Joshua Dayton met the man of his dreams as a sophomore in high school—his mentor and biology teacher, Mr. Cayden. Fearing his love would be considered forbidden and rejected, he ran away to college, determined to move on and forget. Three years later, he is summoned home and comes face to face with the man he tried to leave in the past. The same man he never stopped loving. Samuel Cayden was … Cayden was looking for a fresh start and an escape. What he was not expecting was to develop feelings for his student, Joshua. Yet when the boy returns home a man, Samuel can no longer pretend the pull between them doesn’t exist.
Will the student become the teacher, showing Samuel how to open his heart? Will Samuel be able to prove to Joshua that things are not always what they appear? Or will the spark fizzle before it has a chance to ignite?
It’s time they got a lesson in love and temptation.
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No one matters but him
By the Book is a secret, unrequited love story or so Josh thought!
Crushing on his teacher and then realizing it was actually love…
Confessing said feelings…
Then running away…
Not exactly the best start to a love story good thing it starts years before…or is it years after!?!
By the Book is a former student /teacher romance. It’s clearly an age gap romance but it feels so damn right. Emotional, physically, and mentally these two are complimentary. The ying and yang of each other. Their relationship is impressive and sweet. I would say their understanding of each other is something to be jealous of.
Oh and did I mention its MM?!? Yes, yes it is! (Naughtiest winky face and waggling eyebrows) By the Book may not follow the rules but then rules were made to be broken.
My first MM book and I couldn’t have picked a better story. Great!!
By the Book is a story that will give you the warm fuzzies as you pray for Josh and Sam to get together, and to STAY together. This may sound easy, but these two have both families against them. Josh does act immature at times, but he is actually mature enough to realise it! Sam is trying so hard to do the right thing, that he may end up losing the best thing for him.
This is a wonderful story, excellently told, and giving great insight into how family can cause issues even if they are not on the doorstep! With plenty of situations to keep the characters on their toes, their characters grow throughout. This is definitely a feel-good book, that has no editing or grammatical errors that I noticed.
Hot, steamy, tender, poignant, it’s all here. Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
Josh left his small town in Missouri to start college in Tallahassee and to forget about his high school biology teacher, Sam, that was there for him and helped him cope with his father’s death and that he had fallen in love with. When Josh gets a call from his mother’s neighbor telling him that she was rushed to the hospital he rushes home to come face to face with Sam again. Neither one of them expected to see each other again yet both were still pining over the other.
I think one of my favorite aspects of this book is that it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for these guys once they admitted their feelings and decided to be together. Neither one of them had a supportive family, the both received a lot of flack/push back/hate about them being together but both of them didn’t let it deter them from the love they shared. I really respected that they were both there for each other and supported the other both emotionally and physically. Loved their journey together but I felt like half the story is missing. There is a lot that was left unresolved and unfinished. I am a bit disappointed in that but still a very good read overall.
Loved this book… Wanted a HEA so bad that when I thought something awful was gonna happen, I had to put the book down…only to pick it back up to see what happened! Lol. I loved Josh and Sam and was rooting for them all the way… Josh’s Mom as an obstacle, with her backwoods way of thinking, but Sam’s pushy dad and wussy brother were complete obstacle courses! Only wish they had went to Cali!
It’s been three years since Joshua Dayton graduated from high school and told his science teacher, Samuel Cayden, how he felt about him in a letter. Never expecting to return, Joshua finds himself back home when he learns that his mother is sick, which brings Sam back into his life. Sam and Joshua both have things they have to deal with along the way, but I loved the way the stuck together despite it all. This is a great age-gap, teacher/student, hurt/comfort with very low angst read. This book sucked me in right away and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I really enjoyed this read from Maria Vickers, it is my first book by this author.
‘By the Book’ is a story of sweet romance. A couple who once together stand by each other even when it appears everyone around them is against them being together..
This is the story of Josh and Sam. A former student who fell in love with his teacher before leaving for college and the teacher himself. When Josh rushes home after hearing his mother is ill, chance throws the him and the subject of all his desires together. What he didn’t expect is the feeling is mutual.
By The Book is a story about Sam and Josh finally finding love regardless of people’s prejudices and opinions, their age difference, and their past student/teacher relationship.
I am a fan of MM books and found this one a bit of a struggle to get through. The characters seemed a bit immature especially Sam who I would have expected to have taken more of the lead in the relationship since he was the older of the two.
This book was exactly what I needed! Josh and Sam are imperfectly, perfect and I love them! This is a story about overcoming challenges in life, love and family. It’s frustrating, sweet, passionate and sexy! This is my first book by this author but definitely won’t be my last! Great, quick, read with all the feels!