It’s a hard thing to explain, to want to be treated like an equal most of the time but, occasionally, with the right person and in the right setting, to want the exact opposite. I want to be thrust up against the door of a bar bathroom and told what to do.

Needing something to rejuvenate me from the dumps I was in after the abysmal disappointment that my last read turned out to be, I needed a pick me up, something that would deliver me from my doldrums. I found the perfect antidote when I stumbled across My Professor by R.S. Grey, first released in June of 2022.

Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is a May-December romance featuring 32 year old Jonathan Barclay as the hero and 21 year old Emelia Mercier as the heroine. When the story begins, Emelia is a student and Jonathan a professor, teaching History and Philosophy of Historic Preservation at the same university. Emelia’s enrollment in his class ends in disaster for various reasons, the push and pull factor between them being one behind Jonathan’s atrocious behavior when it comes to Emelia.

Four years on, with her master’s degree in architectural conservation from NYU, their paths cross once again when Emelia lands a job at Jonathan’s firm, Emelia mistakenly believing that Jonathan would not remember her. But she couldn’t be further from the truth as the same visceral attraction burns between them, this time around, hotter and far brighter than either of them perhaps anticipated, where each is drawn to the other like a moth to flame.

Emelia is by far the character with the most interesting background in the story, estranged from her family, with her mother having died earlier from cancer. She is alone in the world for the most part, and even if she were so inclined to seek her family out, the truth regarding her conception alone is enough to stop her from doing that.

I felt like this book had such promise which had me glued to the pages. The angst and build-up between Emelia and Jonathan were perfect up to a point. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with the power dynamic between a professor and his student, one that he wants desperately, a want that he schools himself not to show? He even goes as far as to ask her to drop his class, which she ends up doing, cutting off what was blossoming to life between them at that point.

The yearning on Jonathan’s part when seen through his eyes makes up for all the dickhead moves that he puts in place to keep Emelia at bay. But he certainly is not strong enough to douse his own sense of curiosity, want, and desire when it comes to Emelia, especially when he is closer to the truth on where she comes from than he anticipated. I also loved his relationship with his mother – that woman could ruffle his feathers unlike any other.

The tension between Emelia and Jonathan was out of this world, and this brings me to the most disappointing aspect of this novel; Ms. Grey failed to deliver on that extremely tightly wound tension which she built up so spectacularly. I feel that the story would have gained more nuance and helped cement the emotional connection between Emelia and Jonathan, had Ms. Grey taken these two through a series of illicit and forbidden encounters between them over the passage of time, which would have given depth to their connection as well.

It was taking the easy way out if you ask me, to bring that heady tension between Jonathan and Emelia to its ultimate and foregone conclusion towards the end of the book, failing also to focus on the submissive nature of Emelia when it comes to her sexual needs and desires, something that Jonathan was more than well equipped and ready to handle. I have one message for authors who tend to do that; don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – building up the tension to ferocious levels and failing to deliver is impolite at best. And I am being polite here with my choice of words.

I also failed to see the emotional connection and spark between Emelia and Jonathan develop to levels that I wanted. I mean don’t get me wrong, they were both fabulous characters in their own right and I rooted for them big time. But at the same time, there were so many threads to the story that were taking place, that I felt that Emelia and Jonathan’s budding “romance” took a back seat when all was said and done. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this little number and am thankful for the huge role it played in taking me out of my reading slump.

Recommended for fans of Ms. Grey and fans of May-December trope romances. This one had more professor vibes going for it than Hey, Mr. Marshall!

Final Verdict: It is a heady journey to witness the undoing of the tightly wound Professor Barclay, whose legendary control over his baser nature is torn to shreds at long last!

Favorite Quotes

“Look at me.”
My gaze sweeps to him instantly. My body is such a traitor where he’s concerned.
“The mistakes of the past…” He sniffs and looks away as if disgusted by himself. “They will not be repeated.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek.
“Furthermore, outbursts like that one in the car will not be tolerated.”
“You goaded me,” I blurt out rudely.
Like a whip, his gaze lashes me. “You don’t know the meaning of goad.”

“You haven’t said anything about my dress, Professor Barclay.”
“You don’t want to hear my thoughts about you in that dress.”
Oh but I do. I really, really do.
“One word won’t hurt,” I say, smiling in innocence.
He opens the back door of the car and deposits me inside. His blue eyes are level with mine as he leans in to click my seat belt into place.
“Lethal.”
Then the door gets slammed, and I’m left alone in the back seat, blinking.

I take a baby step toward him. It’s barely anything, but it’s enough to feel intimate and wrong. If someone were to turn a corner and find us here, it wouldn’t look innocent.
I look him over, taking my time. “I like when you’re dressed like this. This suit fits you to a T. Your tie is done perfectly, your pocket square is folded neatly. You look so proper…” Knowing I’m playing with fire, I lift my finger to trail it down the center of his tie and my eyes follow, but then I pause and let my gaze flit back to his as the truth spills out. “Just like the professor I can’t stop fantasizing about.”
My words are kerosene.
He has me hauled back against the wall behind me so fast I almost whimper, and his hand reaches up to grab my chin in a punishing grip—a grip he knows I like.

“I pulled up the boy’s HR file. Should I send an email, have him fired on the spot?”
My body tenses in panic. “You wouldn’t. That’s cruel, and ridiculous. He did nothing wrong.”
“He made you smile,” he says, wistfully ensnared by my pout.
I narrow my eyes.
“Are you always this territorial?”
A beat passes.
“No.”
Then he bends down and kisses me.

“Tell me you love me,” he insists.
“I love you.”
The words slip from my mouth like they’ve waited there my whole life.
“Again,” he says haughtily.
“I love you,” I say, more emphatically this time, exasperated even. Don’t you see it? Can’t you feel it?
My spark lights his. What impatience I felt a moment ago he matches now, kiss for kiss, touch for touch.

Purchase Links: Amazon