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Learning Curve
High school history teacher Joe Wisniewski may be in a rut, but he dug it himself and he's not planning on getting out anytime soon. The last thing he wants is to mentor a starry-eyed newcomer, so when he gets an unexpected assignment -- Emily Sullivan, a student teacher with a steamroller smile and dynamite legs -- he digs in deeper and ducks for cover.
Emily has looked up to the legendary "Wiz" for a long time. In her opinion, the man is coasting these days, and she's sure a little change in his routine is exactly what he needs. Besides this assignment is her chance to prove to her family -- and herself -- that she can stick to one project.
The question is: Will Emily get Joe fired up or just plain fired?
Emily has looked up to the legendary "Wiz" for a long time. In her opinion, the man is coasting these days, and she's sure a little change in his routine is exactly what he needs. Besides this assignment is her chance to prove to her family -- and herself -- that she can stick to one project.
The question is: Will Emily get Joe fired up or just plain fired?
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 9, 2006
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Terry McLaughlin
22 books8 followersTerry McLaughlin spent a dozen years teaching a variety of subjects, including anthropology, music appreciation, English, drafting, drama, and history, to a variety of students from Kindergarten to college before she discovered the romance genre and fell in love with love stories.
When she's not writing for Harlequin, Terry enjoys traveling to meet with fellow writers and readers. She lives with her husband in northern California on a tiny ranch in the redwoods. Visit with Terry at her blog.
When she's not writing for Harlequin, Terry enjoys traveling to meet with fellow writers and readers. She lives with her husband in northern California on a tiny ranch in the redwoods. Visit with Terry at her blog.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 10, 2007
If you write romance, and particularly category romance, there are a few things that get repeated, the 'can not sells'. Two of them are actors and athletes. Though obviously some people can make them work, the general understanding is that the average author isn't going to get anywhere if they pitch a book with those elements.
The hero and heroine of Terry McLaughlin's Learning Curve aren't actors or athletes, but I'm having the same sort of 'oh, I wouldn't have tried that' thought about them.
So if they're not the Dangerous Duo, then what do they do for a living? They're teachers. High school teachers. That's it. Joe Wisniewski (what a name) is a long-time history teacher who, in his prime, inspired students to think and got them fired up about current events, earth-friendly causes and the like. He wears Birkenstocks to school, is not fond of drinking soda because they're carbonated chemicals and is about as liberal as they come.
His new assistant teacher, Emily Sullivan, comes from a family with military background. She is straight-laced and conservative and has had a crush on the image of "The Wiz" since her older brother was in his class. Now she's got the chance to see the Man Himself in action and get to know him a whole lot better.
But Joe is having second thoughts about whether he should be teaching at all. Whether Emily can inspire him is anybody's guess.
In theory, opposites attract. The liberal/conservative angle could have been enough to drive this story on, I suppose, but it just didn't work for me. Joe makes it clear that he doesn't want a student teacher while everyone around the pair is trying to push them together and playing matchmaker of a sort. That's all well and good, and I might have bought it, if I didn't have the sense that Joe never really learned to like Emily. Lust after her? Certainly. He catalogues her legs and her breasts and the color of her eyes almost right away, but I never thought he really moved beyond the physical.
And as for Emily, she's had a crush on the man since she was thirteen. Now she's old enough to be his assistant teacher, and that shifts into romance. I know that doesn't technically count as a May-December romance, and I like some of those, but something about that setup just made me uncomfortable.
But my main issue with the book, and the reason that I said I think teachers are another class of hero and heroine that I might not try, is the lack of conflict. While Joe and Emily invented reasons not to date one another, I thought it was fairly weak, and there wasn't a strong enough external reason keeping them apart to satisfy me.
So a decent book about nice people. It just wasn't my thing.
The hero and heroine of Terry McLaughlin's Learning Curve aren't actors or athletes, but I'm having the same sort of 'oh, I wouldn't have tried that' thought about them.
So if they're not the Dangerous Duo, then what do they do for a living? They're teachers. High school teachers. That's it. Joe Wisniewski (what a name) is a long-time history teacher who, in his prime, inspired students to think and got them fired up about current events, earth-friendly causes and the like. He wears Birkenstocks to school, is not fond of drinking soda because they're carbonated chemicals and is about as liberal as they come.
His new assistant teacher, Emily Sullivan, comes from a family with military background. She is straight-laced and conservative and has had a crush on the image of "The Wiz" since her older brother was in his class. Now she's got the chance to see the Man Himself in action and get to know him a whole lot better.
But Joe is having second thoughts about whether he should be teaching at all. Whether Emily can inspire him is anybody's guess.
In theory, opposites attract. The liberal/conservative angle could have been enough to drive this story on, I suppose, but it just didn't work for me. Joe makes it clear that he doesn't want a student teacher while everyone around the pair is trying to push them together and playing matchmaker of a sort. That's all well and good, and I might have bought it, if I didn't have the sense that Joe never really learned to like Emily. Lust after her? Certainly. He catalogues her legs and her breasts and the color of her eyes almost right away, but I never thought he really moved beyond the physical.
And as for Emily, she's had a crush on the man since she was thirteen. Now she's old enough to be his assistant teacher, and that shifts into romance. I know that doesn't technically count as a May-December romance, and I like some of those, but something about that setup just made me uncomfortable.
But my main issue with the book, and the reason that I said I think teachers are another class of hero and heroine that I might not try, is the lack of conflict. While Joe and Emily invented reasons not to date one another, I thought it was fairly weak, and there wasn't a strong enough external reason keeping them apart to satisfy me.
So a decent book about nice people. It just wasn't my thing.
December 11, 2022
This had potential but played out too much like a high school romance.
I give up at page 194 .. will check to see the end.
I give up at page 194 .. will check to see the end.
June 20, 2012
This harlequin romance was well written with some very beautiful and descriptive language. I picked this book out because it was based on the life of a history teacher-I like to read anything based in a school or that has to do with teaching. I ended up really liking this book-it was better than I expected!
April 14, 2011
New student teacher makes her supervising teacher nervous. She idolizes him from when he taught her older brother, but he's changed, and not for the better. She shakes him up and helps him to be the teacher he ought to be, even when it costs her her dreams.
October 30, 2010
I am not a fan of romance novels but this storyline was to my liking.
September 10, 2015
This bored me to sleep.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews