Fall Semester
by Stephanie Fournet
BLURB:
A depressed English professor finds love in the most unlikely place in Stephanie Fournet’s emotional debut novel, Fall Semester.
Despite his stunning good looks, Dr. Malcolm Vashal is perhaps the most detested professor on campus. A floundering career and the aftershocks of a painful divorce have left the thirty-four-year-old with more than a little self-loathing, which only grows when he meets Maren Gardner. The graduate student with the loyal heart and searching eyes is much too good for him. She is off-limits for more reasons than one, but Malcolm can’t seem to resist her.
Maren is facing the greatest loss of her life, and her family needs her now more than ever. Between caring for them and building her future, Maren doesn’t have time for a social life, much less a relationship, but she can’t push a certain green-eyed professor from her mind. She sees in him a goodness that others don’t, but that might not be enough.
As the two discover each other, their blossoming friendship soon turns into something more, but self-doubts, family tragedy, and personal demons stand in their way.
Can they overcome these odds and share a love that each desperately needs? Or will the end of the semester find them heartbroken?
Excerpt:
Dr. Vashal had seated himself at the dinette, but he stood when she entered, and he immediately frowned.
“Your hair is still wet,” he reproached. “That won’t do.”
“It’s alright,” she brushed off his concern. “Shall we sit in the living room?”
“It is not alright,” he upbraided, his frown deepening. “You have a fever and a cough, and it’s drafty in here. You’ll catch pneumonia like that.”
At his scolding tone, the last of her energy drained out of her, and Maren sunk into a kitchen chair, laying her forehead in her hands and her elbows on the table.
Why is he so angry?
“Dr. Vashal,…I just don’t have it in me to dry my hair right now. Please. I need to sit down.”
Maren was sure that she, in fact, needed to lie down. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up at him, so it was the appearance of his black Steve Madden Oxfords entering her field of vision that told her he approached. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Let me help you,” he said softly, all scolding gone. “Come.”
He took her arm and gently guided her until she was on her feet again, and he plucked up her chair in his other hand and led them into the bathroom. Even though this was the strangest thing to ever happen in her life, Maren was too bemused to resist. She allowed him to seat her in front of the sink, and, without a word, he took down her hair dryer from the caddy above the toilet and turned it on. Maren noticed that he tested its heat and force against his own hand before aiming it at her.
Warm air caressed her, and when he grabbed the hairbrush from the same caddy and began carefully pulling it through her hair, Maren thought her bones had gone liquid. She resumed her slumped posture, elbows on the sink and head in hands, and she closed her eyes.
Oh my God.
He was deliberate and gentle, catching her hair in the brush at the roots and following it down to the ends. The fine hairs on her neck stood on end, and goose bumps erupted down her arms. Maren’s scalp tingled every time the bristles of the brush stroked against it. She drowned in a sea of sensation.
A moan escaped her throat before she could catch herself.
She couldn’t help it— she could only hope that he had not heard her over the hair dryer. Maren could not remember feeling so carefully and intimately attended. It was heavenly.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Stephanie Fournet lives in Lafayette, Louisiana—not far from the Saint Streets where her novels are set. She shares her home with her husband John and her daughter Hannah, their needy dogs Gladys and Mabel, and an immortal blue finch named Baby Blue. When she isn’t writing romance novels, she is usually helping students get into college, teaching AP English, or running. She loves hearing from fans, so you can follow her on Facebook, message her on Goodreads, or email her at stephaniefournet@icloud.com.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.fournet
https://www.pinterest.com/stephfournet/
http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Semester-Stephanie-Fournet-ebook/dp/B00FO5WDDS
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7351172.Stephanie_Fournet
My Review:
Fall Semester was a good book. Malcolm was a college professor not looking forward to the upcoming semester. He was a very unhappy man and most did not like him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t like to socialize but was expected to go to the beginning of the term mixer. He thought he would just get a drink and then sit in the corner everyone would leave him alone. While sitting in the corner a new student who transferred from Colorado came over and introduced herself – it was Maren. Malcolm wonders why she is talking to him. He really didn’t want to talk. You need to read Fall Semester to see if anything comes of Maren and Malcolm. I liked the characters and was sad when the book was over. I can’t wait to seewhat Stephanie Fournet writes next!
Giveaway
Stephanie Fournet will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Make sure to follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-tour-fall-semester-by-stephanie.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received a Copy of this book from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for the review.
Laura Chapman will be on tour April 6-May 4 with her novel The Marrying Type
