Misconduct by Penelope Douglas Review

Title: Misconduct
Author: Penelope Douglas

Format: Audio book
Publication Date: December 1st, 2015

Former tennis player Easton Bradbury is trying to be the best teacher she can be, trying to reach her bored students and trying to forget her past. What brought her to this stage in her life isn’t important. She can’t let it be. But now one parent-teacher meeting may be her undoing…

Meeting Tyler Marek for the first time makes it easy for Easton to see why his son is having trouble in school. The man knows how to manage businesses and wealth, not a teenage boy. Or a young teacher, for that matter, though he tries to. And yet…there is something about him that draws Easton in—a hint of vulnerability, a flash of attraction, a spark that might burn.

Wanting him is taboo. Needing him is undeniable. And his long-awaited touch will weaken Easton’s resolve—and reveal what should stay hidden…

Ex-Tennis star Easton meets a mysterious man at a Mardi Gras ball. When she leaves he makes promises of things about when they meet again that Easton never thinks he will follow up on, because when will she ever see him again? Fast forward three months later. Easton has a new job as a History teacher at a private school and is meeting the students and parents and who walks in? The man from the ball and it turns out he is very powerful. Trying to keep their relationship strictly business for her student and his son's sake was failed at the start. And then when weird things start occurring related to Easton's past she realizes she might be in danger.

I seem to always love Penelope Douglas's female characters. I loved and related a lot to Easton. Not to mention I love that name. She is strong, witty, and very powerful, but not over baringly so. It seems like in todays age, with all the feminism going on, they over do female characters, but this one didn't. I also loved Christian, the kid. He was very much a typical teenager and even though we weren't reading through his point of view, we still got to see the typical teenage emotions and situations he went through. He was also funny as hell! And overall, the writing was great, as always. She handles pacing and words very well.

I had several things I didn't like, however. First being Tyler Merrick, the male lead. And if you read my review on Bully, you know I hated Jared. I think it is a common occurrence for a Douglas book for me to hate the male character. It seems like she tries to give them flaw and let them make mistakes, but the mistakes end up being unforgivable to me and I am not even happy when he appears to make up for it, because I still feel it wasn't enough. Where I did like the writing and pacing, I felt like the plot kind of fell for me. There was way too much focus on sexual scenes than actual plot. Which the sexual scenes were hot, but the plot was all but forgotten sometimes. Like in the end, it wasn't really wrapped up for me. The fate of one of the characters that had been a big part of the book was left hanging, having no idea what happened to them. And the Epilogue served no purpose what so ever.

Overall I gave this book 3 out of 5. I did like the writing and some of the characters, but I couldn't sit well with Tyler or the ending. I would have given it a 4 if I had known what happened to that character.