The people saying this isn't enemies to lovers have clearly never taught with someone whose teaching style is so vastly different from them. I really liked them together and it was fun to watch them grow. I get why people might think they only got together because of the baby but I don't agree. I think that being stuck in the room together for the whole year would have brought them together anyways.

I received an arc through netgalley.

unfortunately this missed the mark for me. i usually love, love, love characters who hold disdain for each other who are forcefully placed together by something and forced to navigate through it together but these characters just came off as childish to me so it made any development or arc in their story seem unbelievable.

This book completely missed the mark for me. I'm not sure if it was because it had the main character's POVs separated but written in third person (which made the separate POV feel unnecessary), the childish behaviors from Valerie, the rush in pacing or what but I just didn't like this. I feel like this shouldn't be advertised as a spicy enemies to lovers story because 1. it was the mildest spice ever - like we're talking 1 page worth of scenes that happened twice, and 2. the couple were just mildly irritated with one another.

I feel like maybe executed better, the premise could work. However, this was just disappointing.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of Love Lessons exchange for an honest review.

The fact that they portrayed elementary school teachers like Valerie and Andrew and then made them have child-like squabbles had me pissed. As a future educator, it felt kinda insulting and then the "surprise pregnancy?" and then having Andrew be oh so nice to her and her rejecting his help and all felt like I was reading Elle Kennedy's The Goal

Let me start by saying I didn't hate Love Lessons.

I think that a more believable plot would have given room for more substantial conflict and resolution, and given these characters a chance to live lives that don't make me roll my eyes every other page. As it stands, this was a bit too far-fetched for me and required the reader to suspend a lot of belief to go along for this ride. I also didn't think that this was steamy, despite it being marketed that way, and didn't buy the love story between the FMC and MMC for a second. I typically really enjoy the accidental pregnancy trope, but Valerie felt extraordinarily immature and underdeveloped that it made me uncomfortable at times because she subsequently reads as younger than she should. I also didn't like that Valerie is a Latina but that isn't explored more throughout the narrative. Andrew was just…there. Like, he is certainly a man and a character, but there's not much more than that. The writing was a bit choppy at times which was jarring for how quick this read is, but I don't care: I'm still here for this cover!

2.5 ⭐️s
1 🌶️

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was a cute romance with a fun Abbott Elementary vibe. Valerie, the quirky, vibrant teacher, and Andrew, the reserved, stoic one, have had an ongoing feud for years. When their tension finally boils over into a steamy one-night stand, Valerie ends up pregnant, and the two are suddenly thrust into co-parenting and sharing a classroom. While the story had its charm, it lacked depth, often jumping from slow-burn to fast-forward without much in between. Valerie's character felt a bit immature at times, which made it hard to fully connect. I enjoyed the setting and the premise, but I wish the emotional impact of their relationship had been more fully explored.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

I definitely enjoyed this book. Its a classic enemies to lovers with a twist, a baby. I am usually not a fan of the surprise pregnancy trope, but this felt pretty well fleshed out and not as out of nowhere. I do hate that this is marketed as spicy, when the "spice" happens twice and is like a page long each. I do wish there were more spice and more build up between Andrew and Valerie. The last few chapters felt very rushed, and I wish that the book had just been longer and delved more into their relationship.

Love Lessons: A Novel by Sidney Halston
Author @sidneyhalstonauthor
3.75/5

🖍️ Rivals to Lovers 👨🏻‍🏫 Grumpy x Sunshine
🖌️ Workplace Romance 🎨 Accidental Pregnancy
👩🏻‍🏫 One Night Stand Trope 🖍️ Opposites Attract

This was a short read set in Miami with two rival kindergarten teachers. It was adorable and cute, I wish I had more of it. It had two spicy-ish scenes but by no means is this an ultra spicy book. The FMC is latina and I wish they had explored that a bit more, I live in Miami and was familiar with all the landmarks they spoke of so I enjoyed that. If you are looking for a quick read with a happy ending, this is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sidney Halston and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for review.

These two kindergarten teachers butt heads on everything from curriculum to classroom management - but can they compromise on love? This is such a sweet but spicy read that will have readers rooting for both MCs along the way!

I don’t think this book is for me. I was thrown off by the tense. It didn’t flow naturally, in my opinion and I couldn’t get myself to be excited to pick it up.

Valerie and Andrew, rival kindergarten teachers at the same school, have one night of lust-fueled fun that turns out to be the biggest game changer for them both. A surprise pregnancy presents new challenges for the couple, especially as they now have to navigate being co-teachers.

The banter between Valerie and Andrew was hilarious! There were multiple times when I laughed out loud over their ridiculousness. This grumpy/sunshine pairing was a great trope to play at for the couple as they navigated their new relationship, both personal and professional. There were a lot of good things going for Valerie and Andrew, and I generally liked them as characters as they truly fit into the trope. Taking them out of that perspective, I find Andrew a little insufferable and Valerie to be over the top - but in the context of the book, it worked.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Sidney Halston for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I wanted to love this book more than I enjoyed it. While the concept was fun, I felt like the characters were just ultimately not really very nice to each other. I specifically struggled with the FMC and how she treats the MMC at the start of the novel. She's incredibly rude to him and his class and never really recovers from that.

Really enjoyed this book! Not what I usually pick up but it was a good pick. I could definitely see this as a rom-com that I would binge watch on tv.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored The Valentines Hate so I was super excited to get approved for the next steamy romcom by Sidney Halston. This delightful book puts a new spin on the enemies to lovers trope with two rival kindergarten teachers. This book is fun and sexy, and overall really cute. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Christina Lauren and Tessa Bailey. I loved this book so much!!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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3.5 stars

Valerie Marquez and Andrew Wexler are the two kindergarten teachers at a private school and have very different teaching styles. Valerie is more free spirited with learning hidden in play while Andrew has a more rigid style and is proud of his class' record at winning the spelling bee. Valerie's style is a trigger for Andrew's migraines and she, of course, becomes more exuberant each time he complains. What they do have in common is a physical attraction for each other, which leads to a very hot night together at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the summer sees some damage to their classrooms and they are forced to co-teach the class - right after the principal threatens to fire one of them if they don't start to get along.

The story is told from both Valerie's and Andrew's POVs. The beginning was a bit weird because they're fighting and can't stand each other and then suddenly have sex. It just didn't seem like there was a believable buildup. I did really like both characters and wanted them to be together so I did overlook a bunch of things. When they realize Valerie's pregnant, it became more of a rom-com that was following a believable arc to me. Especially once they started co-teaching, I enjoyed the story a lot more. If the beginning hadn't seemed so disjointed, this would have been a solid 4 stars.

Valerie and Andrew are kindergarten teachers who could not be more unalike and to say they don’t get a long would be an understatement. A moment of impulse at a party leads to the two sleeping together and a couple months later finding out the encounter has led to a pregnancy. To top it off a collapsed roof means the two are now sharing a classroom. Together they must navigate the school year and their pending parenthood.

Let’s start with the good. The book was easy to read and found myself flying through it without skimming. I liked Valerie and Andrew’s mothers and the kids added some humor. Now the rest of it. I struggled with both Andrew and Valerie, but especially Valerie. She was so immature throughout the entire and it drove me insane. I hate hate hate pranks and being mean just to be mean is just childish and made me really dislike her from the first few pages. This is advertised as enemies to lovers, but they’re not enemies or even rivals, she’s just mean. I didn’t feel any sort of attraction or connection between the two. They don’t really communicate with each other on page but we are constantly being told their relationship is improving. For the love of god i need authors to learn to show and not just tell. The two intimate scenes were strictly lust-based and I don’t think either would pick the other without there being a baby. The pacing of the book felt very off to me. Valerie doesn’t figure out she’s pregnant until the 33% mark, at 66% she’s 18 weeks along, and then the last third is the remaining part of the pregnancy, which means that the tail end of the book felt very rushed while it felt like nothing happened for almost the first half of the book.

Now let’s get to the baby of it all. Accidental pregnancy books are are very hit and miss. I did appreciate that the baby was the result of safe sex and the book includes health concerns like high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia. That being said, I really struggled with this book in a post-Roe v. Wade America. There was a brief discussion about whether or not Valerie was going to “keep the baby” (but I noted the word “abortion” is not found anywhere in the book). The book takes place in Florida which has a 6-week abortion ban in place and Valerie doesn’t find out she’s pregnant until 10 weeks. It felt like a missed opportunity to not acknowledge the fact that Valerie would not be able to easily get an abortion. In fact, we got almost no serious discussion about her considering termination as that section of the book was mostly in Andrew’s POV who is just waiting to here her decision and doesn’t talk about those things with her because these two don’t talk to each other. I get that this is a supposed rom-com but it just felt icky to me to ignore reality. For this reason I can’t give the book more than 3 stars and honestly thought about giving it 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC, and Avon for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

after reading this, i can 100% say that there is a <i>very</i> thin line between love, hate, and the not-so mentioned: lust.

i found this to be a cute and realistic accidental pregnancy story. usually i’m not a big fan of that type of trope but for some reason it worked in this story that features two kindergarten teachers who couldn’t stand each other while teaching at the same school. this wasn’t an enemies-to-lovers per sé (as it is marketed), but more of a dislike-to-like romance. i had hoped we would’ve seen more of their romantic relationship developing but we didn’t and the ending felt a bit rushed. it was still cute though!

Really enjoyed reading this book! Loved the plot and how i was able to fully feel like i was apart of the book itself. This was my first time reading something like this book, but it will also not be my last!

Loved this book so much! The characters were so easy to fall in love with and the dynamic was easy to follow. This was definitely a cozy book and gave me *spicy* hallmark vibes.

the plot is good, writing is great too
i enjoyed it pretty much, but i didn't have much connection with it