Mr. Raredin

by Shana Vanterpool

Lace

My mom cared about three things. And neither one of them were me.

It’s the way things were in my life. I didn’t blame her most of the time. I didn’t like myself much either. I could blame my mindset on my teenage hormones, but I was almost eighteen and being a teenager was no longer an excuse.

With my lawful age, also came legal consequences. Mom didn’t have to legally care about me anymore, and her boyfriend didn’t have to hold himself back. Their abuse became too much. Even for me.

Crushing on my gym teacher started off harmless. I couldn’t help myself. He was the only thing that didn’t hurt in my life. But mistakes were made. Desires were unquenchable. Pain became too much. And all I wanted was him.

Loving him was against the rules, but I never cared much for rules… not the way I cared about him.

Mr. Raredin

I wasn’t supposed to be in Sage Willow.

I was supposed to be an athlete, married, and undamaged. Instead, I was a gym teacher at Sage Willow High School, divorced, with a tear in my mcl. My injury ruined my career, my marriage, and my life.

I expected depression. I anticipated failure. I even wanted the nothing eventually.

What I didn’t expect was Lace Ryan.

Falling in love with my student was never my intention. I never saw her coming. But once I did, I’d do anything to save her from her life.

Including sacrificing my own.

Mr. Raredin is a passionate, intense, and touching student-teacher romance. There are exceptions to almost every rule, and this love story is proof that just because it’s off-limits doesn’t mean it isn’t worth fighting for.

Genres: Romance, Abuse, Mental Health, Teachers, Hockey, High School, Fiction

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2023

About the author

Shana Vanterpool is a passionate writer who finds solace in the pages of a good book. When she walks into a bookstore, she feels at home, and when she reads, she becomes the person she has always wanted to be. With her love for writing, Shana aims to provide her readers with an escape from their everyday lives, just as reading has done for her.

To stay up to date with Shana’s latest releases, be sure to visit her website at https://shanavanterpool.com.

Reviews

[Dominique F]

Oh this was very good. My soul. Wow. It was so deep. I was not expecting this level of depth.

This is such an amazing story and you feel the depression anxiety and mental issues coming off the page.

Elijah. My god Elijah. He is a true hero and must be protected in bubble wrap for life.

I loved this book so much. So so much.

[Alison]

Really really depressing.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Man this story was depressing. Did it make me cry? Yes. Was it in a good way? Not really. The heroine was sooo broken and never gets relief until the epilogue. I’m glad the epilogue spanned so many years because before that, the story ended on a horrible tear jerking note. There were some things about the final confrontation that didn’t make sense and I found frustrating but I won’t spoil that for you. I have a major bad book hangover and need to read something happy stat.

[katie.reads.romance]

connected

Absolutely loved this book, was my first read of this author and absolutely won’t be my last. I loved that Elijah and Lace connected emotionally first, I’ve read a lot of student/teacher romances where the focus is on the forbidden physical aspect and it was refreshing it wasn’t like that here.

I love Lace so much and her relationship with Elijah was so authentic, he really was her lucky penny and came in to her life exactly when needed. That first kiss scene I think was written so well, even I was cringing, poor Lace!

Loved the epilogue. Loved Shana’s writing and am now looking through her backlist to read more!

[Ahappyhermit]

THERE also should be a tw list and there wasn’t


I don’t know what I just read. All I can say is it could have been sluttier

Them being student/teacher has ZERO bearing to the story and that’s a damn shame.

The beginning was strong - the middle was … there… - the almost end was decent- the last 5% was a MESS.

It needed more work over all. Parts were clunky. Like a wrinkled shirt you can wear it creases and all but if you iron it you’ll look more put together.

I honestly have never read a book where I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. I probably would’ve if the last 5% didn’t happen.

3 stars is generous and it’s because there was some good lines.

[carolina Velásquez]

I am not one to love rating a book lower than 3 stars. However, for me this just wasn’t it. I like forbidden relationships to have more angst for the characters to a fight it a bit more. Also when there is an age gap, I like for it to seem like they are both a similar level of maturity. Lacey was a completely immature child. Did she have trauma, yes, and she needed help. She acted like a kid throwing a tantrum every time something didn’t go her way. Come on she had to understand that his job was on the line, but she still acted like a kid and was like you must want me. His ex wife shows up and she acts again like a kid jealous that someone is taking away the attention of him. I’m sorry but I just didn’t buy their relationship. He was also way too much of a pushover with her. I had to skim in order to finish it.

[Memphy]

Well, I finished it. I wouldn’t really label this as a student teacher romance, though.

Spoilers ahead.



Yes, he’s her gym coach for like 2 days but then she transfers out of his class and the rest of the story revolves around her fucked up home life and his hero complex. Once her family situation…resolves itself… in an extremely traumatizing way, other unrelated trauma happens to our FMC. That situation follows her (the now high school drop out) and the MMC (who is no longer a teacher) to a new state and then gets resolved in the same traumatic way as her family. And all this happens within like 30 days... All while falling in love. I think that’s called trauma bonding?

It was all too much.

Meanwhile, she’s either staring up at, running through, or thinking about trees for some odd reason.

Shes also big on curling her knees to her chest and resting her head on her knees. I feel like this was the authors way of making the FMC seem young but it was really overdone. I think I counted like 20 times she did this. Like, staaahp!

[KristaReadsRomance]

So addicted to Mr. Raredin!!! What an emotional, deep, heartbreaking—yet HOT—forbidden love story. I’ve read Under The Peaches also by this author and I was excited to see she wrote another student/teacher romance. Mr. Raredin was everything I love about this trope: THE ANGST. The push and pull. This story had the most sweetest balance of will they-won’t they.

I’ll be thinking of Elijah and Lace for a long time. 😭

[Traci]

This was so so so depressing. Boatloads of trauma.
Even still, I might've given it another star if it weren't for the last major thing that happened. It felt unnecessary.

[DavSchi]

The writing was rough on this one. And just felt both MCs were super immature.

[Christine]

Another book with so much potential and it just never happened. Everything was so rushed, some things were senseless, and the ending was awful.

[Brian J.]

it couldnt grab my attention sadly couldn't finish it

[Atlanta Adams]

DNF at 78% (though I did skim to the end).

I always hate leaving one and two star reviews but if I was struggling to finish through most of the story and stopped that late in the game, I believe the low rating isn't uncalled for.

First of all, the writing was awkward. There were some editing errors; however, mostly, it was things were phrased strangely or words used that didn't flow well. I found myself rereading sentences because the flow made it difficult to understand.

I didn't really like Mr Raredin (Elijah). He did many inappropriate things as a teacher (used cuss words a lot, accosted a male student) and had a knee-jerk temper. He kept pushing Lace (female MC) away because he knew she had an unhealthy crush on him, but then he would chase her down whenever she tried to put some distance between them.

I wasn't a big fan of Lace, either. Yes, she had a difficult life, but she was so immature I had a hard time identifying with or feeling sorry for her. She was very moody and I didn't like how she treated Elijah. Honestly, I have no idea what they saw in each other or why they got together as their relationship was so hot and cold (think fuck and fight but without the fucking).

I found myself rolling my eyes a lot because were quite a few things in this story that were unbelievable (not just the way Elijah acted as a teacher). I also didn't find any of the secondary characters particularly compelling or complex.

There is another book by Ms. Vanterpool in KU that sounds interesting so I plan to give that a try; however, based on this book alone, I wouldn't read another by her.

[thebeespot72]

I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason. Who knew when the 28-year-old P.E. teacher, Mr. Raredin/Elijah, almost hit 17-year-old Lace, a new student, with his car that they were destined to be together? Lace has many challenges at home, with her mother’s parenting trickling into other areas of her life. Lace has a no-nonsense attitude, a relatively dry sense of humor, and maturity ahead of her time. But she is 17, soon to be 18.

Elijah is the 28-year-old former NHL hockey player turned High School PE teacher who is divorced and lives with his mother. He notices Lace’s struggles. He wants to help her but, at the same time, has forbidden feelings for her.

“Mr. Raredin” is a slow-burn romance. The spice is not very high, though I did enjoy the story. Their story is quite tragic, and just when I thought it was smooth sailing––it wasn’t. Elijah is a sweet, thoughtful, kind, and supportive guy who will do anything for Lace. Perfect.

[Yenai]

No suelo poner reseñas, pero por alguna razón sentí que debía. Por un lado me gustaron ambos, supongo que porque me parecieron comportamientos reales y no los típicos de una novela. Ella tiene problemas y se refleja. Lo único que no me gustó fue que sentí que el drama era inecesario. La muerte de la madre y lo ocurrido en la casa hubiera me pareció excesivo, aunque no hubiera estado mal si no hubieramos tenido el ataque a Lace, y luego de nuevo el ataque en Bostón. Demasiado. Además no me gustó para nada el hecho de que saltara de Bostón al épilogo. Aun así le doy 4* porque excepto los últimos tres capítulos. Todo estuvo bien.

Eso si, lo que se dice etiqueta profesor alumno.... Poco.

[Rachelle Reads]

Really good story!!

This story will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions!! Poor Lace her life is so messed up and none of her fault.
Mr. Raredin is exactly what she needs he helps her deal with the shite life she’s been given by just being there for her.
This at least in my opinion isn’t a typical teacher/student storyline it’s much much deeper for both characters as they navigate his position professionally and the feelings he has for Lace. And Lace’s age (almost 18) and her fragile mindset.
It been awhile since a book made me teary eyed.
I really really enjoyed this book is well written with very realistic issues.

[Emma Sullivan]

I liked this book but it was a hard read. If you're sensitive to mental health or self harm I'd avoid it. Its well written and a compelling story but also some of it's a bit like 'what more could go wrong here' turns out more can go wrong. Its a slow burn and thats absolutely fine, its nice to see the emotional connection being built, I do enjoy that, but I prefer it to be a slow burn with crackling building tension. For me, by the time the author wrote the spicy parts of the book I wasnt into it, I was more thinking given what I've just read this doesnt feel right to me now. But 3 stars as it was still a decent read. Bit boring towards the end.

[Dyjonnay Adams]

Good read

I really liked this story. It is more on the depressing side to me. But i like how she wrote the fmc. I felt her vulnerability and just the way she was written was realistic based off her life and her being a teenager. I don’t want to give spoilers but the only reason I couldn’t give the book 5 stars is because the incident that occurred towards the end was just too much. I won’t say it wasn’t realistic i just just feel like she went through so much then this situation had to happen. Overkill for me. But I actually liked their story.

[Sammie Crouch]

Favourite Quote: "I have you, Lace. Fall apart. I'll put you back together. And if you want to remain in pieces, I'll get good at holding them all."

I usually love this trope but this one felt icky. Lace was not mature at all, if anything she acted younger than her years. She was severely traumatised and latched onto the first person to be kind to her. Classic trauma bond which Eli took advantage of. That being said, I did like Eli as a person, however this could have been a story without the romance aspect to their relationship and would have been a beautiful story.

[Hani]

I KNOW these books aren’t for everyone but thank the literary gods they are for ME specifically. Like hello destiny it’s me again winning.

Mr. Raredin you are a rare breed indeed. A man built in the secret lab where they make fictional men too emotionally complex and irresistible for my weak little reader heart.
Elijah is going Straight into my Top Tier Coach Hall of Fame, right next to Kova, Ash, and Will. My toxic motivational kings. My emotionally unavailable legends. My personal Mount Rushmore of fictional men who would yell at me in a training session and I’d say thank you.

[Shweta Choudhary]

A unique student teacher romance

I'm surprised and in a good way. I was hooked from start to end. I loved every second of it. I went in with the usual expectation of how previous student teacher romance has been played out but this book was played out so differently it was refreshing! The characters are so real and vulnerable. Their character growth was worth reading! Highly recommended!

[Larks Books]

Slow Burn

Even sometimes when it’s wrong it’s right. This is a student/ teacher forbidden age gap romance. There’s plenty of chemistry between the two characters, but the build up is worth it when they finally come together. I really liked how the story flowed without unnecessary angst. There are some darker elements to the story with Lace’s history and environment, but it ties well with the story. Overall it was a enjoyable read.

[JuneMyer]

4.5 ⭐️

Elijah and Lace.
Definitely didn't see all of those emotions coming. Teacher/Student books are always ten times better when they first form a connection emotionally instead of physically. Then, there is way more depth and meaning added to the story. Shana Vanterpool did exactly that, which made the book so much more eventful 😍

[Chrissie]

Lace and Elijah just read this book. It is age gap teacher/student perfection. Elijah Raredin is on my top 2 perfect boyfriend list. He’s swoony and protective and loves without limits and will do whatever it takes to protect Lace. It is slow burn perfection. Warning you will be in a huge book slump!

[EARTH]

This book took me by surprise. It was so much deeper and more well written than the average formulaic forbidden romances out there. I genuinely enjoyed it and this author is underrated. Deserves more reviews!

[Taylor Snow]

Started off promising but fell flat once they got together. The whole forbidden aspect just ceased to exist… and the ending was weird AF he got shot 3 times ??? Plus I truly think they only knew each other for a month at most

[kaitlyn]

Currently in a massive book slump if that wasn’t obvious but I finally finished a book!! This was just what I was looking for and honestly better than I expected. Really enjoyed this!

[Brittany Long]

Finished in two days. ❤️ this is a slowwww burn and I loved it. Emotional & heart wrenching.

[Autumn Reeds Books]

This Book! My God this Book! I loved it. It was beautiful and it was heartbreaking. It was A true masterpiece!

[Randi]

Holy cow!

I don't often give 5 stars, but this story was so good that there wasn't another option that seemed acceptable.

[Lex]

I loved this book.