3.5 stars
Truthfully, I don't know how to rate this. I enjoyed the book; it turned out in some ways much better than I thought it would at about a third of the way through. But in other ways, there are some things that just missed the mark. This is a May-December book, an age gap book for those who don't use months (I had to explain the term to someone recently). Rory is a grad student, aged 25, who falls for her professor, Maggie, aged 40. One of my first problems was Miranda's character. I do like the direction Hayes took it, but at first Miranda seemed like a cliched, contrived character - the mean girl who ruins things for others out of spite and because she's not getting what she wants. And my opinion of the book would have gone south if Hayes had continued with that as the main conflict. But after Miranda stopped being the main impediment to the relationship, and actually the main catalyst as well, the story coasts with no major conflict the rest of the way. Hayes lost the opportunity to use the age gap and Maggie's feelings about it to explore the biggest stumbling block to their relationship. As the May in an age gap relationship myself, let me tell you those feelings don't go away easily for the December portion. There was no real problem with Rory's parents accepting the relationship, which again I think is a lost opportunity. The problem with Maggie's coworkers also feels a bit underdone. Maggie is supposed to feel extremely uncomfortable with how much they're intruding into her private life, but other than a note, an email, and the knowledge that they're going to the board, and subsequently getting shut down, there isn't a whole lot there that makes me believe the whole change of jobs would be necessary. In all, the book was entertaining, and the romance was sweet, but missed being as deep as it could have been.
I received a copy of this book from Inked Rainbow Reads for review.