still a fun read. It's a whirlwind from start to finish, with a good balance of wanting to cuddle the both of them until everything is better--and then smacking their heads around until they stop acting like morons. I would be interested to see how Wake would tackle this story now, as opposed to back when it was first written, but perhaps that's neither here nor there.
It's Elliot Wake. It's fun. Go read it.
Rating: *** (Worth a Look)
Unteachable is a truly captivating story about a tale so unique, I couldn’t get enough of it.
I love how the author wrote this story. There is something so honest about how the heroine felt that I related to her in so many ways. I love how there were so many layers to Maise and the more you read the more you pull back and see the real Maise. Evan was sweet and in my mind, very hot. Together, Maise and Evan had this incredibly strong connection to each other. It left you wondering if the connection was real or is the connection there because of the forbidden aspect to the relationship. At the same time, there is something so addictive in her writing that makes you want to stay up late and see what happens. I really liked how the author chose to write this novel almost like a movie; Maise telling us what happened, how it started, the stolen moments that happened. I have never read anything a story like it. I have read some student/teacher relationships in novels but never to this extent where the heroine knew he was a teacher almost in the beginning.
To tell you the truth I was rooting for the relationship even with the age difference. When you removed all of the titles, they were perfect for each other. Sometimes age is just a number and not a defining fact in a relationship. For love, you have to take chances and they definitely did.
In my opinion, what made the book? I did not see the big twist coming at all. Sometimes in other books, I know something is going to happen but I was shocked to find some interesting info about Evan, it through me for a loop. I’m happy Maise and Evan got their HEA. It shows you that you can find love in any place even when you shouldn’t because it is not right. I found I was left hanging a little bit at the end of the story, I would have liked for it to have an epilogue. I would have liked to have seen where things went or even a year or two from now.
**This book was given to me for an honest review**
I love how the author wrote this story. There is something so honest about how the heroine felt that I related to her in so many ways. I love how there were so many layers to Maise and the more you read the more you pull back and see the real Maise. Evan was sweet and in my mind, very hot. Together, Maise and Evan had this incredibly strong connection to each other. It left you wondering if the connection was real or is the connection there because of the forbidden aspect to the relationship. At the same time, there is something so addictive in her writing that makes you want to stay up late and see what happens. I really liked how the author chose to write this novel almost like a movie; Maise telling us what happened, how it started, the stolen moments that happened. I have never read anything a story like it. I have read some student/teacher relationships in novels but never to this extent where the heroine knew he was a teacher almost in the beginning.
To tell you the truth I was rooting for the relationship even with the age difference. When you removed all of the titles, they were perfect for each other. Sometimes age is just a number and not a defining fact in a relationship. For love, you have to take chances and they definitely did.
In my opinion, what made the book? I did not see the big twist coming at all. Sometimes in other books, I know something is going to happen but I was shocked to find some interesting info about Evan, it through me for a loop. I’m happy Maise and Evan got their HEA. It shows you that you can find love in any place even when you shouldn’t because it is not right. I found I was left hanging a little bit at the end of the story, I would have liked for it to have an epilogue. I would have liked to have seen where things went or even a year or two from now.
**This book was given to me for an honest review**
Well, color me surprised.
That was not bad. Not bad at all.
That was not bad. Not bad at all.
This book was such a surprise for me. I came into it knowing it would have lots of hot teacher steamy sex, but I wasn't expecting a lot as far as storyline. Man, was I wrong. This book reached inside of my chest and grabbed my heart and twisted it before yanking it out and throwing it on the floor and stomping on it. This isn't a happy love story. Yeah, there are happy parts, but like any real love story, their are parts that make you feel high as a kite and then kick your legs out from under you.
For my full reivew, check it out on my blog
For my full reivew, check it out on my blog
I have owned this book since its release, and yet something always made me second guess actually reading it. I finally decided to give it a go, and throughout the entire book, I fully understand why I wasn't sure it was the book for me. The book is written with very flowery, descriptive prose, which works for the feeling the author was going for - the story of Evan and Maise reads like a fever dream, with bold descriptions, raunchy sex, and snapshots of their time spent together (and apart). I didn't love the writing style, and had I been reading it in print, probably would've DNFed. The audio allowed me to get through the entire story, but in the end I came away just feeling rather "meh" about everything. I wasn't a fan of either main character, nor any of the supporting characters aside from possibly Wesley's mom. The relationship between Evan and Maise was toxic - as it should be with a teacher/student relationship - and the other things that were brought into the story to make Maise's life more difficult were eyeroll inducing. I also thought the ending was too perfectly tied up, and with a story like this, was not the outcome I was looking for at all.
In comparison to Colleen Hoover's Slammed, this teacher-student relationship just didn't do much for me.
I don't even know what to say, but wow! Let me start with the plot. Awesome! It was different and intriguing. It's controversial, of course, meaning people will either love it or hate it. I didn't mind. I don't necessarily favor situations like this when they happen in real life, but the bottom line is that this book is fiction. And Maise is technically an adult. Period.
If it were my daughter, I might feel differently. At the other end of that spectrum, though,I wouldn't have a problem with it if it were happening to me. There's an automatic double standard there.
The writing! Gah! Leah Raeder writes beautifully! I adored her descriptions, her prose. It was lyrical. But it was genuine. It didn't feel like someone was shoving a bunch of bullshit down my throat just to call it heavy. It was measured and painted perfectly.
Watching the story unfold between Evan and Maise was fantastic. I loved Maise's voice and how she viewed her surroundings.
Great job!
Read this if you like spicy student/teacher NAs. :)
If it were my daughter, I might feel differently. At the other end of that spectrum, though,I wouldn't have a problem with it if it were happening to me. There's an automatic double standard there.
The writing! Gah! Leah Raeder writes beautifully! I adored her descriptions, her prose. It was lyrical. But it was genuine. It didn't feel like someone was shoving a bunch of bullshit down my throat just to call it heavy. It was measured and painted perfectly.
Watching the story unfold between Evan and Maise was fantastic. I loved Maise's voice and how she viewed her surroundings.
Great job!
Read this if you like spicy student/teacher NAs. :)
It is so beautifully written that I would read and re read bits and pieces of it every now and then...
The story was so good, I mean, there were no eye rolling parts for me, no super rich guy and virgin girl going all kinky and well...you know the drill, no, it had its own original plot, a 32 year old teacher dating a very damaged 18 year old girl....
How did I feel about it? I am not sure, there were moments when I hated E and then I had moments when I wanted them to work it out. She was not the typical teenage girl who may be infatuated with a dreamy teacher, she had had a tough life and in consequence she had an old soul and a needy heart, she needed love, she needed a family and she needed to be taken care of...She wouldn't be able to date young kids like herself because she was too old for her own age...I can totally relate to that, when life gives you a shitty set of cards you just grow old despite your age, and the stupid little things don't strike you anymore. Anyway, I was quite shocked with the "big revelation" towards the end of the book, I knew there had to be something sketchy about E since the very beginning, but his utter heartbrokesness after their break up finally convinced me that there had been real love all the time, and that simple line that he gives her as a way if explanation totally worked for me, he was just another old guy as much as she wasn't his first teenage girl....so, I am older than them both, I belong to the parents age, being in my late 30's but having a toddler not a teenager leaving for college, I felt close to them all, the young ones and the secondary characters as well.
There were moments when I went teary eyed, her description of her shitty childhood, as I say, being a mom of a 3 year old boy gives me the parent perspective and having a girl waiting and waiting, feeling lonely and hungry, it broke my heart to pieces....I just can't face the fact that it is more real than not. I felt for her big way, I wanted her to go away, start all over again and have a healthy environment....I felt the story so close to my heart that I couldn't or didn't want to see it as what it was, fiction.
I would have like an epilogue, I found the ending really good though, it came to a full circle but some "5 years later" would have been great.
The story was so good, I mean, there were no eye rolling parts for me, no super rich guy and virgin girl going all kinky and well...you know the drill, no, it had its own original plot, a 32 year old teacher dating a very damaged 18 year old girl....
How did I feel about it? I am not sure, there were moments when I hated E and then I had moments when I wanted them to work it out. She was not the typical teenage girl who may be infatuated with a dreamy teacher, she had had a tough life and in consequence she had an old soul and a needy heart, she needed love, she needed a family and she needed to be taken care of...She wouldn't be able to date young kids like herself because she was too old for her own age...I can totally relate to that, when life gives you a shitty set of cards you just grow old despite your age, and the stupid little things don't strike you anymore. Anyway, I was quite shocked with the "big revelation" towards the end of the book, I knew there had to be something sketchy about E since the very beginning, but his utter heartbrokesness after their break up finally convinced me that there had been real love all the time, and that simple line that he gives her as a way if explanation totally worked for me, he was just another old guy as much as she wasn't his first teenage girl....so, I am older than them both, I belong to the parents age, being in my late 30's but having a toddler not a teenager leaving for college, I felt close to them all, the young ones and the secondary characters as well.
There were moments when I went teary eyed, her description of her shitty childhood, as I say, being a mom of a 3 year old boy gives me the parent perspective and having a girl waiting and waiting, feeling lonely and hungry, it broke my heart to pieces....I just can't face the fact that it is more real than not. I felt for her big way, I wanted her to go away, start all over again and have a healthy environment....I felt the story so close to my heart that I couldn't or didn't want to see it as what it was, fiction.
I would have like an epilogue, I found the ending really good though, it came to a full circle but some "5 years later" would have been great.