I loved the story. It was well written and had well developed main characters that had amazing chemistry. Well done! I recommend 4.5 stars.

Thank you, Bella Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I did not know what to expect from this book as it was my first Kat Jackson book. I liked the premises of an age gap and University environment.
Callie is a great character and I think the author progressed the relationship in a good way, however, the point of view is not favorable when trying to better understand Kate and it bothered me a lot because it was basically her own baggage that made the start of this relationship difficult.
The second characters of the book are also great.
The Roads Left Behind Us is a good book.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Kat Jackson books after having read this book and a few of her other offerings. The Roads Left Behind Us is a well written and intelligent book about a workplace romance between a professor in Pennbrook College’s English department, Dr. Kate Jory, and Teaching Assistant (TA) and PhD Program student, Callie Lewes (call me Lewis, Audrey). Kate is fifty years old and we learn she was previously married to a man. Callie is a thirty-four-year-old student who returned to campus following a stint in the corporate world that she did not enjoy. Kate and Callie are immediately drawn to each other when they meet. But Kate has a habit of masking her feelings to the point that Callie thinks Kate may actually be straight.

There was so much to thoroughly enjoy about this book including the college campus setting, the bookstore where Callie works part time and Kate frequents their hilarious friends and co-workers, weird Audrey, the age gap romance, Dr. Kate's style of attire, and Katherine Pearl's pure Sapphic prose. Also, let's not forget the craft beer that the author described so perfectly I could almost taste it. This angsty, quick-witted book deserves 4.5 stars in my opinion.

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't expecting to love this book at all. First of all, this was exceptionally well-written. The characters had depth and I like how Kate's character had much complexity that made her seem mysterious and distant.

From what I've observed, there's not much happening on the outside other than Kate and Callie as the story mainly focuses more on their relationship and how they're going to move past certain obstacles. Also, I think that what hindered Kate from accepting that she wants to be with Callie is the age difference and their almost prof / TA situation but then a specific circumstance had pushed her to finally decide that she wants to be with her and I think that the former I was talking about was kind of unneccessary since both of them can remain professional in their workplace so I didn't quite see what's the reason why they shouldn't be together ASAP.

Other than that, in all actuality, this book's the kind of book you want to read at a slow pace to fully immerse and enjoy yourself. I find it lovely and delightful, despite the little angst, and I can't wait to read more books from this author.

That was some marvelous writing; the vocabulary alone was spellbinding. The two MC's and every single supporting character are so well fleshed out that you feel as if you stepped into a room full of your friends and are catching up on all the gossip. The "will they, won't they" makes quite a pull at your heartstrings, but the end result makes the shipwreck all the more survivable. Their love story is charming, it's refreshing, it's as stormy as it is placid, and you will find yourself smiling hard at the MC's antics throughout. A play at the Student/Professor fantasy, but you'll find these two are on equal footing in the PhD program where a delicious age-gap and big beautiful brains war to find shelter.

Featured presentation: The Roads Left Behind Us by Kat Jackson

For Callie, the road to love is paved by poetic prose…

Cast: Callie Lewes is one of the new teaching assistants at Pennbrook College’s English department. She is on a mission to obtain her PhD and get her life together. Kate Jory recently joined the English department and is in the process of shaking up the curriculum.

The Plot: Callie is thirty four and heads back to college to complete her PhD. In her capacity as teaching assistant, she often encounters Dr Kate Jory and finds herself fascinated by the older woman.

The blazing: I loved the setting! Oh, Academia!!! The English department comes to life not only through the various characters, but also through the oddities contributed by the aging building.

The set of essays Callie edits for the magazine Sapphisms. They are heavy on symbolism and therefore do not seem to say much. It is heavenly to read, though…

The bright: The relationship between Callie and Kate starts off slowly. The first progress we see is emails sent back and forth between them during a department meeting. This gives us a first glimpse into the playful nature of Kate’s character. Their relationship builds over time as they get to know each other while working together to develop a new literature course.

The bleak: The book is told in the third person, but only from Callie’s side. This leaves Kate’s character as a mystery apart from what Callie sees and knows… While this can be considered a good thing, Kate seems to go back and forth between being attracted to Callie and regarding her as a colleague/assistant. The reader ends up feeling confused about Kate’s feelings and her motivations. The chemistry between Callie and Kate also suffers as a result.

The burned-to-ashes: Nothing.

And then The Plot Thickens into a comfortable read. There is a lot to enjoy in the book, especially the “behind the scenes” in the English department. I’m sure many students often wonder what it is like to work in academia. While it may not always be fun and games (it is work, after all), it is exciting to see the interactions between the “stuffy” professors!

Studio: Bella Books

Closing credits: I willingly leave this review based on an eARC copy graciously granted to me by Bella Books and NetGalley.

If you’re looking for a sapphic read set in scholarly academia with witty dialogue, sizzling chemistry, and a couple of steamy scenes then this is a good pick for you! Kate and Callie connected the second Callie’s TA interview began. As someone who resides close to Rehoboth and Lewes, I very much appreciated the beginning of that scene! Probably the best part of this book were the multitude of dynamic supporting characters. Without their scenes, interactions, and intervening, this book would have been quite boring. Fortunately for Callie and Kate, their friends kept their story rolling.

5 star, 5 star, 5 star.....did I like this story...yes!
The writing is beautifully filled with so much emotion and intelligent dialog, I was sad when it ended. My heart flipped several times. You really feel all the tugs and turns of the story. This is a really sloooow burn romance between a 50 yr old professor and her 34 year old TA. The difference in their age is just one obstacle to get over. Having a romantic relationship at work is another.
The environment is academia which makes the content of many conversations slightly elevated over other romance novels. Yet very understandable and warm.
The characters are real, interesting and distinct. I liked all of them.
I highly recommend this story.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

A sapphic workplace romance involving English professors, one of whom loves craft beer? Sign me up! I don't know what happened but somewhere along the line in the execution, I got lost. I truly didn't feel connected to any of the characters so it it was hard to remain invested. I'd have give this book 2.75 stars out of 5.

• The Roads Left Behinds Us
• Kat Jackson
• Callie Lewes
• Dr. Kate Jory
• Corner stone books
• PhD Program
• New England Winter


Dr. Kate Jory is a new member of Pennbrook in the English Department.
Callie Lewes life has taken a turn she was not expecting . But is determined
to finish her PhD program, she returns to school and applies for a TA position.

Callie is at a cross roads in her life. She didn’t have the answers that everyone around her, including her parents, wanted.

The story is about two woman who have feelings for each but can’t communicate that.
to tell each other, each has their own reasons. . Callie wants to focus on school and getting her
life in order, but she is attracted to Dr. Kate Jory. Dr. Jory is very head strong,
or you could say strong willed , but I felt it was to her own detriment. She is very hot and cold.

The story has some holes that were not filled. I did enjoy the story overall.
I read the author’s last book Across the hall, it was a wonderful read.

I highly recommend this book

I received an ARC from Bella Books through NetGalley exchange for
a honest review. Thank you to Bella Books

4Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sapphic romances set in Academia are delicious catnip for me. The constant back and forth of whether it’s a good idea or acceptable given the mentor - mentee relationship is always a gray area and so much fun to explore.
This book dives whole heartedly right into it. Callie is a “late in life” grad student and TA. During her TA interview she meets enigmatic new professor Kate recently moved from Tennessee. Callie’s crushing hard, but isn’t quite sure what to make of Kate’s reactions. Oooh so much fun!

Kate had an an almost ice queen persona in this book which I love, but I think her character is probably best described as an enigma. Even towards the end of the book I never got a really good feel for Kate’s backstory and the sense of aloofness, which is perfect for an ice queen, remains. Callie’s character, in contrast is all heart on sleeve and since this is mostly told from her POV, I think Jackson does a great job defining her struggles. I really loved the first half of the book, the slow attraction / crush was really good. I also enjoyed the fun banter among the Professorial and TA side characters. Audrey was a fun stick in the mud character that everyone got to annoy and it had me chuckling throughout. Also that first scene with Kate and Audrey was an awesome intro to the tempo of this book and what was to follow. I loved it ❤️.

I only struggled with the last portion of the book where there is all that hot / cold angst, because I honestly didn’t take Kate’s reasoning seriously. So like Callie, I was kinda shocked when Kate blew cold. I kept thinking there has to be another reason and before I knew it, we were almost at the end of the book. So I guess while I appreciated the enigma-esque nature of Kate’s character I think the angst could have benefited from more backstory to make it stick.

Overall though, this book was quite enjoyable. It’s a slow burn in an academic setting and it was a fun read. 4🌟s

Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books for an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

A romance set in the academic world is just the right book for the cold months.

Callie (34 yrs) returns to the university as a TA in English literature to get her PhD after a disappointing short career. Already familiar with the English department she is thrown off by the new professor, Kate.
Kate is 50 and brilliant in her field. Callie is immediately taken with her while Kate runs hot and cold.

Callie deals with her new routine as TA, being a PhD candidate and balancing her side jobs and her crush on Kate. The two of them dance around each other until the head of the department pairs them on a project. Forced to work closely together soon things come to head.

I loved this book, the small university town setting, the English literature department, a bookstore and an age-gap romance.

This is my first book by Kate Jackson, but I've been aware of her work for a while now and know that she does write novels around a university setting but not really New Adult novels, which is an interesting touch. So when I saw this book about characters in academia I was interested as that's an area I know something about and I like to have some direct relationship to books I read.

The Roads Left Behind Us follows Callie Lewes who is returning to academia to get her PhD after several years away from university life. When she returns to her alma mater she expects to be familiar with all of the professors there already, which is why she is thrown for a loop by Dr. Kate Jory. Dr. Jory is an interesting and compelling teacher but also very closed off about herself and that just intrigues Callie more.

The character work seems to be all over the place with this book. I really liked Callie, she was really interesting and intelligent and super witty. Her point of view was a lot of fun and I could see why a bunch of people are more interested in her than she is in them. A lot of the side characters in this book are fun to read too. The professors of Renee and Courtney are hilarious, and Callie's friend group with Sadie and Marie are what kept me really into the book.

Also the bar with beers inspired by Greek Mythology? Chef's kiss.

My main issue with this book comes in the character of Kate. Through the book we keep seeing Kate be allusive about her past, and she's hot and cold towards people to help build her defenses and that's all well and good. But to me we never find out WHY this is. We learn that she was from Tennessee, was married and suffered with a fair amount of comphet, and like that's all? We didn't learn about her past or her family or really anything beyond the surface level. If I really want to connect with a character I need information about them, especially a character that is intentionally "mysterious" like Kate. And I just felt totally unfulfilled in her character arc.

And as for the connection between Kate and Callie? I personally didn't really feel it. Maybe my bias for not feeling strongly about Kate came into play but I just didn't get it. I've said this in other reviews, but to me it's like the book is telling me the characters are into each other without actually showing it and hoping the readers just are along with it. Kate and Callie barely interacted in the first half of the book, and the second half they are fighting half the time. And the reasons they delayed getting together seemed silly to me.

I'm not turned off to Kat Jackson's books, there was some parts of this I did enjoy especially the fun characters- but I just wanted more out of the relationship here that I didn't feel. 2.5/5

This has been a story set in the academic field, specifically in English literature in which the main protagonists are professors. It develops the relationship between Kate, a new professor on the faculty and Callie, a woman who wants to get her Ph.D. and at the same time becomes an assistant professor in the department.

Callie is a bit uncertain, at 34 years old she still has to decide a lot about her future, her romantic relationships have left her with insecurities and low self-esteem, and she still lives with two roommates. So, when she meets Kate, the charismatic, intelligent, mature and attractive new teacher, she can't help but be instantly attracted to her. But the difference in age and life situation between them is going to complicate things, in addition to the fact of their professional relationship and the incompatibilities that this entails.

The two women have seemed charming to me, each in her own style, their relationship has its entertaining point, their banter, their back and forth. Though it's Kate who has the most retreats, much to Callie's despair.

For me it has been quite an enjoyable read, with a lot of feeling and passion. quite recommended.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Callie is a success but she returning to school to get her PhD and gets hire as TA. She likes that it’s a great place to work until she meets Kate a professor who one minute is open then next is putting up a mask and being aloof.

This is slow burn but both MCs have issues they have to overcome the sides characters gave good comedic timing.

𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 - 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 / 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲.

I would label this the almost - professor / student trope. 'Almost', because Callie is a TA and doctorate student and she's older than the average TA, so it's less controversal in the context of a romance novel despite a 16 year age gap between the characters. Whatever it is, this trope is my guilty pleasure, so I knew this book would hold my interest, no matter what, and it did mostly. And a bonus is that Kat Jackson can write passionate scenes.

But I have my issues with the story, the first being the contrived reasons the characters have for not getting together despite having developed a mutual attraction that is obvious to everyone else. Callie's reasons for not wanting any relationship at all has been transparent to readers from the start, but she's also the more willing one out of the two to try it out. Kate however, is bit more opaque with her reasons until later, and her stubborness really drags out. The reasons they have are predictable for stories of this trope, but I feel they're also contrived in this context because there were no real obstacles to their relationship being presented other than their own obstinance. The other issue is the poor communication between characters. Callie and Kate don't have much meaningful interaction and even by the halfway mark, they hadn't even figured out if the other party was even into women. Callie's poor communication skills extends to other people too, I realise, and there were a couple of instances of people misreading her intentions.

This is the second book of Jackson's that I've read, both of which I've had my issues with, but I'll continue to check out her work and hopefully I'll be able to fully enjoy the next one.

Callie Lewes is a 34 year old TA still figuring out her place in life but more sure than not that pursuing a PhD in English is the route she should be on. Dr. Kate Jory has accepted a new job and is excited to begin work in the English department and make her mark. When a taboo mutual crush gets in their way they have to find a way around it.
I liked this book a lot, the MCs had good chemistry and the came off as the sort of intellectuals I would expect to find working at any of the many New England colleges. Callie and Kate have a few issues to overcome, one an age gap and the other the fact that Kate is a professor in the PhD program that Kate is enrolled in. Renee Lawler was hilarious and I would have liked a few more scenes with her in them. Callie also has a few great friends that serve as entertaining side characters. I did like Kate but there was a bit of mystery about her that I didn’t feel was resolved all the way. There were a couple of other plot points that I also don’t feel were fully resolved or were too vague for my preferences. Overall though this was a good read and I recommend picking it up.

This is an age-gap romantic novel set in an academic world. Callie Lewes is 34 and has been successful in the business world or publishing and editing. Returning to get her PhD she successfully gets hired on as TA in the Pennbrook English Department. She knows and is friendly with most of the professors except for new hire Dr. Kate Jory. Kate is 50 and brilliant both as an educator and in networking. Kate can be open and flirty one minute and the next masked and aloof. I got a little whiplash from Kate's changing attitudes. Callie isn't Kate's TA at first and she's trying to keep things professional. Kate is harder to know because everything is from Callie's POV.

This is also a slow burn romance winding through the semester and more. Callie is set up with someone else by her roommates and thinks she needs to get over her crush feelings. I think if Callie were a younger ,more traditional student, the relationship could enter forbidden territory. As it is they need to be patient with each other and the obstacles they face. I really like the college academic setting and Callie's friends and colleagues. I didn't love the side set up with Hannah because she is interested being more than friends. I enjoyed the story and it feels rich and complex. It isn't a simple HEA. Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Callie, in her mid thirties, is back to studying for her PhD at her old Alma Matter and applying for a TA job. She is thrown off course when she meets the new addtion to the English department, Kate Jory. Kate is an established professor and in her fifthies. She also blows hot and cold confusing Callie. When they can no longer fight the attraction the book turns steamy. The story mostly flowed nicely, there were some desciptions that seemed forced but I did enjoy reading this book.
Free ARC provided by Bella Books via NetGalley.

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Aj Smith rated a book it was amazing
about 8 hours ago
The Roads Left Behind Us by Kat Jackson
The Roads Left Behind Us
by Kat Jackson
Want to Read
This is a dream of a novel, cementing Kat Jackson's status as one of my favourite writers out there at the moment, and an automatic purchase. I already had "The Roads Left Behind Us" on pre-order from Bella Books when I got a review copy, and I'm so glad I got one: the official release date isn't until March 17th and that is far too far away!

One of the things I love most about Kat Jackson's writing is how she takes flawed, imperfect people and makes them beautiful. There are no heroes or knights in shining armour here, (nor in Begin Again, or Across the Hall, Jackson's other stunning novels), mainly because people have their failings. If you want sweeping traditional romance, grand gestures aplenty, and literal near death situations leading to professions of undying love - you will not find them in this book. However, if you want a beautifully crafted text (and a text within a text!) about two people coming to terms with their own shit as well as how they feel about each other, incredible sexual tension (more about that anon), very hot kisses and sex scenes, excellent humour and mockery, and the most divine figurative language you should buy this book!
Our leading ladies are Dr Kate Jory, an English lecturer, and Callie Lewes who has returned to academia after a decade in the publishing industry, and is now a teaching assistant and PhD student in the English dept at Pennbrook University. While this is an age-gap romance, I like that Callie is thirty-four rather than in her twenties, and in many ways she's more emotionally mature than fifty year old Kate. Like most colleges, Pennbrook doesn't allow relationships between faculty and students, so naturally Callie is deeply smitten with Kate from the off! Personally I fell for the dept head Dr Renee Lawler with her power suits, high heels, and mischievous personality. (She also refers to the neighbouring sociology professors as "wankers", which my English and Psychology studying past finds delightful) So if you feel like writing a follow up book/short story focusing on Renee, I'm here for it Ms Jackson.

I highlighted so many lines and sections in my kindle because I love the flow, precision, and sheer poetry of Kat Jackson's language. I won't put them all here because I think it would somewhat ruin the effect. The one I have chosen is from a piece of writing Callie is editing for 'Sapphisms' magazine; I mentioned the text within a text earlier and this is a glorious metaphor for internal conflict and desire: "But the science of the heart is no different from that of nature: one cannot have growth without rain." For me, not only is it beautifully written but it sums up so much. "The Roads Left Behind Us" doesn't need massive external drama, our day to day lives and falling in love provide enough of that as it is.