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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. This is Luca and Anna's story. In a comedy of errors, college student Anna accidentally emails the wrong email address and ends up on a blind date with the wrong person, Luca. Even though they hit it off, when she realizes her mistake, Anna is mortified and runs from the date. A few months later, she comes face to face with Luca in her Russian literature class, where he is the professor. The two struggle with their feelings for each other and the ethics involved in their situation for quite awhile. They have to figure out whether it is possible for them to be together. It all works out for them in the end, though.
The overall story is good. It was interesting and different. The way Russian literature is tied into the story was original. I liked Luca and Anna in general. But they were very wishy washy on whether they wanted to be together. For such a short book, there was a lot of back and forth going on, right up to the end. There was some slow burn, all the way through the epilogue before there is any payoff, and also just some slow parts without much movement. Also, while I liked the references to Tolstoy and other Russian works, I hadn't read any of those books. There is a lot about it in the book and it was all a little much. It was almost like the book was trying too hard to be high brow and intelligent. It just felt a little pretentious and made me feel "not very smart" sometimes. I don't read romance to feel dumb.
Still, this was a fairly enjoyable novella. I liked that it was different than most of Penny Reid's other books. I definitely look forward to the next book in the series, as the preview looks really good. And I look forward to more from Ms. Reid in her other series too.
The overall story is good. It was interesting and different. The way Russian literature is tied into the story was original. I liked Luca and Anna in general. But they were very wishy washy on whether they wanted to be together. For such a short book, there was a lot of back and forth going on, right up to the end. There was some slow burn, all the way through the epilogue before there is any payoff, and also just some slow parts without much movement. Also, while I liked the references to Tolstoy and other Russian works, I hadn't read any of those books. There is a lot about it in the book and it was all a little much. It was almost like the book was trying too hard to be high brow and intelligent. It just felt a little pretentious and made me feel "not very smart" sometimes. I don't read romance to feel dumb.
Still, this was a fairly enjoyable novella. I liked that it was different than most of Penny Reid's other books. I definitely look forward to the next book in the series, as the preview looks really good. And I look forward to more from Ms. Reid in her other series too.
Eh. I listened and thought the male narrator sounded like a computer. This is very New Adult.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I only read this because 1) Jacob Morgan was a narrator and 2) I had a fever too high to comprehend more complex stories and STILL this book was a huge letdown.
At best, it’s a mild wish fulfillment romance where a young student captures the brilliant professors attention and they mutually validate each other’s existence. At worst, Luca is controlling and manipulative, threatening to fail a student he sexually assaulted to force her to talk to him again when she tries to drop the class, and both Anna and Luca are as flat as the worst of the Tolstoy characters they lament.
To top it all off, there is basically no spice to make up for the lack of interesting characters or plot.
At best, it’s a mild wish fulfillment romance where a young student captures the brilliant professors attention and they mutually validate each other’s existence. At worst, Luca is controlling and manipulative, threatening to fail a student he sexually assaulted to force her to talk to him again when she tries to drop the class, and both Anna and Luca are as flat as the worst of the Tolstoy characters they lament.
To top it all off, there is basically no spice to make up for the lack of interesting characters or plot.
A funny, smart, quirky and literary romance - yep, totally my cup of coffee :O)
Updated 04.20.2017
Do you LOVE getting one of your favorite author's newsletter? I do because each month we get a new chapter in this story!!
This short story has evolved into a serial written by Penny Reid and only available to her newsletter subscribers.
Do you LOVE getting one of your favorite author's newsletter? I do because each month we get a new chapter in this story!!
This short story has evolved into a serial written by Penny Reid and only available to her newsletter subscribers.
“These are truths universally acknowledged. Men who ride motorcycles, who wear leather like a second skin, and look hot doing it don’t date ladies who idolize Tolstoy. Tuesday night is trivia night for me, unless I have a new jigsaw puzzle I’m excited about or I’m in my tragic love story reading cave.”
FINALLY I read this. I don't know why it took me so long to start a series I wanted to read so long ago but here we are. Many moons later.
Short stories are tough for me because I always want more but I felt like Kissing Tolstoy was written well enough that the pacing didn't make me feel like I was missing out. Obviously, it felt like we moved quickly, but we only had so many pages to complete the job. There could've been room for more but honestly, I think most of that would've been filler and both of our characters were mature and communicative enough to sort things out very quickly before a more significant conflict could form from anything they said or did.
I will be swiftly shifting gears to book numero dos now. See y'all in like 30min
Short stories are tough for me because I always want more but I felt like Kissing Tolstoy was written well enough that the pacing didn't make me feel like I was missing out. Obviously, it felt like we moved quickly, but we only had so many pages to complete the job. There could've been room for more but honestly, I think most of that would've been filler and both of our characters were mature and communicative enough to sort things out very quickly before a more significant conflict could form from anything they said or did.
I will be swiftly shifting gears to book numero dos now. See y'all in like 30min
3.75 This was a quick read. Shorter than I would have liked. There was no real character development or plot exactly. Not to say it was not enjoyable, it made me laugh the MC and Love Interest were likable and you rooted for them. Felt more like a short story to me.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ugh, enough with the stories of young 20-something women and older professors. We get it, ShE’s MatUrE fOR hEr AgE. It’s played out.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.0⭐ | 2.0🌶️
A girl second-guesses herself into the arms of a hot professor...somehow.
🧭 book seems purposefully silly, but is obnoxiously silly
🧭 FMC lacks courage so much, it is a wonder she makes it out her front door each day
🧭 the story was too short, the drama too dull
🧭 I kept finding myself wanting more to actually happen
professor-student, age gap, rich MMC, little spice
A girl second-guesses herself into the arms of a hot professor...somehow.
🧭 book seems purposefully silly, but is obnoxiously silly
🧭 FMC lacks courage so much, it is a wonder she makes it out her front door each day
🧭 the story was too short, the drama too dull
🧭 I kept finding myself wanting more to actually happen
professor-student, age gap, rich MMC, little spice