Absolute Beginners by S.J. Hooks
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Summary:
Professor Stephen Worthington's structured routine gets a wrench thrown in it when unruly and outspoken Julia takes a seat in his English lit class. He starts seeing her against his better judgment, and it turns out that there is a lot that he can learn from her.
Impressions:
This book is like a light-hearted and sexy version of The Rosie Project. Stephen is a stuffy, over the top, and lonely young English professor who acts older than he really is. At first, he thinks his student Julia is obnoxious - she's crass, she dresses terribly, and she is disrespectful in his classroom, even if she is whip-smart. She ends up getting the better of him when she shows him that not being type-A isn't always a bad thing.
What I really liked about this book was that even though I often thought that Stephen was over the top at times with his type-A personality, I liked Julia's character a lot. She was nonchalant, easygoing, and there were plenty of humorous exchanges between her and Stephen that carried that story for me. Moreover, the storyline actually carried it well enough so that even though it is definitely erotica, I didn't feel like the author was just trying to string me along from sex scene to sex scene.
In addition, this is erotica that I think works for women. Julia shows Stephen what she likes in bed, which he appreciates since he's had such little experience. I like the message of healthy sex and openness that this book espouses. Since Fifty Shades of Grey, the market's had a huge influx of similar erotica, with domineering but often jealous and controlling men that want to oversee every aspect of the leading woman's life. Not super healthy, but it definitely has a niche. This was a nice alternative for popular erotica, and the writing was pretty good too.
I would definitely read the second installment of this series.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced digital copy of this book in return for my honest review.
