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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I had some reservations going into this… the ‘dating a teacher’ trope can be VERY bad. But, in saying that, I thought it was done reasonably well in this case. (Or as reasonably as possible in a 200 page book that still had a plot.)
The characters were ok, they were a bit 2D (but again, it’s a 200 page book), but I respected the steps that they took to ensure the relationship didn’t hamper the teacher-power-authority vibe. In saying that, it’s not like they met while he was teaching, they did have the pre-meet where they were both equals, which I think makes a lot of difference.
Look, it was cute, and I didn’t find it overly problematic. It was a fun, escapist read.
The characters were ok, they were a bit 2D (but again, it’s a 200 page book), but I respected the steps that they took to ensure the relationship didn’t hamper the teacher-power-authority vibe. In saying that, it’s not like they met while he was teaching, they did have the pre-meet where they were both equals, which I think makes a lot of difference.
Look, it was cute, and I didn’t find it overly problematic. It was a fun, escapist read.
3.5 stars. I normally stay away from teacher/student romances but decided to give this ago. It was very popular a few years ago. It was quite cute and fun romance and I'm interested enough to continue
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
Gah! Kissing Tolstoy is a new favorite read from the delightful Penny Reid. This story was originally released monthly in her newsletter, but I haven't been reading it as it came out. I am not very good at waiting to see what happens next...plus I tend to forget things so I thought I would just wait until the it was released in book format and read it all at once. And gah! I loved this story so so so much! I was like why was I being stupid and waiting to read this until now? Cause I could have been swooning over Professor Kroft for like a year instead of days! Oh, he was amazing.
Now it is no secret that my favorite book of Penny's is Beauty and the Mustache. Because Drew...Drew is so dreamy! I love him so so so much! But now Drew has some competition from Professor McSwoony. Seriously. They are kind of similar and that is probablty why I love them both. They are both poetic, which seriously I don't like usually, but when Penny writes it I am just like yes! I want more! Give me all the flowery words! But Luca, aka Professor McSwoony, also has that dark, depressing flowery poetry words. He is a professor of Russian literature and oh, I want to discuss all the things with him all the time! I see why all his students would get googly eyes for him - he is amazing!
And Anna? She is so sweet and cute and kind of a dork in the best of ways. She also loves Russian literature and has read all the books for his class at least once and she was great. I loved how this story played out. They are professor-student so nothing can happen...or can it? Ah! It was so much fun! Luca is not very good at expressing what he feels because he is trying so hard not to feel until he can, and Anna is falling for him through his lectures because he is an amazing professor, but he seems to not care about her at all. The two of them were wonderful and this was a great read. I loved every minute of it. A new favorite for sure.
Gah! Kissing Tolstoy is a new favorite read from the delightful Penny Reid. This story was originally released monthly in her newsletter, but I haven't been reading it as it came out. I am not very good at waiting to see what happens next...plus I tend to forget things so I thought I would just wait until the it was released in book format and read it all at once. And gah! I loved this story so so so much! I was like why was I being stupid and waiting to read this until now? Cause I could have been swooning over Professor Kroft for like a year instead of days! Oh, he was amazing.
Now it is no secret that my favorite book of Penny's is Beauty and the Mustache. Because Drew...Drew is so dreamy! I love him so so so much! But now Drew has some competition from Professor McSwoony. Seriously. They are kind of similar and that is probablty why I love them both. They are both poetic, which seriously I don't like usually, but when Penny writes it I am just like yes! I want more! Give me all the flowery words! But Luca, aka Professor McSwoony, also has that dark, depressing flowery poetry words. He is a professor of Russian literature and oh, I want to discuss all the things with him all the time! I see why all his students would get googly eyes for him - he is amazing!
And Anna? She is so sweet and cute and kind of a dork in the best of ways. She also loves Russian literature and has read all the books for his class at least once and she was great. I loved how this story played out. They are professor-student so nothing can happen...or can it? Ah! It was so much fun! Luca is not very good at expressing what he feels because he is trying so hard not to feel until he can, and Anna is falling for him through his lectures because he is an amazing professor, but he seems to not care about her at all. The two of them were wonderful and this was a great read. I loved every minute of it. A new favorite for sure.
Definitely not what I expected, I thought this book was YA based on the cover. It was not. The main character Anna is funny, but pretty much everything else about the book was disjointed and not great.
I've come to expect great love stories full of empowered women and feminist men from Penny Reid.
Unfortunately this older story was quite disappointing. I felt like the characters and their motivation didn't really come across, and the teacher student clichés being used so frank and without nuance felt off... It read boring and old fashioned.
Unfortunately this older story was quite disappointing. I felt like the characters and their motivation didn't really come across, and the teacher student clichés being used so frank and without nuance felt off... It read boring and old fashioned.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick, smart read which you expect from Penny Reid. I look forward to another Dear Professor book.
I read Penny Reid frequently. She's my go-to writer for escapist romance with a difference. I one-clicked this, despite the horrendous cover art, but mostly because of Tolstoy!
This had the ingredients that normally entice me, Tolstoy, a professor of Russian literature, who happens to be looking like a supermodel (just like in real life ;-)), rides motorcycles, ok, I can try to go with it... He's also the poor rich boy, his daddy bought his tenured position, sort of, etc ...
Except that I didn't feel the chemistry, the delivery really didn't work for me.
This novella fell flat and a bit contrived and too much explaining of feelings and it didn't do anything for me, despite some nice exchanges over Tolstoy's masterpieces.
This had the ingredients that normally entice me, Tolstoy, a professor of Russian literature, who happens to be looking like a supermodel (just like in real life ;-)), rides motorcycles, ok, I can try to go with it... He's also the poor rich boy, his daddy bought his tenured position, sort of, etc ...
Except that I didn't feel the chemistry, the delivery really didn't work for me.
This novella fell flat and a bit contrived and too much explaining of feelings and it didn't do anything for me, despite some nice exchanges over Tolstoy's masterpieces.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The banter was fun but repetitive. Just got really boring. There was no conflict really. Just short and blah.
I liked this book so much, it ALMOST made me want to check out some Russian literature. If only my list of To Read romantic comedies wasn't so long...
Zero connection and chemisty between characters. all in all seen before and lukewarm for me