Photo credits: JAKO5D (pixabay), Daria Yakovleva (pixabay) Edited by Vaishali Title: See Me After Class Author: Meghan Quinn Publisher: Hot-Lanta Publishing, LLC Genre/Themes: Contemporary romance, rom-com, adult fiction, teacher/teacher romance Format: E-book/kindle app Year of Publication: 2020 R E V I E W... An enemies to lovers romance See Me After Class certainly is and a near-accurate description ‘enemies to lovers’ is of my relationship with my first Meghan Quinn romance. Perhaps ‘lovers to enemies to lovers’ is more apt but I’m going to preface this review with an honest assessment, and that’s to relay that I had a swaying, seesawing affair with this rom-com romance (all of my noted observations dovetail one and the same). When I started this book my joy was an open flame and I was fully equipped to give every inch of this top marks. I happily listened to that voice. Each page pinched a grin and lifted a laugh, each chapter dazzled and I was already developing a love for the author’s voice. In simple terms, I deeply considered my reluctance to begin this sooner. If there’s one thing so say about Meghan Quinn, she kindles an instantaneous spark. One that’s full-bellied and irresistible. While there’s plenty to enjoy - plenty that I did enjoy I need to add - that rumbling fire did wane and wither to a collection of smaller embers for a few reasons which I’ll outline. I did debate leaving this read unfinished but in true anal-retentive fashion, I read for the triple threat of fidelity, fairness and the clarity of a full picture. And because this book demands the attention of any red-blooded romance reader. My bookish perseverance is living, breathing thing, and I’m glad that I didn’t part ways with a book that I juggled gripes with because it certainly had sparkling features. Quirky, spirited, upbeat and confident fit-for-rom-com writing leaves little to the imagination. And while I come prepped with my dislikes I’m also prepared to line up the pleasures like a set of spoils I took a shine to. GREER: I immediately took to Quinn’s heroine; she’s fun, bold and spirited with whimsy that made think ‘OH, I’m going to like her’. The scene where she and her newly-acquired bestie have one too many drinks at Arlo’s work gathering made me truly realise that an inebriated Greer with too many flutes of bubbly in her system should be savoured. She believes in animating literature and there’s a passion and a point behind her modern, interactive teaching methods. Along with the new member of the faculty comes a fresh perspective in the classroom; a challenge to her cardigan-clad teaching neighbour. She’s very relatable and I agreed with her stance on alternative teaching; no two students learn the same way so suffice it say, teaching should vary and shouldn’t be beholden to the ‘one size fit all’ maxim. Even though Arlo was truly unamused by her entire person, I found her very amusing. I’ll dish the gospel on Quinn’s hero but what’s crystal clear is his unmediated lack of decency and professional amiability towards Greer. While Arlo’s militant stance pushes her to play into the ‘enemies’ role by hating him and thus exacting vengeance (which he deserved and those pranks were ace), she soon melts for a man who hasn’t mouthed one good-natured word to her since her occupation at Forest Heights. Why she later succumbs to the unstable sexual pull while the enmity is still alive and kicking (and when he’s shown zero signs of esteem for her as a colleague, a person and a fellow educator) I still wonder. She admits to never turning a blind eye to Arlo’s arrogance, but that stance dissolves like a pan of overheated butter after the initial hate period. She loses the grip on her anger in situations that actually call for it, and other times, she can be as high-minded as her inflexible love interest. Ultimately I wish she’d been more exacting in a way that would’ve made Arlo stop, listen and realise his erring on the prejudiced side of first impressions. ARLO: Before diving in, I caution fellow readers to brace themselves for a hero who’s not just brash, abrasive and eruptive, he’s frustratingly ill-disposed with an appeal that’s about as magnificent as a bar of soap. As a man, as a love interest, as a developing character and as the hero of this romance, he’s an entire process. Liking him is a process, loving him will take its time, and you’ll need to brace yourself with an armful of patience before you get there. He’s highbrow, magisterial, traditionalist and unapologetic in a way I didn’t like and his baseless prejudice for Greer felt very personal. He’s generous with insults, has double standard that involve freely dispensing his disdain but is mortally offended with any slight against him, far from shy in showering Greer with his unsweetened criticism and as the department head who’s word seems to be law, he’s downright abhorrent to the newcomer. Romance incarnate, my friends. You can't accuse him of holding his tongue, but you also can't accuse him of using it to form a remotely warm sentence towards Greer. I was adamant that his name wouldn’t be anywhere near the list of my book boyfriends because he did and said some offensive things; his presence was an onslaught. He’s unapproachable, unfriendly and I conceded the fact that Meghan Quinn might’ve misfired with the very unromantic profiling of her hero. He did poop the party that was this romance because while I can definitely take to a flawed character, Arlo was a walking, talking gripe I wasn't sure I could recover from. That is, until, his major turning point takes place and the author gives him and his attitude a complete makeover. A man who can barely break a smile, is humour-averse, demeaned and dwarfed Greer without an ounce of guilt and sexually manipulated her reshapes himself from a supreme, intellectualised ape to an almost regally charming man. I’m not a fan of the Mr. Darcy-type model and while I had the barest threads of sympathy for him for a solid length of the story, I really did like the Arlo he developed into in the end (may have even swooned a bit, I won’t lie), even if he became too divine and dreamy as he laid the niceties on like a fine spread. As spoken, it’s an extreme process, and it’s fair to say that when the time for his development came, the author went too hard and too fast to redeem him. He may have been as high-brow as he is emotionally unevolved, but I was also (very secretly) hoping that he’d utter the words ‘See me after class’ at least once in true Arlo fashion - I think I’m the only one with such a complaint though. The romance and its development… The romance in See Me After Class is a bit of a parts and stages production. The first part gets into the pedagogy feud between Arlo and Greer; he believes her teaching methods are an unseasoned, infantile fit for their high standards and harshly schools her in the failings of improper (to him) education. They clash on the premise of conflicting educational methodology (and Arlo’s notorious a**hole attitude), that’s where the hate reaches some fine and fiery notes. The outrage leads to a lot of chaffing, ridicule and derision and sharp mockery which bleeds into the unpadded chemistry of something more crudely carnal. In the final part of the book though, the romance has a very different pace and a very different flavour and that’s entirely due to Arlo’s transformation. The smut was saucy, and while it really does steam up the spectacles, it was more steam than substance (to begin with) due to Arlo deliberately leashing any sense of intimacy). While he doesn’t think golden of the earth beneath Greer’s feet and she’s affronted by his every slant, there comes a surprising turning point; she defects. Now this turning point is essential to Arlo’s ample (though brisk and hasty) development. And for Greer to be able to reflect on what she needs from a healthy relationship, even proactively deciding upon alternative romantic options, I.e. dating someone else - not something I like usually but did encourage due to Quinn’s contemptible, tactless hero. I fully championed that decision. But back to Arlo. As problematic as I found him and his early lack of likeability, his resulting transformation was big. I appreciate therapy being brought into the conversation (love it actually for healthy hero representation), even if I do think it’d take more than one joint tag-along session to be that self-reflective for an emotionally maladjusted person. Arlo still faced a realisation and acted. And here’s where I tug Greer back into my point because where Arlo dedicated himself to reflective awareness (which takes a willingness to change to even consider therapeutic intervention), she fails to show the same in the final act of the book. When she was challenged with her own lack of adaptability and was upset over something that seemed much more bloated than it needed to be, her failing to take ownership really hurts her own character development. And to me, that’s where her character suffered, and resultingly wastes the star-eyed, lovable act of a grand gesture on a situation that didn’t need it; and that’s hard to say as someone who loves a big, bold and meaningful show of love. While the romance and its structure/pacing was problematic, for a sub-genre dedicated to comedic relief, I did have a lot of fun with See Me After Class; and that’s the vision with a rom-com, you want to laugh. Even though I did hope for their teaching war to have and hold a stronger developmental plotline (and outcome) of its own, I love the idea for the storyline. The pride and the prejudice might’ve made me dizzy, the story was unromantic bar the final length, Quinn somehow made me switch from Arlo-intolerant to an Arlo sympathiser and I truly do lament the fact that it was a majorly missed opportunity on Greer’s part to endanger Arlo’s cardigans, but even though I feel like I received the short end of the stick with a hero I didn’t want to commiserate with, I still found myself committed to the author’s style. The quirky temper and the comedy relief are nodes of the narrative puzzle that alight this rom-com with a more-than-generous dose of funny. The humour brilliantly braids in a comical frame of mind and I was charged on pages dusted with it. The camaraderie is also a great feature. I loved the friendships and how involved the supporting characters were. Another strong mention: I was impressed that the represented male cohort weren’t a grotesquely debauched ring of rakes and lechers (in the present day at least). Gunner seemed driven to build a life that included his partner and child, Romeo was clearly pining over Stella and the other crossover male side characters (who I’m guessing belong to Quinn’s interconnected series) followed similarly. I’m not debauchery-averse, but I also like to see fictional men able to have ordinary conversations and who aren’t regularly waylaid by their animal mind (even if I do immensely enjoy that too) Their small assembly mixed really well and I’d love to see more male/female friendship groups represented in romance. The author marks a flair for what I assume she hoards within her, and that is a bank of zany humour. I likely wouldn’t have chosen this as my first Meghan Quinn romance and this isn’t the welcoming introduction I was hoping for, but her writing awoke a strong appeal. This genre does seem to be Meghan Quinn’s perfect place and I’m excited to find the right fit for me. An in-the-classroom rom-com spin on the famously observed Pride and Prejudice, appropriated for the contemporary romance readership. No deeply ingrained similarities but a lot of pride and a lot of prejudice, a bow to the original tale, open-door smut scenes, an enemies with benefits teacher/teacher romp with a teaching crew, a cardigan-clad hero, a of course a hero and heroine fit to echo the disputed bad blood. I gave this book 3 stars -CONTENT WARNING: Profanity. Mentions self harm (slitted wrists). Alcoholism. Abandonment. Sex scenes and smut throughout. --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- E X T R A T H O U G H T S: 1) I know that this book is being described as a best friend’s bother romance, but Greer doesn’t actually meet Arlo’s sister until further into the story, so friends though they become on-page, it’s not something they are for a while. I'm not sure I’d personally give it that label; the book definitely fits the mould of a colleagues, grumpy/sunshine and enemies to lovers romance. 2) If I haven’t spoken about Arlo enough already, we’re going to take a bit of a stroll down that avenue once more. He’s very hot and cold and his moods are quite sharp and brusque. When a character processes that way, there's usually a conflict between what he actually wants and what he's willing to show, and what I find a bit dangerous about that is it can and does result in gaslighting (which also results in a lot of confusion, hurt and pain for the heroine). I can’t remember the ins and outs of their interactions precisely but Arlo does use sexual acts and behaviour to manipulate and maintain dominance over Greer, which was something I really didn’t like. He dangles the idea of pleasure (or works her up) then takes it away or gives in only on his own terms. All done to withhold any emotional side to him but it also stunts the pleasure of enjoying those scenes. Another Arlo gripe: I’m not a fan of a hero’s ‘no touching’ demand in the bedroom. Again, this was initially due to Arlo purposely upholding the power role (for his maladjusted reasons), and while he absolutely does change in almost every way and the bedroom scenes become more emotionally involved, it’s not something I enjoy. Sex scenes have a power dynamic so I like to see a heroine playing a part in that too. And I’m just finally mentioning this because I wrote about it in my notes (and I remember being a tad outraged by it too). At one point Arlo thinks the words ‘she’s so easy’ which really did make a mockery of the heroine (in my eyes) because here’s actually what she thinks long before that: ‘I’m not easy’. She sort of falls on her own sword by giving in to him. I always forget that an age gap - being older - doesn’t give a hero full right to sensibility. To begin with I’d have appreciated his dirty talking alphaness if he weren’t so unattractive in almost every other way. What I can say about Arlo though is Meghan Quinn does twist up the appeal of a cardigan-wearing hero. I don’t think I’ve read about a hero who wears one without intending to seduce, owns it and makes it a truly low-key come-hither item. 3) So, this was something that I was a bit disappointed about; there were no scenes in the book that let us into the classroom to really see the way both Arlo and Greer teach. We only hear about their methods - I was hoping it would give more weight to that particular thread in the story. To see how each teaching style was received by the students. For the same reason, I was also kind of hoping to see Greer build connections with her students so we could get a better idea of what kind of teacher she is, but there’s not really much of that going on. Even though it’s a teacher affair, I would have liked to see some teacher/student connections rather than hearing about them. I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK L E A V E A C O M M E N T A N D L E T' S T A L K A B O U T |
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