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Professed
At a secret masked ball at Yale, Naomi Costa is literally swept off her stiletto-blistered feet by a man with a killer jawline, a perfect body, and an even-better kiss. They bust out of an emergency exit and have axis-shaking sex. He pours whiskey in her belly button and after they run out of condoms, they have to get creative. That kind of sex. The next day, she learns that he is none other than Dr. Benjamin Beck, a brand new member of the Yale faculty and the hottest thing to happen to academia since… well, ever. She has to take his damned junior seminar to graduate, but it gets worse. He’s also her College her boss, her advisor, her everything. And he’s just moved in, right downstairs. They can’t stay away from each other. They're either fusion or fission or both. They’re making out in libraries, hiding notes between stones, and sneaking off to nautically themed AirBnbs. Hear that sound? It’s the academic code of ethics going up in flames. If they're found out, he’ll lose his job and his reputation. She'll lose her scholarship and be forced to return to the life of lobster fishing that she thought she’d escaped. And they will be found out, yes they will. So what the hell are they going to do? *** To the Things get damned dirty in this book. The characters curse, the sex gets explicit. It’s an erotic love story with fury. Be advised. This is a stand-alone novel. Other tasters’ HEA. Sweet. Funny. Dirty. Muddy. Wet. Inspired by a real professor.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2016
454 people are currently reading
2354 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Rendell
9 books1,003 followersBestselling author Nicola Rendell loves writing naughty romantic comedies. After receiving a handful of degrees from a handful of places, she now works as a professor in New England. Nicola’s work has been featured in USA Today’s Happy Ever After and the Huffington Post. She loves to cook, sew, and play the piano. Her hobbies might make her sound like an old lady, but she’s totally okay with that. For more information and updates, visit www.NicolaRendell.com.
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February 19, 2017
“Forbidden fruit is sweetest.”
Professed is the very first book I have ever read by Nicola Rendell and just Wow! This was such a beautifully written book. I sort of thought it would be a light, silly, fun type of book. But what it turned out to be was a story about two people that fell in love. But their love was so deep, so profound, so life changing, that it rocked them to their very core. But it was also a love that broke every rule and could change the course of their futures if discovered. Was it doomed? Or is the old saying true that love conquers all?
Dr. Benjamin Beck wrote a book about nothingness. And no one read it, until all of a sudden, someone did read it, and he found himself thrust into the spot light, on the best seller’s list. Then Yale came calling with a job offer he couldn’t refuse. But the night before he reports to campus, he receives an invitation to a masked party, and that’s where he first saw her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her nor she off him. And the night turned in to a night he would never forget, a night even his fantasies couldn’t have come up with.
“I’ll show you.”
“You will, huh?”
“I’ll show you just what I like.”
“I want to see what beauty like this looks like in ecstasy. I want to see that beauty roar.”
Naomi Costa is just short of twenty one years old and is a junior at Yale as a Philosophy major. Her best friend, Lucy, slipped her an invitation to the masked party and that’s where she first saw him. Dancing and drinking soon led to a night she never could have dreamed of. A connection she never thought possible. But only first names were exchanged. Would she see him again? But then she did see him, as he was introduced as the new professor and master.
“I try to ignore the sinking feeling inside that says that we are ineffably, uncomfortably, impossibly doomed.”
Naomi and Ben tried, they really did, to deny what was between them. But it was too much, it was too strong. They couldn’t stay away. But Professor Ben Beck was not Dean Osgood’s choice for the position. He wanted someone married, someone more stable, not a good looking single man all the female students swoon after. And he’s got his eye on Ben. He lets him know in no uncertain terms that he is just waiting for him to screw up. He’s seen the way he looks at Naomi. He promises Ben that if he is breaking the rules, he will ruin them both.
“With all my heart, I love her. But I know, as she disappears down the way, that we might be doomed. That we are star-crossed. That our love is impossible. And for the first time in as long as I can remember, I wipe tears from my own eyes.”
This book just captivated me. I literally couldn’t put it down. I don’t know that I’ve ever read about two people that felt so deeply for each other. Or maybe it was just the way the author made their feelings leap off the pages for me. It was beautiful and it was heartbreaking.
“I’m yours. All yours.”
Neither Ben or Naomi felt as if they belonged at Yale, that they deserved it. But when they were together, they were able to provide that confidence to each other, that feeling of home, peace, belonging. They search out ways to be together, stolen moments, but is it enough? Is the risk too much? You just have to read this book. This is one of those stories that just grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go. Just writing this review is making me sigh. It is a stand alone story but Nicola Rendell did right an additional book about Lucy, Naomi’s best friend, called Confessed. I can’t wait to read it.
“Vos estis lux et veritas.”
“You are the light and the truth.”
Professed is the very first book I have ever read by Nicola Rendell and just Wow! This was such a beautifully written book. I sort of thought it would be a light, silly, fun type of book. But what it turned out to be was a story about two people that fell in love. But their love was so deep, so profound, so life changing, that it rocked them to their very core. But it was also a love that broke every rule and could change the course of their futures if discovered. Was it doomed? Or is the old saying true that love conquers all?
Dr. Benjamin Beck wrote a book about nothingness. And no one read it, until all of a sudden, someone did read it, and he found himself thrust into the spot light, on the best seller’s list. Then Yale came calling with a job offer he couldn’t refuse. But the night before he reports to campus, he receives an invitation to a masked party, and that’s where he first saw her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her nor she off him. And the night turned in to a night he would never forget, a night even his fantasies couldn’t have come up with.
“I’ll show you.”
“You will, huh?”
“I’ll show you just what I like.”
“I want to see what beauty like this looks like in ecstasy. I want to see that beauty roar.”
Naomi Costa is just short of twenty one years old and is a junior at Yale as a Philosophy major. Her best friend, Lucy, slipped her an invitation to the masked party and that’s where she first saw him. Dancing and drinking soon led to a night she never could have dreamed of. A connection she never thought possible. But only first names were exchanged. Would she see him again? But then she did see him, as he was introduced as the new professor and master.
“I try to ignore the sinking feeling inside that says that we are ineffably, uncomfortably, impossibly doomed.”
Naomi and Ben tried, they really did, to deny what was between them. But it was too much, it was too strong. They couldn’t stay away. But Professor Ben Beck was not Dean Osgood’s choice for the position. He wanted someone married, someone more stable, not a good looking single man all the female students swoon after. And he’s got his eye on Ben. He lets him know in no uncertain terms that he is just waiting for him to screw up. He’s seen the way he looks at Naomi. He promises Ben that if he is breaking the rules, he will ruin them both.
“With all my heart, I love her. But I know, as she disappears down the way, that we might be doomed. That we are star-crossed. That our love is impossible. And for the first time in as long as I can remember, I wipe tears from my own eyes.”
This book just captivated me. I literally couldn’t put it down. I don’t know that I’ve ever read about two people that felt so deeply for each other. Or maybe it was just the way the author made their feelings leap off the pages for me. It was beautiful and it was heartbreaking.
“I’m yours. All yours.”
Neither Ben or Naomi felt as if they belonged at Yale, that they deserved it. But when they were together, they were able to provide that confidence to each other, that feeling of home, peace, belonging. They search out ways to be together, stolen moments, but is it enough? Is the risk too much? You just have to read this book. This is one of those stories that just grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go. Just writing this review is making me sigh. It is a stand alone story but Nicola Rendell did right an additional book about Lucy, Naomi’s best friend, called Confessed. I can’t wait to read it.
“Vos estis lux et veritas.”
“You are the light and the truth.”
August 10, 2018
It's Insta-lust/insta-love for a professor and his assistant/student, and IMO, both took excessive risks which made zero sense. There was also a significant age difference. Additionally, we have a Dean of faculty with way too much time on his hands. These are the points I made while reading, now I have to turn them into a cohesive review! Oh, groovy!
Review to come! Honest injun!
November 15, 2018
Honestly, yawn. I had such high hopes for this one and it soooo didn’t deliver. The smutty scenes were PG-13 at best and the plot was v Lifetime Original Movie. Lame.
July 19, 2024
When Naomi Costa attends a secret ball at Yale, she is (literally) swept away by a masked partygoer for a night of wild, passionate sex. But the next day, she learns that the man is none other than Dr Benjamin Beck, a brand-new member of the Yale faculty and also the new Master at her College. During the semester, they try to suppress their growing attraction, but the electricity sparking between them proves too strong to ignore. And so they eventually succumb to passionate encounters in all sorts of locations (including his car, a park the guest suite, and a nautical-themed AirBnB), leaving notes in the garden for each other, and basically pawing at each other anywhere they can find.
The sex scenes in this book were HOT 🔥🔥 If there's one thing Rendell excels at writing, it's that. All other flaws aside, I would read this book again just to relive them. Ben and Naomi truly couldn't keep their hands off each other and their mutual desire really bled through the pages every time they had a rendezvous. The scene where they finally fucked raw and then got interrupted by a knock right before orgasm? Sexual frustration 💯💯
But that’s where it went wrong: this book progressed from the territory of lust into love so fast that the buildup and chemistry just felt forced. Insta-lust between Ben and Naomi is to be expected given that it's literally the premise of the story, but the insta-lust somehow turns into love somewhere in the middle of the book and the declarations of love just suddenly come out of nowhere?? They go from fucking each other's brains out every chance they get to saying "I love you" despite not knowing each other's favorite food/color/etc or spending any meaningful time together going on dates. And I'm just supposed to believe that suddenly they're hopelessly in love and willing to sacrifice everything for each other? Mutual pining is great and all but to make things worse, I had to read over and over again about how much they love and are obsessed with each other, etc, which made the relationship fall short because the most powerful love is SHOWN, not TOLD. Instead, we get endless pages of them repeating that they love the other, going back and forth, having sex, repeat.
Age gap is usually a trope that sits alright with me, but I don't know why it threw me off so much in this book. Ben is 38 and Naomi is 20 – that's almost double her age and it grossed me out.
Please. I cringed so hard. Ben was so immature for his age like if a 38-year-old man was panting after me when I was 20, obsessed with me and pussy-whipped I would be freaking out and running for the hills? Nothing personal I just don't want to date someone who's in a completely different phase of life and who has a much higher maturity level. For a Yale student who's supposedly really intelligent, Naomi lacked any foresight in this department and should take a page out of my book by not dating anyone >5 years older ✨
To top this whole mess off, there were SO. MANY. plotlines that Rendell included and then abandoned, as if she herself had given up on them. In the end, the whole story became a mishmash of jumbled details that are unbearably discordant when put together because they were never fleshed out in detail at all. Lux et Veritas (some alleged secret society) appeared once at the beginning and was never explained at all, there was a complete absence of a plot and the "secret society" was clearly thrown in just for the characters to have their first interaction.
And then what the fuck was the whole nihilism thing?? Ben is NOT a nihilist just because he convinced himself that nothing matters in life. A true nihilist would not acknowledge the feeling of love and might interpret it as chemical reactions. Then we get more page time wasted on Ben's agonising. He's questioning his whole worldview after claiming Naomi has made him rethink his whole life philosophy and now he only wants "her, her, her". First, this is absolutely not plausible since they had ONE (1) one-night-stand and he's rethinking 38 years of life after that? Is her pussy made of gold or something? Second, as I mentioned above, Ben is not a nihilist. His backstory/motivations are pathetic at best and erroneous at worst, and definitely do not qualify for nihilism. Rendell could've at least done her research before including such a complex and murky philosophy like this in the book.
In the same vein, there was also some angst about them both being kindred spirits who constantly felt imposter syndrome – this was all fine and good but it was never expounded on at all?? Rendell just threw it in around the 50% mark and then it was mentioned once around 75% but the page time was meagre and a couple of lines at best. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s authors half-heartedly introducing information and/or tropes without ever elaborating on them in detail 🙁
But you know what was the most fucking unrealistic thing that had me laugh out loud in derision? The fact that the dean was constantly on their trail and following them around, even barging into Ben's house when he allegedly heard a female squeal. Like are we fucking serious here? You're telling me the DEAN of a top university has absolutely NOTHING better to do than observe one professor's actions, stalk him around campus all day, and intrude into his house without permission? Highly unprofessional and as a result, the conflict felt unrealistic and forced just to push the story along. The resolution was also unbelievably easy, like the author gave up on her own book – after the great lengths the dean goes to to expose Ben and Naomi and they get found out, he’s suddenly swayed by their “true love” and agrees to let them continue their relationship as long as they keep it discreet? ??? ???????? Look, I get that we needed a HEA. But this negates the dean’s supposed “villain” persona and renders the whole plotline pointless. Ben and Naomi could have just gone to him from the start rather than sneaking around and he’d probably have helped them think of a solution earlier???? And even if they continued sneaking around, the whole book was basically them being discreet? Like I don’t get the entire point of the ending because it added zero value to the story.
TLDR: It’s so bad I wish I could give it a zero or at most a half star for the spice, but since I can’t, I’ll give it a one.
=========================================
🎧✩˖°🌷✨ PRE-REVIEW ♡
It started out as 3-stars and then just got worse and worse until it was like watching a train wreck 😂
🐋🐚☾⋆⁺₊ PRE-READ ♡
It's free on Kindle. Naturally, I bought it.
I can feel a slump starting so hopefully this book is light and short enough to stave it off 😭😭
"thank you for last night. i need to feel you inside me again."
"Fuck you for being so perfect."
God, coming from anybody else, that’d be offensive. From him, I get it. We’re at the limit of words. Fuck you for turning my life upside down, fuck you for ruining what I understand. I get that down to the very last letter.
"fuck you right back."
The sex scenes in this book were HOT 🔥🔥 If there's one thing Rendell excels at writing, it's that. All other flaws aside, I would read this book again just to relive them. Ben and Naomi truly couldn't keep their hands off each other and their mutual desire really bled through the pages every time they had a rendezvous. The scene where they finally fucked raw and then got interrupted by a knock right before orgasm? Sexual frustration 💯💯
But that’s where it went wrong: this book progressed from the territory of lust into love so fast that the buildup and chemistry just felt forced. Insta-lust between Ben and Naomi is to be expected given that it's literally the premise of the story, but the insta-lust somehow turns into love somewhere in the middle of the book and the declarations of love just suddenly come out of nowhere?? They go from fucking each other's brains out every chance they get to saying "I love you" despite not knowing each other's favorite food/color/etc or spending any meaningful time together going on dates. And I'm just supposed to believe that suddenly they're hopelessly in love and willing to sacrifice everything for each other? Mutual pining is great and all but to make things worse, I had to read over and over again about how much they love and are obsessed with each other, etc, which made the relationship fall short because the most powerful love is SHOWN, not TOLD. Instead, we get endless pages of them repeating that they love the other, going back and forth, having sex, repeat.
The very last thing I wanted to do was leave him. I want to keep my hand in his always.
Age gap is usually a trope that sits alright with me, but I don't know why it threw me off so much in this book. Ben is 38 and Naomi is 20 – that's almost double her age and it grossed me out.
Fuck it. I can’t resist. I can’t stay away. I put on a pair of sweats, sneakers, a gray zip-up hoodie with a T-shirt, and a baseball hat. I look at myself in the mirror. I look like exactly what I am. A 38-year-old guy trying to pretend he’s 22. But what the fuck can I do about that? Not one goddamned thing. I am what I am. Hers.
Please. I cringed so hard. Ben was so immature for his age like if a 38-year-old man was panting after me when I was 20, obsessed with me and pussy-whipped I would be freaking out and running for the hills? Nothing personal I just don't want to date someone who's in a completely different phase of life and who has a much higher maturity level. For a Yale student who's supposedly really intelligent, Naomi lacked any foresight in this department and should take a page out of my book by not dating anyone >5 years older ✨
To top this whole mess off, there were SO. MANY. plotlines that Rendell included and then abandoned, as if she herself had given up on them. In the end, the whole story became a mishmash of jumbled details that are unbearably discordant when put together because they were never fleshed out in detail at all. Lux et Veritas (some alleged secret society) appeared once at the beginning and was never explained at all, there was a complete absence of a plot and the "secret society" was clearly thrown in just for the characters to have their first interaction.
And then what the fuck was the whole nihilism thing?? Ben is NOT a nihilist just because he convinced himself that nothing matters in life. A true nihilist would not acknowledge the feeling of love and might interpret it as chemical reactions. Then we get more page time wasted on Ben's agonising. He's questioning his whole worldview after claiming Naomi has made him rethink his whole life philosophy and now he only wants "her, her, her". First, this is absolutely not plausible since they had ONE (1) one-night-stand and he's rethinking 38 years of life after that? Is her pussy made of gold or something? Second, as I mentioned above, Ben is not a nihilist. His backstory/motivations are pathetic at best and erroneous at worst, and definitely do not qualify for nihilism. Rendell could've at least done her research before including such a complex and murky philosophy like this in the book.
In the same vein, there was also some angst about them both being kindred spirits who constantly felt imposter syndrome – this was all fine and good but it was never expounded on at all?? Rendell just threw it in around the 50% mark and then it was mentioned once around 75% but the page time was meagre and a couple of lines at best. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s authors half-heartedly introducing information and/or tropes without ever elaborating on them in detail 🙁
But you know what was the most fucking unrealistic thing that had me laugh out loud in derision? The fact that the dean was constantly on their trail and following them around, even barging into Ben's house when he allegedly heard a female squeal. Like are we fucking serious here? You're telling me the DEAN of a top university has absolutely NOTHING better to do than observe one professor's actions, stalk him around campus all day, and intrude into his house without permission? Highly unprofessional and as a result, the conflict felt unrealistic and forced just to push the story along. The resolution was also unbelievably easy, like the author gave up on her own book – after the great lengths the dean goes to to expose Ben and Naomi and they get found out, he’s suddenly swayed by their “true love” and agrees to let them continue their relationship as long as they keep it discreet? ??? ???????? Look, I get that we needed a HEA. But this negates the dean’s supposed “villain” persona and renders the whole plotline pointless. Ben and Naomi could have just gone to him from the start rather than sneaking around and he’d probably have helped them think of a solution earlier???? And even if they continued sneaking around, the whole book was basically them being discreet? Like I don’t get the entire point of the ending because it added zero value to the story.
TLDR: It’s so bad I wish I could give it a zero or at most a half star for the spice, but since I can’t, I’ll give it a one.
=========================================
🎧✩˖°🌷✨ PRE-REVIEW ♡
It started out as 3-stars and then just got worse and worse until it was like watching a train wreck 😂
🐋🐚☾⋆⁺₊ PRE-READ ♡
It's free on Kindle. Naturally, I bought it.
I can feel a slump starting so hopefully this book is light and short enough to stave it off 😭😭
September 23, 2016
I love student/teacher books and this one was fantastic! I had a bit of a hard time getting into it at first, the writing style was a bit different than I'm use to but I ended up really loving this one! Super steamy and funny - I really liked these characters and couldn't wait to see if they would be able to make their forbidden romance work. I look forward to reading more by this author!
February 14, 2017
*Safety notes at the bottom of this review*
It took me 100 pages to settle into the writing style with this one. I can't quite place my finger on what exactly didn't quite work with it, there was just something niggling me.
The passion between the pair was obvious, but the whole secret society aspect was just a forced scenario for them meeting. It was the only time it was mentioned, which is fair enough I suppose, but it's never explained WHY they're picked for the exclusive invite in the first place. And would professors really be invited to a 'naughty' party with their students?!
Overall this was a decent student/teacher story - the sex was hot, you could feel the heat between them but it was a tad too long and slightly boring. There isn't a lot of drama, and what little there is, is resolved very easily.
It took me 100 pages to settle into the writing style with this one. I can't quite place my finger on what exactly didn't quite work with it, there was just something niggling me.
The passion between the pair was obvious, but the whole secret society aspect was just a forced scenario for them meeting. It was the only time it was mentioned, which is fair enough I suppose, but it's never explained WHY they're picked for the exclusive invite in the first place. And would professors really be invited to a 'naughty' party with their students?!
Overall this was a decent student/teacher story - the sex was hot, you could feel the heat between them but it was a tad too long and slightly boring. There isn't a lot of drama, and what little there is, is resolved very easily.
Want to read
September 20, 2016
FREE on Amazon US today (9/20/2016)
Stand-alone. Thanks Jess!
BLURB:
At a secret masked ball at Yale, Naomi Costa is literally swept off her stiletto-blistered feet by a man with a killer jawline, a perfect body, and an even-better kiss. They bust out of an emergency exit and have axis-shaking sex. He pours whiskey in her belly button and after they run out of condoms, they have to get creative. That kind of sex.
The next day, she learns that he is none other than Dr. Benjamin Beck, a brand new member of the Yale faculty and the hottest thing to happen to academia since… well, ever. She has to take his damned junior seminar to graduate, but it gets worse. He’s also her College Master: her boss, her advisor, her everything. And he’s just moved in, right downstairs.
They can’t stay away from each other. They're either fusion or fission or both. They’re making out in libraries, hiding notes between stones, and sneaking off to nautically themed AirBnbs. Hear that sound? It’s the academic code of ethics going up in flames.
If they're found out, he’ll lose his job and his reputation. She'll lose her scholarship and be forced to return to the life of lobster fishing that she thought she’d escaped.
And they will be found out, yes they will.
So what the hell are they going to do?
FREE: https://www.amazon.com/Professed-Nico...
FREEBIES are often good for MORE than one day, I have gathered all my FREEBIES on a special shelf: Kindle-freebies (currently over 500 books)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
February 27, 2019
On the heels of an unexpected boost in his career, Professor Benjamin Beck, 38, moves east for a new teaching position. At a mysterious party, he meets Naomi Costa, 20, (her stated age, although background stories add up 22/23) and the two indulge in a sultry hook-up.
The opening scene with this anonymous masked rave party pulled me in. Though it later seemed like a bit of a dropped plot point, it set an intriguing mood and initiated the chemistry between the two. I also liked that it established the heroine as a typical college student with a normal sexual history—in other words no sheltered virgins here.
“Screw the world that sees only whores and virgins, bad girls and good.”
As a student-teacher romance, I was pleased that it avoided some of the unromantic themes that often beset these kinds of stories. Specifically, while their illicit encounters are obviously forbidden, and they do wrestle with that, Ben doesn’t turn to other women his age or even think about it. There’s some push-pull, but their feelings are always all in. The two indulge in plenty of clandestine moments, carrying out their forbidden romance.
I typically side-eye a mature, educated professor willing to risk throwing away his career, but it worked here with Ben’s characterization drawn around his field of study, specifically his interest in nihilism.
Though the tone with the taboo romance felt angsty, the threat of being caught high, the actual plot avoided angst fairly well.
Dean Osgood.
Oh I wasn’t always sure how he was meant to be taken for a large part of the book. He’s a goofy little man, erratic maybe, but I got a kick out of him. I don’t know if the humor was intended, but I found some.
That’s not to say there weren’t some issues that did distract. There’s a few continuity errors, like her dress is off and then still on. And I was never entirely clear on Ben’s position as Master of College (or Master in College.) I’ve never heard of the position, but I also didn’t attend an Ivy League school. It really felt more like they were at a small private college. Either way, I felt like his title was simply to play on the Master moniker.
And then there’s the wanting a baby in the throws of passion moment that I could always do without. I just don’t find a serious decision like that something to be utilized as a way to bind people with bigger issues. And while they both think about, I still didn’t find it romantic. Thankfully it never materialized.
Told via Ben and Naomi’s alternating first person POV, if you are looking for a safe student-teacher read, this would be one to check out.
Safety Recap:
*Title purchased from Amazon. All reviews written by Book-Bosomed Book Blog are honest opinions.
The opening scene with this anonymous masked rave party pulled me in. Though it later seemed like a bit of a dropped plot point, it set an intriguing mood and initiated the chemistry between the two. I also liked that it established the heroine as a typical college student with a normal sexual history—in other words no sheltered virgins here.
“Screw the world that sees only whores and virgins, bad girls and good.”
As a student-teacher romance, I was pleased that it avoided some of the unromantic themes that often beset these kinds of stories. Specifically, while their illicit encounters are obviously forbidden, and they do wrestle with that, Ben doesn’t turn to other women his age or even think about it. There’s some push-pull, but their feelings are always all in. The two indulge in plenty of clandestine moments, carrying out their forbidden romance.
“‘You look at me just like that in class,’ I tell her.
‘This is what I’m thinking about in class.’
She cups my balls in her hands, just sliding one finger along my perineum.”
I typically side-eye a mature, educated professor willing to risk throwing away his career, but it worked here with Ben’s characterization drawn around his field of study, specifically his interest in nihilism.
Though the tone with the taboo romance felt angsty, the threat of being caught high, the actual plot avoided angst fairly well.
Dean Osgood.
Oh I wasn’t always sure how he was meant to be taken for a large part of the book. He’s a goofy little man, erratic maybe, but I got a kick out of him. I don’t know if the humor was intended, but I found some.
That’s not to say there weren’t some issues that did distract. There’s a few continuity errors, like her dress is off and then still on. And I was never entirely clear on Ben’s position as Master of College (or Master in College.) I’ve never heard of the position, but I also didn’t attend an Ivy League school. It really felt more like they were at a small private college. Either way, I felt like his title was simply to play on the Master moniker.
And then there’s the wanting a baby in the throws of passion moment that I could always do without. I just don’t find a serious decision like that something to be utilized as a way to bind people with bigger issues. And while they both think about, I still didn’t find it romantic. Thankfully it never materialized.
Told via Ben and Naomi’s alternating first person POV, if you are looking for a safe student-teacher read, this would be one to check out.
Safety Recap:
*Title purchased from Amazon. All reviews written by Book-Bosomed Book Blog are honest opinions.
May 19, 2017
Short review as my red blood cells have buggered off and taken my words with them. Thieves. Anyhoo, Professed...
I enjoyed it--it was my first time reading Nicola Rendell and I'm certainly intending on reading more from her. There was room for a little more angst and drama considering the professor/student relationship and I felt everything was a wee bit on the easy side for Ben and Naomi but, aside of that and a few pacing issues, Rendell's writing style worked for me, she created endearing characters and there's definitely no scrimping on the sexy.
I enjoyed it--it was my first time reading Nicola Rendell and I'm certainly intending on reading more from her. There was room for a little more angst and drama considering the professor/student relationship and I felt everything was a wee bit on the easy side for Ben and Naomi but, aside of that and a few pacing issues, Rendell's writing style worked for me, she created endearing characters and there's definitely no scrimping on the sexy.
Read
August 7, 2016DNF @ 57
February 7, 2017
Wow! Not what I was expecting... Better!
April 27, 2018
I started this at almost 4am and now it’s 8am and I’m finished and I can’t believe I read for 4 hours instead of sleeping.
Sometimes you just need romance and smut in your life, ya know?
Sometimes you just need romance and smut in your life, ya know?
August 7, 2016
I found this book through "Scandalicious" blog. The ladies on that blog reviewed it and gave it high marks.
It sounded really good. Nicola Rendell is a debut author. So I was all in.
The "meet-cute" between Naomi and Ben was very hot. Their first encounter took around 6 smokin' hot chapters.
As the book blurb reveals, Ben is her professor at Yale University where she attends. Wow, they were shocked when they found out.
This author's writing style took a little getting use to:
"So together we sit......." The words are reversed. At first I thought that this was translated from another language or maybe British (I speak American, LOL). Anyway, I'm ok wtih it & I got used to it. (The author's bio says she's from Taos, NM).
This is First person POV, alternating Ben & Naomi. Ben and Naomi are attracted to each other from that first evening.
They go to tremendous lengths to hide their relationship. I do have to say that the actual relationship took a back seat to their sexual encounters (They did get creative in finding ways to be together). In the last 30% or so, they discover more about each other.
The dean- old grouchy bachelor Dr Osgood was sort of the villain -constantly trying to bust them. He suspected their relationship from the beginning. I held my breath, thinking that they'd be caught at any time.
"Dulce pomum quum abest custos"-- Forbidden fruit is sweetest.
I really like Naomi, she's in her Junior year, Philosophy major. I think that she seems stronger and more sure of herself than Ben. She left her home in Maine after recovering from a life threatening injury on her dad's lobster boat. I really enjoyed her assigned paper that she wrote about her (late) mom. She wrote it in a sort of fairy tale form.
Ben is an author of one book that was a minor sensation. He's a nihilist (believes in nothing). That is until he meets Naomi. I wish that this aspect would have been explained a little more or just left out. He was offered a position at Yale. He'd been rejected at UCLA (??huh). Ben feels out of place at an Ivy League University. Of course Dean Osgood lets him know that he didn't approve of Yale hiring him.
I felt like they were going to be caught at any time, and they just kept taking chances with their affair. Some of the close calls were funny and of course, very sexy. Ben tried to play the dominate male, but he had some klutzy moves. Ben is around 38 and Naomi is 21.
There weren't many supporting characters. I did like Naomi's friend Lucy, who lived next door to her in the dorms. I loved how she wasn't the annoyingly perky OTT friend. I also loved how she had Naomi's back.
There's an HEA- but not too much into the future. 4.25 very sexy stars
This book was a great surprise and I'll be reading more from this author. I think that Lucy's book is next!
December 14, 2016
Wow, everything about this story sucked me in and would not let me go. From the first meeting to every single stolen moment. The romantic elements that were in each page. How deeply Ben worshipped Naomi, how fiercely to her soul that she loved him back. To believe in nothing and find that everything that was missing was found in the eyes of another. Oh Ben what a revelation. His whole world knocked off his axis. By one young but extraordinary old soul his beautiful Naomi. If I had one thing to gripe about its only the way it ended. I so badly needed more of everything but most of all more of their future. But thankfully Confessed is Lucy's story and surely I'll see Ben and Naomi there. Diving in very soon.
#SafeRead #PerfectHero #Romantic #AlphaAlert #Hot #OlderMan #taboo #ProfessorStudent #Kinky
#SafeRead #PerfectHero #Romantic #AlphaAlert #Hot #OlderMan #taboo #ProfessorStudent #Kinky
April 29, 2018
DNF at 73%!
I actually really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was entertaining and I pretty much flew through it but once I'd hit the 60% mark, things just started going down the drain. For one thing, I mostly began skimming the pages because the story became super boring and shortly after I just knew that I wouldn't manage to get through another page of this. That's also due to the fact that the male main character suddenly thought incorporating ropes into their sex life would be a good idea and that just started feeling way too much like Fifty Shades of Gray which just isn't my thing.
So, I just have to DNF this book because I know that I'd have to force myself through the rest of it, but I'm still going to give it two stars because the first half was pretty enjoyable.
I actually really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was entertaining and I pretty much flew through it but once I'd hit the 60% mark, things just started going down the drain. For one thing, I mostly began skimming the pages because the story became super boring and shortly after I just knew that I wouldn't manage to get through another page of this. That's also due to the fact that the male main character suddenly thought incorporating ropes into their sex life would be a good idea and that just started feeling way too much like Fifty Shades of Gray which just isn't my thing.
So, I just have to DNF this book because I know that I'd have to force myself through the rest of it, but I'm still going to give it two stars because the first half was pretty enjoyable.
October 26, 2019
Cute but predictable.
Professed was a typical forbidden relationship. This is set in college where we meet Naomi and Ben. They meet at a secret masked ball and they end up having a wonderful one night stand. The next day though, they end up meeting each other again. However, he's the teacher and she's the student.
Of course the sparks are still there and even though they know that they shouldn't - they still want to see each other. The random hook-ups start up and then there's the dean trying to cockblock them. Now he was an entertaining fellow because he was weirdly obsessed with them and their "relationship". Meaning, he didn't want them to have one.
Besides that, there's drama. Of course there is! They both try to give up their life at this school but in the end they don't have to. They just have to keep their relationship a secret or whatever. I don't really get the big deal of this sort of relationship in college - because everyone is an adult. Maybe it's because he was her professor but it was one class - big deal.
Overall, the ending was okay. Nothing really to brag about.
Professed was a typical forbidden relationship. This is set in college where we meet Naomi and Ben. They meet at a secret masked ball and they end up having a wonderful one night stand. The next day though, they end up meeting each other again. However, he's the teacher and she's the student.
Of course the sparks are still there and even though they know that they shouldn't - they still want to see each other. The random hook-ups start up and then there's the dean trying to cockblock them. Now he was an entertaining fellow because he was weirdly obsessed with them and their "relationship". Meaning, he didn't want them to have one.
Besides that, there's drama. Of course there is! They both try to give up their life at this school but in the end they don't have to. They just have to keep their relationship a secret or whatever. I don't really get the big deal of this sort of relationship in college - because everyone is an adult. Maybe it's because he was her professor but it was one class - big deal.
Overall, the ending was okay. Nothing really to brag about.
May 30, 2022
4 stars, this needed a better epilogue. The ending felt too abrupt and not really detailed enough to make the story feel complete. Tbh, the quick ending felt a bit like a cop-out by the author… but the story was still very enjoyable overall.
This is a very large age gap romance between a professor and his student. She’s 20 and he’s 38. It’s a bit too much age gap for me, but I still really enjoyed this book for the most part. It had some angst - but the MCs basically brought it on themselves by being stupidly indiscreet at times. I really did like both the hero and heroine, the plot, the pacing, etc. I think for a book with SO many sex scenes - the story was still very much front and center. I never really felt like the storyline was forgotten like some erotica I’ve read in the past. Still, this book has A LOT of sex, so if you’re not into erotica, this isn’t for you.
Safe; no virgins, no OW drama, some minor OM drama from heroine’s ex, no cheating, no scenes with OM/OW.
This is a very large age gap romance between a professor and his student. She’s 20 and he’s 38. It’s a bit too much age gap for me, but I still really enjoyed this book for the most part. It had some angst - but the MCs basically brought it on themselves by being stupidly indiscreet at times. I really did like both the hero and heroine, the plot, the pacing, etc. I think for a book with SO many sex scenes - the story was still very much front and center. I never really felt like the storyline was forgotten like some erotica I’ve read in the past. Still, this book has A LOT of sex, so if you’re not into erotica, this isn’t for you.
Safe; no virgins, no OW drama, some minor OM drama from heroine’s ex, no cheating, no scenes with OM/OW.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2016
3.5 - 4 Stars
Written in an unusually quirky style, Professed is a student/teacher romance about Ben, a college professor and 20-year-old Naomi. I will admit that it took me some time to get into this story, but once I did, I was engrossed in this very hot and at times very funny taboo romance.
First, heed the warnings about this book and be aware that this story is VERY explicit! Ben and Naomi meet at a secret masked ball and immediately begin a passionate affair. Dr. Ben Beck is a philosophy professor who has written a book and has been invited to join the faculty at Yale. He has always questioned the existence of love and now ironically, now finds himself head over heels in love with the smart and beautiful Naomi.
Once they become aware that Naomi is Ben's student, they are acutely aware of the risks they are taking. Naomi could lose her place at Yale andBen could lose his position on the faculty, at the very least. But this is actually a very fast-paced book and the author's brisk writing style and sense of humor make this a very readable story.
"Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest."
There are lots of things I loved about this book and some, not so much. I loved reading about Naomi's background and her family: she was raised by her father, a lobsterman in a New England town and she struggles to pay her way through college and to fit in at Yale. I would have loved to read more about Ben's background! The book is told in alternating POV's and the humor and brisk writing style lightens up the very explicit scenes.
Naomi's character was unusually mature for her age. Although I did not have an issue with the age gap, I was not totally convinced what a 38-year-old would find so alluring and compelling about a college junior. I would have also loved to have known more about the "secret society" masked ball where Naomi and Ben first met.
I loved Naomi's best friend Lucy and I know her story will be hilarious! This is certainly not your average student-teacher forbidden romance and for that, I applaud the author. Overall, Professed is a very sexy, very enjoyable and promising debut story.
ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.
Written in an unusually quirky style, Professed is a student/teacher romance about Ben, a college professor and 20-year-old Naomi. I will admit that it took me some time to get into this story, but once I did, I was engrossed in this very hot and at times very funny taboo romance.
First, heed the warnings about this book and be aware that this story is VERY explicit! Ben and Naomi meet at a secret masked ball and immediately begin a passionate affair. Dr. Ben Beck is a philosophy professor who has written a book and has been invited to join the faculty at Yale. He has always questioned the existence of love and now ironically, now finds himself head over heels in love with the smart and beautiful Naomi.
Once they become aware that Naomi is Ben's student, they are acutely aware of the risks they are taking. Naomi could lose her place at Yale andBen could lose his position on the faculty, at the very least. But this is actually a very fast-paced book and the author's brisk writing style and sense of humor make this a very readable story.
"Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest."
There are lots of things I loved about this book and some, not so much. I loved reading about Naomi's background and her family: she was raised by her father, a lobsterman in a New England town and she struggles to pay her way through college and to fit in at Yale. I would have loved to read more about Ben's background! The book is told in alternating POV's and the humor and brisk writing style lightens up the very explicit scenes.
Naomi's character was unusually mature for her age. Although I did not have an issue with the age gap, I was not totally convinced what a 38-year-old would find so alluring and compelling about a college junior. I would have also loved to have known more about the "secret society" masked ball where Naomi and Ben first met.
I loved Naomi's best friend Lucy and I know her story will be hilarious! This is certainly not your average student-teacher forbidden romance and for that, I applaud the author. Overall, Professed is a very sexy, very enjoyable and promising debut story.
ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.
June 2, 2025
This was a 👌👌 of a story.
October 20, 2016
‘I’ve never needed anything. Ever. I’ve never felt this deep, sinking desire inside me. I’ve never felt exposed and wide open and fucking freaked out. Nothing is so consequential as to be needed. Nothing is so important as to be loved.’
Fancy a hot, passionate and sexy student/teacher romance? Well, Professed will satisfy you in every way possible and then some. It’s an easy addictive well written erotic read that hits all those spots when you’re in the mood for something a little spicy. A chance meeting at a masked secret society party – attendance by invite only – leads to all kinds of surprises when Yale student Naomi falls into the sights of an enigmatic masked man.
‘They say a woman who does what I just did is a whore, a slut, a sinner. Let them say it. I don’t believe that at all. Never have, never will. Screw the world that sees only whores and virgins, bad girls and good. I’m all of it. And proud.’
Neither knows who the other is until all hell breaks loose over an intense physical attraction. This is pretty much an insta love story but to be honest it didn’t bother us as in some ways it was meant to be as such. For all intents and purposes the forbidden became the awakening. It did take us a little while to get into this story but once hooked, well, we pretty much inhaled it.
“I need you to understand something. She’s the thing I’ve always been looking for. She’s the thing I dreamed about and never understood. I never knew what love was until I found her.”
Over the top, yeah sure, but it’s never pervy, rather it really was quite sweet at times and Ben was quite the reluctant romantic whose view on love changed epically as his views on philosophy and entire way of life thus far was challenged by Naomi. The erotica element added to a story that begins with extreme physical lust ultimately leading to an all-encompassing love.
‘I think this is love. It must be love. It feels like getting mugged. It’s fear. It’s helplessness. It’s all of me right in her hands.’
Ben and Naomi’s love had not only the forbidden in ‘profession’ but also had quite the age difference, yet as readers we never really felt that to be an issue as we completely connected to them and their love story. Oh and the sexual chemistry was off the charts with one encounter in the woods resulting in freezer time for two. Temptation is strong in this one and who knew what fun you could have with a sharpie…wink wink…..
‘I want to devour her. I want to ruin her. I want to fucking vandalize her.’
Professed has fabulous thrills, spills and excitement, of that there’s no question. Yet it also has a beauty to it that’s threaded through the story. The individual back story of Naomi and where she’s come from was lovely and the inner musings of Ben quite funny and entertaining. This book is our first by Nicola Rendell but we’re sure to move onto Confessed now which is about Naomi’s best friend, Lucy who herself was fabulous.
‘Old souls are a real thing.’
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June 4, 2017
Silly, silly book. Let me start by saying this - I learned there are many secret societies at Yale university. From watching Gilmore Girls, I resigned myself to thinking they were all fun and dorky like Life and Death Brigade.
In omnia paratus!...
But, of course, where there is young people without parental control - there is mischief and sex parties. Enter Lux et Veritas.
Good thing Rory didn't happen upon one of those, my childhood would have been ruined forever.
Sure, there's also Scull and Bones, but whatever. We're not talking about them.
This story is as old as the world itself. Teacher and student fell in love. I mean, the Police didn't write Don't Stand So Close To Me for nothing, right? I'm not a snob, if there was a hottie teaching my class - I'd be all over that. Kinda like Naomi.
Screw the world that sees only whores and virgins, bad girls and good. I'm all of it. And proud.
And then it all went to shit. We didn't know Ben's age untill well after the first fuck so I was floored to know he was 38. She's almost 21, but that's not what bothered me. Honestly, age difference in that specific ageframe is not shocking for me. What bothered me was how Ben was portrayed. The book is in dual POV, by the way, so it's even more ridiculous. From the start I thought "Ok, that guy must be in his late twenties". No way in hell mature 38 year old man speaks and thinks the way we were lead to believe. At least, not anyone I know. You can get a free pass on a lot of things at 28, but 38? Get real. And he wears a beanie. WTF?
And then it got even worse with this cafeteria jem:
He says, "Broccoli, I love it."
In my head I interpret this as, I want to rip your clothes off.
"Me too," I say, by wich I mean, Right here, Master Beck. Right here.
"I'm pretty passionate about cauliflower too." Obviously, that translates to, Your nipples need to be in my mouth.
"Especially if it's raw." Please, please, please.
With all that and some laughs somewhere in between, I can give it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3, 'cause I've seen worse.
Over and out
In omnia paratus!...
But, of course, where there is young people without parental control - there is mischief and sex parties. Enter Lux et Veritas.
Good thing Rory didn't happen upon one of those, my childhood would have been ruined forever.
Sure, there's also Scull and Bones, but whatever. We're not talking about them.
This story is as old as the world itself. Teacher and student fell in love. I mean, the Police didn't write Don't Stand So Close To Me for nothing, right? I'm not a snob, if there was a hottie teaching my class - I'd be all over that. Kinda like Naomi.
Screw the world that sees only whores and virgins, bad girls and good. I'm all of it. And proud.
And then it all went to shit. We didn't know Ben's age untill well after the first fuck so I was floored to know he was 38. She's almost 21, but that's not what bothered me. Honestly, age difference in that specific ageframe is not shocking for me. What bothered me was how Ben was portrayed. The book is in dual POV, by the way, so it's even more ridiculous. From the start I thought "Ok, that guy must be in his late twenties". No way in hell mature 38 year old man speaks and thinks the way we were lead to believe. At least, not anyone I know. You can get a free pass on a lot of things at 28, but 38? Get real. And he wears a beanie. WTF?
And then it got even worse with this cafeteria jem:
He says, "Broccoli, I love it."
In my head I interpret this as, I want to rip your clothes off.
"Me too," I say, by wich I mean, Right here, Master Beck. Right here.
"I'm pretty passionate about cauliflower too." Obviously, that translates to, Your nipples need to be in my mouth.
"Especially if it's raw." Please, please, please.
With all that and some laughs somewhere in between, I can give it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3, 'cause I've seen worse.
Over and out
August 1, 2016
Oh God this book was so yummmm. I loved that this was not that taboo yet the forbidden part of it made it so much hotter.
I adored the characters. Naomi was such a sweetheart. She was fierce and knew what she wanted and how to make it hers.
BEN omg Ben!!!! His intensity, his playfulness, his skepticism and his love for Naomi made me his #1 fan. He was such a refreshing character.
I am in awe of nicola's writing and can't wait for book #2. ~Sonal
I adored the characters. Naomi was such a sweetheart. She was fierce and knew what she wanted and how to make it hers.
BEN omg Ben!!!! His intensity, his playfulness, his skepticism and his love for Naomi made me his #1 fan. He was such a refreshing character.
I am in awe of nicola's writing and can't wait for book #2. ~Sonal
October 25, 2016
DNF 40% Maybe it's not the right time, the right book or the right plotline for me right now :)
April 26, 2021
**Synopsis:**
With a knock on the hotel room door, Ben’s night drastically turns from thinking about philosophy & nothingness into attendance at a secret sexual party where debauchery is the name of the game.
“The lux et veritas secret society
Invites you to
The secretem luxuria
Masked. Black-and-white. No underwear.”
Naomi received the same invitation and Ben grabs her attention from the moment she walks in the door. With a night of scorching hot sex, these two realize they might have a problem when it turns out Ben is a professor at the college Naomi attends.
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
- age gap. Naomi is almost 21. Ben is 38
- there was an insta-love aspect that didn’t really ring true for me
- I never really understood the secret society and how Ben got invited in the first place. He was brand new to Yale and hadn’t even started teaching yet, but somehow he got a special invite delivered to his hotel room and the guy checking invitations at the door called him professor. So that was a little confusing. Also the little secret society was never really brought up again. So what was the point? You could’ve just had them meet at a bar and that would have accomplished the same thing without the confusion.
- for some reason I just wasn’t invested in these two.
- there are a ton of bedroom scenes, but not very much depth to the story itself or any real character growth. Therefore, I skipped pages
- i’ve liked other books by this author, but this one just didn’t work for me.
**Overview:**
- Trigger warning: None
- Setting: Yale University
- POV: Dual POV
- Tropes: age gap, professor/student
- Who is the Hero? Ben (age: 38). Yale Philosophy professor
- Who is the Heroine? Naomi(age: 21). Yale scholarship student
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 6%
- First time they sleep together: 7%
- First time they say I Love You 55%
- steamy? Yes. descriptive bedroom scenes, but it got somewhat repetitive
- OW/OM drama? No
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? Yes.
- Big secrets? No
- Did I cry? No
- Did I laugh? No
- Did I swoon? No
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? HFN
- Epilogue? six weeks later
- Recommend? it was meh for me
With a knock on the hotel room door, Ben’s night drastically turns from thinking about philosophy & nothingness into attendance at a secret sexual party where debauchery is the name of the game.
“The lux et veritas secret society
Invites you to
The secretem luxuria
Masked. Black-and-white. No underwear.”
Naomi received the same invitation and Ben grabs her attention from the moment she walks in the door. With a night of scorching hot sex, these two realize they might have a problem when it turns out Ben is a professor at the college Naomi attends.
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
- age gap. Naomi is almost 21. Ben is 38
- there was an insta-love aspect that didn’t really ring true for me
- I never really understood the secret society and how Ben got invited in the first place. He was brand new to Yale and hadn’t even started teaching yet, but somehow he got a special invite delivered to his hotel room and the guy checking invitations at the door called him professor. So that was a little confusing. Also the little secret society was never really brought up again. So what was the point? You could’ve just had them meet at a bar and that would have accomplished the same thing without the confusion.
- for some reason I just wasn’t invested in these two.
- there are a ton of bedroom scenes, but not very much depth to the story itself or any real character growth. Therefore, I skipped pages
- i’ve liked other books by this author, but this one just didn’t work for me.
**Overview:**
- Trigger warning: None
- Setting: Yale University
- POV: Dual POV
- Tropes: age gap, professor/student
- Who is the Hero? Ben (age: 38). Yale Philosophy professor
- Who is the Heroine? Naomi(age: 21). Yale scholarship student
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 6%
- First time they sleep together: 7%
- First time they say I Love You 55%
- steamy? Yes. descriptive bedroom scenes, but it got somewhat repetitive
- OW/OM drama? No
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? Yes.
- Big secrets? No
- Did I cry? No
- Did I laugh? No
- Did I swoon? No
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? HFN
- Epilogue? six weeks later
- Recommend? it was meh for me
August 5, 2016
Professed by Nicola Rendell won me over word-by-word. There’s something magical in the author’s writing that I can’t quite put my finger on. It was almost familiar yet completely different than anything I’ve read before. One thing I can be sure of, Professed topped my list for favorite student/teacher book! Professed is what I like to call smart smut! The story isn’t dumbed down, and it’s smart and witty in a way that isn’t -trying- to be smart and witty. It just is! Smart smut is my favorite kind of smut, you guys. And speaking of that … the sex scenes in this book are top-of-the-line-so-hot-I-need-it-right-now-erotic-times-twenty that left me squirming! Each scene was packed with so much heat and emotion that I didn’t think it could be topped and then … and then … the marker scene. That’s all I can say about that.
Ben and Naomi seem like opposites, but are alike in so many ways that count. The biggest difference would be his nihilism and her hope, but their backgrounds and feeling like they don’t belong really struck a chord for me. Naomi is my perfect female heroine. She’s smart, strong, vivacious, funny, and sexy. She may have doubts about where things can go with Ben but once she makes up her mind, she fights for what she wants, and I love it! Ben is … ah … Ben. Sigh. He is just so damn dreamy. He’s this nihilist that doesn’t believe in anything but he’s gorgeous and brilliant and she makes him believe in everything. She opens his eyes to this brand new world of love and hope and it makes for some really wonderfully swoon-worthy scenes. Also, he has the hot professor angle down just right and while he can be alpha when it counts, I think he’s a sweet, thoughtful man, and I want to marry him and have his babies! And I don’t even really like dudes! Or babies!
Another thing about the writing? This author made me feel all the things. Like I could -feel- when Naomi’s face burst into a wide-open smile and it melted my heart. Just like I could feel it -all the way down there- when Ben needed her so much he wanted to mark every inch of her. Their need and want and passion was palpable, and I was riveted throughout the novel.
I’ll admit that when I first started reading, I wasn’t so sure about the premise but suddenly I was swept up into Naomi and Ben’s story and I was sneak reading at work, dropping everything, and ignoring my wife to read this precious story. If I were to be nitpicky, I could focus on a couple things but you know what? I don’t even care! For a book to suck me in that completely where I want to ignore everyone to get to the last page, that’s an automatic 5-star for me! I had to know what was going to happen to Ben and Naomi! Professed also had me thinking about philosophy and running to Google to see who in the world inspired Ben because I just knew he had to be based on someone real and when I discovered the name it all just clicked (now if I had been a patient reader, I would have saved myself the research because he’s listed in the acknowledgments).
Finally, can we talk about that gorgeous cover? I freaking love it! Kudos to the author for not going the cover model route. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sexy cover-model-cover as much as the next woman, but to read a book as sexy as this, as erotic as this, with as much love as this, and to not have a “sexy” image on the cover was completely refreshing! I think it took moxie for the author to forego the typical cover, and I love it!
What else can I say? You should go 1-click this super smart and super delicious student/teacher read! I think you’ll love it as much as I do!
Ben and Naomi seem like opposites, but are alike in so many ways that count. The biggest difference would be his nihilism and her hope, but their backgrounds and feeling like they don’t belong really struck a chord for me. Naomi is my perfect female heroine. She’s smart, strong, vivacious, funny, and sexy. She may have doubts about where things can go with Ben but once she makes up her mind, she fights for what she wants, and I love it! Ben is … ah … Ben. Sigh. He is just so damn dreamy. He’s this nihilist that doesn’t believe in anything but he’s gorgeous and brilliant and she makes him believe in everything. She opens his eyes to this brand new world of love and hope and it makes for some really wonderfully swoon-worthy scenes. Also, he has the hot professor angle down just right and while he can be alpha when it counts, I think he’s a sweet, thoughtful man, and I want to marry him and have his babies! And I don’t even really like dudes! Or babies!
Another thing about the writing? This author made me feel all the things. Like I could -feel- when Naomi’s face burst into a wide-open smile and it melted my heart. Just like I could feel it -all the way down there- when Ben needed her so much he wanted to mark every inch of her. Their need and want and passion was palpable, and I was riveted throughout the novel.
I’ll admit that when I first started reading, I wasn’t so sure about the premise but suddenly I was swept up into Naomi and Ben’s story and I was sneak reading at work, dropping everything, and ignoring my wife to read this precious story. If I were to be nitpicky, I could focus on a couple things but you know what? I don’t even care! For a book to suck me in that completely where I want to ignore everyone to get to the last page, that’s an automatic 5-star for me! I had to know what was going to happen to Ben and Naomi! Professed also had me thinking about philosophy and running to Google to see who in the world inspired Ben because I just knew he had to be based on someone real and when I discovered the name it all just clicked (now if I had been a patient reader, I would have saved myself the research because he’s listed in the acknowledgments).
Finally, can we talk about that gorgeous cover? I freaking love it! Kudos to the author for not going the cover model route. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sexy cover-model-cover as much as the next woman, but to read a book as sexy as this, as erotic as this, with as much love as this, and to not have a “sexy” image on the cover was completely refreshing! I think it took moxie for the author to forego the typical cover, and I love it!
What else can I say? You should go 1-click this super smart and super delicious student/teacher read! I think you’ll love it as much as I do!
November 2, 2016
Professed was a story about a Yale professor and his undergraduate student. This type of relationship was frowned upon and quite forbidden, but the consequences were not enough to stop them. This was an insta-connection that sparked from the word go. Faces hidden behind masks they drew each other in by eye contact and pheromones. Miss Costa meet Master Beck. He is your boss and she is your aide.
Naomi started off as a confident sexual woman in the first few chapters. After learning Ben was the Master she turned into an irrational high school girl. The age difference was more concerning to me then the professor/student relationship.
Master Ben was thirty-eight years old yet acted like a twenty-two year old. Ben behaved immaturely and irrationally for a professor. Professor Ben was a nihilist claiming nothing in life mattered until Naomi made life matter. Ben was out of control throwing logic to the wind. Ben was horny in my opinion and excited that a twenty year wanted to have sex with him. I thought Ben was a pathetic p*ssy whipped character.
The initial description best described the story by summing it up in those few sentences. However, everything you need to know was depicted in those sentences. Too much was given away from the preview. Not much was added to make this story worth investing my time in. I skimmed the entire book.
The story read like a couple who was having an affair. It's detailed in areas of non importance. Too many words with very little development.
Naomi started off as a confident sexual woman in the first few chapters. After learning Ben was the Master she turned into an irrational high school girl. The age difference was more concerning to me then the professor/student relationship.
Master Ben was thirty-eight years old yet acted like a twenty-two year old. Ben behaved immaturely and irrationally for a professor. Professor Ben was a nihilist claiming nothing in life mattered until Naomi made life matter. Ben was out of control throwing logic to the wind. Ben was horny in my opinion and excited that a twenty year wanted to have sex with him. I thought Ben was a pathetic p*ssy whipped character.
The initial description best described the story by summing it up in those few sentences. However, everything you need to know was depicted in those sentences. Too much was given away from the preview. Not much was added to make this story worth investing my time in. I skimmed the entire book.
The story read like a couple who was having an affair. It's detailed in areas of non importance. Too many words with very little development.
May 27, 2017
Professed was a great and fun read. I didn't love it but I enjoyed myself. The story was pretty basic and nothing out of the ordinary. Teacher/student plot. Naomi and Benjamin were blazing hot together. Damn, talk about chemistry. When it came to the story I found it very predictable. Naomi and Benjamin meet at a party and it's instant lust between them. That continues in secret until they have to figure out what to do with her being a student and him a teacher. There's a twenty years age difference but it didn't bother me. Benjamin only got hotter in my eyes. It was just too insta-lust and love for me. Naomi's friend and roommate Lucy was a great secondary character and even though Professed didn't make an impact I'm definitely going to read Confessed cause I loved Hail Mary and I know the author is capable of surprising me.
3 BadAssDirtyTieMeDownStars
3 BadAssDirtyTieMeDownStars
July 12, 2016
*I was given this book for an honest review*
truthfully this book wasn't for me, I found it boring and lack of excitement. it was back and forth with the main characters and it never drew me in. I did like the background of the main female Naomi. the fisherman's daughter. I'm not a big fan of men calling themselfs "daddy" and when I saw that I was turned off.
truthfully this book wasn't for me, I found it boring and lack of excitement. it was back and forth with the main characters and it never drew me in. I did like the background of the main female Naomi. the fisherman's daughter. I'm not a big fan of men calling themselfs "daddy" and when I saw that I was turned off.
November 26, 2022
I've loved everything I've read from this author.
Except for this book.
I didn't like ANY of the characters.
I didn't care if things worked out.
The sex (forbidden or not) wasn't hot as much as awkward.
I'll still read from this author.
Except for this book.
I didn't like ANY of the characters.
I didn't care if things worked out.
The sex (forbidden or not) wasn't hot as much as awkward.
I'll still read from this author.
September 28, 2016
3 “Dominus” stars
When I first started this book, I didn’t think I was going to fall in love with the story and characters as much as I did, but it happened and I’m so happy I gave Rendell a chance.
Let’s start this review by talking about the author’s writing style. It took me a couple chapters to feel comfortable with it. And at first, the duo POV felt off for some reason, as if the heroines POV and heros POV read the same way. I believe my reading buddy described it as both of them having the same ‘nuances’. I don’t know if that makes any sense to you but that’s the only way to describe what those first few chapters were like for us while reading.
But that wasn’t enough to stop us from continuing forward with the story. It got hot and heavy pretty quickly and well.. just like any normal woman would do, we continued reading because we had to know what was going to happen next. ;)
“I know this is a dirty thing to say.” My voice is raspy and hoarse. “But I want to get inside you. I need to feel you.”
Now for the characters…
Ben Ben Ben.. In the beginning, I wasn’t too sure if I was going to like him very much, but this man stole my heart. He had me at Oreo’s & RED hunter boots!
“I’m lying on my hotel bed doing the usual: eating Oreos, filling first.”
“I shove four Oreos in my mouth at once.”
“You’ve reduced me to eating Oreos alone.”
Benjamin Beck is a Oreo eating, Whiskey Drinking, Philosophy Professor at Yale University. He’s a Nihilist to be exact. *insert confused face** I had to google the word. lol Definition below.
Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.
Professor Benjamin Beck. The believer of Nothingness. That is… until Her. <3
The night before Ben starts his first day at the University, he receives a special invitation to a very exclusive party. Basically a BDSM party for certain members at the university. Parties are not his thing, but he says what the heck and goes anyway. This is when he sees and meets the black haired, blue-eyed, dressed in a little black dress woman.
“She’s a fucking vision. She makes it hard to breathe.”
Naomi Naomi Naomi.. This adorable minx of a woman also gets invited to this exclusive party. She’s adorable and sexy but a bit shy, yet bold enough to be adventurous. She wasn’t my favorite right off the bat but I grew to like the girl.
Ben & Naomi have an instant connection the moment they lock eyes, which had me smiling and rolling my eyes. Instant connection lead to talking, which lead to dancing, which lead to groping like teenagers against a wall, which lead to a one night stand. Which lead to the forbidden aspect of this story.
Teacher & student. Age difference. Living a couple floors away from each other.
The story progressed with them trying to fight the pull they felt toward each other, but it was inevitable from the start. Ben was so enamored with Naomi I couldn’t stop awwwww-ing and Naomi just couldn’t help think about Ben all day long. And I was the one in the corner rooting for them to have a moment to themselves without that nosy Dean cock-blocking every chance they got. Oh, and then there’s Lucy, the awesome non-judgemental best friend :D I’m reading her book soon.
If you’re in the mood for a sweet, cheesy, toe curlingggg, sexy, wet and muddy, surprisingly funny, forbidden teacher-student romance. This here is the book!!!
So why not the 5 stars? 5 stars are over-rated. 3 star reads/ratings is where it’s at. I absolutely loved this book!
I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.
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