While I've thoroughly enjoyed every book in The Teachers of Hardwood series, there was something about "P+B" that felt different. I couldn't connect with the FMC Bentley and the MMC Priest was kind of bland. The internal dialogue was repetitive and failed to truly advance the story to me. Though there was a significant age gap between the characters, the dialogue was the same. At no point in time did I get the feeling that Priest was more advanced than Bentley in any way. I also was not sold on the instalove between the two characters. It seemed very irresponsible for Bentley to get involved with a co-worker her first year as a teacher...not even her first year - her first month! Things I did like: 

Unfortunately, P+B: The Teachers of Hardwood isn't as strong of a story as X+E or B+J: The Teachers of Hardwood. And at 70% in, I was not invested in the story enough to see it through to the end. It is my understanding that the series continues with a story about Ebony Calloway, a character who makes a brief appearance in P+B. I wish Nina High would get rid of the Pat Collins character and I hope to see characters from the previous books be more integral in this series.