Absolute Beginners: SJ Hooks

Blurb:

Professor Stephen Worthington's life makes perfect sense. 

He teaches classes on Tuesdays and Fridays. He has dinners with his parents on the weekend. He goes to the gym with his comically crass stepbrother, Matt, a few days each week. And every night, he heads home at a reasonable hour, alone.

There’s only one thorn in Stephen’s perfectly organized side: Ms. Julia Wilde. Never has Stephen dealt with a more unruly student. She’s rude, provocative, infuriating—and she dresses in a way that is completely unbecoming for a lady. Stephen can’t wait for the semester to be over, and then he’ll never have to see her again.

That is, until Stephen finds himself out of the classroom and in Julia's apartment. Suddenly, the student/teacher roles are reversed, and the professor receives a much-needed lesson between the sheets. Stephen thought his life made sense, but after his tryst with Julia, he finds himself changed in more ways than one. Maybe he’s coming down with something.

Or maybe, something a little out of the ordinary is exactly what this stuffy professor needs to really live.

Review: 4.5 Stars

Most erotica portrays the male MC as a highly experienced, extremely confident (cocky) lover that does all the right things at the right time.  Oh...and they're all hot and have massive cocks.  Shit, if my husband were reading about the female equivalent to that, I'd feel a bit insecure.

In the end, the books with normal guys or even guys like Stephen, who are a bit stuffy and inexperienced, drive the story lines that stick with me.  I loved the spin on the power dynamic in this professor-student romance.  You would expect the power to sit with Stephen, who is about 10 years older than Julia and her literature professor.  But when it comes to pleasing women (or even interacting with them), Stephen is the student.

I didn't get a strong sense of who Julia is, primarily because she is holding back in this "sex buddy" arrangement.  Basically, the reader learns that she is intelligent and, it seems, sexually experienced.  I am looking forward to learning more about her in the next book.  That aside, I really appreciated Julia's open-mindedness to Stephen's inexperience.  I think a lot of women would be impatient or turned off by a man who is so insecure in the bedroom.  But, with a little bit of a coaching, it becomes clear that he is a diamond in the rough.

I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book (read: I can't wait!!!).