Zoe meets Jack at her friends wedding they're attracted to each other but she's married and he's younger. Zoe then discovers her husband's having an affair with her best friend. Jack then turns up at her school as a supply teacher.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. It was a cute read but honestly I wasn't a fan of the writing style, it took me some time to finally read this finish. Overall, a 3 🌟 read for me.

I am now officially on the must-read-Kristen Bailey train. I absolutely loved Sex Ed - it was one of my favorite reads last year - so naturally I immediately requested Textbook Romance. And what a treat to immediately find out that it’s a sequel of sorts to Sex Ed! We get to check in with Ed and Mia while focusing on Zoe and Jack, whom I just loved. They are both well-rounded, complex, real, funny, and genuine characters. I enjoyed getting to know them very much, and as an insecure woman in my early 40s, well I just related so hard with Zoe. The age difference was there between them, but it wasn’t terrible, and no one would have complained had the man been older. And man Jack was a good one. What I also loved is how great the secondary and side characters are. Impressively, quite a bit of background and detail manages to be conveyed in a short period of time. I wish the ending wasn’t rushed, but it still wraps things up pretty well. 4.5 stars but absolutely rounded up to 5. Great light romantic story with steam and substance. But seriously, definitely read Sex Ed first, as there will be so many payoffs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for kindly providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

'Textbook Romance' is a book of a romance between two teachers; Jack and Zoe, written by an author who is a teacher so written with insight of the world of education but with great imagination and a little research into romance. A feel good book that I enjoyed following on from 'Five Gold Rings' that I read last year. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This was such a great read and I throughly enjoyed it. It was interesting seeing the dynamics of going through a relationship post divorce and how that effects not only the person going through it but the rest of their family as well. I thought this was going to be a typical romcom but it was so much more than that and I really loved all the characters and would highly recommend this read.

I loved this book! I started reading it and couldn’t put it down and kept reading despite the fact that I needed to start making dinner! Zoe is a teacher whose marriage breaks down without her really knowing that there was a problem. Jack is a substitute teacher who doesn’t quite know where life is taking him. When they meet there are fireworks, but there is an age difference with Zoe being older than Jack, which really bothers her. This story is about their relationship and what happens when angry children, ex husbands, good meaning friends, compassionate siblings and adorable twins are added to the mix. Jack is beautiful and we all need a Jack in our lives. Thank you so much to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a woman in my late thirties, and a mom, I appreciated Zoe’s split focus on her kids and herself, and just her attitude in general. It felt really genuine and well done. I loved the British slang and that the main characters were teachers. There was a lot of emotional maturity between Zoe and Jack, so even with the miscommunication that threw them for a loop, it still felt carefully written.

Textbook Romance started out ok and then it got to be a dull book. I liked the start of the book and then it was slow and not much I wanted to read that was going to keep my attention. The age difference in books is not something that stops my interest, but I could not connect with either Zoe or Jack.
Thank you NetGalley, Kristen Bailey and storm Publishing for the copy of Textbook Romance. This is my personal review.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I have enjoyed all of Kristen Bailey's reads, was excited to get an early copy of this one. This read follows two teachers, one younger, one "older" who meet and connect on a day that changed one of their lives. We watch this romance slowly play out with many funny moments, including a chicken emoji ;) They each connect quickly and have their own baggage but bring out the best in each other.

Zoe finding herself unexpectedly a single parent due to her cheating husband Brian, whilst at a friend’s wedding. Here she meets the lovely Jack, who ensures she gets home safely after this shocking reveal, only to then see him at the school she works at as a new teacher. Told by both perspectives, following all of their highs and lows.

A lighthearted read with humour and romance. Whilst a standalone novel, I also like the way Kristen brings in some characters from other novels. If you’ve not read any of these, this will not affect your reading, but you should definitely read others. Another great read, I look forward to the next from Kristen.

This was a cute little rom com to read as a palate cleanser. There wasn't a lot of mental capacity needed to follow the story which was just what I needed. The characters were likable, but with little depth.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Bailey, and Storm Publishing for this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for the perfect back to school romantic comedy with laugh out loud moments this is the book for you! This is an adult rom com so there is some adult language with a little bit of spice thrown in but it's not over the top. I enjoy this story because the inner monologues for your two main characters, Jack and Zoe, are very relatable with their thoughts and feelings. You can see the turmoil that goes on to make the right decision. It's not just another cheesy rom-com. There is depth, real life struggles and real-life mistakes that make this book stand out. Not only is this a story about a romance but there's also friendship and learning to deal with changes that life threw at us. This is a second chance romance with an age gap that will have you laughing, have you mad, and have you upset at times. But that's what a good book is supposed to do!
Be sure to check this book out when it comes out July 29th, 2024.

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #textbookromance #kristenbailey

I love a good book set in England and right off the bat I knew I would like this one. It was fun, it was cheeky and it also dealt with serious issues, emotions of betrayal and starting over at 40

Zoe is a teacher who attends a colleague's wedding and meets Jack. While they harmlessly flirt the two hit it off but then she gets a text that shows her husband is having an affair. They meet again 4 months later when he becomes a substitute teacher at her school. Zoe entertains the flirty nature of their relationship and as they spend more time (and are sometimes pushed together by meddling friends) they grow closer and flirting turns into a little bit more.

Jack is still trying to find his footing in life. After college he took a break from finding a steady job to help his brother out. Now, he is just trying to find his way and is jumping around from job to job.

The age gap between the characters was nice and refreshing and I could totally relate to both of them. Zoe in the terms of having and raising kids at 40 and balancing a career. On the flip side, being in your late 20s and realizing the good old days are farther away than you thought is also a huge reality check. The thought process of what happens after college is starting to become an actual reality of navigating adulthood. The best line was when Jack laments about parties being more tame and proper but also makes a remark that at least the beer selection gets better as you get older and if that ain’t the truth!

Had funny moments (what does a chicken emoji really mean?!?) but also some serious ones as Zoe had to navigate her life post cheating husband and also steer her children to understand the new family dynamic without being bitter towards their dad.

I really liked this couple and I liked the age gap portion of the story. It gave it some depth but it wasn't focused on so much that you got annoyed by it. Zoe had all the normal processing emotions of someone in her situation but she was such a strong and fierce character. Jack was mature for his age and even though he was directionless in his career he was stable and just a really good guy!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Kristen Bailey
Genre: Romance, RomCom
Troupe: Age Gap

I enjoyed this! While not my favorite from this author, it still really put the rom and com in romcom, like I expected. She manages to write the very funny moments and excellent dialogue between her leads, as well as the heartwarming and even sad or difficult parts all so well. Always tons of innuendo but this time even a little more steam than I was used to from her! Not a lot by any means, it was still sort of "right up to the beginning moments of things and then close the door" but certainly more than she's done before (and she addressed that in her author's note at the end). The one thing I didn't love about this one was all of the internal dialogue the MCs had. Maybe it will be formatted differently in the final version vs this arc, but it sometimes threw me for a loop. Also, this is really dumb to complain about considering I actually really enjoy how real and messy her characters can be, but I didn't like how realistic and considerate the ending was. It made it feel rushed and that I wanted more of their story still, even though it was simply a way things could play out in real life. Aside from those two things, I did enjoy it and will certainly read another from her in the future. Seeing side characters from a past book also made me want to reread that one and see if we met these characters before and I had forgotten. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC! It will be released July 29/24.

Zoe and Jack meet at a mutual friends wedding and find a quick connection. Trouble is Zoe is already married, so they go their separate ways. Until they meet again when Jack gets a new job at the school Zoe teaches at. The connection quickly resumes, and Zoe is now single (Zoe hand found out her husband was cheating, which led to their divorce).

Personally, I ended up finding the book rather dull. It goes into these deep conversations of mundane things that really add nothing to the story and glosses over some of the more important parts.
There is never any reason for any character changes we see. So many issues are brought up with how Zoe is feeling post divorce, with the age gap, and with her own body that we never see a conclusion too. It seems that somewhere along the line, Zoe just forgot all her insecurities.. for no real reason.
I did enjoy the story as a whole, and it was a nice little romance. I loved the little one liners Jack would throw out or how Mia would throw in her dirty questions. Overall, I would say it is a fairly basic romance that leaves you feeling good at the end.

It had been a while since I read a book by an English author, so it was a learning curve for the different slang and word choices. But, with my learning curve, I found the characters and story to be funny, charming, and a cute story of finding love after heartbreak.

Zoe is so focused on her age that it gets pretty repetitive at points. Yet, Jack takes it on like a champ to disrupt her way of thinking about their ages in terms of their relationship. I loved the easy way that Jack got Zoe to step outside of herself and her comfort zone; the laser tag scene was a favorite of mine. But the personal journey that Zoe goes through after facing heartbreak was nice to see - an older, divorced woman who is finding joy in her life again - it was well done and really propelled this book. I think Jack is just what was needed for Zoe, and he has great timing to be in the right place at the right time to change his whole life.

The only real criticism I had while reading was that sometimes it felt slow, like scenes were unnecessary or repetitive in the overall plot.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Kristen Bailey for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Textbook Romance was my first time reading a book by Kristen Bailey, and it definitely won't be the last! Life is complex when Zoe and Jack meet, and yet they can't deny the easy friendship and electric chemistry between them. I especially love that Zoe is quite a bit older than Jack - it feels rare to read about a woman in her forties with a professional job and children being viewed as desirable and attractive. This was a super fun and poignant read!

I absolutely adored Sex Ed by Kristen Bailey, so I was excited to read Textbook Romance, which takes place at the same school with some of the same characters. But unfortunately, this book just fell flat for me. For one thing, I found the age-gap to be annoying. I don't mind an age gap romance between two consenting adults, but I feel like they were constantly bringing up how young Jack was and how much older Zoe was, which when you bring it up that often, makes it a bit icky in my opinion. Like, we get it!

The dual POV was charming, but a lot of the time, I felt like they had the same voice; there was no real differentiators between the two POVs. And all of the conflicts annoyed me because the stakes felt so incredibly low.

What a lovely story! I personally fell in love with Jack……he is just the perfect, man.

After a lifetime “happily” married, she discovered her husband betrayed her for over a year with somebody she considered her friend, what a cliche. However after some mourning period and emotional support from her love ones, she discovers that change may not be all that bad.

Jack is the most reliable person you can encounter, but putting everyone first made him drift from his dreams after college. Now he found an amazing person, with a lots of baggage, who may inspire him to choose a specific path for his future.

All the characters except the husband and the supposedly “friend” were great. The way it was written made you feel like watching a sweet romcom. I absolutely enjoy the book.

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC for a honest and voluntary review.

Shoutout to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the adorable eARC!

This was a sweet sweet story of second chance love and healing after betrayal, heart break and divorce.

What to generally expect:
⭐ Different POVs of the two main characters
⭐ Second chance at love after divorce
⭐ An overarching story of family + love
⭐ Friends to lovers
⭐ Age Gap

I love that Kristen does such a great job of getting you to fall in love with the characters in the story. You root for them, you want to celebrate with them, laugh and cry with them. At the end you're cheering them on to figure it all out. That was the same for this story. I loved the connection between Jack + Zoe. I was absolutely heartbroken for her and the betrayal that occurred during her divorce. To see her heal through her journey after the divorce but also through meeting jack was so beautiful. Them falling in love through that was just an added bonus. The story of her really connecting with her kids both at school and her own at home was wonderful. I love seeing some teens/pre-teens realize they love their mom and still need her. Also I loved the characters and their development through the story. From Jacks room mates to the other teachers/friends at the school. They add depth, and comedic relief to the story which I loved.

This story was VERY Kristen! The depth, the plot the in between stories are all so beautifully written. I'm never disappointed! This will be a great read for the beach, a cozy rainy day at home or something to read when you're in a slump.

Synopsis:
And when Jack turns up at her school, newly recruited as a supply teacher, she can’t ignore the intense effect he has on her when their paths cross in the corridors. But Zoe is still reeling from her husband's recent jaw-dropping betrayal and adjusting to life as a single mum to two teenage kids. She's not sure if she's ready to open her heart to a fling with a younger man.

As Zoe and Jack's connection grows deeper, their undeniable chemistry and Jack's steadfast support help Zoe rediscover the good things in her love of a good dance, the soothing power of takeout, the secret thrill of receiving a well-timed chicken emoji and the wonder of multiple orgasms…

But with complicated family dynamics and co-parenting with her ex to manage, a sizeable age gap, and Jack's uncertainties about his future to factor in, she’s about to find out that love isn’t always a simple equation.

Can Zoe accept this gift from the universe and take a chance on a far-from-textbook romance?