Try Me: Lakeview University: Holiday Try-mester

Lakeview University #1

by Shane K. Morton

Thomas Elder- When I took the position as vocal professor at Lakeview Unversity - I knew I was giving up my performing career. I loved being onstage, but I craved security, and not being broke - so I walked away from singing and into the not so fabulous world of being a college professor. I had finally setled in and was excited about my second year of teaching, when a jock with an attitude walked into my vocal studio. The thoughts running through my head were not the kind of thoughts that a professor should have. I don't know whether I should fail him or kiss him! But the real question that's haunting me - why can't I get him out of my mind? It's like he has some kind of power over me. I hope it's not... No! It can't be!

Darren Peterson- My friends think I'm crazy to switch my major to music. But they don't understand that music is as much a part of me as being Lakeview's star soccer player. I'm not going pro, and the last thing I want to do is be a coach. I like making music. I've been a DJ since high school and making my own mixes gives me a high unlike anything else. Except... My vocal teacher. He's a total geek! He likes opera, and old classic books and film. I bet he's never even seen a superhero movie. But I can't stop wondering what my hands would feel like against his skin. I'm nowhere near ready to settle down, but the smell of him makes me question everything.

Genres: M M Romance, Novella, LGBT

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2022

About the author

Shane K Morton lives in California with his husband and their fur baby. His Novels include: The Point Pleasant Holiday Series, Bluegrass Boys Series, Moray University Collection- Adorkable, The Trouble With Off-Campus Housing, Private Waterloos and The Year of the Cock. Short stories: And We Call It Bella Notte, Ginger in the City and Get off of my Runway. Shane can usually be found at a film festival or performing in cabaret somewhere in a dark dive bar in LA.

Reviews

[~Nicole~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good book. ABO Universe with no world building and really really boring. The writing and the plot execution seem pretty clumsy ..

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He was the inevitable choice I never had"

Star Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
POV: Dual, First Person
HEA: Yes
Spice Rating: 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

Overall Opinion
This was such a super sweet non-shifter omegaverse novella! Thomas, an omega professor, is Darren's, an alpha student, teacher but also his fated mate. The two cannot be together due to the class difference and also Thomas being Darren's teacher, yet they struggle to fight the attraction between the two of them. Obviously being a novella, it is short, but the author wrote it in a way it felt like a full length story, and it was absolutely wonderful! Whilst it does have mpreg, no children are born in the book. Overall it was lovely and steamy and a great palette cleanser!


Read if you like:
❣️ M/M Non-Shifter Omegaverse
❣️ Grumpy/Sunshine
❣️ Teacher/Student
❣️ Fated Mates
❣️ Wrong Timing
❣️ HEA

Trigger and Content Warnings: Mpreg, homophobia

[Chelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another cute story in this series. I liked how Darren and Thomas didn't rush into things straight away. They took their time and went slow. I did enjoy reading this one. Thank you to GRR for the ARC.

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & Quick Fated Mates

This is quick but cute story of fated mates. I enjoyed this story quite a bit.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Jamey A Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. I loved it from start to finish. Very steamy and entertaining. A delight to read. Would you recognize your fated mate? Would it be obvious? Omega Professor Thomas Elder life's turned upset down when Alpha Darren turns up in his classroom. The two are immediately drawn together. The pull is so strong. Darren insists they are fated mates. Thomas tries to fight it keeping his distance. Eventually the pull is to strong to fight it. Thomas becomes pregnant. Can Darren convince Thomas that are truly fated mates? I highly recommend.

[Kaila Karg · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting story.. fun and quick read. very cute and little angst. i enjoyed it.

[Traci S · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I totally missed that this was an alpha/omega story, so that was a wonderful surprise. This was a cute read, pretty low angst with likable main characters and has plenty of humor which I enjoyed. Thomas and Darren’s first meeting was sweetly cute and wonderfully awkward. It ended a little fast for me, feeling a bit unfinished but it has a good cast of side characters and I will definitely read more from this series.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

[Rebecca Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment they met the bond started. Their first touch and they knew they were fated. Darren accepted it immediately but Thomas was afraid to accept it. The love was so beautiful to watch unfold, and seeing them support each other no matter one. This was such a sweet story, it was very fast paced but still very enjoyable. I can’t wait to read Preston’s story next. ❤️😀

[Bkwrm24 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas and Darren ❤️

Slow burn, enjoyable and very cute!!! I'd recommend, I'm onto the next in this series.

* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review *

[Justine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try Me is Book 1 in the multi-author Lakeview University: Try-mester series and can be enjoyed on its own or in any order. Thomas is an omega professor and Darren is a star soccer player at the university who's also taking a music class with Thomas. Darren and Thomas are so cute together. Fate has brought these two together and will not be denied no matter how slow Thomas and Darren take their newly changing relationship. This is a sweet short mpreg story and I recommend it.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book.

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good.

I enjoyed getting to know this world. Thomas and Darren were an interesting pair. I liked Thomas’s friends. Darren’s were a bit to take. In fact I think I like Stan the best. I can’t wait to read more from the Lakeview world.

[Amy Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

This book is amazing and I loved it! The tale of Thomas and Darren is filled with all the feels that make a great love story and I highly recommend it! Two men who couldn’t be more opposite will find themselves bound together by fate. It is a joy to see them finally give in to the feelings they have for each other and embrace the fact that they are fated mates. Add in some great friends and a campus icon and you get a truly fantastic book!

I read an ARC copy of this book and am volunteering my honest review.

[T Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather fast paced love story with a sweet ending. A small age gap but not overly so. College romance with fun characters that defy rules with their romance, professor-student. Rules can be broken with the best intentions and we get to see a happy ending bringing sweet surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you do when fate smacks you in the face when you least expect it. You can try to avoid it but fate will find a way. That’s what happened to Thomas the day Darren walked into his classroom. His life is up ended and a new reality becomes the path. This is a super cute fated mates story.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

Super cute novella and introduction to an interwoven series. Thomas and Darren were great together. Trying to put off fate is never a good idea as it always has a plan. Looking forward to the other 2 stories

[Joanne Mccorkell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy and enjoyable read.

A young Alpha student Darren meets his older Omega professor Thomas. They are fated and surprised, despite Thomas' insistance of taking things slow, fate shows her hand.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

This a sweet little story of fated mates and bad timing. But Fate has her own timeline! I did like the characters. From the description of the book, I thought it would have a little angst in it but I was glad to be proven wrong. The only angst in this book is when they try to out off the inevitable. It really is a good book and worth a quick little read.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to the series

This was an enjoyable story about fated mates. I liked how Thomas and Darren met, it was a fun meet-cute. They didn't immediately jump into a relationship so it was interesting seeing the effects of the mating pull. But once they couldn't deny fate any longer things got hot! Hello treadmill scene. I'm excited for Triple P and Doc's books. And I hope to see more of Stan the Man, he was a fun character.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found I had a problem getting into the book at first, but I continued reading and I thought it was pretty good. Thought it was well written and Thomas and Darren are great characters. I was so glad that his parents were as accepting as they were. Recommend reading

[Anne]

I didn't realise it was an omega/alpha/Mpreg story. But Ok

[S.M. Harshell · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I was given a free copy of this book to read and review for Gay Romance Reviews. **

TRY ME is the first book in the Lakeview University series. It is an Alpha/omega fated mate story that lays a great foundation for the rest of the series of the professor friends.

When Thomas, an omega professor, meets his new student Darren, an younger Alpha, he never expects the reaction he physically has to him. Darren is an athlete, a fifth year junior and just now deciding what he wants to do with his life everything Thomas didn't want but when fate steps in there's no stopping it.

I really enjoyed this quick read. It was low-ish angst but definitely not insta-love (regardless of being fated mates). This is a new to me author and I really enjoyed their writing style!

I can't wait to get Preston and Roberts stories!

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A career in opera performance was not in the cards for Thomas. But his minor in college leads to a job teaching voice at a college and he finds that he is in his element and on the tenure track. Thomas is content, has friends and sees his future where he is until he meets Darren, a non music major who comes into his studio for lessons and winds up being his fated mate. Neither was expecting what they find with one another but fate can force your hand in ways that you least expect. And meeting at a time that neither was expecting the other is not the end of their surprises but what is cool is how much they love and consider one another. These two are so cute it is not surprising their love is productive.
I received an ARC from GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the longest of the three Lakeview University books and I quite enjoyed most of it. There's a bit of an info-dump on the two main characters at the beginning, but once you get past that it's well written and quite fun. I was going to give it four stars but unfortunately there was a really overwritten sex scene that was funny for all the wrong reasons, so I had to take a star off for that. If you love mpreg and sweet stories, and if you enjoyed the other two novellas you should absolutely give this a try.

[Cheryl Kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet fated mates story. As the first book in this three author series, it was a lovely setup book. Thomas and Darren are so fun to follow as they navigate the omega verse world of this series. I loved the worldbuilding. The main characters and the side characters were well fleshed out and created a great start for this series. I didn't find a lot of angst in this story, it was just a sweet acceptance of being fated mates. I highly recommend this book and I'm off to check out the other books in this series.

[AL · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s generally a cute and pleasant read, but I have two large beefs with it.
(1) it’s painfully predictable. I wish the author gave it some twist that would make it stand out more.
(2) world building was virtually non existent and even in such a short story, I would expect some layout of the author’s concept of alpha / omega dynamics. It is a basic things for books like this in my opinion and I was left guessing everything as the story progressed. A bit more effort would have come a long way in making this a more wholesome story. Especially as a first in series.

[Kashonna Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute novella. Student/Teacher stories are enjoyable to read. I love the fated mate angle with this series. I wished that Thomas didn't act so cruelly. His fear, though justified, lead him to make bad decisions. Those decisions not only hurt him but also Darren.
Darren was such a good alpha. He never tried to push Thomas. He was caring and sweet. I liked that he didn't fall in line to what his parents expectations were.
This was a good book and I do recommend it.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I mis-read the blurb but I didn't realize this was an Alpha/Omega tale until I'd gotten a few pages in. That's ok though, I like that trope, and this one was sweet with an gap romance, I like that too! Teacher and student smell each other and immediately know they are fated mates and that terrifies Thomas. It's a lovely read, a teensy tiny bit slow a couple of time but on the whole a very enjoyable read.

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas is a music professor at Lakeview University. Darren is a student who changed his courses to music as he wants to be a music producer. When Darren walked into his classroom, they both figured out they were mates. They wanted to go slow as Darren s still a student and has a few years left for school. Sweet story of love, no angst of a student and teacher falling in love.

[Thrilled Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darren and Thomas together are very cute, but what this book lacks in depth, it makes up for in heat! This was my first mpreg, and it was difficult for me to process at first. However, I really enjoyed so much of this too short story! This is a stand- alone book in the Try-mester series, and I hadn't read any of the previous books.

[Claire Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come