A beautiful, sweet and sexy story. I love the characters and the world. All of the background and little quirks bring these characters to life. I love the romance and how passionate it is.

Super fun and cute romance, great concept and the daughter was a highlight of the book! While I enjoyed the characters' dynamic, I found the descriptions quite repetitive. If you're looking for a fun quick read, this is a great pick!

Teacher of the Year by M.A. Wardell is a heartwarming, beautifully nuanced story that strikes a perfect balance between charm, vulnerability, and quiet resilience. This isn’t just a love story—it’s a celebration of chosen joy, community, and the hard-earned victories of living fully as your authentic self.

What makes this book sing is the quiet emotional weight it carries. The Jewish identity woven into Marvin’s story is full of love and specificity, adding warmth and richness without ever feeling forced. Wardell writes with such intention and grace, whether he’s exploring the push-pull of anxiety, the exhaustion of caregiving, or the quiet triumph of letting someone in.

Teacher of the Year isn’t just a romance—it’s a story about how love can grow alongside your fears, not in spite of them. It’s about embracing both chaos and comfort, knowing you don’t have to be perfect to be loved fully. With humor, heart, and a beautiful depth, this book earns its gold stars—and then some.

Thank you, NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rereading Teacher of the Year in its newly polished, traditionally published glory was like coming home to a favorite blanket—familiar, comforting, but somehow even cozier than I remembered. Marvin and Olan already had my heart the first time around, but the additions in this edition? They elevated everything. The bonus epilogue made me emotional in the best way and the new cover is downright stunning.

What makes this story so special isn’t just the swoony friends-to-lovers romance (although, yes, it delivers on that)—it’s the depth. The tenderness. The way Marvin’s anxiety and inner spirals are written with so much honesty and nuance. The way Olan shows up with quiet steadiness. And the way this book never shies away from showing that love doesn’t erase your struggles—it grows with you through them.

It’s so refreshing to see a queer love story that gets to be soft and layered, fun and emotionally rich. Stories like this—full of heart, full of healing, and now, backed by a major publisher—are exactly what we need more of in the world.

This is more than a romance—it’s a story that sees you, holds you, and leaves you just a little bit better than it found you.

dnf’d halfway through :( this sounded like a cute, queer romcom that i could sit and binge and while it contained all those elements, it had a sort of “pureness” that wasn’t exactly my cup of tea…like heartstopper on steroids?? (except i truly adore heartstopper that was not a critique on its part!) i would still recommend for those who enjoy lighthearted romances

This book has my ENTIRE heart.

Marvin and Olan are the type of couple that's super easy to fall in love with. And their love story is such an important one to tell.

I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say any more than the story is about a teacher, Marvin, who might be crushing on the father of one of his students. What follows is a delightfully Jewish and Gay story filled with quotable moments, tear jerking discussions, and so many little Yiddishisms and Jewish moments thrown in that were SO. RELATABLE. AND. REAL.

And Marvin is truly a character near and dear to my heart. It's one thing to find a character that speaks to you; it's another to find a character that IS you. Seeing Marvin's anxiety and adhd and how his brain worked, well, it felt like being in my head. My thought spirals are so similar to his that it made reading a very emotional experience, as I really could feel Marvin's feelings and empathize with him on a personal level.

I just, yeah. Read this book.