WHOA. Thanks Tina! This was amazing! You just keep getting better and better. I can't wait for Clive's next adventure! I still hope his mom gets a pill ;) Incredible regression and age play writing.

Going into this book, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series, and I don't care for content that demeans women. However, I've always loved the teacher fantasy and thought I would give this book a try.

I was pleasantly surprised at the combination of young adult high school novel and explicit adult content that shows up later. A lot of what I read here reminded me of the innocent fun of those YA novels. I especially enjoyed when Clive couldn't pronounce the substitute's name and came up with approximations that seemed genuine but also seemed to poke fun at her. It made me laugh every time. Tina also does a great job of recalling details from our times at school, such as lugging around a broken backpack (because didn't we all have a duct taped backpack at some point which had to make it at least one year before buying another? I certainly did) and letting neighbors borrow our homework for candy or extra lunch money. I remember feeling that same worry that Clive felt lending his homework because you never knew if you were going to get it back in time, or worse, the teacher saw what you did and gave you both zeros for the assignment. Then of course, we all at some point had that really strict teacher that everyone couldn't wait to escape once the bell rang. It was an interesting trip down memory lane.

After the purple pill comes in to play, the situation very quickly starts to heat up. I enjoyed the playful and seductive nature that Miss Adlersflugel developed. It definitely scratched my teacher fantasy itch. The language used to describe how she "plays" with Clive as well as some of the boys in the class was perfect to entice me as a reader and keep me reading to see what was coming next. I can appreciate Tina's experience in writing mature novels here. I also really liked how she didn't devolve to using typical mature terms which, while probably more arousing, would have been inappropriate considering Clive's inexperience and innocence (what little is left and will probably be gone altogether by the end of this series).

As for my concerns about the demeaning nature of this book, I shouldn't have been worried at all. This book recalls the women from Clive's previous encounters and how they are today. They all seem to be getting along normally and in some cases, their lives seem to have improved, such as Principal Parker. In fact, it seems the little purple pill might just get rid of our inhibitions and help us grab some joy out of life. Maybe we should all try the little purple pill, albeit with a smaller dosage.

I can't wait to see where Tina will take Clive next. In the mean time, I'll be picking up the previous books to see how all of the fun started and what has lead Clive to these sensational, sexual circumstances.

This is the fourth book of Ms. Tirrell's "Sweetening" series. Based on a summation of past adventures early in the story, a young dude with the amusingly British name of "Clive" -- the hero of the series -- stole a batch of his mad-scientist father's bimbo pills. Clive apparently proceeded to make his life easier by slipping these mickeys into the drinks of assorted old crone school principals, bratty twins, and overbearing babysitters. Well, as our current story opens, he's only got one pill left, and he'll find that he needs to use it on a substitute math teacher.

This "bimbofication" fetish is new to me. In my day, back on Pepperidge Farms where the men wore straw hats and the women wore corsets, "fetish" usually meant some lady accoutred in shiny black leather and wielding a riding crop. You know -- the sort of antique stuff that middle-aged British housewives like EL James think is "sexy". But Ms. James has earned a billion dollars, and that indicates that we readers are equally unimaginative. Thankfully, Tina Tirrell is here to save us from sexual cliches.

Tirrell employs third-person narration here, which obliges her to demonstrate facility with back-and-forth dialogue and omniscient description, all of which she does with practiced ease. Tirrell is also something of a comedienne. She gives her characters names like Ms. Adlersflugel (the substitute), Troy Studebaker, Harry Clemons, Susie Jibbly, and of course our hero, Clive Murgatroyd. Funniest of all is Clive himself, whose advanced carnal knowledge seems to depress him in a comic sad-sack manner (except during the act, of course). Yep, it's a tough old world, Clive, and it doesn't get any easier, especially when there are no purple pills around.

Well, the upshot of the tale is that, after Clive slips the purple pill into Miss Fahrvergnugen's water-glass, she transforms from Wicked Witch of the West into a mindless bimbo in need of servicing. World-weary Clive, after shooing everyone out of the classroom (he's a sort of natural leader), rises to the occasion. Those who had crushes on teachers will recognize their own fantasies here. Except Ms. Tirrell's imagination is a little dirtier. :)

5 out of 5, but Ms. Tirrell misses a trick: she forgets to have Clive taste that exotic, hooch-infused German chocolate candy. It sounds a little like those "Bourbon balls" one finds in gift shops in distilleries along dear old Kentucky's Bourbon Trail.

This is just the right mix of naughty and taboo, dirty and wrong, but the characters are so right, so intriguing, and I just want to keep reading about them forever.

I'm a big fan of all of Tina's series, but I think this one is my favorite.  Every new story shocks me in all the right ways and makes me think of new 'subjects' for Clive's adventures and those little purple pills that I hope Tina writes in the future!