School is back in session! But this semester, one hot dad might derail the entire lesson plan! Marvin Block is great at his job; so great, in fact, he’s up for Teacher of the Year. After a spark with the dad of his students, Olan, at pick-up, Marvin begins to think he might cross the line he hasn’t before. This novel is delightfully sweet, with a healthy, though not overpowering, amount of spice. Wardell delivers with authenticity and respect for the recovery community, bringing nuance and depth to what could have been a run-of-the-mill meet-cute. While minor anachronisms and superfluous chapters are included, readers will have no trouble putting those aside for this heartfelt love story. A perfect addition for those seeking more LGBTQ+ romances for any time of year.

First, the cover is fantastic. I love every single thing about it. Second, this is a good book, but it just wasn’t for me. I had a difficult time staying interested.

I absolutely loved this book! I thought that it was so sweet and that the romance was wonderful. I really enjoyed my time reading this book!

“Stop it. Stop making excuses. Meditate. Medicate.. Go to therapy. Figure it out. Because if you blow it with a guy like Olan, you’ll have to live with that regret for the rest of your life.” -Jill Kim

Don’t you hate it when someone interrupts your whining to deliver the truth bomb you needed—but didn’t want to hear? That's what best friends are for, right? Kindergarten teacher Marvin Block is lucky to have Jill Kim as a work wife/bestie--they watch one another's classrooms, he was there for her during her miscarriage, she supported him through his last breakup, and she lets him crush on her cute husband Nick. Now, she's his number-one cheerleader, as Marvin has been nominated for Teacher of the Year by a well-meaning parent, which means he has to put together a nomination packet, and with his ADHD, organization and paperwork isn't his strongest suit. If that in and of itself isn’t enough pressure, his principal tells him the district's funding is under threat and securing a win might send more cash their way--and then she seems to mention it every time she sees him.

Marvin is an excellent educator, focusing his classroom in love and respect. He takes special care to integrate a new student, Ilona, who arrives mid-year. Ilona's dad is flirty and handsome, and mentions a divorce, so obviously he's straight... but why is he winking and texting so much??? Eventually, Olan says he can't quite explain it either, but he's definitely attracted to adorable Marvin. After checking the handbook multiple times and confirming it’s not forbidden to be friends with or even date parents of students, Marvin accepts Olan’s sweet overtures, even as he worries (over and over and over) that such fraternizing might not make him Teacher of Year material. Their relationship is a little fraught--Marvin is wary after his ex cheated on him, and Olan has only had one relationship and zero experience with men.

The story is exuberant and all heart, though the writing is amateurish, slips into telling, and is repetitive, particularly in Marvin’s spiraling and descriptions of this students. There is good conversation about labels and consent and desire, and the intimate scenes are explicit and hot. I love Marvin wrestling with I don’t love the way Marvin and his bestie Jill affectionate use slurs (she calls him homo, he calls her slag) as terms of endearment. The goofy tone is true to character, but may come off as annoying to less-tolerant readers. A child of an alcoholic, Marvin doesn’t drink. It's put him at a significant literal and emotional distance from his mother, who did the best she could after his father left them (for a librarian, no less)--but it was not good enough for any child. Marvin recognizes when the trauma of his mother’s life choices disrupts his thoughts, and differentiates them from general, generational trauma simply from being Jewish. However, he also bolts when he discovers his love interest is in recovery, and in flees every time his trauma is triggered. I cheered when well-meaning best friend Jill tells him: “Meditate. Medicate. Go to therapy.” Basically, put tools in your arsenal to cope and don't let this one get away; by not dealing with your issues, you stand to lose something good.

While the school might not have a problem with teachers dating parents, I didn’t find it particularly ethical, and was also surprised that a teacher would be allowed to take a side gig babysitting a current student, or that a parent would be allowed to mix with students without a CORI. When Marvin eventually confesses to his principal, she says it’s near enough to the end of the school year, and will be much less of a problem once Ilona’s not in his class anymore. I also found it surprising that a teacher could run out of class with no sub and no notice, not once but twice, to come to the aid of a friend.

Marvin is delightfully awkward and quirky, with a musical rotation in his head that can pep him up or calm him down, depending on what he needs in the moment, and the mental jukebox is loaded with dance hits, blues and ballads. His Jewishness is established right away, and the narrative is peppered with Yiddish (in italics, and not always defined in context for non-Jewish readers, which I kind of love: make the reader do the work)! There isn't much Jewish observation, or conversation about faith, and Wardell makes a pretty good joke via Marvin's mother ("Why do you think I go to AA meetings? It's like free therapy with free noshes. It's like hitting the jackpot for Jews.") that would be stereotypical or anti-Semitic coming from the mouth of another character, and it's not addressed. And a final quibble: on the cover, Marvin is depicted as a bow-tie wearing red-head, but his hair is described as dark and he goes to great lengths to describe how he never dresses up for work because he literally crawls around on the floor with little kids all day.

Ethical concerns and need for another editorial pass aside, Teacher of the Year is a vivid character study of a lovable, neuro-spicy, Jewish, queer teacher and a strong debut novel. Happy Pride Month!

I received an advance reader's review copy of #TeacherOfTheYear via #NetGalley courtesy of #Forever in exchange for a fair and honest review; a review will post to HLBB 6/5/2025

I loved this book!! We NEED more gay romance like this! Thank you Forever for putting books like this out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing the ARC.

This book was a bit of a hit or miss for me.

There were moments of it that I really enjoyed. I love Marvin and his love for his profession. Being a kindergarten teacher is rough enough already, but being a male kindergarten teacher is next level. I love the care with which he teaches his students. I love how adorable he is and I appreciate the willingness of the author to depict his anxiety in a way thay feels authentic.

However, there were moments where I felt the pacing was a bit off. Things went from zero to 100 really quick with Olan, despite his background. A lot of the dialogue and situations they were in were overly cute and almost too sweet to be realistic. And there was the overall feeling of wrongness that accompanied the idea that a teacher was staying overnight, attending family vacations, and doing untoward things in his classroom with the father of a student he was actively teaching. It just felt wrong and more like that Marvin should have been more of a professional to at least hold off until Illona was no longer his student.

It was a fine rom-com and the characters were great. But there was just a lot of other things happening that took me out of ths story.

I adored this book in a way that caught me completely off guard. The writing is heartfelt and hopeful, with this lovely warmth threaded through every page. This is the kind of queer love story that feels like it matters. That feels healing. That deserves to be shouted about. I loved it with my whole heart.

Teacher of the Year is a romance about Marvin, a kindergarten teacher, who has been nominated for his county’s Teacher of the Year award. At the beginning of January, a new student transfers into his class and he can’t help but notice her very attractive father, Olan. The two begin texting, first about Illona, but then start falling for one another.

I liked Marvin and ‘s story overall, and am interested in reading their follow up story, but the writing style and pacing of the book didn’t quite work for me. Some of the dialogue and descriptions felt too saccharine to me. Also, even though there technically wasn’t a rule against teachers dating parents, it did seem somewhat questionable to do things like spend the night at their house or go on family vacations while actively teaching their child. I work with children and teens and those are boundaries I personally wouldn’t cross. I would have been more on board with flirting and tension-building until closer to the end of the school year, but they end up kissing by the start of February and spending spring break together in March, which just felt very fast.

I would recommend this book to fans of Timothy Janovsky and people who want a very, very sweet but also spicy romance.

A sweet love story that handles tough topics with gentleness without feeling forced or weak. Wardell's attention to detail and emotional understanding creates a lovely world for these characters to learn and grow together.

Excited to have this in store just in time for Pride and see where the rest of the series goes.

Thank you to netgalley and publishers for the ARC of this book.

I don’t normally rate queer books so low. But I… genuinely hated this a bit? Did this author talk to a single educator? I am so sad because the love story was so lovely, but there are things in this book that an educator would lose their job for that were treated very lightly. I just don’t think this book was well thought out.

Teacher of the Year by M.A. Wardell is filled with vivid characters who are not easily forgotten. The emotional ride is real. You feel every high and low right along with Marvin and Olan. Wardell does such a beautiful job with the mental health rep and addiction recovery, too; it’s honest and raw without ever feeling heavy-handed. Truly, I love how brave and vulnerable the writing is. Plus, the spice? Chef’s kiss. It’s steamy without taking away from the heart of the story. Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it. I want everyone to read this book so we can scream about it together.

A beautiful, sweet and sexy story. I love the characters and the world. All of the background and little quirks bring these characters to life. I love the romance and how passionate it is.

Super fun and cute romance, great concept and the daughter was a highlight of the book! While I enjoyed the characters' dynamic, I found the descriptions quite repetitive. If you're looking for a fun quick read, this is a great pick!

Teacher of the Year by M.A. Wardell is a heartwarming, beautifully nuanced story that strikes a perfect balance between charm, vulnerability, and quiet resilience. This isn’t just a love story—it’s a celebration of chosen joy, community, and the hard-earned victories of living fully as your authentic self.

What makes this book sing is the quiet emotional weight it carries. The Jewish identity woven into Marvin’s story is full of love and specificity, adding warmth and richness without ever feeling forced. Wardell writes with such intention and grace, whether he’s exploring the push-pull of anxiety, the exhaustion of caregiving, or the quiet triumph of letting someone in.

Teacher of the Year isn’t just a romance—it’s a story about how love can grow alongside your fears, not in spite of them. It’s about embracing both chaos and comfort, knowing you don’t have to be perfect to be loved fully. With humor, heart, and a beautiful depth, this book earns its gold stars—and then some.

Thank you, NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rereading Teacher of the Year in its newly polished, traditionally published glory was like coming home to a favorite blanket—familiar, comforting, but somehow even cozier than I remembered. Marvin and Olan already had my heart the first time around, but the additions in this edition? They elevated everything. The bonus epilogue made me emotional in the best way and the new cover is downright stunning.

What makes this story so special isn’t just the swoony friends-to-lovers romance (although, yes, it delivers on that)—it’s the depth. The tenderness. The way Marvin’s anxiety and inner spirals are written with so much honesty and nuance. The way Olan shows up with quiet steadiness. And the way this book never shies away from showing that love doesn’t erase your struggles—it grows with you through them.

It’s so refreshing to see a queer love story that gets to be soft and layered, fun and emotionally rich. Stories like this—full of heart, full of healing, and now, backed by a major publisher—are exactly what we need more of in the world.

This is more than a romance—it’s a story that sees you, holds you, and leaves you just a little bit better than it found you.

dnf’d halfway through :( this sounded like a cute, queer romcom that i could sit and binge and while it contained all those elements, it had a sort of “pureness” that wasn’t exactly my cup of tea…like heartstopper on steroids?? (except i truly adore heartstopper that was not a critique on its part!) i would still recommend for those who enjoy lighthearted romances

This book has my ENTIRE heart.

Marvin and Olan are the type of couple that's super easy to fall in love with. And their love story is such an important one to tell.

I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say any more than the story is about a teacher, Marvin, who might be crushing on the father of one of his students. What follows is a delightfully Jewish and Gay story filled with quotable moments, tear jerking discussions, and so many little Yiddishisms and Jewish moments thrown in that were SO. RELATABLE. AND. REAL.

And Marvin is truly a character near and dear to my heart. It's one thing to find a character that speaks to you; it's another to find a character that IS you. Seeing Marvin's anxiety and adhd and how his brain worked, well, it felt like being in my head. My thought spirals are so similar to his that it made reading a very emotional experience, as I really could feel Marvin's feelings and empathize with him on a personal level.

I just, yeah. Read this book.