Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  An Inch at a Time
SERIES:  The Professor’s Rule #2
AUTHOR:  Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley
PUBLISHER:  Riptide Publishing
LENGTH:  60 pages
BLURB: James Sheridan is failing history. Luckily, his professor is a rumored pervert, and James isn’t too proud to pay for a better grade with his body. Professor Carson lives up to his reputation, but he’s not unethical enough to take sexual bribes. What he can offer is some highly unconventional tutoring . . . creative use of a ruler included.

The deal? Studying, followed by a “quiz.” Wrong answer? Spanking. Right answer? Reward. Ace the final, earn some mindblowing sex. It’s harder work than sexual bribery, but it beats the volunteer tutors at the student center.

After a few study sessions, James realizes he wants way more than a grade from Professor Carson, even if he’s not sure what that is. Carson’s a silver fox, all right, but James isn’t “bent” the way Carson is, and for him, the spankings are only supposed to be a means to an end. But the better he gets at history, the more he realizes he likes getting answers wrong just as much as getting them right.

REVIEW:

James Sheridan has done a lot of things in his life that he regrets.  He is determined, however, that flunking out of university, and thereby disappointing his parents once again, will not be yet another.  Even if he has to do something he’ll probably regret to make sure of it.

Professor Carson was a little insulted, and not a little intrigued, by James’ clumsy attempts at offering a physical reimbursement for a higher grade.  He was certainly not going to take James up on his offer, but he might have a counter-offer that will satisfy them both: a study session with some rather strict punishments…and rewards.

James accepts, but he is not prepared for Carson’s rather stringent study methods…or how he might just come to like them.  Need them, even.  He just hopes that this decision doesn’t turn into the one regret he could never come back from.  Or the one man he could never walk away from.

This short story is the second in The Professor’s Rule series.  I went into reading it without having read the first, Giving an Inch, so I was a little wary about how this story would hold up without the background of the previous one.  There was nothing to worry about.  This short story was perfectly set up to be read on its own, though I’m certainly going to go back and read Giving now that I have enjoyed this one so much.

And what wasn’t there to enjoy?  We’ve got hot teacher/student play, some seriously hot spank sessions with a ruler and Carson’s very demanding personality, and a young man coming to figure out that he might just be kinkier than he realized.

This book brought back some very fond daydreams about a certain uni prof of mine…though I would rather be struck blind that mention his name.  What can I say?  I like older, demanding men.  And boy does Carson fit that bill.  He’s got ethics that prevent him from selling a grade, but he has no problem motivating James to study any way he can.  And he makes it perfectly, absolutely, and sternly clear that what they do in his house will in no way earn or lose James his grade, except by what James learns in those sessions.  James can walk at any point, at any moment, and it will cost him nothing more than the opportunity to study.  Of course that studying will be happening that the end of Carson’s ruler–wouldn’t want to lose all the fun, now would we?

It was a lot of fun to watch James grow up–at little, at least–through the course of these sessions.  Learning to learn, to listen, to think–but also to understand that what he wants, what he craves is not a bad thing—was a pleasure on multiple levels.  James will just have to get used to being a little kinkier than the average Joe.  He still might have issues, and this book is in no way a happily-ever-after, but James, Carson, and the readers are left very happy at the end.  Though, I am sure that James is also left a little, um, tired.  In a most scholarly way, of course.

This book is well worth the read and I hope I can get my hands on the other books in the series sometime soon.  Would love to know what is next for our kinky professor and his studious student.

Carissa rates it – 

BUY LINKS: Riptide Publishing :: Amazon :: All Romance eBooks

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Carissa is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: CARISSA’S REVIEWS
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