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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
"He wanted me as I was, raw, unedited."
Beautiful, lyrical, poetic prose. This writer always puts the perfect event at the perfect moment with their books. And the perfect choice of descriptive wording.
The story and certain scenes were seductive and sensual but I eventually started feeling like it was heading towards anticlimactic, however I was pleasantly surprised. Just when you think you know everything that's going on and you think you know the characters, this writer makes sure you get hit smack in the face with the fact that you had no clue. I didn't see the plot twists coming at all!
I liked Maise and Wesley's friendship, all stages of it that occurred in this book. Beautiful character development.
A personal interest/passion of mine was included in this book which made me love it SO SO much more: filmmaking, video editing, making montages/mixing video clips together to form a music video or symbolic-type video. Some of the parts even sparked some ideas for my own video projects. I loved the film aspect of this story. I think it was my favourite part of it (aside from the sensual scenes cause anyone would have to admit they were sexy and like fire).
It wasn't quite a five-star for me but I think that's just my personal opinion. I'm not even completely sure why it wasn't a complete five star.. just as I read through the book sometimes it felt like something was missing or I wanted a bit more of something? I'm not really sure but this was definitely still a really good book. And as I've said, I loved the film and filmmaking aspect of it and how it tied into the story so well!
I am also glad (although I suffered) that right up to the literal end, the reader is kept in the dark about how the story would conclude.
Beautiful, lyrical, poetic prose. This writer always puts the perfect event at the perfect moment with their books. And the perfect choice of descriptive wording.
The story and certain scenes were seductive and sensual but I eventually started feeling like it was heading towards anticlimactic, however I was pleasantly surprised. Just when you think you know everything that's going on and you think you know the characters, this writer makes sure you get hit smack in the face with the fact that you had no clue. I didn't see the plot twists coming at all!
I liked Maise and Wesley's friendship, all stages of it that occurred in this book. Beautiful character development.
A personal interest/passion of mine was included in this book which made me love it SO SO much more: filmmaking, video editing, making montages/mixing video clips together to form a music video or symbolic-type video. Some of the parts even sparked some ideas for my own video projects. I loved the film aspect of this story. I think it was my favourite part of it (aside from the sensual scenes cause anyone would have to admit they were sexy and like fire).
It wasn't quite a five-star for me but I think that's just my personal opinion. I'm not even completely sure why it wasn't a complete five star.. just as I read through the book sometimes it felt like something was missing or I wanted a bit more of something? I'm not really sure but this was definitely still a really good book. And as I've said, I loved the film and filmmaking aspect of it and how it tied into the story so well!
I am also glad (although I suffered) that right up to the literal end, the reader is kept in the dark about how the story would conclude.
I didn't find this that good. And reading other people's reviews, I'm wondering if I missed something. It's not that it was too dirty for me, because whatever, it was fine. We keep being told that our main character is sooo much more mature than all of her classmates and so it's okay that she's with this much older man, but I didn't buy her maturity. Yeah, I get that she's gone through some tough shit. But throwing out $5 words doesn't equal mature to me. There was all kinds of instalove, and I was actually rooting for them to split up because her whole life depended on him. "Pretentiously lyrical"... well, I thought it was pretentious anyway. This just did not do it for me.
Im not sure exactly how to feel about this.
Ms Raeder used heavy foreshadowing throughout the book so you always had a knot in your stomach.
I appreciate the storyline because it was realistic, thank you so much for that, you really dont know how much that means to me Raeder.
It was a fun packed book with a shit ton of drama thrown in your face. You can read it quickly and miss the depth of it, but either way its an entertaining read.
What I loved most was how up front the author was of writing a taboo, confronting the issue of writing a book about a teacher having sex woth his student.
Not a full five star because Im really not sure if I like the underlying tale/morale.
But it was refreshing.
Ms Raeder used heavy foreshadowing throughout the book so you always had a knot in your stomach.
I appreciate the storyline because it was realistic, thank you so much for that, you really dont know how much that means to me Raeder.
It was a fun packed book with a shit ton of drama thrown in your face. You can read it quickly and miss the depth of it, but either way its an entertaining read.
What I loved most was how up front the author was of writing a taboo, confronting the issue of writing a book about a teacher having sex woth his student.
Not a full five star because Im really not sure if I like the underlying tale/morale.
But it was refreshing.
I can probably count on one hand the number of books that I have given up on without finishing. Normally I make an effort to get through to the end even if it's not a book I'm particularly enjoying. Unteachable though, I just couldn't do it.
There were so many things that annoyed me about this book, but I have to say the writing wasn't one of them; it's a well written book.
My main issue with the book was that there was nothing likable about the main characters. I'm not sure what the author was trying to do with Maise, but I really struggled with finding anything appealing about her. Despite the background she was given which was designed to try and explain her being the troubled character that she was, I didn't find her either particularly sympathetic or vulnerable which made it hard to attach any emotion to her. Evan's character was less grating, but I still couldn't manage to get interested in him at all.
And then there was the plot. The point was made early on (a number of times) that Maise was 18 and therefore there was nothing illegal about the relationship that she had with Evan, however there are definitely a lot of moral issues there. I kept thinking that Evan should know better and that being a man in his thirties, he should have more control of himself than he appeared to have. He was her teacher, and despite Maise supposedly being mature and experienced, she's still an 18 year old kid from a difficult family situation. Organising an out-of-town apartment for them to spend their weekends at was probably meant to be romantic, but just ended up making me feel uncomfortable.
I know that my thoughts on this book are vastly different from the majority of those who have read it, but I just couldn't see the appeal.
I'd be interested to read something else by Leah Raeder as I did like her writing style; just not this particular story that she told.
There were so many things that annoyed me about this book, but I have to say the writing wasn't one of them; it's a well written book.
My main issue with the book was that there was nothing likable about the main characters. I'm not sure what the author was trying to do with Maise, but I really struggled with finding anything appealing about her. Despite the background she was given which was designed to try and explain her being the troubled character that she was, I didn't find her either particularly sympathetic or vulnerable which made it hard to attach any emotion to her. Evan's character was less grating, but I still couldn't manage to get interested in him at all.
And then there was the plot. The point was made early on (a number of times) that Maise was 18 and therefore there was nothing illegal about the relationship that she had with Evan, however there are definitely a lot of moral issues there. I kept thinking that Evan should know better and that being a man in his thirties, he should have more control of himself than he appeared to have. He was her teacher, and despite Maise supposedly being mature and experienced, she's still an 18 year old kid from a difficult family situation. Organising an out-of-town apartment for them to spend their weekends at was probably meant to be romantic, but just ended up making me feel uncomfortable.
I know that my thoughts on this book are vastly different from the majority of those who have read it, but I just couldn't see the appeal.
I'd be interested to read something else by Leah Raeder as I did like her writing style; just not this particular story that she told.
3.5 stars
“I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one’s letting me in on the secret.”
Forbidden romances, don't think I can turn one down.
Overall, it wasn't bad. I unfortunately just didn't feel the connection between Maise and Evan. Evan's character was just too emotional and over the map for me to enjoy.
“I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one’s letting me in on the secret.”
Forbidden romances, don't think I can turn one down.
Overall, it wasn't bad. I unfortunately just didn't feel the connection between Maise and Evan. Evan's character was just too emotional and over the map for me to enjoy.
“I can’t tell if this is a beginning or ending,” he said.
“What does it feel like?”
“Both.”
The Author did such a good job with the writing, the story was kinda cliché. Some parts were cringe but I still liked the book.
I probably felt that way cause I might’ve outgrown teenage love stories.
I didn’t like Evan, he just didn’t seem like the best guy.
But I really loved the writing style !!!
“What does it feel like?”
“Both.”
The Author did such a good job with the writing, the story was kinda cliché. Some parts were cringe but I still liked the book.
I probably felt that way cause I might’ve outgrown teenage love stories.
I didn’t like Evan, he just didn’t seem like the best guy.
But I really loved the writing style !!!
I've never read an NA title before and now I'm pretty sure that I'm light years from the target audience. I'm an Evan, not a Maise. I'm also not a romance reader, so I had hoped for this to be a little more of a psychological drama instead of a romance, because teacher/student=ick.
After finishing this I still can't come up with a single reason that Maise likes Evan. He's hot and it's fun to be risky? She feels different when she's with him? That's all I got, and it wasn't enough to make me care about their journey.
After finishing this I still can't come up with a single reason that Maise likes Evan. He's hot and it's fun to be risky? She feels different when she's with him? That's all I got, and it wasn't enough to make me care about their journey.
3.5 Torn Stars
I am torn between 3 and 4 stars for this book.
There were parts that I absolutely adored and other Wierd parts that truly bothered me. I liked the heroine but sometimes found that I truly hated her and did not feel that the author allowed me to see enough of the real her to absolutely fall in love... I know there was a lot there but still something was Missing.
Now Evans I think this is where I want to give the book the 3 stars or possibly 2 really. I did not like his past story..
Right when I thought I could love him I felt like this stuff was thrown in my face and I hated it. I felt like it took away so much from the story and the relationship and made me feel as if he was some kind of perv with the wrong intentions.
Truthfully, I liked the story and I think that the author did a really good job of telling it she just added stuff that was not for me and took away from somethings I felt I needed to know. I am so torn about this book because I truly did like the story, the characters, and the premise I just felt disconnected in places that I needed to be connected.
Overall it was a decent read, a quick one.. I guess I was just not pleased to the point of dislike on some parts of the book.
I am torn between 3 and 4 stars for this book.
There were parts that I absolutely adored and other Wierd parts that truly bothered me. I liked the heroine but sometimes found that I truly hated her and did not feel that the author allowed me to see enough of the real her to absolutely fall in love... I know there was a lot there but still something was Missing.
Now Evans I think this is where I want to give the book the 3 stars or possibly 2 really. I did not like his past story..
Spoiler
You know the one where he had been with another young girl.. New Name... EtcRight when I thought I could love him I felt like this stuff was thrown in my face and I hated it. I felt like it took away so much from the story and the relationship and made me feel as if he was some kind of perv with the wrong intentions.
Truthfully, I liked the story and I think that the author did a really good job of telling it she just added stuff that was not for me and took away from somethings I felt I needed to know. I am so torn about this book because I truly did like the story, the characters, and the premise I just felt disconnected in places that I needed to be connected.
Overall it was a decent read, a quick one.. I guess I was just not pleased to the point of dislike on some parts of the book.