Title: Educating the Professor
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: February 5, 2019
Category: Contemporary, BDSM
Pages: 193
Kenneth Brannigan is a small-town history professor. He’s happy with his life, loves the classes he teaches, and lives in a tiny apartment in a converted house with his best friend, Tim, next door. He’s still recovering from a bad breakup and is content to stick to his comfortable routine. It’s Tim who insists he come to the Queer Alliance’s Rainbow Mixer.
At the mixer, Kenn meets David Burgundy, a new-to-town TA who is working on his masters. Dave is drawn immediately to Kenn and is thrilled when Kenn offers to show him the best pizza place in town. One meal leads to two, which leads to Dave and Kenn spending most of their free time together… and Kenn loosening his self-imposed rules regarding dating and sex for some kinky fun.
Kenn’s ex isn’t going to just let Kenn be, though, and the happier Kenn is with Dave, the less the ex likes it. Will Kenn continue to run away from his past, or will his relationship with Dave help him face it head-on?
3.75 Stars
David and Kenn meet at a mixer. Kenn is only there because his best friend, Tim, promised to go to a local diner afterwards for cheesecake. David is new in town and is drawn to Kenn almost immediately upon meeting him. When Tim ditches Kenn for a hookup, David spends time convincing the skittish Kenn to have the cheesecake with him instead. David is sure that he wants to spend more time with Kenn, but knows he must tread softly.
Kenn is very introverted and lost his self-confidence after a bad breakup. He doesn't do much other than his work and spend time with his best friend Tim. I wasn't sure what to think about Kenn initially; he seemed confident in some ways, like his teaching, but personally his confidence and self-esteem have been shattered. Once I had a better understanding of his past, I could see how hard it would be to move forward and trust someone.
David is very confident. I liked how he recognized that he needed a softer approach to Kenn and drew him out of his shell little by little. I did think that he pushed a little too much at times and was a little judicious with his wording while he tried to put Kenn at ease, but it did seem that Kenn was more ready to date again than he was willing to admit even to himself. I was happy to see him let their physical relationship start slowly, getting Kenn to be more comfortable. I liked that he took his time and helped Kenn accept that his desires and wants were not a problem and that he was open to anything Kenn was interested in. I liked that Kenn grew more self-confident and stood up for himself by the end.
Like a lot of Sean Michael's books, there is an abundance of sex in this book. The BDSM takes a while to appear and is pretty tame compared to other books by the author. If you're a fan, you will probably enjoy this one. If you're new to the author, this book might be a good starting point for you.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
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