Thank you NetGalley and Sidney Halston for the opportunity to review this book.

Valerie and Andrew are kindergarten teachers at GPA who couldn’t be more different if they tried, causing each to get on the others last nerve. After a crazy surprise and a threat of losing their job the two must make the best of working together and learn that there’s a fine line between love and hate.

The characters are very well developed and there is an evident change in both throughout the book. The banter between them was some grade A stuff!

My only complaint is that the book is marketed as a spicy, and while yes there was some spice it was very limited and only happened maybe twice.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Love Lessons.

Love Lessons is about two kindergarten teachers who do not get along. They regularly have conflict with one another. When one of the kindergarten classrooms goes out of commission for the foreseeable future, Andrew and Valerie are forced to share a classroom with each other. As the story progresses, a shared classroom is not the only event that further drives the forced proximity between these two enemies.

Love Lessons is a quick read and there are some really lovely moments between Valerie and Andrew. I really love a good use of text messaging and I thought their text exchanges back and forth were a really nice piece of the book. The pacing of the story didn't feel consistent. The beginning has really fast pacing and when we got to the middle I felt the pacing had really slowed. At the same time, the latter half of the story, it didn't feel like the relationship developed at quite the pace necessary for the ending. I think some of the sharp interactions they still have with each other later in the story distracted from the developing relationship between the two. It makes the HEA at the end feel somewhat rushed because it feels uncertain if they've fully developed their love for each other. Love Lessons is a quick read and I would recommend for anyone who likes forced proximity and/or enemies to lovers tropes.

If you’ve watched Abbott Elementary, Love Lessons feels like the perfect next chapter for you because it’s incredibly similar. This story follows Valerie Marquez who is a kindergarten teacher and is all about having fun and teaching in a more unorthodox way. As you might imagine, the other kindergarten teacher alongside her is Andrew Wexler, a strict, stuffy, and buttoned-up guy who is all about rules.

From the start, these two haven’t gotten along and it gets so bad that they end up almost getting fired for their arguing. Thankfully, they’re able to keep it under wraps until the school year ends and they go their separate ways. Of course, things aren’t as wrapped up as they might seem as these two hook up before departing for summer.

As you might imagine, this hook-up results in Valerie getting pregnant. Things get even more complicated as they’re forced to become co-teachers due to a fire in their wing. What I adored was how Sidney Halston gave us their romance slowly but also paired it with how big the baby was growing. It was such a fun touch and had me looking forward to every chapter.

Despite their relationship being a slow burn, it’s clear that Andrew and Valerie were pining for each other and just didn’t realize it. There is something so delicious about that. It was also fun to see how everyone in their lives reacted as their friends and family had such strong reactions. I especially loved the moment with KFC which felt utterly relatable.

While the third-act conflict came a little bit late, it made sense given their situation. It did damper my enjoyment by a bit but other than that, this was a fun one. If you’re craving more Abbott Elementary, then Love Lessons is a must.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and Sidney Halston for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with the beginning of this book and the main characters behavior. It was beyond immature and I would hope no administration would put up with it. The beginning was the worst but it was all a little much throughout the book.

I am stubborn so I continued on, around 25% in I was hooked enough to finish the book. I really enjoy enemy to lovers but this execution was not my favorite. It was a quick, easy read.

I thought this book was super cute! Enemies to lovers/workplace romance, with a surprise pregnancy. I loved going through all the nuances or her pregnancy with them. Even though the situations were vastly different from mine, it brought back a lot of good and bad memories from my own pregnancy! It's not overly spicy, and shows that love is not always what you're going to expect it to be!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sidney Halston for the ARC

This was cute but it's nothing I'll remember forever. I definitely like the mmc more than the fmc while I read it but overall it was just cute.

Love Lessons by Sidney Halston

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: August 6, 2024

This book was so so cute! This is peak enemies to lovers and I love it. Andrew and Valerie are kindergarten teachers who couldn’t be more different. However, everything changes after a night celebrating a mutual friend and they must learn to get along. Why? Because she ends up pregnant! One of the cutest things about this book is that the chapter titles reflect the size of the baby as time progresses. Parenting takes teamwork, communication, and compromise. Both characters are so firm in their beliefs that it is a struggle in the beginning, but they learn and grow together. I think that the pacing could have been better in the beginning, but it didn’t bother me too much. I loved this story so much. Valerie and Andrew show us that sometimes opposites really do attract.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Sidney Halston for this ARC.

This was a cute accidental pregnancy, rivals to lovers romance between two kindergarten teachers who absolutely despise each other, yet have to learn to work together professionally, as well as for the unplanned baby they’re having together.

I liked Andrew and Valerie’s banter and their relationship once it got into motion, but the mechanics and their connection were a bit clunky for me at points. In my opinion, we spent a little too much time in the kindergarten classroom they were forced into sharing, and not enough time building the bridge from rivals to lovers. It felt like the pivot was made in a snap, and I wanted a little more angst and yearning, as well as more bickering, before they started falling for each other.

I will say that even at 300 pages, the story moved quick enough that the book felt short - I really enjoyed the spicy scenes and Andrew unbuttoning to become more open and comfortable, as well as Valerie learning to rely on and trust Andrew.

Overall, this was a fun read, especially if you enjoy the tropes. I recommend this read if you like:
✏️ Accidental pregnancy trope
✏️ Rivals to lovers
✏️ Grumpy x sunshine
✏️ Workplace romance

This was a short and sweet(and spicy) accidental pregnancy romcom! I felt like it lacked a little bit of depth and the characters went from full on enemies to in love in a very short amount of time! But with that being said it was still very cute!

Full disclosure: accidental pregnancy is not one of my favorite tropes. However, some of my most surprising top reads have centered around the trope, and the synopsis for this one sounded promising. Unfortunately, it was mostly a miss for me.

I did like the rival teacher and school aspect of the book. I felt it did a good job of showing how different people can approach the same task in a different way and still have successful results. Everyone, including and may especially a kindergartener, learns in a different way and having two polar opposite teaching styles represented and forced to work together was a great concept.

There was some good chemistry between Andrew and Valerie in the rare instances that they got along, but for almost the entire book it simply felt like they genuinely disliked each other. I didn’t feel the attraction grow between them as the pregnancy progressed. I think part of this was due to a lot of telling over showing the moments that were supposed to help strengthen their connection. I just didn’t buy into the romance at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m all for enemies to lovers but it has to be respectful. I just felt like this pair was down right disrespectful and I couldn’t move past that. It just rubbed me the wrong way. My recommendation would be to make the early conflict a little lighter, more of a silly banter and annoyance rather than disrespectful.

I went into this book pretty excited! However, the child-like behavior of the main characters throughout most of the book took away from the overall sweet story they had. My biggest complaint is how unprofessional the characters (both kindergarten teachers) were while their students were present. I understand this is a work of fiction, but both would have been fired in reality. As a former teacher myself, it was hard to look past.

One strength of this book was the growth if the main characters. Yes, the behaved like young children throughout most of the book, but they did grow a lot too. As a bonus, I feel the growth was actually quite realistic!

Without giving away the main plot point of the book, I will say, it wasn't for me. I think the timeline got a bit confusing regarding the plot point as well. It was difficult at times to tell if it had been weeks or months. I understand the chapter titles give hints about the progress, but it only helped a little.

Sigh. I really wanted to like this. The premise is good, I like that they co-taught students together. It's a great setup for enemies to lovers. But unfortunately, I really did not buy that these two characters even liked each other, let alone love each other. Both eyed each other so critically internally and I don't buy that they would stay together. The MMC was just so mean to the FMC and not in a building an emotional wall way, but in a judging her all the time way.

Please don't compare this to Abbott Elementary, Janine and Gregory would never.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. As a teacher, I wanted to like this story, but it was too much for me.

A night of fun turned into a lifetime of love. This story follows 2 kindergarten teachers that are complete opposites and disagree on almost everything in the classroom. While I did enjoy this book I wish that it was more descriptive when it came to describing the characters. It’s felt as if it was lacking something that would have really moved the dial for me to push it closer to a 4 out of 5 review. With that being said I am willing to give this author another try because I found myself giggling at the conversations between Valarie and Andrew.

I hate to say this but I just wasn’t a fan of this book. It sucks because I had really high hopes for this one.

Love Lessons follows our two main characters Valerie and Andrew who are both rival kindergarten teachers. I would classify Valerie as a free spirit and Andrew as by the book. After a one night stand, Valerie ends up getting pregnant and they have to figure out what they want to do.

I really wanted to love this one but I just couldn’t get past how immature both of the MC’s acted. It felt very childish at times but then there was some parts I was just like okay this isn’t as bad. I wouldn’t classify this as steamy at all. Yes, there’s a couple scenes but nothing like I would classify as steamy. Even though I wasn’t a huge fun of this one, I still recommend you checking it out for yourself! It was still a fun read.

Thank you so much to Avon and NetGalley for the e-arc!

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me.

I tried really hard to be interested, but the characters just seemed so unrealistic and childish to me. Valerie and Andrew were constantly arguing over stupid things, even when they were supposed to be in love. Simple communication could have fixed 99% of their problems. Even the principal never seemed to act like a real grownup, let alone the authority figure he was supposed to be.

The fact that they're rival teachers who are forced to share a classroom was such a fun concept! I'm sure there are many people who will love this book, I'm just not one of them.


Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Sidney Halston for the arc <3

2.5 stars

I hate to say it...because I feel as though I'm giving off the vibes that I am extremely picky and mean...but this book was not good, y'all. Even after they became "lovers," they were so MEAN to each other. At one point, the love interest asks the main character if she's psychotic??? Because she's playing music??? There's more context to it than that, but the reaction was so extreme that it took me out of it altogether. Never mind the silly subplot about one of them getting "fired," supposedly, which is literally just something they make up and then subsequently freak out about. Also, the conflict comes at the 92% mark, and shocker!! It's not a conflict at all! This book meanders HARD. Unfortunately, I couldn't find myself rooting for either of our MCs (which is saying a lot when you give me a stern teacher as a love interest--that's like my catnip).

anyway...Thank you to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Sidney Halston book. I enjoyed it, and it was a fun little read. The main characters had good banter, and I liked the change from enemies to lovers. Wish we got a little bit more about after giving birth, but I liked what they did with their jobs, and the conclusion.

2.5 -⭐⭐💫

<b> "You know, there's a very thin line between love and hate." </b>

<i> Love Lessons </i> is an adult standalone contemporary romance following Valeria and Andrew, two kindergarten teachers with widely different teaching styles that clash quite loudly at work. Yet when a moment of spontaneity leads to an unexpected pregnancy and further chaos arises when both are forced to teach together...in the same classroom. Will they find the line between hate and love is truly not clear or will they have to teach themselves a painful lesson?

I had high hopes for this book but ultimately I struggled to connect with the characters.

The premise is cheesy and cute. The classroom setting resonated with me as a teacher. I even like some of the drama that came with them having to learn to work together both in the classroom and in preparation for parentage. The hamsters were a real trip down memory lane for me! Valeria is very much a teacher who loves flexibility and engagement while Andrew is more rigid and rule following. I felt their clashes were so much enemies to lovers but just wildly different teachings that effectively engage their students.

I think for me the one issue I had with this book was that the romance that was supposed to unfold never really went anywhere - there were few moments of intimacy and no true banter (just fighting over teaching styles). It felt more like roommates trying to get along and then suddenly at the end they say they love each other. In addition, there were some pacing issues, inconsistencies, and things that just didn't make sense to me.

There is spice in this book that I would say is about a 1 spicy pepper out of 5. It is quite brief and only occurs twice in the novel - at the beginning and then towards the end. Again the spice wasn't romantic. I didn't feel a connection between the characters or love - it mainly just felt like they were horny and needing someone and the other was there.

Overall, I felt the premise was easygoing and there are some interesting elements to explore around family, work, and finding your place but without strong investment in the characters I was finding my mind wavering while I read.

Thank you so much Avon for this arc.