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Best Friends Book Club #1
Academically Yours
Noelle Hastings
I don't believe in love. Not anymore. Despite what my romance novels claim, there's no happy ending for me at the end of this journey.
Instead, I'm just trying to get through my last semester of grad school while working as a Hall Director for my university. After all, I had my best friends in my life, so what use did I have for someone who was just going to leave me when they decided I wasn't good enough?
And yet, somehow every time I am in the same room as him, it feels like every fuse on my body is lit. I can't explain this attraction to him, and even more, I can't explain the way his actions make me feel.
How every day, he proves to me a little bit more that maybe it's okay to fall in love again.
Matthew Harper
I've been told I'm a grump. Which is fine, really, because it keeps people from prying further into my life. I'm okay with the way things are, living alone, just my sister and my best friends in my life. I don't need anything more, because you know what they having it all just means you can lose it all. And I can't go through that again, so I'm protecting my heart.
It's my second year teaching full time on campus, and that's when I meet her.
And suddenly, everything else seems insignificant. Because I can't get her smile out of my mind, or the way she jokes with me. I want every smile she can give me, and so much more.
But is dreaming of a future with her the very thing that would cause my ultimate downfall?
Maybe, but all I know is that I am going to soak up every moment I can with her before I lose her.
Academically Yours is a steamy adult romance featuring a grumpy/sunshine couple, a hot professor, a romance book-loving girl, and two characters who learn to love again through each other.
I don't believe in love. Not anymore. Despite what my romance novels claim, there's no happy ending for me at the end of this journey.
Instead, I'm just trying to get through my last semester of grad school while working as a Hall Director for my university. After all, I had my best friends in my life, so what use did I have for someone who was just going to leave me when they decided I wasn't good enough?
And yet, somehow every time I am in the same room as him, it feels like every fuse on my body is lit. I can't explain this attraction to him, and even more, I can't explain the way his actions make me feel.
How every day, he proves to me a little bit more that maybe it's okay to fall in love again.
Matthew Harper
I've been told I'm a grump. Which is fine, really, because it keeps people from prying further into my life. I'm okay with the way things are, living alone, just my sister and my best friends in my life. I don't need anything more, because you know what they having it all just means you can lose it all. And I can't go through that again, so I'm protecting my heart.
It's my second year teaching full time on campus, and that's when I meet her.
And suddenly, everything else seems insignificant. Because I can't get her smile out of my mind, or the way she jokes with me. I want every smile she can give me, and so much more.
But is dreaming of a future with her the very thing that would cause my ultimate downfall?
Maybe, but all I know is that I am going to soak up every moment I can with her before I lose her.
Academically Yours is a steamy adult romance featuring a grumpy/sunshine couple, a hot professor, a romance book-loving girl, and two characters who learn to love again through each other.
410 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
576 people are currently reading
10034 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 458 reviews
April 5, 2023
2.5*
I don’t have the energy to rant. just know that it was cute but the inner monologues were so dramatic and the dialogue was so awkward and too wordy. The writing was not for me.
The plot has no clear direction. It was just them getting together halfway and then there was the added thing of their insecurities which didn’t need to be there and it could’ve been resolved with one simple conversation.
I don’t have the energy to rant. just know that it was cute but the inner monologues were so dramatic and the dialogue was so awkward and too wordy. The writing was not for me.
The plot has no clear direction. It was just them getting together halfway and then there was the added thing of their insecurities which didn’t need to be there and it could’ve been resolved with one simple conversation.
October 30, 2022
[ 3.5 stars ]
“Do you?” Noelle breathed, her big brown eyes shimmering with a whirlwind of emotions as she clutched my shirt to keep herself steady. “Do I what?” I asked, wiping a thumb under her eye, collecting droplets of tears before they could run down her face. “Love me.”
“Yes, baby,” I smiled, grazing her forehead with my lips, planting the faintest kiss there. “I do.”
“Loving you is as natural to me as breathing. I swear, Noelle, you came into my life and wormed your way into my heart. I knew the first time I saw you that there was no one like you on this planet. No one else for me.” I wiped another tear from her cheek, but they kept coming.“ No one but you, my sweet girl.”
THEY ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL TO ME
welcome back to another episode of me screaming over underrated books and yes this is your sign to add this to your tbr. why?
➣ THE COVER IS SO FUCKING CUTEHWJJK
➣ professor student trope
➣ grumpy sunshine
➣ friends to lovers
➣ boy obsessed (*chefs kiss*)
➣ NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP WHAT?/?
➣ cute and cheesy as fuck.
➣ I'm not one for spice but it definitely there oop-
➣ SO. FUCKING. PROTECTIVEHSDKJGDJ
➣ plus size fmc <3
➣ Matthew harper.
➣"I hate everyone but you"
this was the cutest book have ever readwell one of it still had its flaws of course for a debut book (grammar errors, kind of repetitive, dragged on a bit, plot was nonexistent sometimes, miscommunication, annoying mcs, cringe etc..) but still loved it nonetheless and decided not to be a hater because when I did read this I genuinely liked it and it also got me out of a reading slump so-
if you want a cute fluffy romance with NO conflict this is for you <3
it's okaypossible to enjoy a bad book people. really.
“Do you?” Noelle breathed, her big brown eyes shimmering with a whirlwind of emotions as she clutched my shirt to keep herself steady. “Do I what?” I asked, wiping a thumb under her eye, collecting droplets of tears before they could run down her face. “Love me.”
“Yes, baby,” I smiled, grazing her forehead with my lips, planting the faintest kiss there. “I do.”
“Loving you is as natural to me as breathing. I swear, Noelle, you came into my life and wormed your way into my heart. I knew the first time I saw you that there was no one like you on this planet. No one else for me.” I wiped another tear from her cheek, but they kept coming.“ No one but you, my sweet girl.”
THEY ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL TO ME
welcome back to another episode of me screaming over underrated books and yes this is your sign to add this to your tbr. why?
➣ THE COVER IS SO FUCKING CUTEHWJJK
➣ professor student trope
➣ grumpy sunshine
➣ friends to lovers
➣ boy obsessed (*chefs kiss*)
➣ NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP WHAT?/?
➣ cute and cheesy as fuck.
➣ I'm not one for spice but it definitely there oop-
➣ SO. FUCKING. PROTECTIVEHSDKJGDJ
➣ plus size fmc <3
➣ Matthew harper.
➣"I hate everyone but you"
this was the cutest book have ever read
if you want a cute fluffy romance with NO conflict this is for you <3
it's okay
December 11, 2022
immediately i can tell that this author wrote fan fiction because of how long and extensive the inner monologue is. it’s one of my least favorite things about fan fiction because fan fic writers think the longer a story is the better? speaking of fan fiction this feels like a direct fan fiction of the love hypothesis and the cover art being similar makes it no better.
July 22, 2022
THE CUTEST MOST ADORABLE BOOK WITH THE PERFECT BOY OBSESSED TROPE!!! SUCH A FLUFFY BOOK AND THEY FELL SO HARD FOR EACH OTHER EVEN THOUGH THEY SWORN OFF LOVE😭WE LOVE TO SEE IT!
August 17, 2022
Maybe I’m biased because I stare at the cover (THAT I MADE ART FOR) everytime I look at it. And there is a celeb cameo ( #dippindots )
July 29, 2022
Klasik bir tema diye başladım açıkçası...
Üniversite...
Profesör...
Lisans öğrencisi...
Bu kadar. Başka bir olay yok. Aman yakalanmayalım, gören duyan olmasın. Vay efendim aramızda çekişmeler olsun, ortalık yangın yerine dönsün... Yoook, nooo!
Yazarın ilk kitabı sanırım. Devam kitabında da yine bilindik bir tema işleyecek sanırım. Ofis temalı,nefretten aşka... Tamam. Okurumda sanırım. Ama yazarın işleyiş şekli değişikti🙈 O kadar kafam karışık ki bu konuda, sevdim mi nefret mi ettim emin değilim. Gözüme batan, basit bulduğum sahneler oldu. Diyaloglardan çok karakterlerin düşünceleri, içsel çatışmaları vardı. Hani yazar limit koymamış... Sürekli.Benzer fikirler. Hep tekrar. Sıkıldım 😁
Yazarın yansıtmak istediği tema, iki yaralı kalbin, bir birlerinde aşkı, sevgiyi, mutluluğu bulması. Noelle bir yandan yurt müdürlüğü yapıp bir yandan yüksek lisansını bitirme derdinde. İşi, okulu, yakın arkadaşları ile aldatılma-terk edilme acısını içine gömmüş şekilde yuvarlanıp gidiyor. Matthew ise finans sektöründen okulda ders vermek için vazgeçmiş. İşini tutkuyla seviyor. Bu konuda mutlu. Ama yavaş yavaş bir eksiklik hissetmeye başlamış. Yakın arkadaşları başını bağlamış, kız kardeşi şehir dışında okuyor. Ailesi... uzun yıllardır yok. Ne acısını doğru düzgün yaşamış, ne de biriyle paylaşmış. Hâlâ ilk günkü gibi, taptaze... Bu da hayatında bir çok şeyden kendini geri çekmesine sebep olmuş...
Tanıştıkları an aralarında bir bağ hissederler. Yaşanmışlıklar geri adım atmalarına sebep olur. Küçük denk gelmeler, kısa sohbetler... Bir şeyler oluyor ama... Ya yanlış anladıysa? Ya aynı duygulara sahip değilse? Ve bir milyon benzer soru... ve can sıkıntısının başlangıcı 🙄 Mesela ...
Başım onun sesini duyunca çok çabuk mu kalkmıştı? Ona çok mu uzun bakıyordum? İnşallah fark etmemiştir. Bu garip miydi ? Tüm bunları fazla mı düşünüyordum? Muhtemelen.
Her ikisi de birine bağlanma konusunda hassas, kırılgan, temkinli. Tamam. Ama sürekli bu konuda içsel çatışmaları... Her daim soft, naif tavırlar... Kitap boyu düzgün bir aksiyon yoktu. Ben azıcık bunaldım. 😂
Noelle'nin kitap yazma olayı vardı, noldu? Peki ya, "ama ya yakalanırsak" kaygısı...🙄 Bir sözde huysuz prof.un sadece işine odaklı kendi halinde, resmi bir eğitmen olması...
Karakterlerin sahiplenici ekini kullanma şekline de sinir oldum. Onu da söyleyeyim de bitireyim.
güzel, yakışıklı dev sarışın adamım bana yalvardı.
Bu ne ya🙄 ben mi iyice kalpsiz oldum yoksa çok mu sulu 😁 hele bir şiddetcik sahnesinde ki Noelle'nin düşünceleri...Yorum yok 🙄
Birikmiş çok şey var aslında 😂Keşke yanıma yandaş bulsaydım, tek okunmaz😝 Merak edenlere denemelerini öneririm. Çoook sevebilecek okurlar var bence. Sadece benim için, duygusal yönden fazlaydı🙈
Aaaaaaaaa! Bir de utandıklarında kızarıyorlar...Hep!
Üniversite...
Profesör...
Lisans öğrencisi...
Bu kadar. Başka bir olay yok. Aman yakalanmayalım, gören duyan olmasın. Vay efendim aramızda çekişmeler olsun, ortalık yangın yerine dönsün... Yoook, nooo!
Yazarın ilk kitabı sanırım. Devam kitabında da yine bilindik bir tema işleyecek sanırım. Ofis temalı,nefretten aşka... Tamam. Okurumda sanırım. Ama yazarın işleyiş şekli değişikti🙈 O kadar kafam karışık ki bu konuda, sevdim mi nefret mi ettim emin değilim. Gözüme batan, basit bulduğum sahneler oldu. Diyaloglardan çok karakterlerin düşünceleri, içsel çatışmaları vardı. Hani yazar limit koymamış... Sürekli.Benzer fikirler. Hep tekrar. Sıkıldım 😁
Yazarın yansıtmak istediği tema, iki yaralı kalbin, bir birlerinde aşkı, sevgiyi, mutluluğu bulması. Noelle bir yandan yurt müdürlüğü yapıp bir yandan yüksek lisansını bitirme derdinde. İşi, okulu, yakın arkadaşları ile aldatılma-terk edilme acısını içine gömmüş şekilde yuvarlanıp gidiyor. Matthew ise finans sektöründen okulda ders vermek için vazgeçmiş. İşini tutkuyla seviyor. Bu konuda mutlu. Ama yavaş yavaş bir eksiklik hissetmeye başlamış. Yakın arkadaşları başını bağlamış, kız kardeşi şehir dışında okuyor. Ailesi... uzun yıllardır yok. Ne acısını doğru düzgün yaşamış, ne de biriyle paylaşmış. Hâlâ ilk günkü gibi, taptaze... Bu da hayatında bir çok şeyden kendini geri çekmesine sebep olmuş...
Tanıştıkları an aralarında bir bağ hissederler. Yaşanmışlıklar geri adım atmalarına sebep olur. Küçük denk gelmeler, kısa sohbetler... Bir şeyler oluyor ama... Ya yanlış anladıysa? Ya aynı duygulara sahip değilse? Ve bir milyon benzer soru... ve can sıkıntısının başlangıcı 🙄 Mesela ...
Başım onun sesini duyunca çok çabuk mu kalkmıştı? Ona çok mu uzun bakıyordum? İnşallah fark etmemiştir. Bu garip miydi ? Tüm bunları fazla mı düşünüyordum? Muhtemelen.
Her ikisi de birine bağlanma konusunda hassas, kırılgan, temkinli. Tamam. Ama sürekli bu konuda içsel çatışmaları... Her daim soft, naif tavırlar... Kitap boyu düzgün bir aksiyon yoktu. Ben azıcık bunaldım. 😂
Noelle'nin kitap yazma olayı vardı, noldu? Peki ya, "ama ya yakalanırsak" kaygısı...🙄 Bir sözde huysuz prof.un sadece işine odaklı kendi halinde, resmi bir eğitmen olması...
Karakterlerin sahiplenici ekini kullanma şekline de sinir oldum. Onu da söyleyeyim de bitireyim.
güzel, yakışıklı dev sarışın adamım bana yalvardı.
Bu ne ya🙄 ben mi iyice kalpsiz oldum yoksa çok mu sulu 😁 hele bir şiddetcik sahnesinde ki Noelle'nin düşünceleri...Yorum yok 🙄
Birikmiş çok şey var aslında 😂Keşke yanıma yandaş bulsaydım, tek okunmaz😝 Merak edenlere denemelerini öneririm. Çoook sevebilecek okurlar var bence. Sadece benim için, duygusal yönden fazlaydı🙈
Aaaaaaaaa! Bir de utandıklarında kızarıyorlar...Hep!
August 10, 2022
The author needs to up her writing skills.
Both povs just feel the same. There's no actual story it's like we're running in empty circles.
I'm halfway through the book and I can't find motivation to finish it.
there's no tension or chemistry bet the couple and nothing is stopping them from being together i mean he's not really her professor, he knows he loves her and she does too ,they kissed, went on dates but naaah let's end every scene with a good night and that's it.
I was so excited for this book but it failed me badly.
Hope the writer's future books are much better than this one.♥️
Both povs just feel the same. There's no actual story it's like we're running in empty circles.
I'm halfway through the book and I can't find motivation to finish it.
there's no tension or chemistry bet the couple and nothing is stopping them from being together i mean he's not really her professor, he knows he loves her and she does too ,they kissed, went on dates but naaah let's end every scene with a good night and that's it.
I was so excited for this book but it failed me badly.
Hope the writer's future books are much better than this one.♥️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2023
1/5
DNF 47%
Мені зовсім не сподобалося, так були деякі моменти, які можна вважати милими, але більшу частину книги мені було страшенно нудно. Хтозна, можливо далі стане краще і цікавіше, але не хочеться змушувати себе продовжувати читати, зважаючи на те, що книга пролежала 2 місяці, а я так і не просунулася вперед.
Герої мені здалися ніякими, що він, що вона. Чомусь я зовсім не повірила в їхнє кохання. Ну не вірю я, що після одного погляду на людину, ти вже хочеш, щоб вона була в твоєму житті, і бачиш з нею своє майбутнє. Або що чоловік, якому трохи за 30, думає, що йому потрібно завести сім'ю, тому що вже ж пора, він готовий і хоче цього. Окей, можливо такі чоловіки дійсно існують, можливо в іншій книзі мені б здалося це милим, але тут хотілося лише постійно закочувати очі і зітхати від того, що відбувалося.
Існує дуже невелика ймовірність, що колись я дам цій книзі другий шанс, але точно не в найближчому майбутньому.
DNF 47%
Мені зовсім не сподобалося, так були деякі моменти, які можна вважати милими, але більшу частину книги мені було страшенно нудно. Хтозна, можливо далі стане краще і цікавіше, але не хочеться змушувати себе продовжувати читати, зважаючи на те, що книга пролежала 2 місяці, а я так і не просунулася вперед.
Герої мені здалися ніякими, що він, що вона. Чомусь я зовсім не повірила в їхнє кохання. Ну не вірю я, що після одного погляду на людину, ти вже хочеш, щоб вона була в твоєму житті, і бачиш з нею своє майбутнє. Або що чоловік, якому трохи за 30, думає, що йому потрібно завести сім'ю, тому що вже ж пора, він готовий і хоче цього. Окей, можливо такі чоловіки дійсно існують, можливо в іншій книзі мені б здалося це милим, але тут хотілося лише постійно закочувати очі і зітхати від того, що відбувалося.
Існує дуже невелика ймовірність, що колись я дам цій книзі другий шанс, але точно не в найближчому майбутньому.
March 15, 2025
If I could give this 0 stars, I would. Every single chapter is the exact same from the last. The only thing Matthew talks about is Noelle. The only thing Matthew thinks about is Noelle. The only thing Matthew’s friends talk about to him is NOELLE. Same thing for Noelle. She speaks, breathes, eats, and shits Matthew.
This book gave me the biggest headache. How is every page the same? How could the author continue to say the same thing for 400 pages?
Noelle is a grad student that acts like a child. Matthew is just boring. Grumpy where?
I need anger management after this book.
This book gave me the biggest headache. How is every page the same? How could the author continue to say the same thing for 400 pages?
Noelle is a grad student that acts like a child. Matthew is just boring. Grumpy where?
I need anger management after this book.
August 19, 2023
Легка, мила та гаряча історія про аспірантку та професора.
Головні герої дуже комфортні, їхні стосунки, проблеми описані прекрасно.
Дізнавшись про троп "Одержимий хлопець", я очікувала сталкерства, але насправді головний герой не переходив межу між турботою та абʼюзом.
Метью просто ідеальний чоловік: підтримує, готує, як казала Ноель "трахається як Бог", що ще потрібно для ідеальних стосунків?
Мені сподобалося, що в цій книжці чоловіка показали також зі слабкою сторони, його скорбота за батьками, які померли багато років тому, любов до сестри, адже зазвичай стереотипи, які нам навʼязують, говорять, що чоловіки мають це все тримати в собі, а не ділитися з близькими.
Ноель неймовірна головна героїня, яка відреклася від стосунків, але Професор Красунчик завадив її планам. Її стьоби над ним — це щось прекрасне.🤌🏻
Загалом історія їхнього кохання мені сподобалася, не було затягнутого сюжету чи бісячих героїв, окрім Лукаса і Джейка, тільки от постільних сцен мені було трохи забагато, тому моя оцінка 9,5/10.
Головні герої дуже комфортні, їхні стосунки, проблеми описані прекрасно.
Дізнавшись про троп "Одержимий хлопець", я очікувала сталкерства, але насправді головний герой не переходив межу між турботою та абʼюзом.
Метью просто ідеальний чоловік: підтримує, готує, як казала Ноель "трахається як Бог", що ще потрібно для ідеальних стосунків?
Мені сподобалося, що в цій книжці чоловіка показали також зі слабкою сторони, його скорбота за батьками, які померли багато років тому, любов до сестри, адже зазвичай стереотипи, які нам навʼязують, говорять, що чоловіки мають це все тримати в собі, а не ділитися з близькими.
Ноель неймовірна головна героїня, яка відреклася від стосунків, але Професор Красунчик завадив її планам. Її стьоби над ним — це щось прекрасне.🤌🏻
Загалом історія їхнього кохання мені сподобалася, не було затягнутого сюжету чи бісячих героїв, окрім Лукаса і Джейка, тільки от постільних сцен мені було трохи забагато, тому моя оцінка 9,5/10.
January 3, 2023
I started writing Noelle and Matthew's story a while back, and while it has evolved so much since I originally started, at it's core it has remained very much the same: the story of two people, broken by life and circumstance, who find each other and fall in love.
They're so sweet and soft with each other, and I'm so glad I finally get to share their story with the world.
I hope you all fall in love with Matthew Harper the way I did, because I would seriously give anything for him to be real.
Like, sign me up!
They're so sweet and soft with each other, and I'm so glad I finally get to share their story with the world.
I hope you all fall in love with Matthew Harper the way I did, because I would seriously give anything for him to be real.
Like, sign me up!
December 6, 2023
Я ЦЕ ЗРОБИЛА. нарешті за 4 місяці я її прочитала. у мене було 17 спроб, і лише 17 закінчилася успіхом – дочитала. це було дуже нудно, особливо перша половина. здавалося б, анотація цікава, тропи гарні, мені зазвичай таке заходить, але.. але тут щось пішло не так. ця книжка затягнула мене в нечитун, з якого я лише нещодавно вийшла. з другої половини стало трішки краще, хоч сексуальні сцени прописані добре, але вони вже тут нічого не рятують.
натягую 2/5 лише за гарячі сцени.
натягую 2/5 лише за гарячі сцени.
July 20, 2022
this was cute but sadly boring. the couple was ordinary and they were just happy with no conflict or fight, i just got bored when they started dating
dnf
May 21, 2023dnf @32%
i'm sorry but the writing is a mess. it's way too descriptive and repetitive, there's entire paragraphs that could be cut because of how unnecessary they are and the dialogue between the characters gets awkward at times —and i had these thoughts and was ready to drop it by chapter THREE. i tried to give it a chance and kept reading some more after that but it stays the same.
i would love for this book to get a good editor and get published again cause it does sound very cute and i'm sure it gets that way later on but i can't continue it right now.
i'm sorry but the writing is a mess. it's way too descriptive and repetitive, there's entire paragraphs that could be cut because of how unnecessary they are and the dialogue between the characters gets awkward at times —and i had these thoughts and was ready to drop it by chapter THREE. i tried to give it a chance and kept reading some more after that but it stays the same.
i would love for this book to get a good editor and get published again cause it does sound very cute and i'm sure it gets that way later on but i can't continue it right now.
October 10, 2022
now, i went into this books with some low expectations, and let me tell you, THEY SOARED TO THE FLIPPIN STARS!! it had an insta love type of feel, but at the same time not and this is the only exception i am willing to make for that trope.
it quite literally drew me in from the second chapter. the. second. chapter. it’s too good y’all. TOO GOOD!
number one best thing about this book: professor matthew harper. that man will ruin book boyfriends for you. the way he talks about noelle, it’s indescribable. you have to read it to truly understand the emotion in his chapters, but this man is infatuated with our girl. and i can’t blame him.
coming in tied for first place, this book is what it is because of the very lovely, miss noelle hastings. i love everything about her. everything. she’s a dessert loving, fiery redhead with a heart of gold.
the next best thing, there is not a third act break up. now let me tell you, i cannot stand it when authors use third act breakups as the books conflict. and this does not have that.
we get watch them, not only fall in love with each other, but fall in love with love again. and if it isn’t the best thing then i don’t know what is.
i loved how the author gave us a bit realism to the book. most books have a ‘i knew right then’ type of feel. and this one does to some extent as well, but you still get that almost awkward small talk phase at the beginning of the book like relationships tend to go. i loved seeing that.
noelle and matthew are very relatable and easy to fall in love with. i loved reading about them and i can’t wait to see more of them in angelina’s book!!
“loving you is as easy as breathing”
it quite literally drew me in from the second chapter. the. second. chapter. it’s too good y’all. TOO GOOD!
number one best thing about this book: professor matthew harper. that man will ruin book boyfriends for you. the way he talks about noelle, it’s indescribable. you have to read it to truly understand the emotion in his chapters, but this man is infatuated with our girl. and i can’t blame him.
coming in tied for first place, this book is what it is because of the very lovely, miss noelle hastings. i love everything about her. everything. she’s a dessert loving, fiery redhead with a heart of gold.
the next best thing, there is not a third act break up. now let me tell you, i cannot stand it when authors use third act breakups as the books conflict. and this does not have that.
we get watch them, not only fall in love with each other, but fall in love with love again. and if it isn’t the best thing then i don’t know what is.
i loved how the author gave us a bit realism to the book. most books have a ‘i knew right then’ type of feel. and this one does to some extent as well, but you still get that almost awkward small talk phase at the beginning of the book like relationships tend to go. i loved seeing that.
noelle and matthew are very relatable and easy to fall in love with. i loved reading about them and i can’t wait to see more of them in angelina’s book!!
“loving you is as easy as breathing”
January 1, 2023
Gentlemen, the blueprint of a perfect partner is MATTHEW JAMES HARPER…ok??!!
February 20, 2023
3.5 ⭐️ this book was so cute and wholesome. also it is very underrated. like cmon ppl the cover is so cute, the boy is so obsessed with the girl, and it’s ‘I hate everyone but you’ trope. it was a bit repetitive at times and a little crin*e but we are going to ignore that
“this girl was the sun. And I wanted to bathe in her warmth.”
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
“this girl was the sun. And I wanted to bathe in her warmth.”
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
September 23, 2023
where's my grumpy hot professor. :/
November 16, 2023
1st read: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2nd read: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seriously Jennifer Chipman’s MMC’s are amazing. And to think I’ve only read two of her books, but I love her. The love she writes between her MC’s is sensational. This love felt so authentic.
Noelle and Matthew felt an inexplicable pull towards each other. She was the sunshine to his cold grumpy exterior. And he’s her safe place to land. They found the missing puzzle piece in their open lives in each other. It was love at first sight. And to think he saw her on campus before they officially met, and he was transfixed by her radiance. I loved so many moments from this couple, it’s crazy. Like they knew each other for about two weeks, and all they could think about was each other. How he accompanied her on her zoo trip with her residents and RA’s. Their first date at the small Italian restaurant. Their sneaky spicy time in his office. How he came to her protection when she was at a bar with her friends. And how they always seemed to bump into each other everywhere. How they spent spring break together. And how he always brought her flowers, desserts, and how he looked to cook for her. Their valentines date. I LOVED how she was there for him in his dark times. ALL of the spicy times and his dirty talk. The scavenger hunt in the epilogue 😭.
If you’re a fan of grad student x prof, grumpy x sunshine, a curvy FMC, a stranger to friends to lovers, and no third act breakup, you’ll eat this up. It has a perfect mix of fluff and spice.
Summary:
Noelle, our sunshine grad student who works at her former university as hall director, has given up on love. After a terrible experience with her ex, she doesn’t see herself going back into the dating scene anytime soon. Neither does she expect the trajectory of her life to change at a staff and faculty mixer. Matthew, former basketball player and current grumpy finance professor feels as if a crucial part of his life is missing. He thought he was happy with his current life, but he longs to share it with his one true love. In the beginning of the semester, Matthew is forced to attend a dreadful faculty mixer as per the deans orders, and he never expected to see a red-haired beauty, nor did he expect to feel a magnetic pull to her
Favorite quotes/scenes:
“I was mesmerized, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She carried herself as if the very world depended on her light, the warmth of her smile. Maybe it did.”
“Two weeks. I had known her for two weeks. Two weeks that somehow felt like an eternity, because I didn’t want to go back to a time when I had never laid eyes on Noelle Hastings.”
“It felt like my whole life, I had been waiting for someone. Waiting for this. Waiting for him. Because when he touched me… He set my soul on fire. He filled me with warmth, and happiness, and somehow… a belief that maybe, everything might be okay again. That I could lose myself in him and never let go. That he would never leave me.”
“Noelle. You’re so…” Beautiful. Enchanting. Incredible. Sexy. Honest. Loud. Ridiculously and unabashedly you.
“If I could be kissing her… Why would I bother doing anything else?”
“You vex me. You enchant me. I think you’ve placed a curse on me because all I want is you.”
“But she was mine, wasn’t she? She felt like mine. Any time I wrapped her up in my arms, the world felt calm. Like everything was going to be okay. Like as long as I had her in my life, the sun would keep shining down on my face. It would be fine. It had to be. Because there was no way I was going to let her go.”
“I would wait however long she needed before she was ready for this. For us. Because she was my girl—had been for a while, really, and I wanted… everything from her.”
“Oh, Matthew, I do think you’ve found the way to my heart. I hope you know you’re ruining me for all other men.”
“Yeah, that’s the point, baby.”
“I think you’ve ruined me, Noelle.”
“Good. Then no other girls will go near my man.”
“Your man, huh?”
“Yeah, my man. And I’m your girl, aren’t I?”
“The only one.”
“I just wanted to hear you say it again.”
“I wanted her to know that she could believe in fairytales. Because she had made me believe, and I knew that she was the woman I was born to be with. I could feel it deep within my heart, that everywhere life had taken me had just been one long journey to her.”
“Baby. I told you—you’re mine. I don’t want to let you go. I want you in my house. In my bed. At dinner with me, so I can make sure you’re not working yourself to death and that you’ve eaten. On the couch with me, watching a movie and giving me your little commentaries that I love. On a walk with me, so I can hold your hand and keep it warm. I want it all, Noelle. Every damn moment with you. I’m too selfish that I never, ever want to let you go.”
“Loving you is as natural to me as breathing. I swear, Noelle, you came into my life and wormed your way into my heart. I knew the first time I saw you that there was no one like you on this planet. No one else for me. No one but you, my sweet girl.”
“I’m yours, and you’re mine. Always and forever, okay?”
“Will you say it again?”
“Say what, baby?”
“That you love me.”
“I love you, Noelle Hastings.”
“That’s good. Because I love you too, Matthew Harper. Forever and always. I’m yours, truly.”
“Sometimes I think that everything in my life… every moment, every decision… they all led me here, to you.” (Matthew)
“I like to believe it was fate, us meeting that night. Like the universe just knew that we needed each other and gave us a little push in the right direction.” (Noelle)
“She was the sun. My own special kind of sun. She was the only one that brought sunshine into my life, and I loved her more every single day. Would love her for the rest of our lives, too, if I had anything to say about it.”
“But at the end of my story was a happily-ever-after, my perfect guy waiting for me, a cup of coffee and a book in hand. He had gently but stubbornly knocked my walls down and helped me heal the wounds in my heart, taught me with his words and actions how much he loved me. There was nothing on this earth I would have traded for him.”
“I was so in love with her, that the knowledge that I was about to marry her—that she would be Noelle Marie Harper—was enough to make a man fall on his knees.”
“Ready to go celebrate with all the people we love, wife?”
“I’m ready for everything—as long as it’s with you, husband.”
2nd read: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seriously Jennifer Chipman’s MMC’s are amazing. And to think I’ve only read two of her books, but I love her. The love she writes between her MC’s is sensational. This love felt so authentic.
Noelle and Matthew felt an inexplicable pull towards each other. She was the sunshine to his cold grumpy exterior. And he’s her safe place to land. They found the missing puzzle piece in their open lives in each other. It was love at first sight. And to think he saw her on campus before they officially met, and he was transfixed by her radiance. I loved so many moments from this couple, it’s crazy. Like they knew each other for about two weeks, and all they could think about was each other. How he accompanied her on her zoo trip with her residents and RA’s. Their first date at the small Italian restaurant. Their sneaky spicy time in his office. How he came to her protection when she was at a bar with her friends. And how they always seemed to bump into each other everywhere. How they spent spring break together. And how he always brought her flowers, desserts, and how he looked to cook for her. Their valentines date. I LOVED how she was there for him in his dark times. ALL of the spicy times and his dirty talk. The scavenger hunt in the epilogue 😭.
If you’re a fan of grad student x prof, grumpy x sunshine, a curvy FMC, a stranger to friends to lovers, and no third act breakup, you’ll eat this up. It has a perfect mix of fluff and spice.
Summary:
Noelle, our sunshine grad student who works at her former university as hall director, has given up on love. After a terrible experience with her ex, she doesn’t see herself going back into the dating scene anytime soon. Neither does she expect the trajectory of her life to change at a staff and faculty mixer. Matthew, former basketball player and current grumpy finance professor feels as if a crucial part of his life is missing. He thought he was happy with his current life, but he longs to share it with his one true love. In the beginning of the semester, Matthew is forced to attend a dreadful faculty mixer as per the deans orders, and he never expected to see a red-haired beauty, nor did he expect to feel a magnetic pull to her
Favorite quotes/scenes:
“I was mesmerized, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She carried herself as if the very world depended on her light, the warmth of her smile. Maybe it did.”
“Two weeks. I had known her for two weeks. Two weeks that somehow felt like an eternity, because I didn’t want to go back to a time when I had never laid eyes on Noelle Hastings.”
“It felt like my whole life, I had been waiting for someone. Waiting for this. Waiting for him. Because when he touched me… He set my soul on fire. He filled me with warmth, and happiness, and somehow… a belief that maybe, everything might be okay again. That I could lose myself in him and never let go. That he would never leave me.”
“Noelle. You’re so…” Beautiful. Enchanting. Incredible. Sexy. Honest. Loud. Ridiculously and unabashedly you.
“If I could be kissing her… Why would I bother doing anything else?”
“You vex me. You enchant me. I think you’ve placed a curse on me because all I want is you.”
“But she was mine, wasn’t she? She felt like mine. Any time I wrapped her up in my arms, the world felt calm. Like everything was going to be okay. Like as long as I had her in my life, the sun would keep shining down on my face. It would be fine. It had to be. Because there was no way I was going to let her go.”
“I would wait however long she needed before she was ready for this. For us. Because she was my girl—had been for a while, really, and I wanted… everything from her.”
“Oh, Matthew, I do think you’ve found the way to my heart. I hope you know you’re ruining me for all other men.”
“Yeah, that’s the point, baby.”
“I think you’ve ruined me, Noelle.”
“Good. Then no other girls will go near my man.”
“Your man, huh?”
“Yeah, my man. And I’m your girl, aren’t I?”
“The only one.”
“I just wanted to hear you say it again.”
“I wanted her to know that she could believe in fairytales. Because she had made me believe, and I knew that she was the woman I was born to be with. I could feel it deep within my heart, that everywhere life had taken me had just been one long journey to her.”
“Baby. I told you—you’re mine. I don’t want to let you go. I want you in my house. In my bed. At dinner with me, so I can make sure you’re not working yourself to death and that you’ve eaten. On the couch with me, watching a movie and giving me your little commentaries that I love. On a walk with me, so I can hold your hand and keep it warm. I want it all, Noelle. Every damn moment with you. I’m too selfish that I never, ever want to let you go.”
“Loving you is as natural to me as breathing. I swear, Noelle, you came into my life and wormed your way into my heart. I knew the first time I saw you that there was no one like you on this planet. No one else for me. No one but you, my sweet girl.”
“I’m yours, and you’re mine. Always and forever, okay?”
“Will you say it again?”
“Say what, baby?”
“That you love me.”
“I love you, Noelle Hastings.”
“That’s good. Because I love you too, Matthew Harper. Forever and always. I’m yours, truly.”
“Sometimes I think that everything in my life… every moment, every decision… they all led me here, to you.” (Matthew)
“I like to believe it was fate, us meeting that night. Like the universe just knew that we needed each other and gave us a little push in the right direction.” (Noelle)
“She was the sun. My own special kind of sun. She was the only one that brought sunshine into my life, and I loved her more every single day. Would love her for the rest of our lives, too, if I had anything to say about it.”
“But at the end of my story was a happily-ever-after, my perfect guy waiting for me, a cup of coffee and a book in hand. He had gently but stubbornly knocked my walls down and helped me heal the wounds in my heart, taught me with his words and actions how much he loved me. There was nothing on this earth I would have traded for him.”
“I was so in love with her, that the knowledge that I was about to marry her—that she would be Noelle Marie Harper—was enough to make a man fall on his knees.”
“Ready to go celebrate with all the people we love, wife?”
“I’m ready for everything—as long as it’s with you, husband.”
October 17, 2024
La autora ha añadido páginas como una loca, haciendo que la lectura se volviera agobiante y aburrida.
Los personajes no me hicieron sentir nada. Es que aunque conozcas de ellos, me parecen básiquisimos.
Encima siempre caen en el cliché de la mala comunicación y la inseguridad.
No hay "realidad" en sus reacciones o formas de ser.
Encima me ha jodido que todo fuera tan "happy flower".
Es que es un fan fic más que una novela.
Necesito acción, drama. No un romance que se basa en: la vi y me enamoré.
No creo en el amor a primera vista, dame razones del por qué.
1 estrella porque al final está bien escrito y hay escenas buenas, pero vaya, angustiosa la lectura, no le haría leer esto a nadie.
Los personajes no me hicieron sentir nada. Es que aunque conozcas de ellos, me parecen básiquisimos.
Encima siempre caen en el cliché de la mala comunicación y la inseguridad.
No hay "realidad" en sus reacciones o formas de ser.
Encima me ha jodido que todo fuera tan "happy flower".
Es que es un fan fic más que una novela.
Necesito acción, drama. No un romance que se basa en: la vi y me enamoré.
No creo en el amor a primera vista, dame razones del por qué.
1 estrella porque al final está bien escrito y hay escenas buenas, pero vaya, angustiosa la lectura, no le haría leer esto a nadie.
January 9, 2025
3.5⭐️
saw someone say this is giving fan fiction and honestly real
but they played invisible string by taylor swift on their wedding so plus points 😁
saw someone say this is giving fan fiction and honestly real
but they played invisible string by taylor swift on their wedding so plus points 😁
dnf
October 4, 2022DNF @ 28%
There isn’t inherently anything wrong with this book. For the right person, I’m sure it could easily be a favorite. However, for me, it was just way too slow.
Matthew and Noelle don’t want to date for various reasons, but they seem so flimsy since they’re both extremely attracted to one another. I can appreciate that Chipman is trying to toss in a forbidden element but it’s not like Noelle is underage. She’s not only a grad student, but a university employee; not to mention her major has nothing to do with Matthew’s department.
It didn’t feel like there was any plot. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to revolve around the forbidden romance and self-made not dating pacts, but there just wasn’t enough there for me to care. I was reading the words but not holding on to them.
The writing and editing also left a lot to be desired. It was very tell, not show. Rather than let a quirk be discovered, for example, we’re just handed everything. Example: “Were my cheeks warm? I thought they might be. I hoped the back of my neck wasn’t all splotchy in the way that it got when I was embarrassed, but from the way she was looking at me, well… I rather thought that it was. “Oh my god,” Noelle gasped. “Are you blushing?” That’s a lot of sentences to talk about blush when it could’ve been something short, sweet, and to the point. And the whole book is like that. There’s also so many grammatical and syntactic errors, it’s entirely too distracting. Example: “Has anyone ever told you you’re insane?” she asked me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. I think you’d be the first.” I copy / pasted that straight from the book, and it’s an error that should’ve been caught right away.
Overall, there just wasn’t enough intrigue to keep me invested, and the problems within the text itself were far more distracting than the book was entertaining.
There isn’t inherently anything wrong with this book. For the right person, I’m sure it could easily be a favorite. However, for me, it was just way too slow.
Matthew and Noelle don’t want to date for various reasons, but they seem so flimsy since they’re both extremely attracted to one another. I can appreciate that Chipman is trying to toss in a forbidden element but it’s not like Noelle is underage. She’s not only a grad student, but a university employee; not to mention her major has nothing to do with Matthew’s department.
It didn’t feel like there was any plot. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to revolve around the forbidden romance and self-made not dating pacts, but there just wasn’t enough there for me to care. I was reading the words but not holding on to them.
The writing and editing also left a lot to be desired. It was very tell, not show. Rather than let a quirk be discovered, for example, we’re just handed everything. Example: “Were my cheeks warm? I thought they might be. I hoped the back of my neck wasn’t all splotchy in the way that it got when I was embarrassed, but from the way she was looking at me, well… I rather thought that it was. “Oh my god,” Noelle gasped. “Are you blushing?” That’s a lot of sentences to talk about blush when it could’ve been something short, sweet, and to the point. And the whole book is like that. There’s also so many grammatical and syntactic errors, it’s entirely too distracting. Example: “Has anyone ever told you you’re insane?” she asked me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. I think you’d be the first.” I copy / pasted that straight from the book, and it’s an error that should’ve been caught right away.
Overall, there just wasn’t enough intrigue to keep me invested, and the problems within the text itself were far more distracting than the book was entertaining.
August 19, 2022
Beautiful cover
How many times can you say the same thing?
My brain always jumps to noodle instead of Noelle when I read it 🤷🏽♀️
So repetitive! Backstory on friends, how Matthew feels about Noelle, how Noelle feels about Matthew, Noelle doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life but her friends do. I’m pretty sure you could cut down this book from 444pages to like 270ish if you removed all the repetitive parts.
Spice at 50% Like 7 spicy scenes that weren’t bad, but I’ve definitely read better.
Romance is the plot. Not the spice. Just them trying to get past previous relationships to be in a place for the one they want with each other.
FMC is supposed to be 25/ MMC is 30 they have an immature feel with their dialogue.
I feel like this could have been really really good but it was too repetitive, a little too gushy, and there wasn’t a good overarching plot.
How many times can you say the same thing?
My brain always jumps to noodle instead of Noelle when I read it 🤷🏽♀️
So repetitive! Backstory on friends, how Matthew feels about Noelle, how Noelle feels about Matthew, Noelle doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life but her friends do. I’m pretty sure you could cut down this book from 444pages to like 270ish if you removed all the repetitive parts.
Spice at 50% Like 7 spicy scenes that weren’t bad, but I’ve definitely read better.
Romance is the plot. Not the spice. Just them trying to get past previous relationships to be in a place for the one they want with each other.
FMC is supposed to be 25/ MMC is 30 they have an immature feel with their dialogue.
I feel like this could have been really really good but it was too repetitive, a little too gushy, and there wasn’t a good overarching plot.
January 23, 2024
More of a 2.5 to me… just not as firm as I had hoped… not my kind of writing style…
March 19, 2023
después de 17 días volví a agarrar un libro!!!!!!
Me gustó
I have a thing por los Matthew que son rubios jajjajjajjaajaja (Cassandra Clare reference)
Me gustó
I have a thing por los Matthew que son rubios jajjajjajjaajaja (Cassandra Clare reference)
April 4, 2024
Horny fuckers
September 25, 2022
3.5 stars
"are you blushing?"
“shut up," 🫶🏻
"are you blushing?"
“shut up," 🫶🏻
September 12, 2023
i’ll never get over reading romances. the hopeless romantic in me gets me in my FEELS every time i read a love story. i love love!!!!
though this started sort of slowly, once you get past noelle’s first chapter you are completely entranced into a beautiful love story. and i absolutely adored their meet cute, their first impressions, their first date, honestly all of their firsts! noelle and matthew were so so adorable!!!
i also think that this book did a great job at introducing side characters enough to get to know them but not to take away from our main characters. there was a really healthy balance there, and i can’t wait to read the rest of this series to learn more about the girlies’ love stories!
though this started sort of slowly, once you get past noelle’s first chapter you are completely entranced into a beautiful love story. and i absolutely adored their meet cute, their first impressions, their first date, honestly all of their firsts! noelle and matthew were so so adorable!!!
i also think that this book did a great job at introducing side characters enough to get to know them but not to take away from our main characters. there was a really healthy balance there, and i can’t wait to read the rest of this series to learn more about the girlies’ love stories!
February 20, 2025
loved the main couples and the friends!
I have loved the three books. I’ve read of Jennifer‘s so far, and this is another winner! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
I love when you read a story that shows that even though people might have trauma, and they might have inappropriate or unhealthy responses to the trauma, that they are willing to put in the work and grow and be better, not just for themselves, but for the future that they want to have . Both of the main characters had traumatic in their young lives and worked together to grow as adults and be better for each other.
I have loved the three books. I’ve read of Jennifer‘s so far, and this is another winner! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
I love when you read a story that shows that even though people might have trauma, and they might have inappropriate or unhealthy responses to the trauma, that they are willing to put in the work and grow and be better, not just for themselves, but for the future that they want to have . Both of the main characters had traumatic in their young lives and worked together to grow as adults and be better for each other.
August 7, 2022
This book sounded so cute! It was right up my alley and had tropes I adore. Grumpy/sunshine anyone? Once I started reading though I realized that this didn't live up to my expectations. There was so much internal monologuing, that was truly repetitive. Matthew was not a grump. He was more of a "I hate everyone but you" mixed with a superiority complex. I really feel like most of the issues with this book could have been avoided with an editor or beta reader. I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this anymore than I did.
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