The Lesson

by T.L. Mayhew

Money, those who have it, are considered the elite. Socialites who want for nothing and expect everything. Those who don't have it, they're prepared to surpass everything in their power to achieve it, even if it involves jeopardizing the lives of the ones they love. I'm Francis Harlyn Aldridge, and I'm one of the elites. All I wanted was a normal life, one full of love and family, but what I got was jet-setting parents, a jealous boyfriend, and a best friend who is dealing with her own problems. Then, something I never expected Winston Asher Harrington III. He's the hot English teacher that, as of late, has taken an interest in me. He claims it's to help with my grades, but the way the energy crackles between us, it's clear there's something more. We both know our families will never approve, so we've been keeping our relationship under wraps. Or that's what we thought. One misstep, and suddenly, our lives fall apart, setting up a chain reaction of heartache, revenge and murder.

90 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2020

About the author

TL Mayhew is a Contemporary and Dark Romance writer from Nebraska. Her love for reading started back in elementary school when her favorite books, The Black Stallion, Black Beauty and Misty of Chincoteague all seemed to have one theme... a horse as the leading character. It's fair to say that since then her reading tastes have changed and now, instead of a horse as the leading character it's a hot alpha.

In high school TL took a creative writing class where she received high praise for her work. At that same time though, boys caught her interest and any urge to write went via the way side.

It wasn't until she married and had two kids, that TL put any thought in to writing. And even then it was close to a year before any words were put on paper. Amazingly those words were the direct result of a question "Do you want to give it a try?" from an Author TL idolizes. If it weren't for that question she may never have realized her love for writing and wouldn't have her first work releasing in January 2018.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lesson is a quick, steamy, suspenseful read that grabbed me from Page 1 and held my attention until the last word! Asher is an older teacher with little restraint when it comes to a particularly attractive student. Harlyn captures his eye and she doesn't mind that attention in the least. She's from a wealthy, founding family in her hometown whose parents aren't home much to supervise. She's got a big inheritance coming to her provided she meets the requirements to get it, if others don't get their hands on it first. There's some steamy stuff happening here and a twisted ending. What more could you want? Grab it!

[Hillary Marek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wait, what?

Pretty sure this was written in an afternoon and published before dinner time. It's a great outline for what could become a full story, but this is not yet a story. Its the bones of one but there's absolutely no meat on those bones.
The ending was awful.
Disappointed at the rushed conclusion and resolution and attempt at a cliffhanger.
Instead of getting the reader excited about a following book, it made me think "So, that happened. Oh well, is that it? What was the point? That was dumb."
This could have been an epic suspense with a fascinating layer of intrigue and discovery, but it never got there and that's tragic. Because I JUST finished it and can't even recall the characters names. I had zero connection to any of them.

[Isabel Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is a quick, sexy easy read but it is gripping and intriguing throughout. There are some truly unexpected elements within the story that I never saw coming. I liked the concept and the slightly dystopian but wholly believable world it is set in. I hope there is a follow up to the story because I would love to find out more.
I like the way the book is written, shorter stories can sometimes seem unfinished and while this definitely left me wanting more it wasn’t because I felt cheated out of a longer book. It is a quality shorter story in itself.

[Ashley Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick enjoyable read

This is a quick read that I really enjoyed. There was curiosity, suspense that kept you turning the page. That ending though!!!

[Glowstars · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, if this had been a full-length novel I likely would've rated it a lot higher. There was so much potential for a brilliant story but everything felt crammed together and as a reader, I was rushed past events without the chance to enjoy or savour them. That said, the story was well written with interesting characters and I would definitely read more of TL Mayhew's books.