First published 2013
Julia returns from a transformative summer in Italy where Professor Emerson opened her world to sophisticated pleasures and intimate discoveries. Back in their academic routine, the passionate relationship that bloomed between the distinguished scholar and his young lover faces mounting pressures. University politics and professional obligations threaten to tear them apart. Emerson must decide whether to fight for the woman who has become far more than a student to him, or accept exile like Dante before him. Julia watches as the man who guided her through sensual awakening now struggles with forces that could destroy everything they built together. Their Italian paradise feels distant as real world consequences close in around them. The choice Emerson faces will determine not just his career, but whether their love can survive the return to ordinary life.
Genres: drama, romance, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance
Setting: Italy
Period: contemporary
464 pages · Paperback · Akurat
Content warnings: sexual-content