Soul Mate [Kindle Edition]

I was really excited about reading it. I was not disappointed. Soul Mate is the story of a forbidden love affair that develops between Claudia, a 26 year old high school teacher and her 18 year old student, Lance. Claudia comes from a small town in the Midwest. She arrives in the glamour laced world of Beverly Hills, CA, perhaps a bit naive. After assigning her class to write in diaries, Claudia is instantly attracted to Lance's literary talent, good looks and personality. After meeting his high powered family, Claudia realizes that a relationship is impossible with Lance. Or is it? Claudia and Lance believe themselves to be soulmates, but find they may have trouble convincing their family, friends and the rest of the world.
I had fun reading this book and found myself rooting for this unlikely couple rather than against them. This book is much more than a steamy love affair between a teacher and student. The story may be a bit unrealistic towards the end, but I really liked all the characters, and was riveted to the plot. Definitely worth a read!

Where would a romance novel be without an implausible plot and too-good-to-be-true characters? Nowhere, of course, and this fun, well-written, fast-moving tale has both, along with a villain who gets his comeuppance; family members who are too understanding to be true; a super-happy ending that includes saving a town; a psychic character; and a smattering of political commentary to boot.

"Societies make rules for a reason and we've broken one of the biggest." This statement by one of the characters pretty much says it all, but don't be put off by this book's plot: 26-year-old female high school teacher becomes romantically involved with her 18-year-old male student. (This reminds me a bit of the movie "Lars And The Real Girl" in the sense that the description of its plot invokes the "ick" factor: sweet, troubled loner finds solace in a life-sized, plastic blow-up sex doll.) From either description you'd be justified in expecting a sordid bit of claptrap; in both cases you would be wrong.

Bottom line: I loved this little book, in spite of my initial reluctance to embrace its main theme. The author has a real gift for character development; otherwise I don't think I could have gotten past the underlying circumstances of the main characters' relationship, but in the end I was cheering for their success. I started the book thinking "okay, there is no way I will possibly think it's okay for these two to be together." I was wrong.

Reading this book is a blast; it's short and moves quickly. I would have read it in one sitting if I'd had a couple of hours to devote to it. I had to break it into two sessions, and in between I was eager to get back to it and see how it all came out. It pretty much had me smiling throughout, and in some cases laughing out loud (this dialogue, for example: "You'll never guess who I just invited to Thanksgiving dinner." "If I'll never guess, just tell me.")

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes romance novels, or who simply likes a quick read with an interesting plot and fun characters. There was one character (Marco) I wish had been a bit more developed, and there were a few places where some further editing might be beneficial (ex. Mammas and Pappas should be Mamas and Papas ... ) All in all, though, an enjoyable book, written by an author who really understands how to draw in a reader.

(FTC disclaimer: I reviewed a copy of this book that I obtained free of charge, by winning it in the Goodreads.com Firstreads Giveaway.)

Ron has a great sense of humor and a suave business side, so I was pleasantly surprised with his lustful and romantic way with words. At the reading for "Soul Mate" I was a touch leery at the premise of a student and teacher relationship, especially since it is so taboo. With caution I delved in and before I knew it, could not put it down. Ron writes with wonderful imagry and spice and addresses and handles the forbidden relationship well. I looked forward to my nighttime reading saying to myself... "just one chapter" but then four later finally fell asleep. A great romantic novelest, I look forward to Ron's future projects.