When I saw the description of The Professor's Pet, I just had to read it. What professional woman hasn't worried, at least once, about her romance-filled Kindle falling into the wrong hands? I also happen to be a fan of the heroine falling for her mentor trope, and have enjoyed many of today's ever increasingly popular, erotic, BDSM romances.

Unfortunately, however, I think I was expecting the romance to evolve along with the passion in this story; and while the passion was definitely hot, I had trouble liking the hero, and his out of the bedroom effect on the heroine, which caused the romance to be a little strained for me. While a good erotic novel is usually a hit for me, without a believable, romantic connection, it just doesn't have the same feel.

For the past five years, Emily, a graduate student, has worked on the same floor with Professor Ballard; but they have never managed to say more than a few words to each other. On the day she successfully defends her dissertation for her doctorate's degree, she just happens to run into him at the local coffee shop. Flustered by Professor Ballard, who she has secretly admired for years, Emily inadvertently picks up his Kindle, instead of hers, when she is picking up her order.

Professor Ballard is somewhat shocked at the collection of "bodice-ripper" novels in Emily's Kindle. He believes that most Fifty Shades of Gray female readers, who fantasize about being dominated, are really just "topping from the bottom" since they expect their boyfriends to dominate per their own instructions. Believing Emily fits this mold, and wanting to embarrass her by proving it, he dares her to come over to his house for a real BDSM session. Surprisingly, Emily doesn't break as he expects. Shortly thereafter, however, Emily moves across the country to start her new job.

Coincidentally, a few weeks after she moves from Boston to San Francisco, Professor Ballard is hired for an 8-week consulting gig with the company that Emily works for. When they see each other again, they decide to take advantage of this time in the same city and commence an 8-week course in which Professor Ballard endeavors to be Emily's BDSM professor. Could a HEA be waiting for this couple after the completion of their course?

From the very beginning, we learn that Professor Ballard had not previously "paid much attention to [Emily] . . . though [he found her] pretty in a delicate, understated way, [he] didn't find tongue-tied stammering attractive." Then notwithstanding that he wasn't really that into Emily, and that he knows that Emily is very much infatuated with him, he still undertakes a BDSM relationship with her. This disregard for Emily's feelings bothered me. Particularly as an experienced Dom, I felt that Professor Ballard should have known that the trust that would flow from their Dom/Sub relationship would most likely magnify her feelings for him. Feelings that were not reciprocated. But even as he recognized that he was hurting her with his statements that there was no future for them, and that he could not commit to a monogamous relationship with her, he continued down this path. In fact, there were a number of times that he purposefully humiliated her, including by continuing to objectify her by calling her his "pet", even after she had asked him not to. I could have forgiven him for most of this behavior, had he quickly started evolving into a caring hero and commenced acknowledging feelings for the heroine, but I just never really got that feeling until it was too late. In fact, this treatment and indifference continued for so long, that I just had trouble accepting that there could ever be a HEA for this couple.

All that said, I do like the premise of this story, and the steamy scenes were scorching. Therefore, as a straight erotic read, I think it would be an above-average read. If you, like me, however, need a good dose of romance with your erotica, then I'd say that this is a 3-star read.

Source: I received a copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

i received this book from the Early reviewers groups in exchange for an honest review. This book was about a relationship between a man and woman, yes but it was also about a woman coming to an understanding about her own sexual kinks. I liked that the book was hot but also decently respectful of both parties. The characters were not derrogetory or cruel to each other. I love that in her journey she figured out the difference between kink and abuse.
The POV is first person and switches back and forth between the two main characters but it is always stated at the beginning of the section who is speaking/thinking and i appreciated that. I wanted to mention that because I know some people have issues with first person POV.
All in all I really enjoyed reading this story. ( )

I received this book in exchange for a review, however I'm not sure yet about what I think of it. Having just finished it, I have strongly mixed feeling about it. It's a well written, well rounded story with like-able characters, with a good mix of emotions and not all sex all the time, but at the same time, I feel like it was trying too hard to be "50 Shades". Like many of the books coming round since the rising fame of "50 Shades" , all the characters and story seem to follow the same lines. That is why I'm on the fence about it. I'd like to see something that is in the same genre but more original. ( )

The Professor's Pet by Tara Crescent is erotica about a young college graduate becoming a submissive to a professor after receiving her PhD. The story is well told. The story is about the love that develops between the professor and young woman as she explores her desire to be dominated by a man. The story is told from the perspective of both parties and bounces back and forth for their perspective of the story. For an erotica novel, it had a good story and was steamy. ( )

I read this book as part of the Early Reviewer program, my initial "win". I learned much from this book, the first being what BDSM meant. Yes, I stumbled into a commitment to review a book in a genre with which I am neither familiar or particularly comfortable. But a deal is a deal, so I read it through.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Although at the beginning the interactions between Jake and Emily seemed manipulative, it became apparent that much care and thoughtfulness was used by Jake as the dom in the relationship. As Jake taught Emily the world of dominance, it served as an introduction that the uninitiated reader could also appreciate. While I have no experience with this genre thus no real basis for comparison, I liked the characters and the story and am giving it four stars. ( )