Book Review: Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Official Synopsis: Ramona Wilder has spent her whole life in the spotlight. After a hit kids’ TV show, she transitioned into music, singing in arenas around the world and becoming an icon for millions of teenage girls. Now at age twenty-six, exhausted by the inhumane lack of privacy, she’s done—with all of it. She wants a chance at normal, whatever that might mean for her. And she’s starting with college.

Professor Nick Navarro is recently divorced but determinedly optimistic, allowing himself a very reasonable ten minutes per day to wallow. When his department calls a meeting about a celebrity enrollment, he plans to treat whoever it is like any other student. Except when Ramona blazes into class and causes an uproar, the typically easygoing professor is rattled, maybe for the first time in his career.

Ramona loves the way she flusters him, taking every opportunity to push Nick’s buttons, though what she really wants is to unbutton them completely. When a crisis brings them closer outside of class, they begin a tentative friendship amid an undeniable attraction. But Ramona can’t be so easily finished with her old life, and they’ll both have to confront their pasts if they want a chance at something real.

When Ramona Wilder decides to retire from being a singer, making the announcement during a show and shocking literally everyone, she just craves something that feels more 'normal'. After spending most of her life in the spotlight, Ramona is done being the center of attention, and especially done with the attention she didn't ask for. She decides to start her new 'normal' life by enrolling at UCLA and finally going to college, even if she will be a few years older than all of the other first year students. What she doesn't expect is her professor to be extremely attractive, with a pull she can't seem to get herself away from, even as he doubts that she is at the school for the right reasons. But Ramona is determined to prove him, and others, wrong about her choice, pushing to do her best in the class even when there are a few hiccups with others.

Nick Navarro is a recently divorced thirty-six year old who is determined to look at life with an optimistic outlook, even if he feels like wallowing. When he is told he will have a celebrity in his class he is determined to treat her like anyone else. But then he finds himself ratted by not only her determination but her beauty. The more he ends up spending time with her, mostly on accident, the more she starts to see the parts of Ramona that she has been hiding from everyone else. But Nick is on track for tenure and can't risk his job over his attraction to one student, even if she keeps sending him flirty texts and looking at him in ways he can't ignore.

As Ramona and Nick continue their forbidden more-than-friendship, they can't seem to stay away from each other and in moments of weakness are looking to each other for comfort. It doesn't help that its the best relationship both of them have been in, even with all the risks involved in it. As their relationship becomes something more, so does the unwanted attention, but Nick only has to hide if for the rest of the quarter, as long as he can make it there without getting caught.

As I've probably started before, I am usually not a huge fan of age-gap romances but this one was different. I was immediately invested in how these two characters came together and found to need each other in their own ways. Ramona grew up in the entertainment industry and has always assumed people just use her and don't care for her. Watching Ramona learn that she can be loved and love someone back was really great, and honestly I think that age gap really helps with that. She is with someone who has been in love, had it end and is a little bit lost too. Even if it all starts innocent, they are both two people learning what their next steps are and I think that having that age gap really complimented the type of relationship they had.

I also was intrigued by the subplot of Ramona learning that a lot of what happened to her in the past was abuse, and how to address it not only for herself but for others in the industry now. (If only more people would do that in real life.) One part of this book I enjoyed was determined Ramona was to not get favors from Nick, even when he was still her professor, she was determined to do that work and show herself, and everyone, that she was taking a new track in life. I enjoyed that Nick was living with his sister and niece for part of the book and that his thirteen year old niece was this amazing chef and loved to cook. I think it was fun to see a kid who just had a hobby they enjoyed while also still liking to help out their uncle. The family dynamics on the Navarro side were really great which was a nice comparison to how awful Ramona's mother was.

I really like how Rachel Lynn Solomon writes, having read a few of her other books as well. I find that the characters are a little more complex but the overall romance is still there. Some bonuses for this book include; a cat named Janet, many a spicy scene and no third act breakup which is really big for me.

There are some topics in this book that may be hard for some people, so do make sure to check out any trigger warnings.

Overall, I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Extracurricular comes out July 14, 2026!

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