change of course coverRating: 2.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Lucas Mathiasson is a successful Art History professor and is fairly okay with his life. Except for the part where he is closeted and still in love with his best friend. One summer night, Lucas catches the eye of a hot bartender, Kyler Scott, and the two of them share an unforgettable night together. Lucas wants to see Kyler again, but after a bad breakup, Kyler is not interested in a relationship, or even a repeat. The guys do share a mutual friend and are startled to see each other again during the summer, but Kyler is still trying to resist the pull he feels for Lucas.

Things get further complicated when Kyler attends his first class of the new semester and realizes that Lucas will be his professor. Lucas knows he has to stay away from Kyler, as he’s not permitted to date a student, and he also has no intention of coming out. Still, the men can’t seem to avoid each other or stay away from each other and one hot summer night may just have been the beginning for a lifetime of love.

This book didn’t work for me from the beginning and, as it went on, there were more things added that didn’t work for me. Change of Course is the third book in the Change of Hearts series, with the first two books being MF.

Lucas and Kyler meet and we are told they have this incredible chemistry between them, yet we don’t get to see it. Shortly after we meet them, their night together is off page and we don’t see any of the connection that they keep talking about throughout the book. When the men meet again in class, a large part of the initial storyline relies on the chemistry they keep thinking about from that night, but it is never shown on page. As their relationship progresses, this chemistry keeps getting discussed, yet with so much not shown, it was difficult to feel it come off the page.

The book is then full of tropes that are added in without much, if any, follow through. When Lucas and Kyler remember their night together, it’s stated that Kyler called Lucas “Daddy,” and there is this sense of wanting there to be daddy kink, but it is not explored any further than the use of the one word of Daddy. Lucas has a wealthy grandmother and she is insisting that Lucas get married by the end of the year to gain his inheritance and this storyline was also shallow and weak. There are female students coming on to Lucas and it’s clear from the start where this is going, it’s not done well, and it didn’t add anything to the storyline as it progresses and then gets dismissed quickly. Lucas is also adamant at first about not dating a student, but what he thinks and what he does are completely different things.

The characters from the first two books are present, including Lucas’ best friend, Garrett, and there is some narrative to introduce previous storylines, which was fine. But several times, the same things were repeated to introduce them again and I could remember from the first time it was explained. Lucas has also been in love with Garrett for years, which sounded like a plotline in the earlier books, but even while Lucas is interested in being with Kyler, he’s still pining for Garrett and it didn’t fit well into this story. There is also a storyline with Kyler’s ex that is another one seen often and overused, as well as the miscommunication well into the story, and it was just one more in a line of tropes forced into this book.

When Lucas and Kyler do finally fall for each, their love felt forced and not genuine, which describes how I felt about this story overall and this was not the book for me.