The name on the screen was “Absinthe.”But I knew her as the sultry voice blowing up my phone for late night chats about Proust and Hemingway interspersed between the filthiest little … mutually satisfying exchanges … I’d ever experienced in my life. We’d never met. Until the day she walked into my office, her cherry lips wrapped around a candy apple sucker and an all too familiar voice that … too familiar voice that said, “You wanted to see me, Principal Hawthorne?”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This full-length romance is a complete standalone and contains subject matter that may trigger sensitive readers. All characters are adults and all interactions are consensual. 🙂
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I can honestly say this story didn’t go quite the way I’d anticipated. Which isn’t a bad thing… I like that it was unpredictable.
There was a sexy, hot beginning that gave me hope everything would work out for “Absinthe” and then a rocky middle that had me gasping and frantically reading in hopes everything worked out. I read the book cover to cover in one sitting, and it’s certainly one I’ll revisit in the future.
There’s drama, a hint of the forbidden, and a satisfying ending. You can’t go wrong with this one!
Damn… this was pretty good. Cute. Happy. Although I was a little pissed at Ford / Kerouac for his actions at the wedding/boathouse. It was all resolved a little too quickly in my opinion, but hey. I enjoyed the journey.
I loved the characters and the story line.
I loved every single thing about this book! Forbidden romance is my favorite and Ford and Halston were everything! The plot was fast paced and emotional and angsty and dragged me in immediately. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone.
I really didn’t like this book. The female character was in high school, although she was 19 yrs old.
The ending so fast paced that if you blink twice, you will missed how they rekindle their lives together.
It could have been a lot better, but the last third of the book was full of chapters of summary that skipped year after year after year and it wasn’t entirely unsatisfying and really wasted my time. And the ending felt super rushed. I just didn’t like how everything went down. There was no real resolution and the ending didn’t pay off. You invest in this couple and want them to work, and the author kept them apart and miserable for the last third of the book before rushing them together and wrapping it up too neatly. Very disappointing.
I love the characters and the way it played it
Loved this book
Halston hasn’t had a great life. Her parents were drug addicts and her father pimped her out at the age of 14. She missed years of school and bounced around in foster care until she aged out of the system. Her aunt and uncle took her in so she could finish her senior year of high school (she’s 19–having struggled to make up for the missed years of school). Halston meets Ford on a dating app and they spend most of their time getting to know each other via email. Much to her surprise, when she gets called into the principal’s office at her new school the principal is none other than her sexy pen pal.
I liked the plotline and the character development and then things sort of sizzled out at the end. The couple is torn apart and five years go by before they are reunited. Either the 5 years apart were not necessary or the author could have better used them to develop the two characters. It just seemed like unnecessary filler.
Absinthe may be cast as a forbidden romance but is actually so much more. It’s about a strong, feisty, determined, intelligent young woman, wise beyond her years and a focused, career driven commitment-phobe. It’s witty and sexy with just the right amount of sadness and pain. We understand Halston’s background, where she’s come from, but the story doesn’t dwell on the bad aspects of her life. She is so courageous and I was fascinated with her. I think I would have had great fun with a friend like her. This book is different insofar as a lot of the interaction between the couple is done via messages on a dating app and I loved that. Halston is very forthright and I absolutely love the sexiness and banter between them. There were times I wanted to shake Ford for the conclusions he jumped to and the decisions he made, his worries becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. I really enjoyed the book references cleverly woven into the story, which add another dimension and give our characters even more of a connection. This story had me rooting for these two young people, hoping that in the end they would find their way back to each other and the happiness they deserved.
A wonderful book, by an extremely gifted writer, and one which I highly recommend.
Age is just a number when lust and attraction are concerned but when it involves a student and a person in charge of said student there are lines you do not cross.
I love the relationship between Halston and Ford they are meant to be but things are complicated by her age, his position in the school and her jealous bitch cousin.
This is a great read.
Absinthe is not my favorite Winter Renshaw book, but I like it. Halston is amazing, though. Loved that girl! Ford…hm…didn’t exactly love him, but I can see the appeal for Halston.
But the best part about Absinthe? Mitchell Wick on the cover. H O T!!!
This book just blew me away! The story of Ford and Halston is enthralling the moment I started reading it! I can’t put it down and losing sleep is so worth it!It’s angsty and exciting at the same time to see what will happen to our Absinthe & Kerouac. As always Winter Renshaw wrote this one flawlessly. The pacing of each scene was perfect! If you haven’t read a book by this author, this can your first and you’ll love it. Highly recommended!
Adored this read and adored the characters.
A good and unique twist on student-teacher romances.
It kink of broke my heart in the middle of the story and I didn’t figure things out until late in the book.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.
A solid 4.5*. This book has the perfect title.
Winter Renshaw has a writing style that pulls a reader in and doesn’t let go. Absinthe is wonderfully written and is a bit different than most romances. It’s not a quick love story where two people meet and fall head over heals. Instead, it’s a love story that spans years and keeps a reader guessing about the outcome. It is steamy and there’s the bit of taboo with the principal/student attraction, but everyone is an adult. Ford is young for the position he holds and even though Halston is technically still a teenager, legal but still a teen, but given her childhood, she’s wise beyond her years. Actually, there’s less than ten years between them and with the circumstances, I didn’t get the creep factor that sometimes comes with teacher/student relationships. There’s just something about this pair and their love for one another that is quite compelling and makes you want to see them together. Overall, the story flows very well and held my interest from start to finish. Renshaw has another winner!