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mrstrowens's review against another edition
5.0
I seldom write reviews, but OMFG, this book is brilliantly written. I bought this expecting the usual angsty sex-filled smut that generally characterizes the New Adult genre. Sure, sometimes it's decently-written angsty smut, but this is far above that. Leah Raeder is up there with Tarryn Fisher on my list of Authors I Love and Envy. I highlighted a zillion passages on the thought, "I wish I'd written that." And could've highlighted twice that many. Gorgeous prose, decent character development, a good story, but it's definitely the sheer quality of writing that shines in this book.
jenlisa's review against another edition
4.0
Esto fue como ver una telenovela pero al mismo tiempo se sintió realista idk
camibookish's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing discovering with this book and author, thanks to Manon!
4saradouglas's review against another edition
3.0
Part of me wants to say it was just okay... part of me wants to say it's just annoying characters making bad decisions. I guess it's both ?
dherzey's review against another edition
2.0
"We have no age. We exist outside of time. We're timeless."
Truthfully, this book started out really well. We have Maise O'Malley, your usual fucked-up protagonist who doesn't give a fuck. I adore this girl. She got all those scarred childhood thing going, but unlike other NA characters, she hide it beneath easy smiles and confident strides. She knows her charms and doesn't need anyone to reassure her that and she definitely isn't afraid to wield it. She is honest, bold and sarcastic without being overly-annoying. But despite her bravado, she was also stupid. Stupid, desperate, stupid...
Okay, fine, she was only seventeen and people are stupid and reckless and are suckers for the thrills in life. But our protagonist had said she doesn't want to be like her addicted mom and yet she was becoming like her. She knows what she is doing -- having an affair with her teacher, making out in his classroom -- but she wasn't responsible enough. They weren't even discreet enough. I also thought, despite her issues, that she'll be stronger and smarter than what this book presented. I mean, how can I possibly buy Maise and Evan's affections when they have only met for one night and she fell in love (lust) with him because she was the only man who ever asked her name during sex?
The scenes which happened after doesn't convince me either that what she felt was love or freefall or whatever. It was pure infatuation. All they ever did was fuck. In a motel, in his apartment, in the classroom, everywhere and she barely knows him at all. At first the sex scenes were fine until it becomes repetitive and dull. Even their every touch, every whisper was redundant like sending tingles up her spine etcetera. It got tedious to read the many details and metaphors everytime they laid eyes on each other. I can't just buy that shit. I can't just buy this as love.
I just wished something more had happened than them having sex.
"Out of everything I ever learned from Evan Wilke, I think that lesson was the most important: that none of us actually grow up."
Evan or Mr. Wilke, the love interest, was okay. I just don't care about him. In fact, I couldn't care less about the characters (except maybe for Siobhan and Wesley because they actually got personality or that quirkiness about them). Evan was just not doing it -- making me fall in love with him. He is one dimensional, just a stick with a hot bod. And it is hard to care about someone whose whole existence was to make love with the protagonist. He was supposed to be teaching her something about filming, I guess? But it was brushed off somewhere and I can't actually remember them doing anything than making out.
I actually liked the secondary characters better -- especially Wesley and Siobhan. And am I the only one who wished that Maise fell in love with Wesley instead? I actually thought they would make an adorable couple but oh well, not my story to spin.
I think the best thing about this book is actually the writing. It was beautiful and painted everything so vividly and with such great detail like a thousand colorful brushstrokes. I just can quote the whole book if only for how it is written.
"All of this came from one night. If I hadn't gone to the carnival, you would've looked at me like any other student when I walked into your class. And that made my heart ache, too -- the thought of how much happiness lay scattered across the universe, unrealized, in fragments, waiting for the right twist of fate to bring it together."
Maise's sudden change wasn't developed well. Evan has no depth. The plot was dull in most of the book. Thankfully, the drama isn't overboard but the ending just felt unrealistic.
Spoiler
Too perfect. To be honest, I'm expecting no happily everafter because I am not convinced about Maise and Evan's so-called love.From all the glowing reviews, I think I am just expecting something more from Unteachable which it failed to hand: a student-teacher relationship that doesn't seemed like lust, more of a plot than sex, a love that doesn't seemed to be based on who's first, and something more bittersweet and emotionally effective than this.
evermoreliterary's review against another edition
4.0
This book so expertly makes you feel both uncomfortable and intrigued to see what happens next. I sped through this book SO fast. The characters are ridiculously flawed, and make all the wrong decisions. I am not someone who has to like the characters I am reading. So this was not a problem for me. I loved seeing them make a million mistakes and find out what the consequences would be, and how they would grow (or not grow) with each one. I was not left disappointed. If you love mostly unapologetic flawed characters, definitely pick this one up.
innodavid's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
I'd never thought a romance could make me feel this devastated. This is very close to perfection for me, and I don't just give out complements like that easily. What made me loved it even more is how much I wasn't expecting to love or even like this book. I just read it in a whim because I need to meet my reading goal for the month. But alas, here we are, so utterly in loved with this book and wished I could read it for the first time again.
This is half a teacher-student/age-gap romance and a coming of age contemporary. Both tropes I've previously liked but hesitant to try because they could easily borderline problematic. And just based on the synopsis and cover alone, I thought I was just getting a typical New Adult romance with lots of steam and lust, and a bunch of unlikable but forgettable characters. Who would've thought that this was going be so emotional and real and JUST WELL WRITTEN.
The author wrote the story with such empathy that even though the story can be quite taboo and problematic, you couldn't help but sympathize with what's going on, especially the characters' journey.
I absolutely LOVED the main character in here. Maise might be one of my favorite heroines of all time and not because she's perfect, but because she felt so real. She's flawed and sometimes angsty like any other eighteen-year-old, and most of the time make very bad decisions. But how the author wrote her will make you connect with her instead of despise her. She's honest in what she wants, even if that thing is not right, and she's very self-aware with her problems and doesn't dismiss them like other heroines in romances. And despite her being selfish at times, you can still relate to her because you might probably make the same decisions she did when placed in a similar situation. She's the definitely the highlight of the book and the main reason why I kept on reading.
The side characters also felt very human. I don't consider them morally grey because to me, they're good people but are still developing and would most likely make terrible choices.
I've never read a novel where the topic of teacher-student relationship is handled more truthfully than I did with this one. It explores true feelings of infatuation and exhilaration of having a secret and taboo relationship with a person you're not supposed to be with, and how that brings light and also complications. I also enjoyed how the book addressed that her having an older-men kink is a result of her not having a father/parental figure and thus made her reach out to others for validation. She doesn't have a good upbringing. Her mother is an addict and a drug-dealer. Her father is non-existent. She's constantly trying to fight for herself, especially when most of the older men her mother brings into their house sexualize her. She doesn't have friends and is constantly overthinking her future. And half the book is her journey through self-development and learning to handle her own life without the influence of others.
I'm actually not ashamed of admitting it, but I liked Maise and Evan's relationship. I loved their romance. I loved their scenes together, and I'm constantly rooting for them despite the messy and difficult situation they're in. This is not a swoon-worthy romance that you could squeal and fangirl about. Their journey together is emotional and heartbreaking and you just can't help but hope they find their peace and happiness, even though you know that it would take a lot for them to fight for that kind of relationship when others are quick to judge and any time they could end up in a jail. And no, their relationship is not illegal. She's 18 and he's in his thirties when they met. But adding to that is that he's her teacher and they're both in the same class without them knowing initially.
The writing in here is also beautiful and sometimes can be considered purple-prose, but it's just the right amount and not over the top. All throughout the book, you'd get a sense that something terrible is about to happen, but you don't know why or what. And that feeling of anxiety and impending doom is what kept me reading. I've never felt more engrossed and impressed while reading a romance book. I wanted to know what's gong to happen. I needed to know if there's going to be a happily ever after. I wanted the characters to be happy. I wanted to be happy.
That "reveal" at the end reminded me of how Colleen Hoover does her twists. Maybe that's why I loved this book so much is because it reminds me of her works. Not in the plot, but the writing and the overall emotion it evokes in you. Some people said that this is a better version of [b:Slammed|30333938|Slammed (Slammed, #1)|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464826448l/30333938._SY75_.jpg|18602144], but I haven't read that book, so perhaps if you're a fan of that one, you could probably enjoy this one as well.
I have so many more positive things to say but this review is getting a little longer than usual already, so I would probably just sum it up that I absolutely loved this book and hope that most romances were written like this. I'm surprised this isn't getting much attention from booktok because it definitely has the compulsively readable quality of those other booktok books that are being hyped, but to me personally done way way better.
“I can't hold on to you. You're like a shooting star. Just a trail of fire in my hands.”
I'd never thought a romance could make me feel this devastated. This is very close to perfection for me, and I don't just give out complements like that easily. What made me loved it even more is how much I wasn't expecting to love or even like this book. I just read it in a whim because I need to meet my reading goal for the month. But alas, here we are, so utterly in loved with this book and wished I could read it for the first time again.
This is half a teacher-student/age-gap romance and a coming of age contemporary. Both tropes I've previously liked but hesitant to try because they could easily borderline problematic. And just based on the synopsis and cover alone, I thought I was just getting a typical New Adult romance with lots of steam and lust, and a bunch of unlikable but forgettable characters. Who would've thought that this was going be so emotional and real and JUST WELL WRITTEN.
The author wrote the story with such empathy that even though the story can be quite taboo and problematic, you couldn't help but sympathize with what's going on, especially the characters' journey.
I absolutely LOVED the main character in here. Maise might be one of my favorite heroines of all time and not because she's perfect, but because she felt so real. She's flawed and sometimes angsty like any other eighteen-year-old, and most of the time make very bad decisions. But how the author wrote her will make you connect with her instead of despise her. She's honest in what she wants, even if that thing is not right, and she's very self-aware with her problems and doesn't dismiss them like other heroines in romances. And despite her being selfish at times, you can still relate to her because you might probably make the same decisions she did when placed in a similar situation. She's the definitely the highlight of the book and the main reason why I kept on reading.
The side characters also felt very human. I don't consider them morally grey because to me, they're good people but are still developing and would most likely make terrible choices.
I've never read a novel where the topic of teacher-student relationship is handled more truthfully than I did with this one. It explores true feelings of infatuation and exhilaration of having a secret and taboo relationship with a person you're not supposed to be with, and how that brings light and also complications. I also enjoyed how the book addressed that her having an older-men kink is a result of her not having a father/parental figure and thus made her reach out to others for validation. She doesn't have a good upbringing. Her mother is an addict and a drug-dealer. Her father is non-existent. She's constantly trying to fight for herself, especially when most of the older men her mother brings into their house sexualize her. She doesn't have friends and is constantly overthinking her future. And half the book is her journey through self-development and learning to handle her own life without the influence of others.
I'm actually not ashamed of admitting it, but I liked Maise and Evan's relationship. I loved their romance. I loved their scenes together, and I'm constantly rooting for them despite the messy and difficult situation they're in. This is not a swoon-worthy romance that you could squeal and fangirl about. Their journey together is emotional and heartbreaking and you just can't help but hope they find their peace and happiness, even though you know that it would take a lot for them to fight for that kind of relationship when others are quick to judge and any time they could end up in a jail. And no, their relationship is not illegal. She's 18 and he's in his thirties when they met. But adding to that is that he's her teacher and they're both in the same class without them knowing initially.
The writing in here is also beautiful and sometimes can be considered purple-prose, but it's just the right amount and not over the top. All throughout the book, you'd get a sense that something terrible is about to happen, but you don't know why or what. And that feeling of anxiety and impending doom is what kept me reading. I've never felt more engrossed and impressed while reading a romance book. I wanted to know what's gong to happen. I needed to know if there's going to be a happily ever after. I wanted the characters to be happy. I wanted to be happy.
That "reveal" at the end reminded me of how Colleen Hoover does her twists. Maybe that's why I loved this book so much is because it reminds me of her works. Not in the plot, but the writing and the overall emotion it evokes in you. Some people said that this is a better version of [b:Slammed|30333938|Slammed (Slammed, #1)|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464826448l/30333938._SY75_.jpg|18602144], but I haven't read that book, so perhaps if you're a fan of that one, you could probably enjoy this one as well.
I have so many more positive things to say but this review is getting a little longer than usual already, so I would probably just sum it up that I absolutely loved this book and hope that most romances were written like this. I'm surprised this isn't getting much attention from booktok because it definitely has the compulsively readable quality of those other booktok books that are being hyped, but to me personally done way way better.