The Lessons (Off-Limits, #1)

by Elizabeth Brown

[stacey_is_sassy]

The Lessons are in lies, deceit and misconduct.

I didn’t HATE The Lessons, but I definitely had some issues with it. This book is FULL of dishonesty. She walks into the sexual therapist’s office with a prepared lie of why she is still a virgin. The sexual surrogate meets the patient and deceitfully implies they are meeting for the first time. With a signed agreement and rules in place, by continuing to help the patient with her issues (even though he starts having feelings for her) the surrogate is misleading her and guilty of professional misconduct. I struggled to believe this was a true love story when their whole relationship is built on lies. But if I skimmed over the reality and kept my head in the clouds, it wasn't too bad and was definitely HOT.

If I could break down The Lessons, I’d say I liked it…or parts of it. The heroine, Natalie, is pretty funny. She has a potty mouth but looks like a hot librarian. Ryan, the hero, is a good looking guy, dedicated to his studies and devoted to his sister. Natalie’s best friend Josh is a sweetheart and I actually liked Natalie’s co-worker Brad too. I thought Brad got the rough end of the stick to be honest. The idea behind a sex surrogate was interesting. I’m not fully convinced that it’s realistic to not grow to have feelings for a surrogate, especially if the sex is ongoing. Maybe it would be different if a couple was seeing a surrogate together instead of one on one. So, like I said, parts of it were interesting. I just struggled to BELIEVE what I was reading.

Natalie has not had the best life. She went through the foster system until she was adopted by her mother. Natalie lost her mother a year ago to cancer after a 3-year battle, and in that time, she had been her mother’s primary carer. With life getting by and all her plans out the window, she decides at the age of 30 to get cracking and make some new ones. A move to a new city is her first step, and the second and most important is to get her other v-card dealt with.

Ryan has been a sexual surrogate for years. He fell into the occupation by accident, but it has helped him pay his bills, look after his sister and also give him practical experience towards his psychology degree. He’s never had a problem keeping his emotions out of the bedroom until he meets Natalie. From the start, he knows everything will blow up in his face, but he can’t help but do it anyway.

Natalie and Ryan’s journey is not an easy one. With all of their lies, secrets and the emotions they hid from each other, they really only have the sex to connect them. Neither, Natalie or Ryan, know how the other is feeling, and struggle because their own feelings keep getting stronger. Natalie is trying to keep her emotions locked out so she doesn’t fall for Ryan. She attempts to date someone else, but Ryan, knowing he doesn’t have the right, still feels indignant and angry about it. Outside forces are also messing with their lives.

Overall I didn’t hate The Lessons but I definitely didn’t love it either. The connecting characters were just a little too conveniently connected, the lies between the hero and heroine a little too much and the decisions they made did not give me warm fuzzies. This just wasn’t a perfect fit for me. I struggled between rating it a two or 3 star read, but ended up going with 3 because I liked the characters....I just hated the lies, deceit and misconduct.

I received a complimentary ARC via Netgalley for an honest review.

To buy The Lessons from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1oFLAWl

I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -