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readingwithreagan's review
5.0
So cute. Jim and Pam if they were teachers, killer playlist, and taylor swift coded? Sign me up.
everlyreadsbooks's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
beingkelsiebooks's review
3.0
3.5 ⭐️ I loved the tension and friendship between Sarah and Owen. It was a very bingeable book! The only part that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the affair aspect. It definitely had Jim/Pam/Roy from The Office vibes but I thought the lines were blurred a little too much for my liking.
asalisbury's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
adagetsliterary's review
5.0
✨Friends to Lovers
✨Slow burn
✨Flirty Banter
✨So much pining
This comes out on Aug 22nd! Thank you so much for the ARC, Katie!
HOLY slow-burn tension! I went into this excited for a cute, teacher best friends-to-lovers. I did not expect the absolute hold this would have on my stomach the entire time - I just wanted these two to get it together and GET together. The journey there was perfectly angsty and sweet and full of incredible chemistry. Jim and Pam coded, for sure.
Owen was the sweetest cinnamon roll - funny, self-effacing, that teacher everyone instinctively loves. I adored how reverential he was towards Sarah. He propped her up so much and gave her all the props she deserved, no question (“Sarah Lavely for President”). His love for Sarah was apparent in everything he did, and the way he just sat back and watched her unhappy relationship with Eli was heartbreaking. Plus the podcast was just too perfect - it made him even more endearing.
I related to Sarah so much. Aside from the true crime love, caffeine addiction, and hyper organization, Sarah’s in a rut in her personal and professional life. She wants more (deserves more) but is trying to be what everyone expects of her. It takes her a long while to come around to her feelings for Owen, but seeing her slowly realize this through their little touches and flirting was one of my favorite parts. Their tension & attraction was so palpable.
I also REALLY liked that neither Eli nor Kendall were made to be villains. Eli wasn’t a good guy, sure, but he also wasn’t someone so evil that you wonder why Sarah is with him. And Kendall - a bit of collateral damage, but the maturity she showed with Owen made her so much more real.
I loved this debut by Katie - the writing, pacing, banter & characters did it for me. I can’t wait to read more!
✨Slow burn
✨Flirty Banter
✨So much pining
This comes out on Aug 22nd! Thank you so much for the ARC, Katie!
HOLY slow-burn tension! I went into this excited for a cute, teacher best friends-to-lovers. I did not expect the absolute hold this would have on my stomach the entire time - I just wanted these two to get it together and GET together. The journey there was perfectly angsty and sweet and full of incredible chemistry. Jim and Pam coded, for sure.
Owen was the sweetest cinnamon roll - funny, self-effacing, that teacher everyone instinctively loves. I adored how reverential he was towards Sarah. He propped her up so much and gave her all the props she deserved, no question (“Sarah Lavely for President”). His love for Sarah was apparent in everything he did, and the way he just sat back and watched her unhappy relationship with Eli was heartbreaking. Plus the podcast was just too perfect - it made him even more endearing.
I related to Sarah so much. Aside from the true crime love, caffeine addiction, and hyper organization, Sarah’s in a rut in her personal and professional life. She wants more (deserves more) but is trying to be what everyone expects of her. It takes her a long while to come around to her feelings for Owen, but seeing her slowly realize this through their little touches and flirting was one of my favorite parts. Their tension & attraction was so palpable.
I also REALLY liked that neither Eli nor Kendall were made to be villains. Eli wasn’t a good guy, sure, but he also wasn’t someone so evil that you wonder why Sarah is with him. And Kendall - a bit of collateral damage, but the maturity she showed with Owen made her so much more real.
I loved this debut by Katie - the writing, pacing, banter & characters did it for me. I can’t wait to read more!
lauriereadsrom1's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
After several years in the classroom, fifth grade teacher Owen Gardner is burned out from the daily grind. He's also finding it difficult to balance the demands of teaching with his side hustle, an increasingly popular STEM podcast for teachers. Just as he's making the difficult decision to resign at the end of the school year to focus on the podcast, the school principal announces his impending retirement and asks Owen to consider applying for the job.
Complicating Owen's decision is his close friendship with fellow fifth grade teacher (and secret crush) Sarah Lavely; if he leaves, he'll no longer get to see Sarah every day, but if he stays on as principal, he'll have to give up his podcast. He'd also be giving up any hope of someday being with Sarah because dating a subordinate is against the rules. Sarah, meanwhile, has only recently started to realize that there's a spark between her and Owen - a problem because she has a long-term boyfriend, high school football coach Eli. Her friendship with Owen is too important to give up, but can they keep their feelings from crossing the line?
I loved Sarah and Owen's story so much! Their flirty, playful dynamic was balanced with just the right amount of pining and angst, as well as a delicious slow burn chemistry that built to the perfect payoff. I was rooting for them from the start, no matter the (not insignificant) obstacles that stood in their way.
I highly recommend "Lesson Learned" for all contemporary romance and romantic comedy fans. It's a tremendously impressive debut and I can't wait to find out what Cawood comes up with next.
I highly recommend "Lesson Learned" for all contemporary romance and romantic comedy fans. It's a tremendously impressive debut and I can't wait to find out what Cawood comes up with next.
*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
hanniep11's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
hhamilton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
allysonstrable's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was a cute rom-com vibe with the friends to lovers trope (which I usually love... but in this case I couldn't get myself to love the main relationship between the FMC and the MMC). If you are unaware, this book involves the cheating trope - not physically but emotionally (which is almost worse) - and it happened by both the MMC and the FMC who were both in relationships. The cheating trope is one of the tropes that I dislike most when reading and try to actively stray from books that have it however I read this book which was unlike my past reading habits. One thing I did like about the book was how considerate the FMC was towards her students especially one student in particular who was struggling at school and she helped him feel more included in class by creating an after school newspaper club... I thought that was cute. I would've liked to see more of the coworker bond between the teachers at the school because I felt that that was limited but something that would make the book a lot better. Overall, I just wish that this book did not have the cheating trope because if it didn't I would have liked this book immensely more.