Sandra Brown kembali memukauku dengan kepintarannya merangkai cerita. Cerita - cerita yang menakjubkan lahir dari ide-ide dan tangannya yang cekatan. Sempat menyesal baru sekarang mulai baca bukunya. Tapi ya better late than never,right? :) A Kiss Remembered , buku ke3 Sandra Brown yang kubaca bulan Februari 2011 ini, setelah sebelumnya aku membaca Long Time Coming dan Demon Rumm. Well, yang kutangkap dari ketiga buku ini adalah semuanya cerita yang sangat jarang dibahas dikalangan penulis novel romance lainnya. Idenya sangat fresh from the oven, dan hasilnya sangat memuaskan. I'm in love with her writings. A Kiss Remembered ini sendiri bercerita tentang seorang guru yang jatuh cinta kepada muridnya. "cinta terlarang" :pp Murid itu bernama Shelley, saat itu dia masih SMU, masih terlalu muda untuk mengenal cinta. (lain dengan zaman sekarang, SD saja sudah tau mana yang ganteng mana yang cantik :D) Guru yang ia suka bernama Grant. Saat itu ia hanya memikirkan gurunya itu, dan Grant yang seharusnya bisa menahan perasaannya malah akhirnya kehilangan kendali. Pas seperti judulnya, setelah ciuman yang terjadi sewaktu Shelley masih sekolah, membuat dia tak pernah bisa melupakan Grant bahkan meski dia sudah menikah sekalipun. Suaminya bahkan tak tahan pada sikapnya, sehingga memutuskan untuk bercerai. Ketika akhirnya Grant dan Shelley dipertemukan kembali dalam bangku kuliah, Shelley tidak yakin apa yang harus ia perbuat. Pura-pura tidak mengenal Grant atau memanggilnya. Namun Grant tak pernah melupakannya. Hubungan mahasiswi dan dosen itu pun mereka lewati dengan banyak cobaan, ketua rektor yang tidak setuju, mahasiswi yang mencela hubungan mereka karna iri, dan suami Shelley yang menghina dirinya dengan segala macam akal busuknya. Tapi toh mereka bisa melewati semua hal buruk itu juga. Kenapa? Karena mereka saling mencintai. Dan saling mencintai berarti mereka percaya terhadap satu sama lain. Rumor-rumor yang beredar hanya akan berlalu seperti halnya angin yang berhembus karna mereka percaya, mereka yakin, mereka mencintai satu sama lain, dan rumor-rumor itu hanyalah bumbu-bumbu penyegar hubungan mereka. karna dengan adanya rumor itu mereka malah semakin menyadari kalau mereka begitu mencintai pasangan mereka.Sekian banyak hal yang kusuka dari Grant,salah satunya adalah ketika dia tidak mempersoalkan yang namanya istri bekerja dan bukannya menjadi ibu rumah tangga. Aku mendambakan istri sekaligus kekasih, bukan pembantu yang mengurusi semua keperluanku. Kau akan memiliki status yang sama dalam rumah tangga seperti halnya aku. Aku ingin memperkaya hidupmu, bukannya merenggut kemerdekaanmu. page 182.five stars karna idenya yang unik dan cemerlang, ceritanya yang tidak datar dan bahkan sangat berwarna.
The lengths I will go to in an attempt to find a story about adults falling in love where one happens to be in the other's class. Bad, bad lengths. An age-appropriate student/teacher romance, I'm promised, but where was the intellectual connection, or even any appreciation for the educational aspect? Because between all the heavy making out and sexing, somebody forgot to actually illustrate why they're in love. This is probably my fault for thinking a romance novel could transcend its genre, but I'm here and this is a novelty for me, so I shall make sport of it.Honestly, I have reasons for seeking stories about smart people getting together. Those reasons do not involve what felt like 40 pages of discussion about the many ways in which he would like see her naked and do the things he's fantasized about. Which is supposed to be cool because, of course, he loves her. Even though it's very explicitly pointed out that he never gave any thought to her like that until he randomly kissed her in a moment of sports-related excitement, and then apparently got so turned on that this magic kiss sustained his unquenchable love through ten years of no contact with her. Allow me to summarize the basic courtship as I saw it:"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. I love you, let's sleep together." "I love you too, no." "BUT I LOVE YOU. We cannot deny this powerful force based on your beautifully shaped breasts!" "But we musn't! You're a teacher and I'm your student! Even though you give me all these funny feelings.""So what! There's no rules against it! Who cares what the world thinks!""Oh my!"(insert heavy makeout/petting session)"Changed your mind yet?""Goodness, I'm so hot and bothered now. Thanks to my terrible ex-husband, I never knew what passion was.""Lucky for you, I am excellent instructor; let me teach you all about the ways of The Sex. Also, I love you.""But you're still a teacher and I'm still your student.""STOP SAYING THAT. YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT."(rinse and repeat for a while)It's a romance novel. You can guess how it eventually works out. I rather wish I'd just skipped to that step.
What do You think about A Kiss Remembered (2003)?
Any red blooded American girl worth her salt will admit to being infatuated with one or more of her male high school teachers, but what might have happened if that innocent fascination were taken to the next level? On impulse, high school teacher, Grant Chapman, kisses young Shelley Browning and gets more than he bargains for. Her heartfelt response surprises him and Grant swiftly does the right thing, leaving Shelley behind for a new life as a Congressional aide in Washington, DC. Ten years later, Shelley enrolls in a course that Grant Chapman is teaching at a local college, curious to find out whether there might be anything left of the spark of love he ignited in her so long ago. Grant has been seared by a horrible scandal in Washington and Shelley is all too aware that their roles haven’t changed much since high school. Grant is still her teacher and she, his student. A secret romance between them is unthinkable, impossible - yet all too true!Obstacle after obstacle is surmounted by Grant and Shelley and at last, their dream of a blissful new life together seems close to reality. Still, Shelley’s position as a student casts some doubt about the true nature of their relationship and the outraged college dean demands an explanation. In addition, Grant’s damaged reputation and the startling claims of a disgruntled female student cast a funereal pall on what should be the happiest day of Shelley‘s life. Can Grant and Shelley find love and a future together when so many stand in the way of their happiness? Find out in A Kiss Remembered.
—Ann Keller
The Thrill of Victory, this book, A Kiss Remembered and Fanta C are 3 early Brown love stories. Deeply hurt by a disastrous marriage, Shelley Browning is back at a university, a little older and a little wiser. Despite her growing self-awareness, she takes a class taught by Grant Chapman, who--10 years ago-was the best-looking teacher in her high school. He had left to take a job as a congressional aide, but not before a single, unplanned kiss that haunted Shelley as a symbol of "what might have been." Now famous and charismatic as ever, Grant, is delighted to find Shelley in his class, and, believing there is no impropriety in dating her, he asks her out. Very loving and steamy dating begins
—Kathy Saunders
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I wasn't sure I was going to like the idea that Shelley and Grant had shared a kiss when she was just 16. He was her teacher at the time. Once I got over that, it wasn't a bad story. In reality, the kiss was once and spontaneous. Grant left the school immediately after because he knew he had overstepped. I had to give him credit for that. Once he sees a much older Shelley, he realizes her has feelings for her and decides to win her over. I actually liked Grant. He wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in. I didn't like Shelley all that much. She was too wishy-washy for me. I also thought she jumped to the wrong conclusions about Grant too quickly in the end. This book definitely shows its age. Shelley wants o get a degree in banking that would allow her to head a department just for women to get financial advice. Do they even have something like that nowadays? Anyway, for an early Sandra Brown novel, it's not bad. It is definitely one of the racier novels that I have read from this time period. The love scenes are much more detailed than usual. If you missed it, the audiobook is only 4 discs. Perfect for a the work commute.
—Kari
