Sex as a Second Language

by Alisa Kwitney

Teaching an advanced ESL class in Manhattan, former actress Katherine Miner decides to give up on both men and sex after enduring painful relationships with her untrustworthy father and husband, a choice that is challenged when her father reveals his secret career as a spy and warns Katherine about those nearest to her. 60,000 first printing.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Book Club, Adult Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2006

About the author

I'm the author of YA, graphic novels and novels for adults who still feel young, at least most of the time. Recent works include GILT, a graphic novel about time-traveling women of a certain age; Cadaver & Queen, a YA Feminist Frankenstein meets Grey's Anatomy tale, and Mystik U from DC Comics, which features Zatanna and other magical characters in their first year at college. I also co-host a Sandman podcast, The Endless, with Lani Diane Rich.

My first novel, Till the Fat Lady Sings, is also about college and romance and eating disorders. (It was my thesis at Columbia University's MFA Program, where I felt like an outlier for liking comic books and romance as much as literature.) I was an editor at Vertigo, the mature/dark fantasy branch of DC Comics, before going freelance. (I've also written two hormonal werewolf books as Alisa Sheckley.)

I live near the Vanderbilt Estate in Hyde Park, NY, with two dogs and a frightening number of books.

aka Alisa Sheckley

Reviews

[Kenya | Reviews May Vary]

I started it and lost interest in the main character pretty quickly. I read through several chapters and then read the end. Not bad. May be a good beach reach.

I’m not rating it or adding it to my challenge numbers.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This ridiculous book was neither interesting, nor funny. I kept hoping the romance subplot would at least be fun and sexy but it was a disappointment too. The protagonist, over the first few chapters, becomes more and more unlikable. She constantly victimizes herself and I found it quite annoying. I don't even think divorced, single moms would necessarily sympathize all that much with this character. The supporting characters are flat and do little to develop the main characters. A few characters were quirky and entertaining but not enough to save this book from a one star rating.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at the local "Friend of the Library" sale. I had no idea what it was about, just liked the title. (Lame, I know.) Anyway, I was looking for something to read the other day and picked it up. It was great! Katherine is easy to connect with.
Tthere is humor and romance, two of my favorite things. It fits right in with books I enjoy.

[Claire Sherwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this one up off my bookshelf because I didn’t have the time to run out to the library. The best way I can describe it is exactly that….a bookshelf filler. It didn’t have much substance or suspense. It was stupidly predictable. The main character, Kat, comes off as a spoiled and bratty woman child that seems to always get what she wants it. Her character development put a bad taste in my mouth.

I guess this counts for another book read for my 2022 reading challenge. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the description of the story and found that I really liked all the characters in this book. My only quibble is that the story wrapped up too quickly. All the action seems to have happened over a short period of time and I didn't get to know the characters any better. I wanted to know more about what happened next to Kat and her son and her students. I liked the writing and will look for more from this author.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A forty something former soap actress who's bills are paid by working as a teacher at a language institute. She's going through a divorce with a guy who's an @@@. She's basically a single mother, as the father doesn't want anything to do with their son at the moment.
Mix in a border who turns out to be a spy in search of her father, also a former spy, a mother who doesn't want to let go, a betrayal by a friend and the concoction makes up this story. It was fine reading it. I never got to involved with it, though I can't really finger anything that's wrong with Sex as a second language. I guess it just didn't hit the mark personally for me, and in all honesty, we rate the books on how they leave us in the end on a personal level.

[Kari]

This book, though dissapointing at first, ended up suprising me in the end. And actually, as the book jacket said, I was really left wanting more. I initially bought it again because of the title, and the main character is a ESL teacher, and I'm an ESL teacher, so there ya go. The storyline is unbelievable, there isn't enough sex (haha, well, you come to expect some horizontal mambo in a romance novel), and what little forplay they have is pretty weird if you ask me. But yeah, as the story went on I completely fell in love with the main male character, and the female character also made a turn around.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good romance. I am not a romance reader, but I liked this one! The heroine was 40 years old, for one thing, which I appreciate. She was also a mother. She didn't do impulsive things like other romance heroines tended to do, but when it came to her child, she was fierce. I could relate and I really enjoyed how she handled the obstacles in her way. She used her prior life experience to deal with them, and recognized how her prior experiences were influencing her choices. It was refreshing to see a woman actually thinking before acting. I would read more romances if the women were more like Kat.

[Norrin2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watch a lot of romantic comedy movies but I don't read a lot of romcom books. They seem slow and hampered by wooden dialogue. Not so Alisa Kwitney. I really enjoyed her tale of an aging actress trying to take care of her learning - delayed son by teaching English to Foreign students. The romantic parts were romantic, the funny parts were laugh out loud funny and the sexy parts were very sexy. All the characters seemed very real and the dialogue sparkled. I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

[Pamela Pickering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the normal type of book I read but I was in dire need of fluff (have been reading too much durge lately) and this fit the bill. Easy to read with a little romance/sex. If it weren't "fluff" I might be more critical of the lack of character development and unfinished possible story lines. There were lots of events that made me wondered why they were even included because there was no follow through. Still it was a decent pick for what I wanted at the time.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a light, quick, easy, enjoyable read. It is enjoyable because of the thesis of the book and the fact that it is a romance. Kat is a teacher of English as a second language and her mother and friends want her to begin dating now that she is divorced. Forty is not the sexual end though and that is the rest of the story.

J. Robert Ewbank author of "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Jessica Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this at the library. I enjoyed it immensely. It was funny and romantic. I also related to her being an actress and the process of learning a language and a culture. That being said, the end was just too easy. It just sort of tidied itself all up and that was a bit disappointing. Books these days often have poor endings full of ellipses. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised. Parts of it will stay with me.

[Karetchko]

With a job like mine, how could I not read this book? I'll give the author credit--the teaching stuff was decent enough. Of course, these books always have to have some teacher-student romance, which means things are a little too predictable. I can see why this one keeps making its way onto the bargain book table.

[C.L. Coons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was strongly recommended to me by a fellow author, so I had high expectations. It was pretty solid. The main character is great, her son is great... but I didn't feel the connection between her and the male lead. That being said, the love scenes were hot, if you can get past the whole Viking thing.

[Cherie]

I was drawn to the title--as an English teacher, I have had many ESL students and even taught a class to a group of international Engineers at John Deere. The twist in this book is that the main character ends up romantically involved with one of her students,who turns out to have a few twists as well. It is an enjoyable book, with some very strong main characters.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book, not really what I was expecting, though. It wasn't poorly written and the characters were interesting enough...I just thought it could have been more. I felt sorry for Kat throughout the book as her life fell apart.

[Debs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The words "Chick Lit" practically drool off this one. I mean, seriously, the guy's name is Magnus, for God's sake - you didn't have to study Latin to get that one. Cute, not a bad read. Lots of giggling.

[Valerie Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one book I wish I had borrowed from a friend or the library instead of purchasing. The jacket blurb is misleading and the conflict in the story changes too often and is resolved too quickly. Still, it was a pleasant read, but not an entirely satisfying one.

[Fatema · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a break this is easy nice reading, will take you in a journey of English teacher and her Iranian friend. I loved the story you wouldn't be able to put it down from your hand. highly recommended :o)

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. I didn't even make it through the 4th chapter b/c the plot was so dumb.

[Aaron Broadwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a hackneyed "chick-lit" plot -- a real disappointment, since I liked her first novel "Till the Fat Lady Sings".

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, entertaining, funny read.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chicklit for sure, but possessed of more heft than is usual in the genre when it explores the idea of just how difficult it is for humans to understand each other.

[Elizabeth7781 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps because I was a language major, this book was very appealing. I also liked the title.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light pleasant read that was not totally predictable ,

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Club Book

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cheesy fluff....

[Kiessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not about sex.

It is about developing relationships between those of differing backgrounds and languages. A light-hearted read.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay - I felt like a lot of the character development started but never got very far. It was entertaining enough to finish and categorize as a quick summer read.

[Charla · Rating 1 out of 5]

not even worth opening