Eighteen (18): Based on a True Story

I’m aware. I have a toxic trait… reading taboo books that take spicy to another level. And… well, this definitely did that 👀😮‍💨.Second time they meet:He sighs, letting out a long breath of air. And then he leans over the table, grabs my face, and kisses me.😳…👀… Yes please 😅😉.Shannon (18) had been living with her sister, niece, and brother-in-law ever since her mother died the year before. Three months ago, her sister died… so now she’s living with her niece and BIL. It’s her senior year, and her birthday, when she gets told some irritating news: she won’t be able to graduate, because, even though she’s ahead of credits, she doesn’t have the correct credits in order to graduate. What does that mean? She has to take night school classes in order to finish on time. Luckily, her counselor is a sweetie and gets in contact with a friend that could help her out to get the math credits she needs.Mateo’s (28) a PhD student by day and a sexy AF math teacher by night. Not only that, but he’s alpha, dominant (in a subtle way) and controlling (in a sweet way). Enter Shannon who thought she could skirt life with doing the bare minimum… until Mateo challenges her to do more.Ummm… including more… with him 😉And well… he calls the shots 👀What I liked/love: possible spoilers—🔥slow burn where? Bahahaha. This book takes the F (👀👀👀) in fast, freak, and fun and buys them a drink until they’re all relaxed and together because… dayummmm… 🥵💦. if I hadn’t been reading with my eyeballs, I would’ve thought I missed a page or two (or a chapter) 😅. Mateo DID. NOT. COME. TO. PLAY 💅 (pun NOT intended, cause he came 😮‍💨). The way he’s confident and domineering is definitely p@nty melting. No wonder Shannon couldn’t resist 👀.—the smexxy times 😉. Well, yeah. Duh. I mean. I sometimes couldn’t believe what I was reading. They’re doing what where ? Yup… there 😅. I’m not sure how much studying can ever be done sans clothing, but Shannon manages to get it done 💁🏻‍♀️. And the way she’s rewarded for finishing assignments 🥵. Wowza 💦. The furniture and walls will never be the same 👀—how JP he is. LOOK. Mateo licked it first… so it’s his okay 💅💁🏻‍♀️. MINEMINEMINE 🥵—the love ish triangle. I liked that Mateo was sweating a little bit 😅. OMD is my jam 👏🏻—the way he controls the situation. This isn’t a daddy book, but I found myself wanted to say “yes daddy” whenever he spoke 😳. Yummy (I’m not the biggest daddy fan, but he total gave off those vibes)—the realism of it all. JA Huss reveals that this book is loosely based on her real life.—the TWIST! 🤯 I didn’t see it coming. Should I have known or seen it… well, yeah 😬🤦🏻‍♀️. But I was pleasantly surprised—with how busy Mateo is (he has sooo many jobs), he always makes sure to check on the woman he wantsWhat I needed more of: possible spoilers—a proper epilogue😏. We get one… ish… months after the “end” of the book, but it felt more like an HFN versus an HEA. Sigh. I think I’ve been spoiled by authors who give me epilogues years into the future lol😏. I also have to keep in mind that this was written 7 years ago 😬—the safety talk was missing here. I have no info on when was the last time either of them had been with anyone. Just because she’s on the pill doesn’t mean everything is okay. This is definitely a personal problem and a pet peeve of mine—I wanted to know more about how Mateo was doing what he was doing on the side. Does this man ever sleep? lolOverall, this was a juicy treat that I really enjoyed

My 3rd?? JA Huss book and I loved the taboo story line. A LOT! Not quite your standard young girl with older guy because yes the sëggy time was 🔥 but there was also depth to the story. A lot. It did not stay surface level and we got to dig in deep with these guys.Mateo was…weird…as they stated in the book. Kinky and dirty but also brilliant and nerdy. A WTF major moment happens late in the book that I did NOT see coming and that was awesome!! It fun when you get shook bu an unexpected event. He had just about everything but almost nothing. A great character. Not the most alpha but still, possessive enough I suppose.Then there was Shannon. She was bad-arse and my kinda girl. Yeah, only 18 Bl it forced to live a hard life already made her jaded and not trusting ANYONE. She would lead with a throat punch over a smile and not apologize about it! Lol I loved that about her. She thought she was so street smart and did everything she could to give off that don’t F with me vibe. Worked for the most part.These two as a couple though😮‍💨holy shee-it!! They burned up those pages. The steamy scenes are off the chain!! VERY graphic and left nothing to be guessing about. Mrs. Huss laid it ALL out there. 🥵💦🌶😁 this 18yrs world was definitely rocked! Heck, so was mine, HA!This book was leaving audible on the 20th so it forces me to set aside my current tbr list if I wanted to check this one out and I’m glad I did. Not the exact genré I’m currently reading but a great read all the same! Looks like Ava Erickson was nominated and received I believe an award for her voice work on this. Not surprised in the least as Ava is one of my favorite narrators. She truly knows how to bring the story alive and make you FEEL like you are right in the story with the characters. It’s pretty amazing how she does that so kudos to you too Ava!All in all a fun näughty read that I couldn’t wait to get back to every time I had to put it down. I enjoyed these characters and their story. I felt like some of these were my friends growing up and there is still a small group of us that will forever be “ride or unalive.” Having people you trust in your corner are paramount and JA Huss brought that feeling to this book. That element that you aren’t born with in your family but one you create when you are old enough to do so.

Este romance me conquistou quando eu li a sinopse. O texto é impecável, J.A. Huss sabe como envolver o leitor numa história poderosa com algumas “viradas” de tirar o fôlego.O livro começa super interessante: Shannon (eu simplesmente adorei esta personagem) está completando dezoito anos e seu dia está horrível. Seu ano está horrível e para dizer a verdade sua vida está horrível. Shannon pode ser um pouco ingênua, mas ela mostra-se bastante madura e realista para sua idade.Mateo é o professor designado para tutoriar Shannon. Ele é a mais perfeita tradução do conceito de inapropriado, de tudo que é considerado incorreto atualmente. Mas não ele não é só isso, Mateo é integro, correto, inteligente e dono de uma personalidade forte e determinada. Ele será o catalizador do crescimento emocional que Shannon irá experimentar e será seu apoio quando ela mais necessitar. Não há surpresa no fato que Mateo e Shannon irão se aproximar e se apaixonar, porém a forma como isso acontece é o que fará este livro se destacar dentre os demais.A trajetória de Shannon e Mateo é forte, emocional e verdadeira. Se o tema já é considerado tabu (romance entre professor e aluna), as situações descritas neste livro são realistas e intensas o suficiente para te tirar da zona de conforto e te jogar num carrossel de emoções. J.A. Huss desempenha a tarefa com sucesso.

"The first day of my adult life was filled with disappointments, admonishments, and a hit to the face..."*Turning 18 is not exactly how Shannon Drake imagined being an adult it would be. But the biggest shock of the day comes in the form of Mateo Alesci, her night school teacher. And he makes no secret of how much he wants her, of how much he wants all of her. It's completely forbidden and he holds all the power but Shannon is addicted and she doesn't want to say no. She needs to find out if there is more to Mr Alesci than meets the eye...*"You always have a choice. You can choose to be anything you want..."*Okay, so there were many times during this book where I loudly professed my 'what the f.. Heck just happened' sentiments, much to the confusion of my husband and kids. But could I stop reading it? No, no I could not. I was drawn in by the fact that the front says it's based on a true story. I mean, it definitely reads like something out of a TV soap drama! And even though I usually don't get caught up in the toxic behaviour thing I was reading the start of this like, eh are we just going to let him do that? Oh we are... Okay. Now, this book is spicy! Seriously so! It's my first from this author and I loved how brutally honest the acknowledgements section was so I'll try more of her work down the line.*"You’re like a little explosion in a bottle..."

The first thing I want to say about this book was that it was hawt! The second thing I want to say about this book was that it was hawt! The third thing I want to say about this book was that it was freakin’ hawt!!!When we first meet Shannon Drake, it’s her eighteenth birthday. She has had a tough life, moving from place to place and with no real family. Having lost her sister to a drug overdose, she now lives with her brother-in-law, Jason, and helps care for her baby niece, Olivia. In order to graduate, she needs to make up trigonometry classes. She’s tough-talking, beautiful, and smart.Mateo Alesci is her trig tutor and they are down for some one-on-one to get her through the year. Mateo is, yep, you’ve guessed it, hawt! He’s not an actual teacher – he’s a sub-contractor, working on his PhD, and doing a favour for an old teacher.There is a definite buzz between them from the moment their eyes meet. Ten years older than Shannon, he is irreverent, inappropriate, shocking, demanding, and she absolutely cannot resist him. The forbidden fruit has never tasted sooooo good!As their relationship develops, certain things come to light, and Shannon questions who she can trust and rely on.Loved, loved, loved this novel. Mateo is something else! He’s very adventurous and pushes Shannon beyond her comfort zone, but he’s fully invested in her and their relationship. Shannon is swept away on a wave of lust and emotion. He’s something wonderful and exciting in her horrible life. I couldn’t put this book down. Must read!

I've never read a J A Huss book before, even though I have thought about it, but when I read the blurb for this book, I had to read it. I love the forbidden...student/teacher romances...but this was so much more!! I had mixed feelings about this when I started it but I kept at it and I'm so glad I did if I'm totally honest, I don't very often dnf unless I really have to!!The blurb doesn't give a lot away for this book so unless you read the reviews first you have to go in blind, which is what I did, I'm really glad I didn't read any reviews!!Shannon and Mateo.....Shannon has had it rough in life but she struggles through for herself and her baby niece....Mateo is the hot Italian very sexual kind of teacher...I wish I'd had a teacher like him....nothing about this book is conventional its...different but oh so good. Shannon was a good heroine..i liked her...a lot. The mixed feelings I had was with Mateo, I couldn't work him out until a bit later in the book but that was ok because I like the mystery that surrounded him, I also thought there was going to be a love triangle too but it's not how you think at all!!This is a definite must read. I'm going to be one clicking like my life depends on it now for J A Huss' books because she reeled me in like fishing bait. JUST READ IT!! So good <3

I am still undecided about whether to give this book 2 or 3 stars, because in parts I thought it was okay and other times I wanted to give up and stop reading. It was definitely an interesting and different coming of age story. However I felt that parts of the narrative just didn't gel and the trip to Hawaii seemed to me like it should have been part of another book. The chemistry between Shannon and Mateo seemed rushed at the beginning, I would have like more build up. I was also frustrated towards the end that more questions weren't asked by Shannon (trying to be a bit vague here as to not reveal the plot), and it seemed a bit fast in terms of wrapping it all up. But I think the main sticking point for me was that I wasn't sold on Mateo, yes he is hot, super smart and has a dirty mouth but I found his mind games, along with his weirdness, unappealing. Perhaps I just didn't really get him as a character as I know some other readers loved him. Overall a mixed reaction to this book.