"Lessons in Corruption” is the first book in Giana Darling’s, The Fallen Men Series. It is the story of Cressida Irons and King Kyle Garro, Cressida being a severely sheltered twenty-six year old woman trapped in an unhealthy marriage, desperate for more than the dull, proper life she was molded to live. A woman shaped by her society loving, decorum demanding parents to always submit to her predestined life arranged for her by them, a life that includes being married off to her father’s friend William at eighteen, a wealthy, much older man who demands Cressida’s obedience and wifely servitude. Her marriage pleases her parents but ties her to a man who continues to force her into an existence of emotional bondage that affords her no joy or goals of her own and has her mindlessly walking through each day a lifeless husk of a human. A life without color or adventure she grows to abhor, and, in a moment of clarity, runs from, determined to break free and start again on her terms, attempting to regrow a woman she can look at in the mirror and love rather than the dutiful robot she currently is.
However, Cressida’s journey down this new life path becomes more like a high speed rollercoaster ride after a chance encounter with King, a beautiful, wild man who thrills and challenges her beyond words. A man she is instantly attracted to and excited to be pursued by, but a man who is also, unbeknownst to her at the time of their initial encounters, the son of Fallen MC President Zues Garro, and eighteen year old high school senior. A young man who is also soon to be her student at the prestigious prep school where she teaches advanced English and History classes. What follows is a winding, angst filled, emotionally overwhelming ow/ym, student/teacher taboo filled voyage that is as captivating as it is jaw dropping, wholly sincere, and intensely thought provoking.
I have to be honest here, this book made me uncomfortable at first. In general, I do not care for ow/ym stories, but as I read this one and was immersed deeply into Cressida’s conflict, and thrust deeper still by the author into the warring emotions and deep seated needs within her after a lifetime of being forced to tamp her very essence deep down inside herself by almost everyone in her life, I began to see things from a different perspective. Here, within the pages of this story was the realization that the very reason this trope makes me uncomfortable is because of the very thing Cressida herself is trying to escape, female propriety and the societal indoctrination that women are supposed to be “good girls”, and live “good” “acceptable” lives, with “acceptable spouses”. And that my own American indoctrination deep into this ideal standard of female behavior is why my typical reaction to this story concept is to view it as icky and unnatural. Yet here, with her beautifully written story of Cressida and King, Darling ripped open my soul and forced me to stare deeply at my own preconceived notions and then gave me no choice but to more fully understand them and ultimately, change them altogether.
The truth of the matter is, thousands upon thousands of om/ym stories exist, many containing age gaps that are decades more than the one showcased in this book. Many of these stories of much older men and their much younger women have earned my love; more still have earned long, at times winding, but always earnest reviews from me. And as I read this book, read King’s demands of Cressida, watched him beg her not to give in to preconceived notions of propriety, not to taint the purity of what they are both feeling with social expectations and false ideals of purity and acceptability I realized I do the same thing with the very genre itself, give into my ingrained flinch reaction that such a pairing is unnatural and icky and only acceptable in the reverse. And wow, what a punch in the damn face that was. A punch I sorely needed!
My deeply reflective mood throughout the course of reading this book, and the subsequent irrevocable mark these characters stamped deep upon my psyche is a testament to Darling’s literary prowess. Here in this story of a younger man’s determination to keep the woman he wants, societal expectations be damned, is soul deep love. Here, in his strife to get her to see that their love is not only real, but more real than anything ever in her life before it, lies a profound lesson for us all. Here Darling creates a story world so vivid, creates characters so complex and deeply emotional, that not only do they make you feel just as deeply with every passing word, but also force you to reflect and recognize on why you think the way you do about their pairing, and who they actually are at their very core beyond your predetermined notions of who you think them to be. This book is a beautiful story of love and second chances at life. It is also a story of overcoming the fear of people’s judgements and learning how to actually live instead of play acting one’s way through life. It is a truly superb read, one that I highly recommend!
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More like Lessons In Corruption: A Student/Teacher Romance (The Fallen Men Book 1)
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Popular Highlights in this book
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven.”Highlighted by 2,399 Kindle readers- “A man without respect for the law is not a man without respect for anything. All that intensity, that devotion, is channeled towards other things, mostly their people; the brotherhood, family, their women. You can’t experience anything like it until you’ve had it.”Highlighted by 1,578 Kindle readers
- I’d wanted to shed my old skin, those old connections, but did I really want to do a 180? If I took up with a biker, there was no chance William or my parents would take me back. I tried to tell myself that I didn’t care about that but I did.Highlighted by 341 Kindle readers
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Great beginning to the series
This is my review for Lessons In Corruption by Giana Darling⭐⭐⭐⭐&🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Lessons In Corruption is a standalone in a series...well actually, this particular couple is in 2 of the books within the series. After The Fall (book 4) revisits this particular couple.The rest of the books are different couples but each story interconnects. FYI it's called The Fallen Men series and there are 6 books.As per usual, I attempted to go into this book as blind as possible.I knew that it was an age gap and teacher x student trope...and that it's "Motorcycle Club". Other than that, I was basically clueless.So tell me how shocked I was to learn that this was actually, in fact, reverse age gap?! 😆🫠This was an amazing story about forbidden love and battling the cookie cutter personas that people tend to wedge us in.I loved the character development of both characters and felt that the perfect amount of back story was given for both of them.King, the MC, was very swoon worthy. He may have been a bit younger than what I usually like in my male characters BUT he was an old soul and wasn't chaotic or unpredictable by nature.The spice was amazing. It starts out as a bit of a slow burn but, in this particular instance, with these particular tropes, I think you want this.There was also a really good plotline aside from the romance, which I'm eager to watch unravel throughout the rest of the series.Here's a couple quotes that I'll leave you with:"He made me want to indulge in all things that had tempted Eve: seggs, gluttony and l@rceny. King was my apple, my S@tan, my ultimate fall from grace.""God that's hot.""No God in this bedroom, Cress. Call me what I am: your King," he growled, rearing up to catch a fistful of my hair and jerk my head back.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023
This is my review for Lessons In Corruption by Giana Darling
⭐⭐⭐⭐&🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Lessons In Corruption is a standalone in a series...well actually, this particular couple is in 2 of the books within the series. After The Fall (book 4) revisits this particular couple.
The rest of the books are different couples but each story interconnects. FYI it's called The Fallen Men series and there are 6 books.
As per usual, I attempted to go into this book as blind as possible.
I knew that it was an age gap and teacher x student trope...and that it's "Motorcycle Club". Other than that, I was basically clueless.
So tell me how shocked I was to learn that this was actually, in fact, reverse age gap?! 😆🫠
This was an amazing story about forbidden love and battling the cookie cutter personas that people tend to wedge us in.
I loved the character development of both characters and felt that the perfect amount of back story was given for both of them.
King, the MC, was very swoon worthy. He may have been a bit younger than what I usually like in my male characters BUT he was an old soul and wasn't chaotic or unpredictable by nature.
The spice was amazing. It starts out as a bit of a slow burn but, in this particular instance, with these particular tropes, I think you want this.
There was also a really good plotline aside from the romance, which I'm eager to watch unravel throughout the rest of the series.
Here's a couple quotes that I'll leave you with:
"He made me want to indulge in all things that had tempted Eve: seggs, gluttony and l@rceny. King was my apple, my S@tan, my ultimate fall from grace."
"God that's hot."
"No God in this bedroom, Cress. Call me what I am: your King," he growled, rearing up to catch a fistful of my hair and jerk my head back.
⭐⭐⭐⭐&🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Lessons In Corruption is a standalone in a series...well actually, this particular couple is in 2 of the books within the series. After The Fall (book 4) revisits this particular couple.
The rest of the books are different couples but each story interconnects. FYI it's called The Fallen Men series and there are 6 books.
As per usual, I attempted to go into this book as blind as possible.
I knew that it was an age gap and teacher x student trope...and that it's "Motorcycle Club". Other than that, I was basically clueless.
So tell me how shocked I was to learn that this was actually, in fact, reverse age gap?! 😆🫠
This was an amazing story about forbidden love and battling the cookie cutter personas that people tend to wedge us in.
I loved the character development of both characters and felt that the perfect amount of back story was given for both of them.
King, the MC, was very swoon worthy. He may have been a bit younger than what I usually like in my male characters BUT he was an old soul and wasn't chaotic or unpredictable by nature.
The spice was amazing. It starts out as a bit of a slow burn but, in this particular instance, with these particular tropes, I think you want this.
There was also a really good plotline aside from the romance, which I'm eager to watch unravel throughout the rest of the series.
Here's a couple quotes that I'll leave you with:
"He made me want to indulge in all things that had tempted Eve: seggs, gluttony and l@rceny. King was my apple, my S@tan, my ultimate fall from grace."
"God that's hot."
"No God in this bedroom, Cress. Call me what I am: your King," he growled, rearing up to catch a fistful of my hair and jerk my head back.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Italia Godinez
FIRST BOOK OF THE BEST MC ROMANCE SERIES
Reviewed in Mexico on September 2, 2020
Italia Godinez
Reviewed in Mexico on September 2, 2020
It was such an experience reading this book. I tried reading it one day, but I had to stop, today I finished it and I’m blown away. This story is the continuation of the romance between King and Cress, but four years later. Things have changed but their love remains as strong as ever and even a little bit more intense. The story has beautiful poetry excerpts that make your heartache so much. King is such a strong, possessive man but big-hearted that can make you scared and in love from one second to another. Meanwhile, Cress is such a powerful character that grows and turns into a wonderful being, worthy of admiration. Both characters keep surprising me because they have become more than I expected, and their love is so admirable. They are one of my favorite couples ever.
As always Giana finds the exact words to shake up your world. This particular book can make you so emotional and it’s totally worth it. It also has that steam that characterizes Giana’s books, combined with the passion of all the characters involved. Not even a second passes that you could remove your thoughts from it.
Thank you, Giana, for making rollercoasters and to think beyond what’s expected. You keep surprising me, and I can’t wait to read more of your work.
Rating: 4.7 Stars
Age Gap | MC Romance | Forbidden Romance | Teacher-Student Relationship | College | Slow – Burn Romance |
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