Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Review and Giveaway: Teach Me a Lesson

Teach Me a Lesson (Naughty Corner - Book 2) by Jasmine Haynes

Publication Date: 04/01/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Heat
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425266249
ISBN-13: 978-0425266243

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Heat)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Jasmine Haynes on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series

Naughty Corner

1. The Naughty Corner
2. Teach Me a Lesson

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.



Excerpt from, Teach Me a Lesson, courtesy of the author's website. (Go to the bookshelf page and choose the title of the book, excerpt is half way down the page) 

Synopsis:

Do what you have to do, Principal. I deserve it…
High school guidance counselor by day, sex therapist by night, Charlotte Moore’s passion is people—whether helping students with the realities of life or helping their parents with the fantasies. Enter Principal Lance Hutton, the perfect subject for Charlotte’s method in recharging the sex drive—and it’s going to take some discipline. Considering this hot older man is her boss, it makes sense that he dole out the punishment. Besides, Charlotte’s begging for it.

But when Charlotte’s after-school extracurricular activities are made public, it threatens her job, her reputation, and the career of the man she’s falling head over heels in love with. Now, if this town wants a scandal, Charlotte and Lance are ready to give them one—and a lesson in bad behavior they’ll never forget.


Thoughts:

Jasmine Haynes brings readers the second book in the Naughty Corner series, Teach Me a Lesson. Haynes has once again went back to her tried and true formula of the teacher/student type of relationship. Readers looking for a erotic read involving an older man will love this one, as this high school principal, likes to be in control in and out of the classroom. The heroine is a part time guidance counselor and part time sex therapist and her work ends and her sex life end up getting her in the hot seat.

What I liked:

Jasmine Haynes has a thing writing about the teacher/student fantasy role. She has used it again and again with great success in her books. It must be something about the taboo of the situation that makes it a good fantasy. I didn't have too many hot teachers along the way, but I know there are some and it's probably natural for that kind of thinking to happen. In Teach Me a Lesson it is of course not a teacher and a student, but a principal and a guidance counselor doing a bit of role playing. That in and of itself was completely believable. I thought Haynes gave readers a good couple to make this possible with. 

Principal Lance Hutton has been through the wringer, married and divorced a couple of times and just one of those guys that doesn't know how not to be in control. Charlotte has had her bad luck as well and refuses to give up control even in the bedroom. She never dates older men because the young guys seem to be willing to let her take the drivers seat. But her attraction to the principal is sudden and hard to deny. Things get complicated and steamy between them in a hurry and readers are taken right along for the ride. From the classroom, to the car, to the park, the office, you name they explore the possibilities. 

I liked the fact that Haynes let an older man be the lead character. Sexual exploration and discovery can occur over thirty-five, just as easily as it can at twenty and I thought she did a great job of showing that. Life doesn't end after forty. Lance is attracted to a younger, vibrant woman, and Charlotte is just as attracted as he is. But she has her issues with control and so does he. It was an interesting relationship and power struggle in more than one way. Trying to figure out who would get the ultimate control in the relationship kept it interesting, but it also gave the reader the chance to explore the ideas of workplace relationships and what happens when things go wrong.

What I didn't like:

The fact that the two participants take things a little further than professionalism allows at the school is a bit disconcerting. When the stuff hits the fan and harassment becomes the talk of the town and what is acceptable behavior for school employees, etc. etc. the book took a turn that I didn't care for. I think Haynes went a little bit off track and didn't give readers the kind of resolution to these issues that they needed. It was too quickly glossed over and not given the kind of attention it needed to fix the problems.

Bottom Line: 

So there were good things and bad things with this one. Some of the scenarios worked for me while others didn't. I find it a little hard to read a lot of graphic language and this one was full of it. If the reader gets into that, then this might be a good choice. The sex scenes were hot and spicy and Haynes excels at that, but the resolution to the conflict in this one was not there.

Teach Me a Lesson is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!



About the Author:

Jasmine Haynes lives in the California mountains with her husband. The author of The Principal's Office and The Naughty Corner, she loves writing hot, sexy romance, the stuff fantasies are made of. Especially her own.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Teach Me a Lesson by Jasmine Haynes.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, May 13th.

1. Please leave a comment about what you think it is about the teacher/student kind of relationship that is so appealing in the fantasy realm.

2. Please fill out the FORM.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it is appealing because it is different and kind of a forbidden thing. Thanks for the chance to win!

Iread2xs said...

I think the teacher/student fantasy is so popjlar because tbe teacher feels more desirable because this young person finxs them sexy, and you can train them to be your perfect lover with super stamina. From the kther direction tbe older partner is seen as hotter, more experienced, they could have tbejr lick of anyone and they chose you. The fforbidden love thing also comes into play

traveler said...

The relationship is unique, older and younger as well as forbidden territory. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Carl Scott said...

I'm not sure what the appeal is but I know it's for real. I had a crush on a couple of my own teachers back in the day. Thanks.

bn100 said...

it's not appealing to me, so not sure

Anita Yancey said...

I think the appeal for most people is that being with a student makes the teacher feel young and attractive. But I think it is just sick.

ayancey1974(at)gmail(dot)com

Katreader said...

I think it's the whole idea of being taboo that makes it desirable-you often want what you can't have...yet these people are getting it!

Texas Book Lover said...

Anything that is forbidden such as this makes it that much more desirable! And when you feel desirable you feel amazing and like nothing could ever go wrong. Who wouldn’t want that!

lag123 said...

I anything that is forbidden is more appealing.

lag110 at mchsi dot com

Michelle F. said...

It's appealing because it's a forbidden relationship and there may be an age discrepancy.