{Release Day Review} School Ties by Tamsen Parker (@TamsenParker @BerkleyRomance)

Erin Brewster is nervous enough on her first day of teaching at Hawthorn Hill. But the way Zach Shepherd looks at her with his dark and dreamy blue eyes really throws her off her game. He simply has to walk past her to send her heart racing. Although he’s eighteen and a senior, he’s still just a student—and very off limits. To let her eyes linger over his body, to fulfill her fantasies would be more than inappropriate. It would be career suicide. 

Three years after his graduation from Hawthorn, Shep has returned as a member of the faculty—and he hasn’t forgotten his favorite teacher, the prettiest woman he’s ever seen. When they finally have a chance to get to know each other, they realize they share a common interest: kink. In fact, Shep has learned a lot about the subject during his time away and is ready to teach Erin a thing or two. He’ll soon have her begging to be held after class.

As their relationship comes under scrutiny, the ties that bind Shep and Erin may begin to fray. But some bonds grow stronger under pressure...

​Erin Brewster grew up on the Hill.  It’s the one place where she remembers being happy as a child.  Now she’s returned to teach at the exclusive all boys academy and she’s content to live a simple life.
 
Her new found serenity is short lived.  For when she encounters an intense young man sitting in the very back of her class – her world will never be the same.

Most of the boys aren’t hard to read, but I can’t get a handle on the guy behind those dark blue eyes.  I can’t bring myself to think of him as a boy, either, convenient as that might be.  There are boys who look as old as he does – they won’t stick out as obvious freshmen when they head to college next fall – but none of them share the same maturity or … gravity that Shep does.

​Zach Shepherd carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He’s attending Hawthorne on a scholarship and determined to rise above his own unhappy upbringing.  He excels in both his studies and his art – and his favourite subject is his teacher.
 
As the chemistry between them grows, so do the obstacles that keep them apart.  And Shep goes on to graduate without ever confessing what is truly in his heart.
 
His years at university taught him much more than just the core curriculum. Shep learned exactly what a Dominant was and why it made him feel so complete even without the presence of the one woman who haunted his dreams.
 
Now he’s back at Hawthorne and there are no more walls to separate him from his greatest desire.  But when she learns what he really is – will she finally surrender to desire or will she believe him to be a monster?

I don’t get a lot of peace.  Something always needs taking care of, looking after.  My students, my teams, my brother.  That’s how I like it.  Working, earning, providing.  But for a few seconds, I’d been granted serenity in the form of Erin in my arms, trusting me, wanting me, kissing me.

For my whole life, I’ve tried to do the right thing.  I’ve tried to be what people have needed me to be, taken up responsibility or offered help where I could.  But until then, there had been something missing.  I’m familiar with duty, loyalty, but when I kissed Erin, it wasn’t because of those things.  My fidelity to her is flavored differently, with an added zeal that turns those virtues into something more complete.  Devotion.  The heat of her, the welcoming wet invitation.  It had felt like love.

​School Ties is not your typical love story.  Tamsen Parker has crafted this bittersweet tale with a stream of consciousness style that is far from conventional. It’s filled with grief, longing and hope. 
 
It will make you just a bit uncomfortable and then it will lead you headlong into sweet resolution – and you may never look at a simple school uniform the same way again…

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