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Milford College #2
Office Mate
The last thing I want is to share my beautiful office with an uptight, unfriendly new English professor. I don't care if he's incredibly hot. He's still the worst office mate in the world.
We're stuck together for a year, and that might be too long for me to resist discovering what's hiding beneath his buttoned-up appearance.
Office Mate is the second book in the Milford College series, novellas about the faculty and staff of a small liberal arts college.
We're stuck together for a year, and that might be too long for me to resist discovering what's hiding beneath his buttoned-up appearance.
Office Mate is the second book in the Milford College series, novellas about the faculty and staff of a small liberal arts college.
124 pages, ebook
First published August 21, 2019
196 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
Noelle Adams
139 books2,704 followersNoelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn't stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
February 18, 2024
5 Sterne (= absoluter Favorit)
Wie kann man nicht in Evan verknallt sein?! Noelles Bücher, die nur aus der Perspektive der Protagonistin erzählt werden, funktionieren UNENDLICH gut für mich 😍😊
Re-Read am 02.01.21
Wie kann man nicht in Evan verknallt sein?! Noelles Bücher, die nur aus der Perspektive der Protagonistin erzählt werden, funktionieren UNENDLICH gut für mich 😍😊
Re-Read am 02.01.21
September 23, 2019
3.5 stars -- I'm realizing that I'm a sucker for an outgoing heroine + a socially awkward hero
August 22, 2019
***2.5 pass the time stars***
Noelle Adams is my guilty pleasure go to author. Her books are usually a hit or miss for me, I can never really tell until I read a few pages. This one was an okay read.
What I love about her is I can usually finish her books in a little under 2 hours. They're quick reads but not completely shallow. They're smut reads but still got the feels. Depending on how good or bad they are they leave you wanting more.
This was an okay read. I won't rave about it but I don't regret reading it either. It's got a beta male so that made me happy. Female lead was likable enough. More than I can ask for. Chemistry was good enough for a short read. So that's that.
Noelle Adams is my guilty pleasure go to author. Her books are usually a hit or miss for me, I can never really tell until I read a few pages. This one was an okay read.
What I love about her is I can usually finish her books in a little under 2 hours. They're quick reads but not completely shallow. They're smut reads but still got the feels. Depending on how good or bad they are they leave you wanting more.
This was an okay read. I won't rave about it but I don't regret reading it either. It's got a beta male so that made me happy. Female lead was likable enough. More than I can ask for. Chemistry was good enough for a short read. So that's that.
July 14, 2020
Jetzt muss Beck zu allem Überfluss noch ihr schönes, großes Büro teilen ... und dann noch mit so einen eher steifen Typen wie Evan...
Oh man, was für ein Buch. Ich war sowas von bei Beck. Sie ist eine super sympathische Protagonistin. Auch finde ich gut, das sie nicht dem typischen Schönheitsideal entsprochen hat. Und dann mag sie noch Herr der Ringe. Ja, sofort war ich bei ihr. Ich finde, sie ist eine Figur mit der man gerne befreundet wäre.
Noch ein paar Worte zu Evan. Erst habe ich mich gefragt, was das bitte für ein Typ sein soll, doch dann hatte er mich. Er hat so süße Eigenschaften und ist dermaßen liebenswert und auch auf seine Art unsicher, die ihn zu einer besonderen Figur machen.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin ist schön leicht, das ich langsam gar nicht mehr gemerkt habe, das ich gerade Englisch lese. Man kann sich richtig in die Story reinfallen lassen.
Ich liebe die Geschichte, die Figuren, das Setting - kurz einfach alles.
Ich glaube auch der dritte Band wird nicht lange auf sich warten lassen.
5 Sternchen für eine absolute Wohlfühlgeschichte :)
Oh man, was für ein Buch. Ich war sowas von bei Beck. Sie ist eine super sympathische Protagonistin. Auch finde ich gut, das sie nicht dem typischen Schönheitsideal entsprochen hat. Und dann mag sie noch Herr der Ringe. Ja, sofort war ich bei ihr. Ich finde, sie ist eine Figur mit der man gerne befreundet wäre.
Noch ein paar Worte zu Evan. Erst habe ich mich gefragt, was das bitte für ein Typ sein soll, doch dann hatte er mich. Er hat so süße Eigenschaften und ist dermaßen liebenswert und auch auf seine Art unsicher, die ihn zu einer besonderen Figur machen.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin ist schön leicht, das ich langsam gar nicht mehr gemerkt habe, das ich gerade Englisch lese. Man kann sich richtig in die Story reinfallen lassen.
Ich liebe die Geschichte, die Figuren, das Setting - kurz einfach alles.
Ich glaube auch der dritte Band wird nicht lange auf sich warten lassen.
5 Sternchen für eine absolute Wohlfühlgeschichte :)
November 2, 2019
I LOVE NOELLE ADAMS.
There I said it. I like her real and lovable characters, I love the straight forward approach to her story telling, I love the short stories, I loved I her books very much.
They are a real comfort read to me, the books I go to when I had a bad day. Thank you Noelle for writing such beautiful books.
There I said it. I like her real and lovable characters, I love the straight forward approach to her story telling, I love the short stories, I loved I her books very much.
They are a real comfort read to me, the books I go to when I had a bad day. Thank you Noelle for writing such beautiful books.
August 22, 2019
3.75 Stars!
August 18, 2020
Ok, but not my favorite by this author. I thought the couple jumped into a physical relationship too fast. The dialogue during those scenes made me roll my eyes a lot, too. The ending was cute, though.
February 14, 2022
Adams' books cannot be read one by one in the specific series - it's one story, different characters.
August 27, 2019
The second book in the author's Milford College series about staff at a Liberal Arts college is a lovely literal 'office' romance, as the two main characters, Beck and Evan share an office when Evan arrives as a new professor and Beck has to give up some of the large space she's gotten used to. Evan isn't particularly friendly - he's not unfriendly; he's unfailingly polite and well mannered, he just doesn't smile or engage in small talk which makes things rather awkward at first. Yet when Beck encounters him leaving food for a flock of crows and picking up the shiny treats they leave him in return so as to not hurt their feelings, she knows there's another side to him, a sensitive side that she'd like to learn more about. And, he IS very attractive....
Soon enough, they are sharing a little more about themselves with each other, which eventually leads to confessions of mutual attraction and some steamy sex (yes, even in the office!). But Evan's reserved nature does cause some issues, especially when it comes to sharing about his family and their history so there are some ups and downs before they get their happy ending. The ending of this one felt a bit rushed, but overall it's a nice, sexy story with likable characters, an easy read with low angst and some gentle humour- a common trait among the author's novellas. And I'd be remiss not to mention the fandom for The Lord of The Rings which is a significant plot point that I much enjoyed. 3.5 stars.
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the author for review.
Soon enough, they are sharing a little more about themselves with each other, which eventually leads to confessions of mutual attraction and some steamy sex (yes, even in the office!). But Evan's reserved nature does cause some issues, especially when it comes to sharing about his family and their history so there are some ups and downs before they get their happy ending. The ending of this one felt a bit rushed, but overall it's a nice, sexy story with likable characters, an easy read with low angst and some gentle humour- a common trait among the author's novellas. And I'd be remiss not to mention the fandom for The Lord of The Rings which is a significant plot point that I much enjoyed. 3.5 stars.
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the author for review.
August 27, 2019
Wow! This is exactly what I look for in a novella! Hot and steamy, angsty yet sweet, and character development out the wazoo! I loved everything about this story!
Beck is irritated that she is going to have to share her office with a new professor so she’s not in the best of moods when she walks in and finds he’s already arranged some of her things. Trying to make it work, she attempts to get to know him but he seems to be a man of few words and she feels like she’s getting nowhere. Despite his serious vibes and unsmiling nature, she finds herself attracted to him. When she finally yields to temptation she opens the door to a relationship filled with dirty talk and smexy times that blow her mind. Unfortunately, it appears that Evan doesn’t want more and that just isn’t going to work for her.
This was so much more than what it appears to be on the surface. Beck has been through enough life changes to learn to accept herself as who and what she is and she refuses to allow anyone to make her feel less. I loved that she fought hard to hold fast to her belief in herself. Evan is secretive about his past, including his family. He holds himself back from her to the detriment of their relationship but when we learn why he does so, my heart broke for him.
For a novella, Evan and Beck were very well developed as was their relationship. This felt like a longer book in that everything was well rounded, nothing felt rushed, there was no over the top reactions, and it all felt very real. I love when a plotline can pull me in with its realism without losing the magic of the romance, and this one did exactly that. With some wonderful scenes regarding The Lord of the Rings and the sweetest epilogue, this book left me grinning from ear to ear.
Heroine POV
Safe
Triggers
Beck is irritated that she is going to have to share her office with a new professor so she’s not in the best of moods when she walks in and finds he’s already arranged some of her things. Trying to make it work, she attempts to get to know him but he seems to be a man of few words and she feels like she’s getting nowhere. Despite his serious vibes and unsmiling nature, she finds herself attracted to him. When she finally yields to temptation she opens the door to a relationship filled with dirty talk and smexy times that blow her mind. Unfortunately, it appears that Evan doesn’t want more and that just isn’t going to work for her.
This was so much more than what it appears to be on the surface. Beck has been through enough life changes to learn to accept herself as who and what she is and she refuses to allow anyone to make her feel less. I loved that she fought hard to hold fast to her belief in herself. Evan is secretive about his past, including his family. He holds himself back from her to the detriment of their relationship but when we learn why he does so, my heart broke for him.
For a novella, Evan and Beck were very well developed as was their relationship. This felt like a longer book in that everything was well rounded, nothing felt rushed, there was no over the top reactions, and it all felt very real. I love when a plotline can pull me in with its realism without losing the magic of the romance, and this one did exactly that. With some wonderful scenes regarding The Lord of the Rings and the sweetest epilogue, this book left me grinning from ear to ear.
Heroine POV
Safe
Triggers
July 30, 2022
I don’t know what it is about Noelle Adams’s books that makes them work so well for me. That’s a lie because I do know. They’re mostly internal conflict and angsty and it feeds my soul. This sucked me in right from the get-go. Beck is not pleased she has to share her office with the new history professor but there’s a shortage of options so she’ll have to put up with him. Beck was a breath of fresh air, dynamic and a bit flighty and led by her feelings. Evan is buttoned up and repressed, afraid of rejection. All that forced proximity leads to intense chemistry, at least on Beck’s side but she’s sure he doesn’t feel the same. They both keep looking for signs from the other person, certain if they were really interested, they’d let them know. Bless their hearts. I like how this series is playing with the idea of “he’s just not that into you” and showing the way insecurities can prevent us from going after what we really want.
I was not expecting Lord of the Rings to factor into how Beck and Evan get together—it’s not a series (books or movies) I’ve ever gotten into—but it was a fun nerdy detail, as was the fact that Evan feeds crows peanuts on his walk to campus. I just loved both of them and was so proud of Beck for mustering up the courage to stand up for what she needed in the relationship, even if that meant risking him. My only quibble is I wasn’t clear why Evan had anything to do with his toxic parents, unless it was so he wouldn’t lose access to his 17 year old sister. Even so, he managed to mostly see her without them so it would have helped for the story to take a firmer stance that he could cut them out of his life completely, just like his bully brother.
Characters: Beck is a 30 year old fat white American history professor. Evan is a white assistant professor in English and around her age; he’s 5’8 or 5’9. This is set in Milford, VA.
Content notes: brief internalized fatshaming (old insecurities, countered), toxic parents (off page), MMC’s older brother bullied him when they were growing up (no relationship now), unsafe sex practices (condomless sex as sign of love but no discussion beforehand, nor did they ever disclose STD/STI status; she is on birth control), secondary character’s boyfriend cheated, secondary character has sick grandmother (past major stroke), on page sex, office sex, alcohol, gender essentialism, ableist language, reference to past fatphobic dates, reference to MMC’s parents being racist (no specifics)
I was not expecting Lord of the Rings to factor into how Beck and Evan get together—it’s not a series (books or movies) I’ve ever gotten into—but it was a fun nerdy detail, as was the fact that Evan feeds crows peanuts on his walk to campus. I just loved both of them and was so proud of Beck for mustering up the courage to stand up for what she needed in the relationship, even if that meant risking him. My only quibble is I wasn’t clear why Evan had anything to do with his toxic parents, unless it was so he wouldn’t lose access to his 17 year old sister. Even so, he managed to mostly see her without them so it would have helped for the story to take a firmer stance that he could cut them out of his life completely, just like his bully brother.
Characters: Beck is a 30 year old fat white American history professor. Evan is a white assistant professor in English and around her age; he’s 5’8 or 5’9. This is set in Milford, VA.
Content notes: brief internalized fatshaming (old insecurities, countered), toxic parents (off page), MMC’s older brother bullied him when they were growing up (no relationship now), unsafe sex practices (condomless sex as sign of love but no discussion beforehand, nor did they ever disclose STD/STI status; she is on birth control), secondary character’s boyfriend cheated, secondary character has sick grandmother (past major stroke), on page sex, office sex, alcohol, gender essentialism, ableist language, reference to past fatphobic dates, reference to MMC’s parents being racist (no specifics)
August 26, 2019
Noelle Adams est une auteure un peu atypique qui poursuit sa carrière fort discrètement mais a à son actif, un très grand nombre de titres. Depuis quelque temps, je trouve qu’elle se répète un peu et cette série qui reposait sur une bonne idée illustre un peu cela.
La saga porte sur une petite université du fin fond des États-Unis et raconte les histoires d’amour entre les différents profs et employés. Bonne idée et le fait que ce tome porte sur deux collègue obligés de partager un bureau promettait. D’autant plus que le héros, un prof d’anglais, très coincé et taiseux, avait l’air atypique. Il l’est en effet. Il est timide, un peu introverti et a du mal avec les relations sociales. Beck, l’héroïne, n’était déjà pas ravie de voir quelqu’un débarquer dans son petit domaine, alors quand Evan se révèle aussi fermé, elle a beaucoup de mal.
Il y avait tout pour faire une jolie comédie enlevée, basée sur l’incompréhension entre ces deux-là, mais l’auteure se focalise sur leur relation sexuelle qui commence assez vite malgré le fait qu’il se connaissent peu et c’est un peu dommage. On parle très peu de l’université, du contexte en général et les héros se parleront tardivement dans le roman alors qu’il est important de savoir pourquoi Evan est comme cela. Pourquoi, un jeune homme est-il aussi fermé sur lui. Nous avons droit à une explication mais cela n’est pas le propos du livre. L’humour est un peu oublié aussi. Si Beck fulmine souvent et s’impatiente du silence d’Evan, de ses réactions qu’elle ne comprend pas, ce n’est pas très exploité non plus.
Ce livre se lit de façon totalement indépendante malgré l’existence d’un premier tome. Il y en aura un autre. Ce sont des romans relativement courts qui se lisent très vite mais celui-ci passe un peu à côté du sujet et peine à nous captiver.
http://romance-bluemoon.com/2019/08/o...
August 18, 2019
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**
I do like a workplace romance and this novella has everything i could hope for. It has angst, romance, sweetness along with some sex.
Beck does not really want to share her office with another faculty member, but due to an office shortage, has to share her office with the new English Teacher for a year. Evan rubs her the wrong way when he immediately starts moving things and not responding well to her friendliness and trying to get his to talk.
Beck is not one to be deterred and likes to think of herself as friendly and likes to get to know people and Evan does not give her much and only really talks about work stuff so she never gets to the real him.
When things do happen both characters hide things until Beck blows and Evan has to explain why he is so closed off until they eventually get to understand where they are going and what they both want.
I really enjoyed this book, and we get an idea in the epilogue as to is going to be featured in the next novella in the series.
I do like a workplace romance and this novella has everything i could hope for. It has angst, romance, sweetness along with some sex.
Beck does not really want to share her office with another faculty member, but due to an office shortage, has to share her office with the new English Teacher for a year. Evan rubs her the wrong way when he immediately starts moving things and not responding well to her friendliness and trying to get his to talk.
Beck is not one to be deterred and likes to think of herself as friendly and likes to get to know people and Evan does not give her much and only really talks about work stuff so she never gets to the real him.
When things do happen both characters hide things until Beck blows and Evan has to explain why he is so closed off until they eventually get to understand where they are going and what they both want.
I really enjoyed this book, and we get an idea in the epilogue as to is going to be featured in the next novella in the series.
Read
June 20, 2023I really like this, this is super cute.
November 7, 2019
Mendapati ruangan kerja di kampusnya harus dibagi dengan orang lain cukup mengesalkan bagi Beck Wilson. Ruangannya yang rapi dan nyaman kini jadi milik dia dan Evans Jones, sang asisten profesor yang punya kepribadian tertutup.
Bagi Beck yang punya kepribadian extrovert, Evans ini anomali. Pria ini ga pernah senyum ke dirinya. Bicara irit. Pokoknya sosoknya Evans susah Beck terka. Padahal dirinya cukup PD untuk tau karakter pria.
Tapi Evans dikagumi rekan kerjanya dan mahasiswa. Lantaran dia orangnya cukup sopan. Plus Evans ini hot di mata Beck. Perpaduan yang bikin Beck gundah.
Yang bikin Beck cukup terkejut, Evans memulai pendekatan dengan mengajaknya ngopi sambil bicarain tesisnya Beck, topik yang cukup aneh menurut Beck. Tapi dari situ, kedekatan mereka bertambah. Rupanya Evans ini tipe yang perlu warming up untuk memulai interaksi (sama lah dengan ku :)), jadinya cukup lama untuk Beck menyadari Evans menyukainya.
Dari ngopi, nonton bareng sampai tidur bareng, semua tahapan pacaran sudah mereka lalui. Tapi kata '"pacaran" itu ngga pernah keluar dari mulut Evans. Beck menyadarinya tapi takut dengan menanyakannya, hubungan mereka berakhir. Di sini pikiran overthingking Beck mulai bersuara keras.
Ditambah lagi, Evan ngga pernah secuilpun bercerita soal keluarganya. Tambah paranoid Beck. Pikirnya Evan ngga mau keluarganya tau soal Beck. Padahal mereka sudah dua bulan jalan bareng.
Satu titik akhirnya Beck bertanya dan jawaban Evans mengecewakan. Aku suka di sini dengan pemilihan kata-katanya Beck ke Evans. Yang intinya : Beck pantas mendapatkan pria yang mau komitmen dengannya. Dan Beck pun memberikan lampu hijau jika Evans mau pergi darinya. Bravo !
Evans ini karakter beta yang paling aku pahami dari semua karakter serupa yang ditulis mba Noelle. Soal butuh waktu untuk berinteraksi. Soal insecurenya dengan keluarganya. Soal masa lalu keluarganya yang membuat kepribadiannya seperti itu. Cocok lah dia dikatakan Beck seperti Faramir LOTR.
Sedangkan Beck juga aku pahami karakternya. Dia punya kelebihan plush body tapi insecure. Beck juga overthinking tapi bisa stand up untuk memilih kebahagiaan dirinya jika Evans betulan pergi darinya.
4 bintang
Bagi Beck yang punya kepribadian extrovert, Evans ini anomali. Pria ini ga pernah senyum ke dirinya. Bicara irit. Pokoknya sosoknya Evans susah Beck terka. Padahal dirinya cukup PD untuk tau karakter pria.
Tapi Evans dikagumi rekan kerjanya dan mahasiswa. Lantaran dia orangnya cukup sopan. Plus Evans ini hot di mata Beck. Perpaduan yang bikin Beck gundah.
Yang bikin Beck cukup terkejut, Evans memulai pendekatan dengan mengajaknya ngopi sambil bicarain tesisnya Beck, topik yang cukup aneh menurut Beck. Tapi dari situ, kedekatan mereka bertambah. Rupanya Evans ini tipe yang perlu warming up untuk memulai interaksi (sama lah dengan ku :)), jadinya cukup lama untuk Beck menyadari Evans menyukainya.
Dari ngopi, nonton bareng sampai tidur bareng, semua tahapan pacaran sudah mereka lalui. Tapi kata '"pacaran" itu ngga pernah keluar dari mulut Evans. Beck menyadarinya tapi takut dengan menanyakannya, hubungan mereka berakhir. Di sini pikiran overthingking Beck mulai bersuara keras.
Ditambah lagi, Evan ngga pernah secuilpun bercerita soal keluarganya. Tambah paranoid Beck. Pikirnya Evan ngga mau keluarganya tau soal Beck. Padahal mereka sudah dua bulan jalan bareng.
Satu titik akhirnya Beck bertanya dan jawaban Evans mengecewakan. Aku suka di sini dengan pemilihan kata-katanya Beck ke Evans. Yang intinya : Beck pantas mendapatkan pria yang mau komitmen dengannya. Dan Beck pun memberikan lampu hijau jika Evans mau pergi darinya. Bravo !
Evans ini karakter beta yang paling aku pahami dari semua karakter serupa yang ditulis mba Noelle. Soal butuh waktu untuk berinteraksi. Soal insecurenya dengan keluarganya. Soal masa lalu keluarganya yang membuat kepribadiannya seperti itu. Cocok lah dia dikatakan Beck seperti Faramir LOTR.
Sedangkan Beck juga aku pahami karakternya. Dia punya kelebihan plush body tapi insecure. Beck juga overthinking tapi bisa stand up untuk memilih kebahagiaan dirinya jika Evans betulan pergi darinya.
4 bintang
January 10, 2025
My 6th book of 2025. I wanted to read this book because I saw on a Reddit thread devoted to the topic that the heroine was both plus size and a professor. Since I'm both, that appeals to me. I liked this book better than the first book in this series. The dialogue still isn't as witty or snappy as I normally enjoy in romance novels and still a bit too sweet and serious for my taste. I like romance novels that are funnier. There were a few specific things I appreciated about this book. The first is that the plus size heroine is not hung up about her size, doesn't pursue a weight loss "journey" at any point in the book, and has a healthy dating life even prior to meeting the hero. It's nice to have some variety in the narratives surrounding plus size characters. The second is that this book has some of the most accurate depictions of professor life I've ever read. I've read a fair few romances where one or both of the main characters are academics and it's usually quite clear the author has no idea what being a professor entails. This one does. Both main characters are professors and they have busy teaching schedules. Classes that a history professor or an English professor would realistically teach are mentioned. They grade papers and are sometimes too busy to get together! There are mentions of staff and faculty squabbles and navigating bureaucracy! All of that felt very true to life. I didn't look up anything about the author of these books but if she is or is close to an academic in her life it wouldn't surprise me. The spicy scenes were decent. I liked the Lord of the Rings references since both main characters are Tolkien fans, those were some enjoyable nerdy references. Again the driving conflict of the book was one rectified by one single conversation and those are not my favorite. This couple really didn't need to overcome anything and their drawn out "does he love me/does she love me/how will I ever know/oh I can't bear to ask" kind of thing which is also present in the first book just is not my favorite. Again, cute stories. I'd read more in the series, but don't have a major drive to finish it.
January 21, 2026
Characters: Beck Wilson and Evan Jones
Beck is a history professor at a small college called Milton, and she’s had an office to herself for two years, but with the small funding they have there, she has to get stuck with a new professor of English called Dr. Evan Jones. She first meets him in her office when he is taking her poster of Lord of the Rings down, and it makes her very annoyed. Evan Jones comes off as reserved, not friendly and stick to his work. He is also writing a book, which he does in the office as well. Throughout the weeks of being in the same office, they don’t say much to each other, but the more time she spends around the good looking professor, the more she’s interested in getting to know him.
Evan is like a locked safe, he doesn’t show a lot of emotions, but the more time he spends around Beck, the more you can see the cracks of his personality come out. One day while watching the Lord of the Rings at Beck’s house, she kisses him and then their sexual relationship begins.
*I really enjoyed this romance, one thing I love about Noelle Adams/Claire Kent is she creates a lot of characters that don’t show their emotions on the outside (especially when it comes to male characters, because usually are in the female’s perspective), so you think that the men don’t have any emotional depth to them, but they come to surprise you right when you need them too. Evan was very reserved and didn’t show his emotions on the outside, because his parents would use it against him, so I felt a lot of empathy for him. Once he opens up to Beck and he explains how his mother and father are, you can see their relationship blossom and become stronger, and you can see that Evan didn’t want to hurt Beck. He also felt self conscious. These characters do fall for each other very quickly (because it’s a novella, so that tends to happen), and even though they were almost opposites, they understand each other on a deeper level*
Beck is a history professor at a small college called Milton, and she’s had an office to herself for two years, but with the small funding they have there, she has to get stuck with a new professor of English called Dr. Evan Jones. She first meets him in her office when he is taking her poster of Lord of the Rings down, and it makes her very annoyed. Evan Jones comes off as reserved, not friendly and stick to his work. He is also writing a book, which he does in the office as well. Throughout the weeks of being in the same office, they don’t say much to each other, but the more time she spends around the good looking professor, the more she’s interested in getting to know him.
Evan is like a locked safe, he doesn’t show a lot of emotions, but the more time he spends around Beck, the more you can see the cracks of his personality come out. One day while watching the Lord of the Rings at Beck’s house, she kisses him and then their sexual relationship begins.
*I really enjoyed this romance, one thing I love about Noelle Adams/Claire Kent is she creates a lot of characters that don’t show their emotions on the outside (especially when it comes to male characters, because usually are in the female’s perspective), so you think that the men don’t have any emotional depth to them, but they come to surprise you right when you need them too. Evan was very reserved and didn’t show his emotions on the outside, because his parents would use it against him, so I felt a lot of empathy for him. Once he opens up to Beck and he explains how his mother and father are, you can see their relationship blossom and become stronger, and you can see that Evan didn’t want to hurt Beck. He also felt self conscious. These characters do fall for each other very quickly (because it’s a novella, so that tends to happen), and even though they were almost opposites, they understand each other on a deeper level*
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August 21, 2019This is the second book of the Milford College series and it is great! Beck is an exuberant history teacher at Milford's and has a big office of her own. Evan is the pompous new teacher of the English Department, very academic and serious and he has not office of his own to stay. The College decides to ask for Beck to share her office space until another teacher retires and Evan can go on his own way.
She is refractory at first but slowly Evan begin to conquer her with his somewhat brooding aloof way. As a pretty intelligent guy it is funny to read Evan trying to woo Beck by asking questions about her thesis of two years ago and the funnier part that she is clueless of his moves.
Sometimes he is so withdrawn that he is a difficult person to read and we understand Beck frustation at times, but this is a funny emotional love story about two people who start clueless about each other and soon develop a deep relationship. The part about Lord of the Rings is so great too! I loved this book!
She is refractory at first but slowly Evan begin to conquer her with his somewhat brooding aloof way. As a pretty intelligent guy it is funny to read Evan trying to woo Beck by asking questions about her thesis of two years ago and the funnier part that she is clueless of his moves.
Sometimes he is so withdrawn that he is a difficult person to read and we understand Beck frustation at times, but this is a funny emotional love story about two people who start clueless about each other and soon develop a deep relationship. The part about Lord of the Rings is so great too! I loved this book!
August 22, 2019
3.5 stars.
Well, this was fun.
Here we have Evan and Beck, they are forced to share an office, something Beck HATES, since it’s her office that’s doing the sharing and she loves it just the way it is.
Evan is super serious and just completely unreadable to Beck. She’s the opposite, she loves laugh and talk and Evan simply doesn’t. So these two don’t have the best of starts, lol.
I liked these two, but particularly Beck, I loved her energy and how she helped Evan come out of his shell and loosen up a bit. He was great too, but he had a lot of demons from his childhood to overcome (what an awful family!).
I loved these two together, they really fit each other. There were some ups and downs, some miscommunications, but all in all a fun read.
*Thank you to the author for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*
Well, this was fun.
Here we have Evan and Beck, they are forced to share an office, something Beck HATES, since it’s her office that’s doing the sharing and she loves it just the way it is.
Evan is super serious and just completely unreadable to Beck. She’s the opposite, she loves laugh and talk and Evan simply doesn’t. So these two don’t have the best of starts, lol.
I liked these two, but particularly Beck, I loved her energy and how she helped Evan come out of his shell and loosen up a bit. He was great too, but he had a lot of demons from his childhood to overcome (what an awful family!).
I loved these two together, they really fit each other. There were some ups and downs, some miscommunications, but all in all a fun read.
*Thank you to the author for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*
November 14, 2019
This was SO good. Evan was the perfect hero; endearing, kind, caring and passionate, but still realistic and with faults and flaws (but not so flawed that he became unforgivable). Beck was a super sweet heroine too. My only complaint is that I would read a whole, full length book about them! I want moreee. I do wish we had have gotten to explore both their characters a little more and looked into Beck's family as well as gotten more from his family, but I also understand that it's a short novel and you can only fit so much in. This gave me very Hating Games vibes but ended up being different enough for me to still love without feeling like they were the same.
Noelle Adams proves to be a consistently good author, with non-stereotypical heroes and heroines and non-stereotypical power dynamics. Will definitely keep reading her books in the future.
Noelle Adams proves to be a consistently good author, with non-stereotypical heroes and heroines and non-stereotypical power dynamics. Will definitely keep reading her books in the future.
April 20, 2021
Sometimes you read about a book on twitter. Sometimes you find out that book only costs 3,50€. Sometimes you read that book in an afternoon. And sometimes you realise you shouldn't have too high expectations of a book you found out about through a 140 word tweet.
This is a novella really, not long enough to be a full book, and you can read it in one sitting. My main problem with this is that there is absolutely no plot beyond the relationship between the main character and her love interest. And don't get me wrong, I love a good character-focused story but the characters still need something to drive them forward other than love. At least that's what I think.
So if you are looking for a quick, cute read with not much character depth and next to no plot, this is a great book. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but it still lacked a lot of things to make it more memorable.
This is a novella really, not long enough to be a full book, and you can read it in one sitting. My main problem with this is that there is absolutely no plot beyond the relationship between the main character and her love interest. And don't get me wrong, I love a good character-focused story but the characters still need something to drive them forward other than love. At least that's what I think.
So if you are looking for a quick, cute read with not much character depth and next to no plot, this is a great book. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but it still lacked a lot of things to make it more memorable.
October 18, 2020
Beck (h) is a History professor at Milford College, forced to share her office with a newly arrived English professor, Evan (H). From their very first meeting, she finds him both irritating and very attractive. A big fan of the "Lord of the Rings" movies, she invites him over to watch them, hoping their working relationship will become more pleasant, as they have to share the office for a full year.
They fall into a sexual relationship quickly, but both have insecurities that cause them to keep from revealing how they truly feel as their relationship progresses. It was touching when they felt brave enough to become completely emotionally vulnerable.
June 11, 2024
The first book in this series was a surprise hit for me, so I decided to give the second one a shot, and I'm so glad I did!
I'm such a sucker for the reserved hero/outgoing heroine dynamic and I loved the awkwardness between them when they're first forced to share an office.
Sometimes in a romance I want more cute couple time, but this was one of those cases where the build-up was the best part of the story to me. I was loving the early parts of the book so much that I was a little disappointed when the romantic relationship picked up speed, but the characters' chemistry and spicy scenes made up for it.
I'm such a sucker for the reserved hero/outgoing heroine dynamic and I loved the awkwardness between them when they're first forced to share an office.
Sometimes in a romance I want more cute couple time, but this was one of those cases where the build-up was the best part of the story to me. I was loving the early parts of the book so much that I was a little disappointed when the romantic relationship picked up speed, but the characters' chemistry and spicy scenes made up for it.
September 15, 2019
3 Stars
I preferred book 1 over this, once again the characters are likeable but the LOTR references may not be to everyone's liking and although it helped paint their image clearly, I was over it by the end.
Again we have coworkers who start out not particularly getting along well in the beginning. This time our heroine Beck is having to share her office with a new professor. As per book one, they start a benefits-only relationship that she quickly wishes was more but is afraid to say anything in case he doesn't feel the same way.
I preferred book 1 over this, once again the characters are likeable but the LOTR references may not be to everyone's liking and although it helped paint their image clearly, I was over it by the end.
Again we have coworkers who start out not particularly getting along well in the beginning. This time our heroine Beck is having to share her office with a new professor. As per book one, they start a benefits-only relationship that she quickly wishes was more but is afraid to say anything in case he doesn't feel the same way.
April 21, 2020
I usually don’t get books with less than 200+ pages unless they are free with my KU plan, but sometimes I feel like there should be something lurking in a quick read that will entertain me. After reading this book I have decided that I don’t have a lot of patience with characters that have no self esteem and constantly berate themselves about their weight, looks, etc. Both the characters are too needy and can’t seem to find themselves friends, and happiness because of their faults. Enough! Wish there was some way to know about this on-going theme before buying a book.
May 29, 2024
I’m not going to go all the way (hehheh) to five stars, but I very much enjoyed this book, as I do pretty much everything that Noelle Adams writes. I loved the disconnect between Beck and Evan that actually was more of an opposites attract type of situation. Evan made a few dumb moves, and I felt Beck’s pain when he did, but as always, his actions made sense in the end in the context of his experiences. Adams’s books never feel inauthentic, and that’s one of the reasons I love her. She could also make 2 cardboard boxes have chemistry.
March 28, 2026
We are constantly reminded of the heroine’s physical description.
I soon came up with a mental pic of a frumpy, messy housekeeper-type, plump with things that were constantly... jiggling. And the hero was a perfect 10.
I get that its actually realistic for us women to be frumpy and plump... but reading romances for me is an escape from reality and I don't want to read about the heroine's tummy jiggling around during sex. Lol, that’s not escapism!
Anyway, just an observation but the storyline was a cute and fun read.
I soon came up with a mental pic of a frumpy, messy housekeeper-type, plump with things that were constantly... jiggling. And the hero was a perfect 10.
I get that its actually realistic for us women to be frumpy and plump... but reading romances for me is an escape from reality and I don't want to read about the heroine's tummy jiggling around during sex. Lol, that’s not escapism!
Anyway, just an observation but the storyline was a cute and fun read.
August 7, 2019
This was a pretty quick and sweet read. Beck is a sweetheart who wears her heart on her sleeve whereas Evan comes across as quite closed off but is just hiding his true feelings through fear of rejection. I liked that the drama/angst in this one was low and the characters showed their true feelings when it looked like things would fall apart. Overall a great addition to the series and I’m glad Beck got her HEA as she’s a loveable character.
August 13, 2019
Beck had already formed an opinion about her new office mate. When Beck meets Evan, her new office mate, he is very polite. Everyone tells Beck what a great guy Evan is and he keeps his distance from her. Beck thinks she offended him so she tries to be nicer. When Beck realizes that Evan really does like her, but he is very shy and is afraid she won't like him. Things change between these two and these two are really cute together! Loved how Beck realized that things weren't what they seemed and she was able to let Evan into her life. Loving this series!
December 18, 2020
This was pretty fast and cute. About halfway through I kinda stopped caring though.... and for a novella that is really surprising.... even though the characters were pretty cute there was nothing really holding my interest once they got together, cuz there was no need for there to be a conflict with a book that short. If it had been a longer novella even into the hundred page mark it could’ve been way more fleshed out... but this was just fine. Cute, but fine.
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