Ella's Bookshelf - Educating Jenny

I always seek inspiration as I start to think about writing a book review.  What's going to be my "angle?"  This time, it came from a book I started weeks before PK Corey's latest title in the Cal's Law series hit the shelves at Blushing Books and Amazon.  Was browsing on my Kindle one night after typing "Spanking Romance" into the Search Box.  Up came a 1000 choices.  I scrolled and scanned the blurbs of at least two dozen books.


Finally saw one that caught my interest.  Clever title.  Nice cover.  Hero's name was Cade Somebody.  He was handsome, wealthy, and sensitive.  Just hadn't found his true love yet.  Girl's name was Rachel, I think.  A troubled but true-blue young woman trying to find her way after a bad marriage.  I clicked on the "Buy Now."  Amazon said "Thanks, Ella," and I started reading.

Loved this title!

I read that night and the next night and the night after that.  No spanking.  I would get to a good part where Rachel certainly deserved one.  "Hot dog," I would think.  "Here it comes, finally."  Nope.  Instead of putting her over his knee, this guy would wash her hair.  Soon she would run away, drive like a crazy woman, and spit challenges at Cade.  I waited with bated breath for him to take her in hand.  Nope.  This insipid "hero" did not pull his belt through the loops of his jeans.  Wait for it, spanking fans.  He cooked her a pasta dinner!


I finally came to the end of my patience.  The little percentage of the e-book read that appears in the bottom right hand corner of my Kindle said that I had read 64%.  Where the hell were the spankings?!  I went back to Amazon to check the blurb.  My bad.  It said nothing about discipline or a man with an itchy palm wanting to teach the little lady a lesson.  It was a plain old Nothing Romance!!  I know that I had searched for spanking books; Amazon screwed up.  Would they return my $3.99 if I explained the error?  Probably not.  I thought about writing a review of the book that basically said "This One Sucked!" but decided that wasn't fair to the author.  The only thing she was guilty of was peddling this drivel as romance.

     
        
       When Is The New Book Coming Out, PK!?

Luckily just a short time later, Educating Jenny was finally published.  Now this is a spanking romance!  And well worth your $3.99, too!

Title:  Educating Jenny

Author:  PK Corey

Themes:  Friendship, Self-Development, Awakening

Main Characters:  

Jenny:  an independent young woman married to the town sheriff, Cal Bennett.  She is not only madly in love with her husband, she loves being a homemaker and part of his large, loving family.


Cal: is the sheriff of the town where he grew up.  He met Jenny when he caught her breaking the law while she was a sorority member at the posh, private college in town.  He didn't hesitate to paddle her bottom.  As he helped her become more responsible about her education and personal safety, they fell in love.  Cal is a firm believer in a solid domestic discipline relationship as the key to a happy marriage.

Allie and Lane: Allie is also away at the university and invites Jenny to share an apartment there.  They and their husbands travel back and forth to spend time with each other.  Lane is Cal's little sister and becomes good friends with both Jenny and Allie.


Jake:  is deputy and best friend to Cal Bennett.  He and Lane's relationship moves from good friends into something more.  Both are concerned that Cal will not approve.


Cassie and Sue:  Although these two women are of an older generation, Jenny looks up to them and feels welcome as a friend and part of their "river family."


Setting:  This book takes place in 2 locations.  It starts and ends in the small town where Jenny and Cal met and were married.  Cal's family, friends, and home are all there.  It is also the community where the author's Cassie series is set.  A good portion of this latest story also happens in the university town where Jenny and Allie live and attend classes.

Educating Jenny is the third book in the Cal's Law series by PK Corey.  The beloved characters from her Cassie books make their standard cameo appearances in each of the Cal and Jenny stories.  This time Cassie and Sue manage to not only land themselves in hot water but drag Allie and Jenny along with them.  I laughed out loud when Cassie admits, "How did we get this old and manage to stay so stupid?"


Back in the early 80's, there was first a Broadway play and then a

major motion picture titled Educating Rita.  I saw both and loved the mix of comedy and drama. The lead character is a working class hairdresser who views education as a way to escape her dull life.

Jenny, on the other hand, argues when Cal insists she complete one more year of college.  He even wrangles a scholarship to the University of North Carolina in Wilmington.  She has already escaped the shallow world of her well-to-do and unloving parents and revels in the simple life of being Cal's wife.  He sincerely wants her to see all the possibilities that an education can open to her, and she finally agrees to one more year of college.


Even though Jenny knows what Cal expects from her and she

understands her husband's consequences for putting herself in danger, she gets mixed up in the trouble when Cassie and Sue drag them to a college party with both alcohol and pot.  Later as Cal scolds her and spanks her, he says, "You know Cassie and Sue can get themselves in trouble at a Bible study."  What Cal doesn't know at the time is that on the night of the party, Jenny inadvertently made an enemy of an arrogant campus cop named Devin Pipes.

Although Cal meant for the spanking to be disciplinary, Jenny is just plain HOT for her gorgeous husband.  This gives Cal the idea that educating his Jenny might be a lot more fun in the bedroom.  Throughout this book, they grow more deeply in love as they explore their sexual fantasies.  However, Cal lets her know that he is "the one and only spanker in this family."

When Jenny tires of being harassed by the campus cop, she retaliates.  Matters turn much more serious when another law officer targets Jenny.  Soon after, Lane comes to visit and together they hatch a plan to rival anything Cassie and Sue could dream up.


One of my favorite parts of the book is when Jenny is educated about how a loving family celebrates Christmas.  We also see her coming into her own when the gifts she creates and gives Cal's family are so warmly received.  I just loved seeing her proud of a talent she never knew she had.

Just as Rita is transformed by her education in the play, Jenny comes of age in this book.  Educating Jenny begins with a girl but finishes with a woman.  The difference with PK Corey's story is that we know Cal will always be there to guide and love Jenny, even if that means warming her bottom from time to time.

                      
                               Now that's my idea of romance.