Misbehaved by Charleigh Rose is a taboo romance between an underage high school girl and one of her teachers. I loved the narrators’ performances on the audiobook. Mark Kamish and Ramona Master were both excellent. They really made the story come alive.
Equally impressive is the author’s writing. I appreciated that there were just enough descriptions to make the characters interesting without excessive focus on minutia that can drag a story under. The dialogue seemed natural for her characters. The use of dual points of view worked well for the story layout given the premise and age difference of the characters. Without both perspectives, the story wouldn’t work.
While I appreciated the narrators’ talents and the author’s writing skill, I did not enjoy the story premise. I can abide by a student/teacher romance in college, but there is no level of suspension of disbelief that would make me enjoy a relationship between a 17-year-old girl and a grown man who is not only her teacher, but an attorney. Kudos to Ms. Rose for having her character, Pierce James, acknowledge the multiple ways his attention to his new student, Remington Stringer, is inappropriate. And yet, he allows himself to succumb to his student’s advances knowing it will destroy his teaching career.
Remington, who comes from an unstable, impoverished family, has found her way to a posh private school. Her vulnerability should make her likable and empathetic. I wanted to root for the downtrodden girl who was trying to better herself through education; however, I found her behavior too trampy and brazen. Instead of being a focused student (as she is stated to have been in the past), she acts the siren flaunting her sexuality and forwardly flirting with her teacher. She has no regard for how her behavior will impact his career or her aspirations to go to college and get out of her hellish domestic situation.
The addition of a gay love story between secondary characters was interesting as a contemporary twist to the teacher/student romance premise. The side story allowed the author to portray Remi and her gay friend as rebel outsiders in an outwardly conservative school. It also allowed the author to paint Remington as a good-person-at-heart when she alone champions her friend.
The story is conveniently wrapped up with an improbable twist that allows for a HEA for everyone. Overall, good quality writing and excellent narration, but the story line did nothing for me.
Narration: 5 stars
Writing quality: 4 stars
Story premise: 2 stars