Misconduct

Book reviews

4 Mar

“Penelope Douglas fills this stunning, brazenly erotic contemporary with high-stakes passion, addictive tension, and spirited bantering.”

— Publishers Weekly

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

1. MISCONDUCT by Penelope Douglas

SYNOPSIS

Former tennis player Easton Bradbury is trying to be the best teacher she can be, trying to reach her bored students, trying to forget her past. What brought her to this stage in her life isn’t important. She can’t let it be. But now one parent-teacher meeting may be her undoing…

Meeting Tyler Marek for the first time makes it easy for Easton to see why his son is having trouble in school. The man knows how to manage businesses and wealth, not a living, breathing teenage boy. Or a young teacher, for that matter, though he tries to. And yet… there is something about him that draws Easton in—a hint of vulnerability, a flash of attraction, a spark that might burn.

Wanting him is taboo. Needing him is undeniable. And his long-awaited touch will weaken Easton’s resolve—and reveal what should stay hidden...

BOOK REVIEW

Penelope Douglas blew my mind once again with her phenomenal writing and an ability to create a unique and engaging storyline. Misconduct was so different from her previous works, filled to the brim with well-developed characters who learned to embrace their own vulnerabilities and find what matters the most in life together and many thought-provoking themes that wrapped the forbidden romance up neatly in beautiful ribbons of education, reason, and love both between a man and a woman as well as within a family.

“Easton was a woman I’d wanted in my bed, but Ms. Bradbury was off-limits. The lines were there, clear as day, and not to be breached.”

Easton Bradbury was an incredibly strong female character, intelligent and independent (gained at great expense) but with a sick need to control every single aspect of her burdened by the past life. She became a newly appointed American history teacher with very progressive teaching methods (I absolutely loved her ideas and reasoning in support of them) at an elite private school in New Orleans, the one attended by Tyler’s only son.

“A man who endeavored to be better was already superior to the men who claimed to be great.”

Tyler Malek was a self-centered self-made billionaire and aspiring politician driven by endless ambitions (he wanted to make more than just money, he wanted to make a difference and be remembered) and an overpowering need to control and perfect every aspect of his extremely structured life. Every single one except for the most important one. His relationship with his once-abandoned-by-him-due-to-ignorance-and-arrogance son who Tyler barely knew and understood, and thus had difficulty communicating with.

In our hearts, we always know what’s right and wrong. That’s not the struggle. The struggle is wanting what’s wrong for you and gauging whether or not the consequences are worth it.

They were well aware of the damage that could be done to their careers and lives in general but still started a secret affair, unable to resist a crazy sexual attraction. In the process, however, they discovered that there was so much more to their connection than either of them expected. But, of course, there were problems more prominent than a ‘teacher-parent inappropriate relationship’. Easton was afraid of and thus avoided intimacy of opening up to a man long enough to have a deeper connection with him, while Tyler was more unwilling rather than incapable to set his priorities straight. Aside from that, Tyler and Easton were so alike, you’ll be amazed! The chemistry was scorching hot, melting and diffusing both of them in one another. The sex encounters were really good (there was just one extremely cringy but arguably adorable line by Tyler that made me crack up during an emotional scene, you’ll know once you read the book).

Overall, Misconduct was a truly splendid and absolute must-read!

“Chaos lost in chaos. Liberty in being a small part of a larger madness. When you weren’t seen, you weren’t judged. There was a desirable freedom in that.”

PS. After having read this romance novel, I got a feeling that I actually prefer books by Penelope Douglas with older main characters. Just a thought out there.