Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book took me by surprise, and I enjoyed every minute of it!
I bought this on a whim because it was on sale at Amazon, and I had credits, plus I liked the cover.
I know I shouldn't judge a cover, but something about this illustration made me click and read the blurb to buy it 😁
This was just the perfect mix of a standoffish grump and sunshine, black coffee and hearts on the sleeve, and it was everything I wasn't expecting and found loving it. The storyline was solid, the details were great, but what I loved the most were 1) the body positivity as the MC is a plus-size woman, 2) older representation in romance, 3) Consent and communication!!!
I can't wait to read the next installment of the series 💕
I bought this on a whim because it was on sale at Amazon, and I had credits, plus I liked the cover.
I know I shouldn't judge a cover, but something about this illustration made me click and read the blurb to buy it 😁
This was just the perfect mix of a standoffish grump and sunshine, black coffee and hearts on the sleeve, and it was everything I wasn't expecting and found loving it. The storyline was solid, the details were great, but what I loved the most were 1) the body positivity as the MC is a plus-size woman, 2) older representation in romance, 3) Consent and communication!!!
I can't wait to read the next installment of the series 💕
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Olivia Dade for her inclusiveness in a novel. It feels so real and reading her novels makes me wish other ones were as inclusive with their sizing.
That is all.
That is all.
This was perfectly cute don't get me wrong, but it also fell totally flat for me.
If you've read Spoiler Alert then you've read this book. The plot progression and characterization is exactly the same. Feisty, plus sized main character, soft spoken love interest who both come to terms with their crappy pasts. They face an impasse which is ultimately resolved with a grand public gesture. Now, none of that is inherently bad. Frankly I'm a fan of the cliché (proven by the fact that my current favourite contemporary romance read is The Hating Game), but I'm also not here for the copy and paste feel these two books had. I wouldn't rescind my 5-star rating to Spoiler Alert though, I still love that book. I think it comes down to the fact that I'm just too young for Teach Me.
While the realism of the romance is adorable, all the teacher talk went right over my head, especially as an Australian it just didn't mean much of anything to me, all the standardized testing and whatever World History as a subject is. By contrast, as someone heavily involved in fandom spaces, Spoiler Alert scratched that itch of a realistic romance while also keeping an element of the fantastical in it.
What I didn't enjoy about Teach Me was the total dominance Rose had over Martin. Not in the sense that I'm not up for a strong female character, quite the opposite. But she just wasn't all that appealing to me. She's aesthetically gorgeous we know that but to me she lacked the personality and charm that April had. I honestly found her pretty self-centered. And I realize that's the point, she's been scorned by her past and now looks out for only herself. But I honestly just cannot fathom working with people for fifteen years and making no effort to make friends, or at least be better acquaintances. She's forty years old and wears only black- which is cool, had it actually been explained as to why. Yes, she's a plus sized woman in a world where fashionable clothing is made for skinny people. But she likes to talk about how her clothes are tailored and expensive and surely at the price point she did (or does) pay for her clothing, she can branch out a little? I don't know, it was just a little thing that irritated me and towards the end of the book was downright annoying.
And on that, while I thought Adette and her husband were cute additions, absolute champions for Rose, their scorn for their son and total support of Rose felt horribly convenient to me. Again, not exactly the point when the overarching theme there is clearly accept when you're loved and let people in. But still, it was contrived to me. Which is really just the overarching issue I have with this book, that there was no real conflict. Yes it's a character driven book where the conflict comes from within and usually that's my thing; but in this instance I was just bored by it. Though erotica is maybe not the best comparison here, the Crossfire Series is a great example of a book with both external and internal conflict.
Onto the sex. The sex scene I should say. Dade here really did just copy and paste from Spoiler Alert. Don't get me wrong, it was hot. I read it multiple times. But that doesn't change the fact it was the same idea, where the sex is hyper-realistic in a way that I don't enjoy when I'm trying to read romance for the escapism.
So overall I'm actually a bit disappointed by this , the longer I think on it. It was cute, worth the read if just to read about 40 somethings falling in love again. But... eh. I'll stick to purely escapist romance from here on out.
If you've read Spoiler Alert then you've read this book. The plot progression and characterization is exactly the same. Feisty, plus sized main character, soft spoken love interest who both come to terms with their crappy pasts. They face an impasse which is ultimately resolved with a grand public gesture. Now, none of that is inherently bad. Frankly I'm a fan of the cliché (proven by the fact that my current favourite contemporary romance read is The Hating Game), but I'm also not here for the copy and paste feel these two books had. I wouldn't rescind my 5-star rating to Spoiler Alert though, I still love that book. I think it comes down to the fact that I'm just too young for Teach Me.
While the realism of the romance is adorable, all the teacher talk went right over my head, especially as an Australian it just didn't mean much of anything to me, all the standardized testing and whatever World History as a subject is. By contrast, as someone heavily involved in fandom spaces, Spoiler Alert scratched that itch of a realistic romance while also keeping an element of the fantastical in it.
What I didn't enjoy about Teach Me was the total dominance Rose had over Martin. Not in the sense that I'm not up for a strong female character, quite the opposite. But she just wasn't all that appealing to me. She's aesthetically gorgeous we know that but to me she lacked the personality and charm that April had. I honestly found her pretty self-centered. And I realize that's the point, she's been scorned by her past and now looks out for only herself. But I honestly just cannot fathom working with people for fifteen years and making no effort to make friends, or at least be better acquaintances. She's forty years old and wears only black- which is cool, had it actually been explained as to why. Yes, she's a plus sized woman in a world where fashionable clothing is made for skinny people. But she likes to talk about how her clothes are tailored and expensive and surely at the price point she did (or does) pay for her clothing, she can branch out a little? I don't know, it was just a little thing that irritated me and towards the end of the book was downright annoying.
And on that, while I thought Adette and her husband were cute additions, absolute champions for Rose, their scorn for their son and total support of Rose felt horribly convenient to me. Again, not exactly the point when the overarching theme there is clearly accept when you're loved and let people in. But still, it was contrived to me. Which is really just the overarching issue I have with this book, that there was no real conflict. Yes it's a character driven book where the conflict comes from within and usually that's my thing; but in this instance I was just bored by it. Though erotica is maybe not the best comparison here, the Crossfire Series is a great example of a book with both external and internal conflict.
Onto the sex. The sex scene I should say. Dade here really did just copy and paste from Spoiler Alert. Don't get me wrong, it was hot. I read it multiple times. But that doesn't change the fact it was the same idea, where the sex is hyper-realistic in a way that I don't enjoy when I'm trying to read romance for the escapism.
So overall I'm actually a bit disappointed by this , the longer I think on it. It was cute, worth the read if just to read about 40 somethings falling in love again. But... eh. I'll stick to purely escapist romance from here on out.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes