Totally Schooled (ARC)

 

⭐⭐⭐.5

Release Date: November 15. 2021

Genre: MM Romance

Blurb:

Nolan

I'm a teacher who has only one thing missing from his life: a healthy relationship.

I have a plan in place. This should be easy.

No more toxic men. No more casual hookups.

I want something real. A love that's equal, not lopsided.

I'm a fixer at heart, but I'm done with the hopeless and the selfish. 

Rafe

I'm a dad. Pure and simple. 

The only thing I want is for my daughter to be happy and healthy.

I keep my head down. I work like crazy, and I found her a great school in a new place. 

I don't have time for anything else but her.

She has my heart, leaving little for anyone else.

When this kindergarten teacher and single father come together, something has to give. Lines are crossed. Secrets are shared. Hearts shatter. 

Who knows?

Maybe they can teach each other something. 

Review:

I absolutely love MM romances and the single dad trope is one of my favorites as well. Right at the beginning Nicole lets readers know that there are some trigger warnings, which as always, I highly recommend readers take into consideration. 

At the heart of this book was the growth of our two main characters. Rafe's acceptance of believing he is worthy of being loved and understanding that loving someone outside of his daughter and aunt is worth taking the risk. As well as Nolan's realization that he deserves to be in a healthy relationship instead of being the "fixer," always falling for the guy who ends up using him. I always love seeing the development of characters through their relationship with one another and on their own. While I saw the potential for so much growth from both men, I felt it fell short. 

There was a lot of repetition with the push and pull of "I want this, but we shouldn't" throughout the book when I would have loved to dive even deeper into the struggles Rafe and Nolan went through prior to meeting, ultimately shaping them for one another. We find out about Rafe's ex wife and how it affects his outlook on relationships, but I didn't feel like I knew much about Nolan's past. 

The topics discussed pulled at my heartstrings and while they made me mad, I wanted to be torn apart and put back together. The relationship we see of them in the future was beautiful and exactly what they deserved, again I just wish we had a little more. 

Overall, I'd give Totally Schooled 3.5 stars. It's a beautiful story with so much potential and I look forward to more books from Nicole Dykes

Totally Schooled

Nicole Dykes