Review: More Erotic than Romantic
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2014
When I saw the description of The Professor's Pet, I just had to read it. What professional woman hasn't worried, at least once, about her romance-filled Kindle falling into the wrong hands? I also happen to be a fan of the heroine falling for her mentor trope, and have enjoyed many of today's ever increasingly popular, erotic, BDSM romances.Unfortunately, however, I think I was expecting the romance to evolve along with the passion in this story; and while the passion was definitely hot, I had trouble liking the hero, and his out of the bedroom effect on the heroine, which caused the romance to be a little strained for me. While a good erotic novel is usually a hit for me, without a believable, romantic connection, it just doesn't have the same feel.For the past five years, Emily, a graduate student, has worked on the same floor with Professor Ballard; but they have never managed to say more than a few words to each other. On the day she successfully defends her dissertation for her doctorate's degree, she just happens to run into him at the local coffee shop. Flustered by Professor Ballard, who she has secretly admired for years, Emily inadvertently picks up his Kindle, instead of hers, when she is picking up her order.Professor Ballard is somewhat shocked at the collection of "bodice-ripper" novels in Emily's Kindle. He believes that most Fifty Shades of Gray female readers, who fantasize about being dominated, are really just "topping from the bottom" since they expect their boyfriends to dominate per their own instructions.  Believing Emily fits this mold, and wanting to embarrass her by proving it, he dares her to come over to his house for a real BDSM session. Surprisingly, Emily doesn't break as he expects.  Shortly thereafter, however, Emily moves across the country to start her new job.Coincidentally, a few weeks after she moves from Boston to San Francisco, Professor Ballard is hired for an 8-week consulting gig with the company that Emily works for. When they see each other again, they decide to take advantage of this time in the same city and commence an 8-week course in which Professor Ballard endeavors to be Emily's BDSM professor.  Could a HEA be waiting for this couple after the completion of their course?From the very beginning, we learn that Professor Ballard had not previously "paid much attention to [Emily] . . . though [he found her] pretty in a delicate, understated way, [he] didn't find tongue-tied stammering attractive." Then notwithstanding that he wasn't really that into Emily, and that he knows that Emily is very much infatuated with him, he still undertakes a BDSM relationship with her.  This disregard for Emily's feelings bothered me.  Particularly as an experienced Dom, I felt that Professor Ballard should have known that the trust that would flow from their Dom/Sub relationship would most likely magnify her feelings for him.  Feelings that were not reciprocated.  But even as he recognized that he was hurting her with his statements that there was no future for them, and that he could not commit to a monogamous relationship with her, he continued down this path.  In fact, there were a number of times that he purposefully humiliated her, including by continuing to objectify her by calling her his "pet", even after she had asked him not to.  I could have  forgiven him for most of this behavior, had he quickly started evolving into a caring hero and commenced acknowledging feelings for the heroine, but I just never really got that feeling until it was too late.  In fact, this treatment and indifference continued for so long, that I just had trouble accepting that there could ever be a HEA for this couple.All that said, I do like the premise of this story, and the steamy scenes were scorching.  Therefore, as a straight erotic read, I think it would be an above-average read.  If you, like me, however, need a good dose of romance with your erotica, then I'd say that this is a 3-star read.Source:  I received a copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.