Overall rating 4/5⭐️, 1.75/5🌶️
Tropes include:
💜 Student-Teacher
💜 Forbidden Romance
💜 He falls first
💜 Sports Romance
I DEVOURED Matt and Rachel’s story. This was my first read from the Lindon U series, so I wasn’t too sure about what to expect, but the story definitely caught me by surprise in all the best ways! (I’ll definitely be restarting this series with Dare You to Hate me! ❤️)
Watching Rachel fall for Matt a bit more as each day passed, but then having to remind herself that he was a student, and that she’d be disappointing her mother by carrying out an “unethical” relationship was tough to read. She’d recently lost her mother and was struggling to adjust with the fact her father was quickly able to replace a key member of the family within a matter of months. There to provide her with that support and stability she so desperately needed was Matt.
Although he’s a jock and has a reputation for being a bit of a player, he never once let that prejudice of being an immature playboy affect the way he felt about Rachel. From the moment she entered his life, he hasn’t been able to see anyone other than her. It was never about the “chase” or the fact that she was forbidden to him.
I honestly thought Matt was such a green flag. Yes he did crash a couple of her dates with his football buddies, but only because he knew that those guys were offering her the bare minimum. The angst between the two of them permeated the entire book. The way he felt about her was unlike anything he’s ever experienced, and he was willing to take as long as be needed to for her to come to the same realisation.
Their friendship develops over the course of a few years — continuing into Matt attending grad. school (where their relationship is still forbidden). In time Matt becomes the person Rachel can turn to for that reassurance, and even though it’s clear that he genuinely cares about her and isn’t only in it for her body, she can’t help that voice in her head that keeps telling her “this is wrong”.
Matt was just a perfect sweetheart 🥹. I loved how caring and supportive he was towards Rachel and her personal life. He didn’t have to console her or be that voice of reason, but he wanted to. Because she had become a part of his sporting family, and nothing means more than being there for your family.
He knew he couldn’t convince Rachel about them overnight, that he didn’t have to, because the feeling was long there. “I don’t have to teach you to love me, because you’d been doing that for a long time already. You just needed to admit it to yourself one day”
I overall enjoy the book and am super keep for the final instalment of the series, however I’m not 100% sure about how I felt about the ending… as in the final page… the final line. B. mentioned Teach you to love me is kinda like a long novella/Lindon U 3.5 (instead of book 4), so I guess we’ll find out in book no. 5, but leaving us on that cliffhanger is K*LLING ME! 😭 I really hope everything goes okay x
Thank you so much to B. for sending over an ARC for me to review! 🩷 I can’t wait to read the final book of the series x