* This review is spoiler-free *
4.25/5 ⭐
Tropes
➮ Enemies to lovers
➮ Professor x student
➮ Age gap
➮ Fake dating
Synopsis
Fake-dating my hunky professor was not part of my story. He’s an older single dad. I vowed that for once, I’d become the heroine of my own fairytale. I drove my hot neighbor’s classic Cadillac into a cement barrier. It was accidental, but Micah didn’t agree. To avoid jail, I agreed to play his girlfriend while his family’s in town. That sounded harmless until I arrived at my neuroscience class and he was the teacher. Now I’m stuck in a faux relationship with my professor. I spend my days getting butterflies during his office hours, swooning over his cooking abilities, and feeling protective of his adorable son. A relationship between us is strictly forbidden by school rules. I feel guilty riding in his car, let alone sipping merlot with him. When flirting leads to kisses, we both know the situation is dangerous
Best Quote From the Book
“'You stormed the castle on the hill.' 'Stormed might not be the right word. With the shape that old car is in, it was more like I puttered up the road and hoped to reach the castle without having to hitchhike.'"
My Thoughts
This book was a very solid and sweet romance with some taboo elements. It is completely clean and wholesome. Evie Sterling is a master at creating sweet clean romances and this book is no exception. It is funny, authentic, gratifying, and very easy to read. The shorter nature of this book made it fly by easily.
For the most part, their 16-year age gap shockingly didn't bother me that much. That said, when they were confronted with the consequences of their choices, the age gap and their professor-student relationship did feel a bit uncomfortable. They claim to be people who are trying to go about this ethically but barely consider that their power dynamic is not at all balanced and never will be.
This book has amazing and adorable autistic representation through Micah's son. Sebastian is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum but never once does the book push away his autistic traits. Micah always wants to do his best for his son and make him as comfortable and accommodating as he can. It also portrays how people can have very different reactions to a child with autism and how that can lead to some very complicated and murky relationships. Having a brutally honest autistic character like Sebastian also propelled the story quite well. He was completely truthful about what he saw and felt which helped bring things to light for Clare and Micah. I loved this positive and realistic but not forceful example of autistic rep. I love seeing more and more books that include neurodivergent representation without expecting brownie points for it.
They hit their stride as a fake couple almost seamlessly. I loved seeing them play house together and just, fit. They naturally played well into each other's lives and stories. Especially with Sebastian in the mix, they got along quite well. The trust they built and how they meshed together was so sweet to see.
I feel like their story didn't hit quite the way I wanted it to because the repercussions were shockingly minimal in the long run. People who would care suddenly and conveniently didn't care anymore. They didn't have to struggle with the taboo of their relationship for all that long at all. It was just boom, it's all okay, happily ever after. There was a lot of rising action and conflict with no crescendo.
Overall if you are looking for a cute and sweet age-gap romance book with a cute kid, this is the book for you. I would've loved a bit more from the conflict inherent in the story. Even so, the characters and funny moments easily make up for it
I received this book as part of a haylingsbookstorm arc and street team. My review is honest and voluntary
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