Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Release Day Review ~ Teaching Ben by Shae Conner

Release Day Review ~ Teaching Ben by Shae Conner


Title: Teaching Ben

Author: Shae Connor

Release Date: February 20, 2018

Category: Contemporary, Dreamspun Desires
Pages: 209



Learning to love means a study in patience.
Fresh out of the military, Ben Cooper is ready for a new start. He’s away from his domineering father, making his own choices… and out of the closet. On his first day of college, he meets David Powell, who’s just the kind of gorgeous man Ben’s dreamed of. Too bad he’s the teaching assistant—which makes him off-limits in Ben’s eyes.
David is Ben’s age, but his life has taken a different path. He’s close with his family, who helped him deal with personal struggles after he came out. And while he’s staying away from any hint of scandal, Ben’s a kind of temptation he hasn’t faced in years. If only they’d met on more equal footing.
As the semester progresses and their lives become more entwined, keeping their relationship platonic becomes more difficult. They just have to hold out until the end of the semester….


*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by DreamSpinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

Ben has finally come to the point in his life where he gets to find out who he is. He grew up in a military household, was forced to join the military and stayed in the closet through his six years of service. Now at 24, he’s attending college and living life for himself. The TA for his class, David, catches his attention but Ben doesn’t want to take any chances. David can’t help but notice the guy sitting in the front row, and though it’s not against school policy, he’s conscious of his past and won’t risk dating a fellow student in a class he’s a teaching assistant.

This book is a very, very slow burn that doesn’t really lead to a burn. Two men who are attracted to each other but doesn’t become more than friends. This story shows the growing friendship between the two men, Ben becoming comfortable with the life he’s living, and some college drama.

I really wondered how the author was going to end this because I was pretty far into the book and they were still friends. This story happens over the semester that David is Ben’s TA. Then at 80%, their relationship goes from friends to I love you. And a few chapters later, they’re in a relationship. We get a very short time of the two men in a relationship since most of the book focuses on their friendship.


This story was easy to read and enjoyable. It was not a typical romance with the focus more on friendship. And though I don’t enjoy books with young characters, or college students, the two MC’s were mid-20’s which made it easier. If you like a friends to lovers, slooooow burn story, check this one out.

Rating: 4 stars

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