*I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.*
Galen Elliot is a professor of history and has successfully published a couple novels. From the synopsis, it sounds like he sleeps with all of his students, but really, he's only slept with a couple, so that was misleading.
Tara Smith was raised by her grandmother in a small town, and she worked in a bakery to help her. However, once her grandmother passed, she went to college. As a late bloomer, she's 21 and plans to become a doctor.
Summer Cooper is a new author to me and while this isn't the worst book I've read, I couldn't get into it as the writing was rather juvenile. For example, Tara, when she first sees Galen, giggled. Really? Do people still giggle? Not only that, but she obsesses over him. I kid you not, she mentions being slightly hurt that he doesn't notice her at school. Chica, you've only ever said 'hello' to the man, what are you expecting?! Additionally, her self-esteem was so low it was bothersome. In one chapter, she spends some time talking about her past and the rest waxing on about how no one in her other town ever expressed interest in her, so the professor wouldn't be interested, either. She then puts herself down because she looks drab (my word, not the author's, but you get the point). Maybe it's just me, but I prefer heroines who have some confidence.
There were a couple issues I had with the book, other than the writing. The first one is the fact that Tara buys a home in the college town. I get that her living next door to the professor is the whole premise of the book, but who does that? Is she hoping to get a job in said town after graduating? The second issue, and the biggest one, is the fact that Galen doesn't even know Tara's name or what her experience level is with kids (absolutely none, in case you were wondering), and asks her to babysit his daughter. Um... okay, that would NEVER happen. While I don't have children, every first-time parent I know is overly protective with their first child. They definitely wouldn't leave their child alone with a complete stranger who has never before watched a kid! The third issue I had is that Galen is worried about his deceased wife's parents gaining custody of his daughter, and yet he agrees with his friend's suggestion that the solution is to marry a student at the college where he teaches? Yeah, pretty sure that breaks at least 10 different rules.
To be honest, I didn't finish the book, which is a first for me. I tried, I really did, I just couldn't do it; I stopped at 33%. Apparently, I'm in the minority with my opinion, though, so maybe it just wasn't a book for me. I saw that the author has several other books, so I'm going to give one of those a try.