Sunday 13 January 2019

BOOK REVIEW - Teacher's Pet - 4 stars

Teacher's Pet 

(Copper Creek Book 5)

by Wendy Smith




My Review - 4 stars


A wonderful end to a beautiful series



James has been a bit of a dark horse throughout this series. He is very much the youngest of the Campbell brothers and has only featured briefly in the previous Copper Creek books, so I had no idea what to expect from him. Having enjoyed the rest of the series I was very much looking forward to reading this. 


Whilst Teacher's Pet on first appearances fits into the 'teacher/student taboo romance' trope, it is actually much more than that, with the age difference playing a fairly minor role within the story. I did like how this didn't fall into the same patterns of many age difference romances and one of the greatest strengths of this whole series is that the relationships are so very 'real'. There aren't contrived plot twists to add angst, suspense or shock value. This actually could be someone's real life story.



It might not be to all tastes but there are some significant time jumps. These are VERY clearly labelled, I don't know about you but I can't stand it when there is some unknown passage of time that suddenly occurs between one sentence and the next. These occurred once Mia and James were in a relationship, where we don't need to experience every interaction. It also gives rise to a very believable relationship and love story, since they entire book is set over several years.


Mia and James are both very likeable characters, well written and nicely rounded. James was perhaps a touch too perfect at times, I'd have liked to see him mess up, be grumpy, slob around etc but when all is said and done it wasn't a huge deal!



The book is written first person from both their POV's. We also get several chapters from Corey's perspective, along with seeing lots of glimpses of all the brothers, their partners and their combined offspring. If you've read any of the previous books you will love these little glimpses into their lives. If you haven't they are written in such a way that you can enjoy the scenes without needing any back story.


The book ends with a wonderful epilogue and the most delightful of bonus chapters that brings us full circle to where the story started.



Synopsis

James Campbell’s love life is complicated. 

He chose the university he went to because he was following a girl—only to get dumped by her. Now he’s in love again, and this time it’s the real deal. Except for two problems. 

Mia loves James. But the spectre of her broken marriage hangs over her when her ex gets a job in the same place she works. And where she works is the other problem.

She never meant to fall in love with a student.

This is the final book in the Copper Creek series and concludes the story of the Campbell family.








Ratings

5 stars - This is a book I will not forget and would definitely read again.

4 stars - I really enjoyed this book, I might not read it again but I would definitely recommend it to others.

3 stars - This story was good but either forgettable or just very typical of its genre.

2 stars - Whilst the book was readable I either didn't enjoy parts of the plot or just could not connect to the main characters.

1 star - This is a book I simply could not finish for reasons listed in the review.

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