In Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Ramona Wilder has had her fill of traveling the world, singing and dancing on stages while her pop songs thrill crowds of adoring 
teenagers. She began her career as a child actress on the TV screen and has never actually chosen anything that’s happened in her life since. Her manager-slash-parents and executives have. But now Ramona has decided she’s going to college. She’s taking a step back from music and intends to figure out who she is as a twenty-six-year-old woman. UCLA might have accepted her to their freshman program, but it will be an uphill battle to gain the trust of her fellow students–and to make sure she’s being treated like any other student by her professors, not a pop star.
“You’re not what I imagined a professor would be like when I started thinking about this whole school thing,” Ramona says.
“What, dedicated and passionate about their subject?”
…”Hot.”
The biggest shock at UCLA isn’t the work. It’s Ramona’s attraction and instant fiery connection with psychology prof Nick Navarro. He’s a mix of nerdy and hot that short circuits her brain. And the feeling is definitely mutual. Because even though Nick tries to view Ramona like any freshman, her magnetic personality and sassy comebacks pique an interest that is anything but professional. And that could be an issue. He’s up for tenure, so the last thing Nick needs is to start an inappropriate relationship with Ramona. Something that has never, ever crossed his mind before in his years of teaching. But the more he’s pulled into her life–and the more he sees how poorly she’s been treated but how strong she remains in spite of it–the more Nick knows there’s something very special between them. Something that might be worth cultivating.
‘He loves being needed–but he craves being wanted.’
A story about forbidden attraction, an unlikely friendship, and huge life changes, EXTRACURRICULAR had the quirky personalities and candid banter I look for in Rachel Lynn Solomon’s novels. Although this particular couple, Nick and Ramona, had a very touching connection that while it became frustrating with how they handled certain aspects, felt like it happened at the perfect time. Even if it had the potential to blow up their lives.
While Ramona and Nick were very different in personality and life experience, they were both at a point where they were starting over: worldwide pop star Ramona retired from her music career to become a college student and psychology professor Nick just finalized his divorce while being up for tenure at UCLA. What they did have in common was being lonely as well as being at a crossroads. Solomon did a great job conveying how that loneliness affected both Nick and Ramona, how they tried to overcome those feelings–and how their friendship filled that emptiness when they needed it most. Of course, it was their growing romantic feelings that really threw a wrench in the works and threatened to tear them apart due to their teacher-student relationship.
TROPES/VIBES:
✨ Age Gap
💕 black cat/golden retriever
🎓 Professor/student
🎤 Celebrity heroine
⚡ Slow-burn
💛 Starting over
CW: View Spoiler »
I will admit it took me a while to figure Ramona out. She unfortunately wasn’t treated well by anyone around her while she was first a child actress and then a pop phenomenon, which bled out into her personal life as an adult. Some of the aspects of her upbringing and events that occurred might be triggering for sensitive readers so please see the content warning if so.
But it was clear that Ramona was floundering. She was finding her way as her true self–not a commodity being sold by her record company. I loved that Nick immediately picked up on that. He might have been naive about Ramona’s hold over him physically and emotionally, but he used his psychology background to assist in her personal and academic growth. And in return, Ramona helped Nick reinforce that he was worthy of attention, care, and love even after his divorce.
QOTD: Are you a fan of forbidden romances? If so, do you have any favorites you can recommend?
Book Info:
Publication: Published: July 14th, 2026 | Berkley |
When a former pop star enrolls in college, the last thing she expects is A-plus chemistry with her psychology professor in this sexy and tender romance from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon.
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.
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