When I accepted the teaching position in a town the size of my thumb, 
all I cared about was making some money until I was ready to pursue my dream. 

My time here was supposed to have an expiration date. 
My plan was simple.

Until her.
The girl with a cupcake and fascinating sadness.
Her beauty got my attention first, then her loneliness and melancholy captivated me. 
Her words and pain fed my interest, but it was her heart that sealed my fate. 

I came to this town with no expectations. 
But I didn’t know my dream and muse was waiting for me in a school uniform. 

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Abby Gale is an international author. She is an avid reader, former blogger, and a pharmacist. She writes whatever storyline sucks her in, but mostly her books will be erotica with some darkness in it.

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Oh Lord, guys. I gotta tell ya, this one got me. It hooked me into its depths, but it wasn’t from the first pages. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Maybe that’s why it took me a little longer to get into the book than some others. It’s taboo, but that initial “OMG HE’S IN A POSITION OF POWER IDK HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT” is completely and utterly destroyed when you realize just how much sway Eva has over Elijah.

Eva: rich girl, with a tragic past. Adrift in the midst of high school and coming of age alone in the world, she’s looking for something she hasn’t had at home or school for as long as she can remember. She’s heartbroken, looking for someone to show her she’s not broken.

Elijah: struggling writer (I think there’s a majority of us out there that can relate) who falls back on a job he doesn’t want. He comes in to sub in a high school classroom as an English teacher. He doesn’t want the job, but he’s got bills to pay. Bills that won’t get paid at a diner in Seattle.

Eva and Elijah don’t meet at school, but they do see each other again there. They met once, though nothing transpired of it. Eva’s already got a bad reputation around town, one she hasn’t earned, but one she wraps around her like a second skin in the hopes her parents will notice her. Elijah wants to peel back her layers, but uh… he’s her new teacher.

Throughout the novel, despite their initial attraction, there’s a push and pull between the two. Elijah, because he can’t mess this job up. Eva, because she thinks she’s not worth it, that Elijah is like the rest of the people in her life. But the two are inevitably drawn together. With tender, gentle moments that will make you swoon, mixed with rough, dirty, naughty “adult time” that proves that love can be raw and sweet at the same time.

Teach Me Sweetly was raw and emotional. Eva had bits and pieces of the hormonal teenager outlook, but it felt real. It wasn’t over the top or dramatic. She had reasons for every thing she did and felt. Elijah struggles with his attraction, like any grown male in his position would do, but he genuinely loves Eva and wants to help chase the shadows from her eye. He protects her in an alpha way, but shows her the tenderness and affection she’s missing.

I gave this four stars because there were a lot of tense changes that made it hard to follow. That might change with editing if there’s still some left to do, and I fully understand this is an ARC, but still, it threw me off. (I’m also not an English major or editor. So it’s possibly just me.) I’d love a second in this series, showing them struggle through the next part of their lives together.

Ultimately, this book was gripping. I loved every second I devoured this. Once you’re in it, you’re in it. And there’s no getting out.