The Headmistress

Before I get into specifics about this book, I'll say upfront that it is a more than five star read and everybody should put this at the very top of their to-read list. Go do that and then come back. lol But seriously - when I read Milena McKay's debut The Delicate Things We Make, I was very excited about her talent. The book was so well written, smart and had such a strong story that I had a feeling this new writer was going places. This release proves I wasn't wrong. The Headmistress is amazing. It's an age gap, ice queen romance with a bit of a mystery in the mix. When I say ice queen, I'm talking about one that the great Lee Winter herself would be proud of. After a mind-blowingly hot sexual encounter with a woman at an education conference in the Big Apple, Sam Threadneedle returns home to finish out the school year at the remote island where she teaches at an all-girls private school. Just a few short months later, she is stunned when the school's board of trustees brings in a new headmistress to save the school from ruin and she is none other than the strikingly gorgeous woman she hasn't been able to get out of her head since. Magdalene Nox blows in like a storm and Sam and everyone else at the school is terrified by the changes that lie ahead. Sam is trying to reconcile that this woman who is going to decimate her beloved school is the same one she shared such a passionate night with. And it's not easy. Nox has a reputation for "squeezing institutions dry" with…

I honestly don't know where to begin reviewing this book. I've been grappling with what I want to say about it other than "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND READ THIS BOOK NOW!" I'm absolutely in awe and I don't know how to move on with my life. This is the first book that I've read by Milena McKay and I'm so incredibly happy I've found her works. McKay's writing is absolutely enchanting. She captivates you from the very first page and doesn't let go. The characters are wonderfully complex and have so much depth. I saw someone refer to Melina McKay's "narrative poetry" and it hit so hard. Her writing is so heartfelt and poetic. I was absorbed in this novel. I could literally feel the air on the cliffs, see the centuries-old school with its corridors, dorms, and rooms, and hear the winds that carry secrets around Three Dragons. I could go into the story specifics, which admittedly are incredible but I'm just so obsessed with how I FELT about this book. I can't get over it. I'll never get over it. I don't want to get over it. This was absolutely a literary experience that altered my brain chemistry. If you're an audiobook listener, Abby Craden narrates this book and does the most incredible performance bringing them to life. She masterfully narrates these characters and it adds an additional immersion to the story that I cannot recommend enough. If you have the opportunity to listen to this book, 100% do it. 10/10 would recommend.

Let me put this succinctly: Every book I pick up, I live in hope it will be as glorious an experience as The Headmistress. I suppose we all do. But alas, that only happens every few months for me. In my case, it'd been 9 months, to be perfectly precise. That's not to say I didn't enjoy a lot of the books I read within these 9 months, but to be blown away like The Headmistress did me? I was left perfectly numb with pleasure. This is the type of book that I need to read slowly. And by slowly, I mean let it be for a day or so after a few chapters. Perhaps pick it up to reread the last couple of chapters, or a particular scene. But only resume a day later or so, after my brain has recovered for an altogether delirious meltdown of reading pleasure. And that's all I have to say. Go on and find the real reviews now. PS: I really liked this author's debut novel, The Delicate Things We Make, and the then Cupid novella, so was expectant on her next offering. Well. She's made a follower for life out of me... PSS: Like I said, go on and read the real reviews. But here's a tiny bit of what resembles one for me... The writing style is superbly elegant, and terribly smart, says enough and not more than enough for the reader to follow, and perhaps guess what may come next. The tone for each main fits each personality so well (btw, we've got an Ice Queen to remember here, goes up there in the list of all time favorite Ice Queens) that while this is mainly a plot-driven book, it could…

This story was immense, intricate, well crafted, mysterious, glorious, intense and oh so hot! The characters, main and supportive, were intriguing and complex and the writing was superb and held you captive. I'm so glad I followed the advice to read The Headmistress. Still I had a few issues, which is why the four stars. - The first chapter left me wondering why all the hype but then the second chapter came along and I was captured and held captive for the reminder of the book. - The pop culture references seemed aimed at younger audiences and I only understood one of them. - I could have done without the tr.. ump de- range*ment syn.. drome comments, which had no footing within the storyline or even the scene and pulled me out of the story completely. - I would've liked some realistic insight into Magdalene's infatuation with Sam. - And finally there were some not so believable silly scenes like a cat purposely carrying notes; still, it somehow fit the feline and worked. However this tantalizing and alluring story unfolds carrying you along through the storm of upheaval that is Magdalene Nox, the revelations of the state of Dragons and the complex relationships, the beauty and solitude of Amber Dragon Cliff, the mystery and deception of threats and incidents and of who is responsible, the simmering angst and sexual tension, and discovering that home is on its deepest level people especially your person. You will want to read The Headmistress.

“My name is Magdalene Nox. I am the new Headmistress of Three Dragons. And you are all fired.” The Headmistress by Milena McKay has given me a serious character crush in Magdalene Nox, the most ruthless reformer of private schools in the US. Have mercy but was she deliciously complex. Professor Sam Threadneedle (from a foundling on the steps of the school chapel to Math Chair in a little under thirty years) is totally out of her debt when it comes to Magdalene. One passionate hook-up with a mystery woman in Manhattan 3 months prior still haunts her thoughts. The encounter had a profound effect on her, and then Magdalene unexpectedly saunters into her life (again) - 4-inch heels and all - to wreak havoc on everything she holds dear. Is she the red-haired demon everyone makes her out to be? Magdalene is pushing all her buttons and it would be so easy to hate her but poor Sam, veering between loyalty and lust, is super conflicted. I loved it! I loved the set-up how we get a little scene from the Manhattan hook-up at the first 10 or so chapters of the book. I love the erotic undercurrent whenever Magdalene and Sam meet but how they resist it. And then we have an ex husband thrown in the mix who seems to be trying to woo Magdalene back. And we have a mystery on our hands. Who is behind these most unpleasant threats towards the new Headmistress? Great characterization throughout and I love how McKay keeps the sexual tension going, perfectly dosed and extremely sexy. It also…