I keep mentioning the skin-painting scene.
And apparently I have created questions. 😂
So let’s talk about it.
Yelena is falling for her art history professor.
That alone would have been complicated enough.
Professor Hawthorne is mysterious, intensely protective, and far too good at looking at Yelena like she is something precious.
Add art to that equation and things become considerably less academic.
I’m not spoiling the scene.
I’m just saying that Professor Hawthorne eventually finds himself with paint, Yelena, and a much more interesting canvas than the ones usually found in an art studio.
But underneath the forbidden tension in These Lessons Are Merciless is something much more emotional.
Hawthorne knows Yelena in a way she doesn’t understand yet.
He remembers loving her before.
He remembers losing her before.
And every moment between them carries the weight of everything she has forgotten.
Come for the dark academia professor romance and skin-painting scene.
Stay for the reincarnated soulmates, ancient secrets, dangerous angels, supernatural mystery, obsessive devotion, and the man who has never forgotten her.
These Lessons Are Merciless releases November 1, 2026.
One more week. 🖤
Order directly from the author: https://midnightledgerbooks.com/products/these-lessons-are-merciless
OR grab them at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFQ11SZX
