Whatever Whispers by Genna Black

This was honestly such a delight-- so many of my favorite tropes: sadist with a heart of gold, nanny x single dad, student x professor, anxiety rep, secret societies, and a slapdash of dark academia. Quinn Ivor attends Cypress U, in no small part because of her father's influence. But he's cold and harsh, and since Quinn is oblivious to the steps he's taken to protect her, she hates him. When he dies, she obviously feels conflicted, but she needs to stay in school for her trust.

Enter Jack Hollis: her professor, although when she meets him, she doesn't know that yet. He's raising his niece like his own daughter because his sister is a drug addict, and he's been trying to balance teaching with being a full-time dad. Given Quinn's nanny experience and financial woes, she seems like the perfect candidate for the job. But her father's legacy has dark ties that go well beneath the skin...

I liked this book a lot. Quinn and Jack had explosive chemistry, and even though this is pretty light for a dark romance, Jack was just dangerous enough to deliver on the "touch her and die" energy that I crave. I wish the secret society had been fleshed out a little more, and that maybe the stakes were a little higher, but it feels like the author left a lot of that intentionally vague so she could explore the mystery behind the school even more in the sequel, which I will absolutely be reading.

I'm gonna have to get my hands on all of this author's other books, because damn.

4 out of 5 stars