Professor's Pet: Tara Crescent

Blurb:

Have you ever been dangerously attracted to your professor?

Jake Ballard. He is smug and mocking, but his body is the stuff of epic fantasy. Now, through an unfortunate twist of fate, he holds my smut-filled Kindle in his hands.

I have a decision to make. Can Professor Ballard be my instructor in this world of bondage, dominance, and submission? And, eight weeks later, when my class is at an end, can I walk away from Jake? 

Review: (2.5 Stars)

Okay, I'll admit.  I can be a bit impatient.  I don't like when I'm more than half way through the book and the MCs are still dancing around each other.  This book is kind of the opposite extreme.  It starts so quickly that I felt like it might be a dream sequence (the kind where the character imagines something improbable happening).  I'd prefer somewhere is the middle of the two extremes; let me get to know the characters, care about them a bit and build up some tension.  But, not to the point of wanting to pull my hair out.

After a while, my book grinch side came out -- I just wanted them to break up and find better matches.  I didn't really like the dynamic between these two.

Already, after one weekend, I could tell this situation had trouble written all over it. She was having difficulty building her walls. If I had any sense at all, I would walk away. But then, she’d probably go do something crazy and unsafe, and god-knows-why, I didn’t want that to happen. I needed to stay and teach her enough to ensure she played safely.

There were, however, some aspects that I liked.  I think the author clearly and succinctly  demonstrated an important issue that many BDSM books kind of gloss over:

But it’s always a bit of a dilemma. Do you find someone who is sexually compatible with you, and then figure out everything else? Or do you search for someone who you connect to, and then figure out the kink? 

I also really liked the "net" analogy and how that was picked up on again at the end.  

If I could wave a magic wand, I would like more character development at the beginning and throughout the book.  I was kind of hoping for more of a professor-student dynamic.  The book starts off with Emily defending her Ph.D., so there wasn't really a power dynamic in that sense.  I'd also add an epilogue to see what happens with these two over the year and after the one year.   I also didn't really understand the exchange between Sanjay and Emily at the end.  Emily was not in the wrong for her behaviour, despite how Sanjay reacted to her.  I also didn't get Jake's plan to show Emily the seedier side of things to make sure she didn't fall into any abuse relationships -- how did taking her to a BDSM club do that?