Review: "Absolute Beginners" by SJ Hooks (Absolute #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by Full Fathom Five via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stephen Worthington is the poster child for tenured professors everywhere. With his bow tie and suits, tamely groomed hair, and glasses plus his penchant for staying at home to read books, write articles, grade papers, and listen to classical music, he doesn't look anything like a thirty-three-year-old should. Nothing really gets him riled up--until the one student who gets on his nerves steps into his classroom twice a week.

Julia Wilde looks like a walking mess, what with her penchant for out-of-this-world outfits, make-up, and hair. She's intelligent and never afraid to share her opinion in class, even if it does tend to spark heated debates between her and her classmates. She purposely calls her lit professor by his first name, never listens to him whenever he asks her to use his formal title of professor, and openly flirts with him in class.

When Stephen's and Julia's paths cross one night in the bar Stephen's brother owns, she ends up asking him for a ride home and then proceeds to ask him if he wants to come up to her apartment. Stephen's mouth doesn't appear to want to listen to his brain and agrees and things proceed to go in a direction that the good professor never anticipated, leading into an illicit but oh-so-hilarious affair with his student.

Absolute Beginners is the first book in the Absolute duet by first-time author SJ Hooks and, based on the note at the end of the novel, it's first incarnation was as Twilight-inspired fan fiction entitled The Education of Edward Cullen, with Edward Cullen as a professor and Bella Swan as his student. I never read the fanfic, as is the case with the books I've read that began as fanfic, so I can't really compare.

Based on what I read, I must say that I am one very, very, VERY happy and satisfied camper. ^.^ The book was such a fun read, with too many funny moments to count and yet never lost that sense of sweetness. There are numerous steamy scenes but each one was presented without having to be overly graphic or explicit. That's not to say that they were by any means tame because they could fog up a few glasses. ;)

Now, there are a lot of fiction (and non-fiction) books out there that cover the whole teacher-student subject matter, but what I loved about this particular book was the humor in it. Lead male character Stephen's internal monologue was hilarious, especially when he would think one thing and blurt out something contradictory. Obviously, the poor guy's small head was constantly overruling his big head.

Like I mentioned earlier, this book is part of a duet and yes, it does end in somewhat of a cliffhanger. There's also a teaser for the second book, Absolute Lovers, and it looks like that's destined to be a laugh out loud affair as well. If you enjoy reading romantic comedies, I highly recommend this teacher-student love story with a twist. Absolute Beginners is a wonderfully whimsical book worth reading. Five stars! ♥

Release Date: 18 March 2015

Date read: 18 March 2015

Learn more about author SJ Hooks here.

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