DNF @ 35%
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ebook ARC!

I don't know what it is about the writing style of this book. I think I may find it to be trying too hard and coming across as forced? The story itself seems fine but at 35% I felt like very little had happened and I was bored.

This is such a freaking adorable book 🥰

We follow Jack and Zoe who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding which soon goes sideways when Zoe finds out that her husband is having an affair with someone close to her. Zoe is left juggling her job as a secondary school teacher, comforting her two teenage children, and restarting in her 40s after a couple of decades of marriage.

Jack re-enters the picture as a supply teacher at Zoe’s school. Jack is a bit younger than Zoe (29) and is figuring out what he wants out of life and his career after taking some time out to help his brother raise his two children. There’s an instant connection between the two of them, but Zoe has concerns over what to expect from Jack with them being in such different places in life.

I’m an absolute sucker for a romance book set in the UK - especially when it’s written so well. If you enjoy workplace romance, with mature dimensional characters that have aaalllll the chemistry, then you’ll love this book ❤

Another smash hit from Kristen bailey. I loved this story. I instantly loved the characters from the first page. Go buy it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Textbook Romance by Kristen Bailey unfortunately did not meet my expectations. While the premise had potential, the execution fell short in several areas, leading to a less-than-engaging reading experience.
One of the main issues I encountered was the lack of interesting events throughout the book. The plot seemed stagnant, with little to no development happening to keep the reader invested. This is a crucial element in any romance novel, as readers often look for compelling storylines that evoke emotions and keep them turning the pages.
Additionally, the characters felt quite bland and underdeveloped. Strong, relatable characters are essential in romance novels, as they drive the narrative and create a connection with the reader. In Textbook Romance, the characters lacked depth and complexity, making it difficult to care about their journey or root for their happiness.
Another point of concern was the excessive use of dialogue. While dialogue is an important tool in storytelling, it should be balanced with descriptive writing and inner thoughts to create a well-rounded narrative. In this book, the constant back-and-forth conversations between characters overshadowed other crucial aspects of storytelling, leading to a monotonous reading experience. This trend of relying heavily on dialogue seems to be prevalent in recent romance novels, but it’s important to remember that readers need more than just conversations to stay engaged.
By the 20% mark, I found the writing too boring and uninteresting to continue. I appreciate the effort that goes into writing a book, but Textbook Romance did not manage to capture my interest or provide the entertainment I was hoping for.
In conclusion, Textbook Romance was a disappointing read for me. It lacked the engaging plot, well-developed characters, and balanced writing style that are essential in a compelling romance novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Zoe meets Jack at a wedding & although there's an attraction, Zoe is married. Fast forward a few moths, Zoeis no longer married & Jack is working as a supply teacher at the same school where Zoe works. It's the coming together of two lost souls; Zoe who has been married for many years and is rediscovering herself & Jack who kept his life on hold due to other circumstances. The only irritant throughout the novel was Zoe's constant reference to the age difference between herself and Jack & she needed to be reminded that age gap romances do work sometimes. Thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy

I would consider this book just ok. The beginning did not grab me, and the initial conversation between the main characters felt very forced and awkward. Not my favorite writing, but a standard, simple rom-com.

DNF @ 20%
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ebook ARC!

I don't know what it is about the writing style of this book. I think I may find it to be trying too hard and coming across as forced and telly? The story itself seems fine. I like the premise of it. The FMC is an established adult with teenage children who is going through a divorce, and the MMC is working to set down roots. He's a really nice guy, but again, I felt told that because of the forced writing, and the places I guess it was shown just, again, felt forced and inauthentic. Also, it sorta felt like she was being flirty with him prior to the divorce-causing situation, which was... strange. The oh-so-fun insta-infatuation that I don't think I'll ever be a fan of.

I do feel a bit bad for this book because maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't having such bad days, because when I first started through it, I'd thought I'd at least finish it, even if finding it meh. But I can't find a reason after 20% to keep reading on, but I hope others can pick up this book and enjoy it where I can't <3

I could barely get through the first few pages of this. The writing was barely readable. I thought it was just me and kept trying to push through, but I kept feeling like I was reading a teenager’s unedited writing. The dialogue was forced and over descriptive. I did not finish. I wanted to like it from the description, but I was very disappointed.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

I am officially deeming Kristen Bailey the patron saint of witty banter!! I felt “lifted” by the dialogue from page one! I highlighted nearly half the book because I was so inspired and delighted by the cunning quips between characters.

Zoe and Jack have phenomenal chemistry and are as lovable individually as they are together. The conflict of an age gap (FMC older than MMC) is one that I have never encountered before and spurred new ideas around the dynamic. I actually love this topic as a source of tension and it felt very realistic as far as where the two were in their lives at the time. I just really LOVE so many aspects of this book.

My only complaint is that the ending felt abrupt and I wasn’t ready for it to end the way it did. I am hopeful we hear more about Zoe and Jack in the next book!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic! I was so excited to see Bailey's newest release after loving "Sex Ed."
We start with Zoe reeling from a betrayal from her husband. The chemistry between Jack and Zoe was palpable. Bailey has a gift of writing contemporary fiction that feels fresh and current. Jack is a breath of new air! I loved seeing both the personal and relationship developments throughout the novel.

Loved catching up with old friends from Sex Ed as well as meeting jack and Zoe!
This is a lovely romance with characters who are easy to like and to root for and although the outcome is predictable it is exactly as you would expect from this trope!
Kristen Bailey captures all the right elements to make this an eminently readable book!

This book could be considered a sequel to Sex Ed as it begins at the wedding party of the main characters from that book. It doesn't matter if you didn't read that book as we are introduced to new characters- Jack and Zoe who have their own story throughout.
Zoe finds out her husband has been cheating and this leads to a relationship developing with Jack who is younger than her. A sweet love story with loveable characters and written in Kristen Bailey's fun and flirty style.

I haven’t read a book by Kristen Bailey yet but I liked this one. You should be a fan of the age gap trope to power through this one and be aware that it doesn’t have any spice and is focused on the characters and their emotions. The setting in London is cute and the story easy to read.

Textbook Romance’s a cute and heartwarming story that explores the unpredictability of love through the story of Zoe Swift,a math teacher, and her coworker Jack Damon.

This was the first book I’ve read by Kristine Bailey and I’ve appreciated her writing filled with humor,emotional insight, her descriptions of the characters was good as well in my opinion!

This story has no spice so it could be perfect in my opinion for someone who doesn’t like to read about it in books and would love to read a fast,cute reading!

But if you aren’t a fun of the age gap trope this story maybe won’t be a good choice for u but still a very easy and easy story to read about set in London!

This book was more focused on the emotional and the connection between Zoe and Jack rather than physical intimacy, allowing the relationship to be seen as it simply develops and builds :)


Thank you so much to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and the author, Kristen Balley, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

As i loved many books by this author, i had a feeling i would enjoy this one. And at a length i did!
While i found the plot really interesting, i fall in love with Jack! while titanic Jack made me ugly cry, this one gave me butterfly sort of cry. The happy, joyful cry. But as the book went on, it felt rushed at the end, without the sweetness of the story. I wish it was different, than my rating would've been somewhat different.

Textbook Romance is cute. Zoe and Jack both work in a school, they meet at mutual friend’s wedding… and at this wedding Zoe finds out her husband has been having an affair.

Jack is a younger guy, with a good head on his shoulders, is a sub at the school and is pretty confident with who he is, He’s just trying to find the job for him with everything going on.

Zoe, mom of 2, math teacher, and newly separated has not been able to get Jack out of her thoughts since the wedding, and well, the hotel and the closet, and the multiple other places they snuck away to shag.

The age gap was a hot topic, Zoe being nearly 44, and Jack only 28/29; what would others think? The more layers peeled back off of Jack we see he grew up fast, he was a heart of gold, super smart and very thoughtful.

There was no spice in this book. The spicy scenes are more fade to black, but they discuss frequency of acts pretty often. Even when the love you got frisky in a rather public setting it felt more brushed over than anything.

Lots of Tea was drank in this book as well, proper English set up.

This was a 3.75 so I rounded up to be fair.

Textbook Romance, by Kristen Bailey, is a rom-com that will grab you from the beginning. The characters are believable and fun to follow. The story is easy and fun, just as a rom-com should be. Oh, and there is a bit of romance!
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I fell in love with this book and the characters! I was hooked from the very beginning.

Jack and Zoe were instantly attracted to each other even though she was married when they met. He was very respectful and didn't cross any lines. I was extremely happy with how their story ended up.

I laughed and smiled almost the entire time I was reading this. I will definitely be reading more of Kristen Bailey's books.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy (:

TEXTBOOK ROMANCE by Kristen Bailey
⭐️ rating: 7/10

read if you like:
💁🏻‍♀️ teacher romcoms
🔥 slow burn romances
🤓 nerdy sexual tension

summary:
This book is about Zoe, a math teacher and recently divorced single mother, who meets Jack, a charming and funny bachelor at a wedding. They immediately hit it off, only to find months later, Jack shows up as a teacher where Zoe works. The two find themselves drawn to each other, but life isn’t without its complications. Work, Zoe’s recent divorce, her children recovering from their father’s infidelity….all gets in the way of their time together and their intense feelings for each other. Can they make things work, or is it too much to overcome?

Personally I loved Zoe as a character. She is brutally vulnerable and wounded after finding out about her husband’s infidelity, and surrounds herself with friends and positivity to keep moving forward. I also secretly loved her kids’ diehard loyalty to their mom. Jack’s way of relating to her and everything she’s going through is also heartwarming. I loved the way we saw their relationship develop around their friends, colleagues and families, and it felt like we got a deeper connection rather than just two people having a relationship between themselves. The ending was also a little unexpected, but felt real and complete in a way that was satisfying. I also just think we don’t get enough romances about teachers! It was a fun change in the genre that I really appreciated as it took a different angle than most books do!

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Net Galley for the advanced copy! If you love a good teacher love story, check this out when it releases on July 29.