3 Stars
Teacher Nola Pryce finds herself in the role of a student when she encounters Alex Winchester. Her first assignment involves interpreting a message on his business card. Successful completion means she is ready for the first exam to be held at The Black Rose. With no prerequisites or study guides to help, Nola has to rely on Alex’s skills as a Dom to see if she can advance to the next level. Judging by the unfortunate choice of titles, Ella Grey’s The Schoolteacher and the Dom may give the impression that it is a stereotypical erotic tale. Instead, readers will be delighted to find a well-crafted, albeit short, story line. Grey skates the edge of BDSM without delving deeply into the lifestyle. Seasoned readers of erotica may be frustrated by a lack of consistency with Alex’s character because his actions don’t seem to reflect his role as Dom. However, because he is introducing a newbie to the lifestyle, his lack of complete domination seems to mesh well with the story line. It is perfect for a quick read, but I found myself wishing that the author had developed a longer novel. All the pieces are in place for a more elaborate story. Because it is short in length, there is very little of the typical conflict expected before the conclusion. The BDSM elements provide a definite steamy twist to an already sizzling relationship. While the story could use a quick clean-up edit, the errors didn’t detract from my reading experience.