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River Valley Teacher's Lounge #1
Apple of My Eye
Juliet Baldwin.
Type-A Teacher.
Sam Ford.
Ruler of Classroom Chaos.
I, Juliet Baldwin, have my hands firmly on the wheel of life at ten-and-two, steering in the opposite direction of heartache. Teaching comes first, and nothing can stand in the way of bettering my students and achieving my professional goals.
Except, of course, technology.
When a grade level shift moves Sam Ford—everyone’s favorite rambunctious teacher, baseball coach, and technology wizard—to my seventh grade team, we butt heads more than we grade papers. But I need someone to help put together a video for my prestigious grant application—a project that I have invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into over the past several years. And while I can barely work my phone’s selfie camera, Sam just so happens to be the tech guru of the building.
Suddenly, as I let him take over the video project for my grant, my reins are in Sam’s hands—someone I don’t trust, and someone who could very well break my heart. But as the layers slowly peel back, revealing much more than a charming smirk beneath his sexy beard, I start to wonder if placing my heart in someone else’s hands will be good for me, or if it will just further upset the apple cart.
Type-A Teacher.
Sam Ford.
Ruler of Classroom Chaos.
I, Juliet Baldwin, have my hands firmly on the wheel of life at ten-and-two, steering in the opposite direction of heartache. Teaching comes first, and nothing can stand in the way of bettering my students and achieving my professional goals.
Except, of course, technology.
When a grade level shift moves Sam Ford—everyone’s favorite rambunctious teacher, baseball coach, and technology wizard—to my seventh grade team, we butt heads more than we grade papers. But I need someone to help put together a video for my prestigious grant application—a project that I have invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into over the past several years. And while I can barely work my phone’s selfie camera, Sam just so happens to be the tech guru of the building.
Suddenly, as I let him take over the video project for my grant, my reins are in Sam’s hands—someone I don’t trust, and someone who could very well break my heart. But as the layers slowly peel back, revealing much more than a charming smirk beneath his sexy beard, I start to wonder if placing my heart in someone else’s hands will be good for me, or if it will just further upset the apple cart.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 7, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
January 6, 2023
Im about to make this book half my personality. I ADORED this. Perfection in a book exists, and it was this book. I truly have no words. I laughed hysterically at the little boy humor, I fanned myself during the smut scenes, I swooned endlessly, and I felt so warm and fuzzy from the found family trope that I both cried and laughed. Obviously, the main characters have my heart, but I love it when side characters steal my heart, too. Mason and Pops often stole the show. Mason especially had my heart twisted in knots. When I ran several youth groups, the slight trouble makers who are always misunderstood and usually have a bad home life were always my favorite.
Mr. Ford and Ms. Baldwin, why aren't you real? The type A and type B personalities of both really shined through while both had their own extra personality traits that didn't 100% line up with their main personality traits like Juliet continually hitting the snooze button in the mornings even though she was the most organized person ever and Sam always grading his students papers immediately instead of letting them sit, despite also being the type to throw a rubber chicken around. It made them feel so real. I love that eventually, after having so many differences, they both wanted to be more like the other as a teacher. But the reality of it is, there are teachers out their like this, and that makes my heart happy for up and coming generations. My sister is like this, like both of them combined ❤️.
As a writer, the author captivated me. Sometimes, I read a sentence that I was just in awe of the beauty of it. I realize it's the beginning of the year. But I have a feeling that this will be one of my favorites and I have to immediately by a hard copy for a reread.
Mr. Ford and Ms. Baldwin, why aren't you real? The type A and type B personalities of both really shined through while both had their own extra personality traits that didn't 100% line up with their main personality traits like Juliet continually hitting the snooze button in the mornings even though she was the most organized person ever and Sam always grading his students papers immediately instead of letting them sit, despite also being the type to throw a rubber chicken around. It made them feel so real. I love that eventually, after having so many differences, they both wanted to be more like the other as a teacher. But the reality of it is, there are teachers out their like this, and that makes my heart happy for up and coming generations. My sister is like this, like both of them combined ❤️.
As a writer, the author captivated me. Sometimes, I read a sentence that I was just in awe of the beauty of it. I realize it's the beginning of the year. But I have a feeling that this will be one of my favorites and I have to immediately by a hard copy for a reread.
April 21, 2023
Ay esta historia! No tiene el reconocimiento que debería de tener!
Lean este libro por favor, es lo más lindo que van a leer y sin tanto drama 🩷
Sam. Juliet. Mason. Pops 🩵
Lean este libro por favor, es lo más lindo que van a leer y sin tanto drama 🩷
Sam. Juliet. Mason. Pops 🩵
May 9, 2023
Voy a crear una etiqueta para las portadas cute que terminan siendo más 🔥 de lo que uno pensaría. 🤭
📖
Get laid, woman. This dress is a walking invitation for phone numbers and dick. Use it!
_
I’m falling in love with Juliet Baldwin faster than a speeding bullet.
📖
Get laid, woman. This dress is a walking invitation for phone numbers and dick. Use it!
_
I’m falling in love with Juliet Baldwin faster than a speeding bullet.
March 3, 2023
This was so cute, it was almost perfect. There was no epilogue though which was so disappointing! And the sending felt pretty rushed. We kind of just get and info dump rather than experiencing the things that end up happening to the MCs. But I’m mainly disappointed there was no epilogue☹️we don’t get to see what happens down the line or if the kid they take in end up calling them mom and dad like they were wondering. Also another thing that bothered me was I guess a formatting issue. There were a lot of time in the book when dialogue was put in italics rather than quotation marks. And I’m not talking italicized text inside quotation marks. No I mean dialogues was just italicized inside a paragraph. It was weird and happened enough times for it to bother me.
A good thing about this book though is hope once they realize they have feelings for each other, they don’t really fight it which shocked me. The h was making me nervous in the beginning because she came across like kind of a bitch tbh. But she completely changed and I ended up really liking her
A good thing about this book though is hope once they realize they have feelings for each other, they don’t really fight it which shocked me. The h was making me nervous in the beginning because she came across like kind of a bitch tbh. But she completely changed and I ended up really liking her
November 1, 2024
1.65 ⭐
Ok Sam is a nice dude. But why (how) the fuck is he a teacher? That's so unrealistic. As a summer camp instructor, I'm sure he would have been almost perfect but not as a teacher. He said it himself, he wanted to be loved by the student. Well you choose the wrong job for it. He's not even doing tests for his students and thought it will be alright or something until he got summoned for it by the school principal. He's so immature. The book literally starts with him bothering another colleague (FMC)'s class for a little experience. Without talking to her first (because you know when you're 30 and you want a girl's attention, you bother her like when you were 6 years old).
She couldn't even trust him, twice. Just grow the fuck up, Sam.
I don't know what to say about the plot. How is it 400 pages but nothing interesting happened? Thanks for the stabbing thing that happened out of nowhere, but during their 3rd act break-up so they can admit their feelings.
Still hating the dirty talking and praise talk out of nowhere.
By the way, minus half a star because of all The Office reference. I like the show actually, but one mention is fine, two is starting to get annoying, three is insufferable, more is just to get on my nerves.
Ok Sam is a nice dude. But why (how) the fuck is he a teacher? That's so unrealistic. As a summer camp instructor, I'm sure he would have been almost perfect but not as a teacher. He said it himself, he wanted to be loved by the student. Well you choose the wrong job for it. He's not even doing tests for his students and thought it will be alright or something until he got summoned for it by the school principal. He's so immature. The book literally starts with him bothering another colleague (FMC)'s class for a little experience. Without talking to her first (because you know when you're 30 and you want a girl's attention, you bother her like when you were 6 years old).
She couldn't even trust him, twice. Just grow the fuck up, Sam.
I don't know what to say about the plot. How is it 400 pages but nothing interesting happened? Thanks for the stabbing thing that happened out of nowhere, but during their 3rd act break-up so they can admit their feelings.
Still hating the dirty talking and praise talk out of nowhere.
By the way, minus half a star because of all The Office reference. I like the show actually, but one mention is fine, two is starting to get annoying, three is insufferable, more is just to get on my nerves.
October 5, 2022
Apple of My Eye was such a delightful surprise for me. I expected to have a good time with it, however, by the end I knew I could see myself recommending this book time and time again.
It's a well-balanced romance that does not focus solely on the romantic relationship but also on those around them - most notably their students. What I loved most about this book was probably the relationship between Sam and one of his students, Mason, who Sam offers a safe place within his classroom after school and a bit of extra guidance.
Another contender for what I loved most about it was the ending which is possibly the most feel-good ending I've read in a romance in a good while. It hit all the good feels and made me all the more appreciative that Allie Marie did not delve deep into conflict between Sam and Juliet. I can't tell you how done I am with the miscommunication trope.
So yeah, really enjoyed this one! I'd recommend picking it up if you're looking for a teacher romance full of heart and a dash of spice with a couple of lovable side characters to add to the mix.
*PS this is currently available to read on Kindle Unlimited :)
It's a well-balanced romance that does not focus solely on the romantic relationship but also on those around them - most notably their students. What I loved most about this book was probably the relationship between Sam and one of his students, Mason, who Sam offers a safe place within his classroom after school and a bit of extra guidance.
Another contender for what I loved most about it was the ending which is possibly the most feel-good ending I've read in a romance in a good while. It hit all the good feels and made me all the more appreciative that Allie Marie did not delve deep into conflict between Sam and Juliet. I can't tell you how done I am with the miscommunication trope.
So yeah, really enjoyed this one! I'd recommend picking it up if you're looking for a teacher romance full of heart and a dash of spice with a couple of lovable side characters to add to the mix.
*PS this is currently available to read on Kindle Unlimited :)
August 28, 2022
This is the third book that I've read from the author, and it's been my favorite so far. I love Juliet and Sam's story! As a teacher, I always get nervous reading books about teachers because I'm afraid that the school system and teaching will be completely misrepresented, but this book was on point! I love enemies to lovers and combined with sunshine/grump made this a fun read.
Thanks to the author for the ARC!
Thanks to the author for the ARC!
March 30, 2023
Cómo es que un libro con esa portada tan linda puede ser tan cochino!? 🤣
La verdad me gustó mucho, fue muy ligero, los conflictos que se nos presentan se resuelven rápido y sin tanto drama, me gustaron mucho ambos protagonistas que apesar de que son diferentes cuando están juntos encajan muy bien 🥹
Y apesar de que es muy cochino también tiene cosas muy lindas 🤭
La verdad me gustó mucho, fue muy ligero, los conflictos que se nos presentan se resuelven rápido y sin tanto drama, me gustaron mucho ambos protagonistas que apesar de que son diferentes cuando están juntos encajan muy bien 🥹
Y apesar de que es muy cochino también tiene cosas muy lindas 🤭
January 7, 2024
This was so cute! I was thinking it was 4 stars until the last few chapters made me cry…and then it needed 5 stars. Maybe it’s because I’m biased and I saw my workplace teacher-teacher relationship have many similarities with how this couple started, but I absolutely adored it. There were so many times where I found myself screaming that it was just like us.
September 7, 2022
Allie Marie’s “Apple of my Eye” was the perfect combination of heart warming and steamy! These characters are forever in my head after reading this and I cannot wait to dive into more of Allie Marie’s work after enjoying this as much as I did!!! As a teacher I love a good education/academia read, and when it’s contemporary romance, I’m there. This one melts the feel-good-ness of being a teacher and making connections with students with a cute opposites attract, bantery love story (The banter though, honestly, too good!)
I highly recommend this one to any and all romance readers but especially if you’ve ever taught! It’s super accurate and I couldn’t help but nod along and sometimes commiserate with the teacher characters! This may just have to be a comfort read for me now!
I highly recommend this one to any and all romance readers but especially if you’ve ever taught! It’s super accurate and I couldn’t help but nod along and sometimes commiserate with the teacher characters! This may just have to be a comfort read for me now!
Did Not Finish
August 5, 2024DNF at 55%. I was so excited to give this a try, a teacher romcom should be right up my alley. Unfortunately I found the characters very two-dimensional and the plot super predictable. I really wasn't enjoying it and instead just trying to read it to have it done and then I remembered I actually can put a book down if I'm not enjoying it. Crazy!! Maybe I'm just not in a rom com season of my life. Oh well!
March 14, 2023
Remember a few weeks ago when I said I needed to stop reading books about people who do the same jobs as me? I’m glad I broke my own rule. I’m obsessed with this, even if I had to turn my brain off for some of the well-intentioned and necessary boundary crossing. Respectfully, I need my own Mr. Ford.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2024
My first 5⭐️ read of 2024! I absolutely adored this book! I always love a good enemies to lovers story! As a teacher myself, I loved that Juliet and Sam are both middle school teachers! A romance story that not only focuses on the main characters, but the other individuals involved in their lives! I know it’s early, but I already know this is going to be one of my favorite reads of the year!
November 21, 2023
Fue un libro que me gustó inesperadamente. Ligero y de ritmo rápido con personajes agradables y una trama entretenida.
September 13, 2026
I didn't really like the start of this story but that quickly turned around. This is funny, sad, hopeful and spicy! I like the relationship between Mason and Ford and I also like the relationship between Juliet and Ford. There even was a little suspense thrown in there. Fun read!
February 29, 2024
this was a ku download from a while ago when i downloaded any cartoon cover and it was solidly mid.
September 8, 2026
I am so Type A, and I would have absolutely hated Juliet as a teacher. She embodies everything I find so frustrating about the teaching system - at least the one I grew up with. Reading her chapters genuinely brought me back to that constant frustration of sitting through these rigid, template-like lessons that nobody actually understood, yet somehow got recycled year after year because that was simply how things were done.
Juliet acts as if she’s fucking omnipotent. Like her way of teaching is the way, her judgment is objectively correct, and anything outside of it is simply wrong. God, I had such a strong urge to punch her in the face.
At some point I realized I didn’t even care about the romance anymore because this character bothered me that much.
Juliet acts as if she’s fucking omnipotent. Like her way of teaching is the way, her judgment is objectively correct, and anything outside of it is simply wrong. God, I had such a strong urge to punch her in the face.
At some point I realized I didn’t even care about the romance anymore because this character bothered me that much.
October 27, 2022
Sam & Juliet
Teacher Romance? ✅
Enemies to Lovers? ✅
Adult difficulties in a relationship? ✅
An emotional side story? ✅
A backwards hat wearing baseball coach? ✅
This is one version of an Allie Marie book recipe & I want more!
Sam Ford is the type-B “fun” teacher, to Juliet’s type-A “strict” teacher. They take different approaches to molding middle-school minds & find that sometimes it’s easier to work together than against each other to achieve success, both personally & professionally.
Allie gave us a great perspective into what it’s like to be a teacher, and showed us how much that occupation can impact relationships. She showed that your co-workers sometimes make your best friends & that children can change your life - as much as you can change theirs.
At one point, Sam talks about why he became a teacher & said “Connection”. This made me think back to all of the amazing teachers I had in my life & take an extra moment to appreciate them.
Also, I consider this book a sports romance because Sam Ford is the school’s baseball coach & I imagined James Lafferty from One Tree Hill the whole time. 🤷🏼♀️
Did this book make me laugh? Yes. Did this book slap me in the face with emotions? Also yes. That wasn’t a surprise for me because this isn’t my first Allie book, but I will always, ALWAYS read & gush about her work.
Teacher Romance? ✅
Enemies to Lovers? ✅
Adult difficulties in a relationship? ✅
An emotional side story? ✅
A backwards hat wearing baseball coach? ✅
This is one version of an Allie Marie book recipe & I want more!
Sam Ford is the type-B “fun” teacher, to Juliet’s type-A “strict” teacher. They take different approaches to molding middle-school minds & find that sometimes it’s easier to work together than against each other to achieve success, both personally & professionally.
Allie gave us a great perspective into what it’s like to be a teacher, and showed us how much that occupation can impact relationships. She showed that your co-workers sometimes make your best friends & that children can change your life - as much as you can change theirs.
At one point, Sam talks about why he became a teacher & said “Connection”. This made me think back to all of the amazing teachers I had in my life & take an extra moment to appreciate them.
Also, I consider this book a sports romance because Sam Ford is the school’s baseball coach & I imagined James Lafferty from One Tree Hill the whole time. 🤷🏼♀️
Did this book make me laugh? Yes. Did this book slap me in the face with emotions? Also yes. That wasn’t a surprise for me because this isn’t my first Allie book, but I will always, ALWAYS read & gush about her work.
August 26, 2022
Ugh, this sweet story is too cute.
Our two main characters, Sam and Juliet are rival teachers with completely different teaching styles. Sam is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy whereas Juliet is as Type-A as you can get.
When we first meet them, they butt heads and can't get along. But when Juliet needs his assistance creating a grant application video, they begin to realize the other one wasn't so bad. Their love story is so sweet and fun to read about.
There were many aspects I enjoyed about this book in addition to the romcom, one of the students, Mason, comes from a rough family dynamic, and Sam guides and mentors him. He had a similar experience growing up in the foster care system before being adopted, so helping kids feel less alone is in his DNA.
It's emotional, real, and captivating.
Five stars for this fun and enjoyable story.
Ps, if you like The Office then you'll love the references!
Our two main characters, Sam and Juliet are rival teachers with completely different teaching styles. Sam is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy whereas Juliet is as Type-A as you can get.
When we first meet them, they butt heads and can't get along. But when Juliet needs his assistance creating a grant application video, they begin to realize the other one wasn't so bad. Their love story is so sweet and fun to read about.
There were many aspects I enjoyed about this book in addition to the romcom, one of the students, Mason, comes from a rough family dynamic, and Sam guides and mentors him. He had a similar experience growing up in the foster care system before being adopted, so helping kids feel less alone is in his DNA.
It's emotional, real, and captivating.
Five stars for this fun and enjoyable story.
Ps, if you like The Office then you'll love the references!
September 29, 2024
This made my teacher heart miss teaching. This was surprisingly very spicy. Also so cheesy and sweet.
I got annoyed about the boy teacher getting in trouble for never giving assessments and his explanation is that he can tell based on their assignments that they are grasping concepts, which like duh, those are assessments, informal assessments. And then his students don’t do well when he gives them a test because he doesn’t usually give them tests? Like… that’s just bad teaching… if they do well on the assignments then the tests should be fine… everything should be aligned. Also if everyone flunked the test then he should’ve curved it so it didn’t drop everyone’s grades on the last day of the semester.
Clearly that author was just trying to make a conflict, but it did not make sense.
I got annoyed about the boy teacher getting in trouble for never giving assessments and his explanation is that he can tell based on their assignments that they are grasping concepts, which like duh, those are assessments, informal assessments. And then his students don’t do well when he gives them a test because he doesn’t usually give them tests? Like… that’s just bad teaching… if they do well on the assignments then the tests should be fine… everything should be aligned. Also if everyone flunked the test then he should’ve curved it so it didn’t drop everyone’s grades on the last day of the semester.
Clearly that author was just trying to make a conflict, but it did not make sense.
May 17, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was well-written, had some of the best smut scenes I’ve ever read in it, and amazing chemistry between the two main characters. The banter was exceptionally entertaining and so so hot.
The first 10 chapters or so are kinda rough, but keep pushing through. The book only gets better as you read and I couldn’t put it down towards the end.
It did have a 3rd end break scene that I found a little unnecessary, and that drug my rating down a little bit.
Don’t know if I’ll ever re-read this book, but I’m glad I gave it a chance and I’m excited to read the second one.
The first 10 chapters or so are kinda rough, but keep pushing through. The book only gets better as you read and I couldn’t put it down towards the end.
It did have a 3rd end break scene that I found a little unnecessary, and that drug my rating down a little bit.
Don’t know if I’ll ever re-read this book, but I’m glad I gave it a chance and I’m excited to read the second one.
December 31, 2022
my first teacher x teacher trope and i'm... disappointed:( this ran like a disney movie with all the ✨magic/change✨ that sam brought to people's lives but i wish it showed a more realistic school dynamic between profs and students.
maybe i'm just not /there/ at school enough to have this type of bond with my profs HAHA but this ain't the book for me. it is a cute romance though so you could give it a try!!
maybe i'm just not /there/ at school enough to have this type of bond with my profs HAHA but this ain't the book for me. it is a cute romance though so you could give it a try!!
February 6, 2023
- just realized it’s only 30% in and lots have happened but I’ve also not really realized it cuz I was immersed. I like reading books like that
- it’s cute that they have a crush. Makes me think if any of my teachers back in the day were like this
- definitely hot
- hmmm a a stabbing seems a bit excessive for this kind of book but ok
- I’m glad she realized that she doesn’t want to lose Sam over this
- ok cute cute. I’m glad everyone got a happy ending
- it’s cute that they have a crush. Makes me think if any of my teachers back in the day were like this
- definitely hot
- hmmm a a stabbing seems a bit excessive for this kind of book but ok
- I’m glad she realized that she doesn’t want to lose Sam over this
- ok cute cute. I’m glad everyone got a happy ending
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2022
this book was so stinking cute. golden-retriever-energy sam ford and type a personality juliet baldwin are polar opposites and perfect complements of each other. plenty of steamy and swoon worthy scenes.
-reverse grumpy/sunshine
-workplace romance (teachers)
-opposites attract
-adoption/fostering rep
-HEA
-reverse grumpy/sunshine
-workplace romance (teachers)
-opposites attract
-adoption/fostering rep
-HEA
February 15, 2025
I’m not usually one for teacher romances (because it’s almost always teacher-student and AS a teacher? Yuck) but I was pleasantly surprised with this teacher-teacher romance. I love how they helped each other both professionally and personally. Very cute
January 11, 2023
That ending??? My eyeballs have sprung a leak. I am obsessed with this book.
February 24, 2023
As a middle school teacher, this book hit all the feels. Amazing, especially the last 25%
April 30, 2023
such a cute romance!! Easy read, and i loved it more because of the teacher romance 🥰
May 17, 2024
cute teacher romance!!! 😍
July 8, 2026
This swings for the fences
This was a rare read that wasn’t for a book club and I will try to present a spoiler free review. I was attracted to the story because it appeared to be an Enemies-to-Lovers but I feel it may be closer to Rivals-to-Lovers, as there wasn’t any true animosity between Sam Ford (the MMC), a 7th grade science teacher, and Juliette Baldwin (the FMC) the 7th grade English teacher at the fictitious River View Middle School in Massachusetts, set possibly in one of Boston’s ‘burbs.
The conflict between their characters comes from their totally different teaching styles, Sam loose, laid back, and trying to provide meaningful experiences (and not just “teach to the test”) and Julliette is a more strict Type A and by the book instructor. So you could say there’s a dash of opposites attract going on as Sam also coaches the baseball team and Juliette coaches the debate team. Both also have some trauma from their past regarding going through issues with their parents as youngsters.
This is where Mason fits in, a student in 7th grade that is having problems with school and that both want to help in their own way. Sam by being there as a steady adult that Mason doesn’t have at home and Juliette, in a more indirect way, by trying to get a major grant award for the school. The thread of helping Mason is what starts the connection but their time helping each other (Sam with the video portion of Juliette’s grant application and Juliette helping by getting Mason to open up to her as well as to Sam) is what draws them together romantically as each recognizes that the other is a very skilled teacher and wants to do what they think will help the students most. It was a bit difficult to pick out, because once the attraction line was crossed the book had them both falling pretty fast, but I think the He Fell First trope is in play here. You might even say the She Doesn’t Think She Deserves Love trope is there too, but I would argue it’s a secondary one. There are the expected Third Act Problems but there was never any doubt they would be together at the end. It wasn’t a home run but it was absolutely a walk off win that you will definitely enjoy.
BE AWARE: THIS IS SPICIER THAN IT MAY APPEAR AT FIRST GLANCE AND THE SPICE IS OPEN DOOR.
(3 of 4 🌶️)
This was a rare read that wasn’t for a book club and I will try to present a spoiler free review. I was attracted to the story because it appeared to be an Enemies-to-Lovers but I feel it may be closer to Rivals-to-Lovers, as there wasn’t any true animosity between Sam Ford (the MMC), a 7th grade science teacher, and Juliette Baldwin (the FMC) the 7th grade English teacher at the fictitious River View Middle School in Massachusetts, set possibly in one of Boston’s ‘burbs.
The conflict between their characters comes from their totally different teaching styles, Sam loose, laid back, and trying to provide meaningful experiences (and not just “teach to the test”) and Julliette is a more strict Type A and by the book instructor. So you could say there’s a dash of opposites attract going on as Sam also coaches the baseball team and Juliette coaches the debate team. Both also have some trauma from their past regarding going through issues with their parents as youngsters.
This is where Mason fits in, a student in 7th grade that is having problems with school and that both want to help in their own way. Sam by being there as a steady adult that Mason doesn’t have at home and Juliette, in a more indirect way, by trying to get a major grant award for the school. The thread of helping Mason is what starts the connection but their time helping each other (Sam with the video portion of Juliette’s grant application and Juliette helping by getting Mason to open up to her as well as to Sam) is what draws them together romantically as each recognizes that the other is a very skilled teacher and wants to do what they think will help the students most. It was a bit difficult to pick out, because once the attraction line was crossed the book had them both falling pretty fast, but I think the He Fell First trope is in play here. You might even say the She Doesn’t Think She Deserves Love trope is there too, but I would argue it’s a secondary one. There are the expected Third Act Problems but there was never any doubt they would be together at the end. It wasn’t a home run but it was absolutely a walk off win that you will definitely enjoy.
BE AWARE: THIS IS SPICIER THAN IT MAY APPEAR AT FIRST GLANCE AND THE SPICE IS OPEN DOOR.
(3 of 4 🌶️)
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