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Never fall for your professor…

Especially when that professor is Theo Hancock, the man who failed you in your final semester, causing you to have to repeat a class in your millionth year of college when you’re already twenty-freaking-six years old…

Especially when the professor is the most stunning, eye-popping piece of perfection who ever walked on campus. So brilliant, his voice alone changed the course of your life. So gorgeous, students affectionately call him Dr. Hotco— Well, you get the idea.

And especially don’t fall for him so hard you show up at his house after midnight fueled with tequila and armed with a sense of justice, a frantic-mad sonnet, and a bone to pick with your professor.

Because you might just end up snowed in with him, his tiny cabin might just have one bed, and fate might have a new future in store for both of you.

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2023

233 people are currently reading
376 people want to read

About the author

May Archer

52 books1,350 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
Profile Image for Reem.
326 reviews
November 3, 2024

BOOO! Porter deserved a whole book, not just a perfect piece of wonderful novella.
God, I love the Sundays💘💘 I dare you to find a better fictional family. You can't.
description
PS. the cover is so bad and is NOT how Porter looks in my head!
Profile Image for Carol [Goodreads Addict].
2,949 reviews25.3k followers
May 11, 2024
Bone to Pick is book #3.5 in the Sunday Brothers series by May Archer. I have adored this series since the first book. My love for the Sunday siblings has no end! I have no idea how this fun novella got by me when it was released a few months ago. Thankfully, I found it and now I can add Porter Sunday to the list of the Sunday’s I love so much.

Porter Sunday is twenty six years old. He feels like he’s been in college all his life. But now, it is going to have to be one more semester because a certain English professor failed him in his class. So after a lot of tequila shots, Porter and his friends decide it’s a good idea to go out to the cabin where his professor lives and recite an angry sonnet to let him know how he feels. But then his friends leave him there, and a freak blizzard traps the two of them together in the tiny cabin, with only one bed! Well, you can probably figure the rest of it out!!



Dr. Theodore “Theo” Hancock is a professor of English at Hannabury College. He is thirty four years old and is living in a small cabin his grandfather built that Theo inherited after his grandfather’s death. Theo has been secretly fighting his attraction to Porter Sunday all semester. And now he is on his doorstop, drunk, wanting to recite a sonnet! This is not good. He can’t stay. Because Theo’s resistance is only so strong.



These two had already had a huge impact on each other’s lives before this fateful weekend. You can always count on a freak blizzard to bring out the truth. And it was the events of this weekend that showed Porter what his future could look like if he wanted it. And want it he did, with Theo at his side. And he would do whatever it took to make that happen.

This was so amazing. How could it not be with the Sundays involved! And now we have something new to look forward to. We’ll get to see the Sunday clan again in a brand new series coming soon called Copper County. The first book will be called The Pretenders of Copper County. I can’t wait!

For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...

Profile Image for ~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~.
3,493 reviews1,056 followers
November 6, 2023
What made this novella work:

~ Grumpy English professor (aka Dr. Hot Cock) + disgruntled former student

~ Tequila-fueled sonnets

~ Forced proximity and, you guessed it, only one bed

~ Cozy cabin in the middle of a snowstorm

~ Uptight professor losing his cool because ...

~ Naked Porter Sunday

Prepare for Insta Love at its finest. The MCs spend but three days together before going all in, but the flip side of hate isn't indifference; it's love.
Profile Image for Cadiva.
3,946 reviews431 followers
December 21, 2023
What a fun novella this was and a great entry for the Sunday Brothers series.

I loved seeing Porter and Theo fighting their attraction and snarking at each other about English and non-creative fiction.

I'd very much like a little wooden cabin filled with books and a wood burner to get trapped in by a tree fall and loads of snow too!

This still manages to pack a lot of story into fewer pages than the full-length stories and still gives you plenty of humour, sexy times and a lovely Epilogue.
Profile Image for Sjoukje.
493 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2025
Very cute, way too short but still a full story. I liked this a lot more than expected when I read the blurb. Porter is fun, but also has a lot more depth than I expected from him in seeing him in the previous books.
And Theo is his perfect counterpart.
Both the backstories and their dynamic could have used so much more to make it a full length book. It was a great read though. And deserves 5 stars.

Will reread and definitely recommend
Profile Image for haletostilinski.
1,493 reviews627 followers
December 29, 2023
⭐︎ 4.5 Stars Rounded Up ⭐︎

Porter Sunday finally gets his time to shine, as he's been mostly absent from this series until now.

Does this do the teacher/student trope in the least interesting, least taboo way possible? Yes. So much so that it isn't really teacher/student at all. Porter is 26, full on adult. Theo is 34, not that much older. Nothing actually happens when he's Theo's student. Even though they have sex holed up in the cabin, they stay away from each other for a further 7 weeks before Porter graduates because ~ethics and all.

But, did I end up caring all that much once we got these two interacting? Nah, not really.

Because I enjoyed Porter and Theo Hancock aka Dr. Hot-Cock so much. Their chemistry was just so on point and perfect. While their sex scene wasn't quite as detailed as I would have liked, what we did get was so good and I loved it.

This was also incredibly well paced for about 90% of this. The build up of their relationship was just done so well. The foundation for them to fall in love was just so good.

I really loved this novella - which, honestly should have been full length. Like show us their pining era when Porter was his student instead of just telling us? It would have been delicious! - and my only real reason for giving it .5 stars off is because I felt the "I love you" stage came too fast.

Which, again, is why this should have been full length. We got such a great start between these two, but they only truly started to get to know each other during their weekend trapped in the cabin. There was attraction before, sure, but they didn't truly know each other until the cabin.

Then aside from seeing each other here or there during the 7 weeks left of the semester, they stay away from each other. So when Porter is finally finished with school, the next day they get together - in yes, a really sweet and romantic and wonderful way - but something along the lines of "i'm falling for you" is said.

After only about 3 days of really knowing each other, it was a tad rushed. At least the more firm "I love you" came later, but still. It got intense fast, and I think more time of them interacting/being together should have happened before any "falling in love/I love you" talk happened.

But anyway, it wasn't too big a deal and this was still, overall, such an enjoyable read and I loved it.

I can't remember if we have any more Sunday brothers left, but if we do, I can't wait for that story! And if not, I just can't wait to see what new town and bunch of great men looking for love May Archer graces us with next.

Onto the next! 😍

My ratings for the Sunday Brothers Series:

🔆 Pick Me: 5 stars (my review)
🔆 Pick One: 5 stars (my review)
🔆 Hand Picked: 4.5 stars (my review)
🔆 Cherry Picked: 5 Stars (my review)
🔆 Bone To Pick: 4.5 stars
Profile Image for Sheri.
1,418 reviews193 followers
December 5, 2023
This was a riot!
I had such a fun time with Porter and Theo.
They were a perfectly suited imperfect pair.
Hot professor + sexy ex-student + snowstorm + ONE bed = a good ol' time.
And saucy sonnets will be remembered!!
Profile Image for Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡.
1,505 reviews104 followers
January 14, 2024
"Theo Hancock was fire, and I craved heat enough to enjoy the burn."

I loved this little novella set in the Sunday Brothers' universe. Yes Porter is technically a Sunday brother, but his story takes place at his college, not Lil Pippin Hollow. I was excited to get his story ever since reading Hawk's book and that little teaser Hawk threw out during his temper tantrum about all his brothers getting some. Who doesn't like the student/professor trope?

I couldn't get enough of Theo's grumpiness. But he was also kind and ended up being super sweet by the end. He and Porter may have had an unconventional start to their romance, followed by a bit of a wait, but they held out and got everything they could have wanted in the end. And that's what I'd call a hell of an HEA.
Profile Image for Camila T &#x1f349;.
426 reviews27 followers
April 6, 2024
VERY mid. The sonnets were nice, seeing the other characters was so nostalgic. I still love Knox and Cage’s interactions.
Profile Image for Susan.
2,327 reviews454 followers
December 31, 2023
I'm kind of sad because I loved the other books so much, but I had a hard time liking Porter and Theo, so this book ended up being just fine, but not as amazing as the previous books.
Profile Image for Romanticamente Fantasy.
7,849 reviews230 followers
March 29, 2025
Giorgia Nancy - per RFS
.
Bentornate fenici, per voi oggi ho la recensione della novella Scelgo te, della fantastica May Archer, autrice di romanzi M/M, che rappresentano per la sottoscritta una vera novità, non essendomi mai cimentata nella loro lettura. Sono rimasta piacevolmente stupita dalla bravura della Archer nel descrivere alla perfezione la tensione e le emozioni provate dai protagonisti. Gli ambienti sono ben strutturati nella loro semplicità, capaci di trasportare il lettore nel freddo autunno del Vermont. I personaggi sono autentici e imperfetti, pieni di contraddizioni e sfaccettature. Il “rancore” di Porter e “l’indifferenza” di Hancock accompagneranno il lettore in questo viaggio breve e intrigante .

Un conto in sospeso con il destino, ecco cosa spinge Porter Sunday a presentarsi a casa del professor Theo “Bel culo” Hancock alle due del mattino dopo un bicchiere, o due, di troppo di tequila. Non tutto andrà come previsto, sovvertendo completamente le aspettative di entrambi.

Colui che gli ha rovinato la carriera universitaria meritava una lezione.

“Ricordare le ingiustizie che avevo subito la scorsa primavera mi fece divampare un fuoco nelle viscere… o forse era solo la tequila.”

Colui il quale non avrebbe dovuto sortire effetti provocava squilibri interiori con la sola presenza.

“Strizzai gli occhi contro la luce accecante della cucina, un’autopunizione per aver osato sbirciare.”

La narrazione scorre impetuosa, le situazioni sono in continuo divenire, un breve racconto ben scritto, divertente e spicy, adatto a una serata da passare in casa a causa di condizioni meteorologiche avverse.

L’unica pecca che ho riscontrato è dovuta alla brevità della novella stessa che non ha permesso un maggior approfondimento dei turbamenti e dei cambiamenti intercorsi tra i due protagonisti. Con la convinzione che sia possibile incontrare un Porter Sunday ubriaco che intona un sonetto di Shakespeare o un Theo “bel culo” Hancock accigliato e “indifferente”.

Profile Image for Tammy Moldovan.
1,909 reviews22 followers
October 17, 2023
Steamy, hilarious and heartwarming

I loved, loved Theo and Porter’s enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed novella. After drinking copious amounts of tequila, Porter Sunday decides it would be a good idea to recite rage poetry at Professor Theo Hancock’s house after he failed his class. Theo wakes up in his one room remote cabin to a drunk Porter on his lawn. Thus begins the HEA for Theo and Porter assisted by an inpatient Lyft driver, an unexpected blizzard and a fallen tree that conspire to force them into days of close quarters. Despite being short, the story was well written and included witty dialogue, big feels, three dimensional characters and an engaging storyline. As an added bonus, Porter is one of the Sunday brothers from the Sunday Brothers series. I love Little Pippin Hollow.
Profile Image for Showarst.
1,001 reviews
October 18, 2023
Cute story about Porter Sunday. I didn’t really like Theo until more than halfway through the story. He was so abrasive and smug. As an educator myself, I struggled with this idea that he failed him and never made a true effort for him to improve or even understand why he was failing. However, by the end, I did like him more. If Porter forgave him, guess I should too 😂
Profile Image for NitaBee.
190 reviews18 followers
August 31, 2025
Dr. Theodore Hancock, aka Doctor Hot-Cock, is professor of English at Hannabury College.

Mature aged Student, Porter Sunday, is getting drunk on tequila with his friends, venting that the professor has failed him and ruined his life.

“I was three tequila shots past my limit, otherwise I would have never considered confronting Dr. Hancock at his own home.”

Porter is reciting angry sonnets, which ends with vomit and passing out in Theo’s front lawn.

Ok not passing out but falling drunkenly to the ground and talking about frantic-mad poetry. Theo is telling himself Porter is not adorable.

Theo is definitely sexually attracted much to his displeasure. 🤣

Theo helps Porter inside his house and takes care of him.

Looks like a snow storm is coming … oooh forced proximity.

And only 1 bed.

Porter in only a towel, passes out in Theo’s bed.

The next morning awkwardness endures. Porter apologises for the previous night. He is also definitely attracted to Theo.

They talk and open up to each other … before arguing over Porter, the class and Porter’s writing.

These Sunday brothers and their love of literature- I’m here for it 😍

There’s a fallen tree, a bet and sexy men sweating over said tree.

There’s sexual chemistry and bantering.

“Porter.” Theo crossed his arms like a shield. “While you might not be my student anymore, you’re still a student. And I would not kiss a student if he had lifesaving anti-venom on his lips and I’d been bitten by a snake.”

Famous last words Theo 🤣

Porter knows that professor/student relationships aren’t forbidden at his college, they just need to be disclosed.

They discuss writing for hours.

“I couldn’t help but grin as I looked at Theo across the table. What better way to prove my words had power than to convince Professor Hot-Cock to kiss me against his better judgment? Game. On.”

Porter succeeds. Theo lunges across the table to kiss him.

Ahh Theo’s hesitation is that he is months away from becoming head of the very department Porter is graduating from. So he halts all the kissing.

They talk, they eat dinner - oh look Porter is being all sexy and persuasive again 🤣

Theo is like it’s just this one time.

I think he believes that too.

“This wasn’t one-night-stand sex. This was life-changing. This was incomparable. This was the kind of sex that demanded a future between us.”

The next 48 hours is a full on sexy time marathon.

Porter is determined to get his man once he graduates in seven weeks.

Seven Weeks Later…
Porter and Theo haven’t seen each other since their time together in the cabin.

Porter is offered a full-time position as Director of the Hannabury Youth Hub.

Theo’s brings flowers and a taco truck to Porters work , to ask him to dinner. Talk about a grand gesture!

Epilogue

“I’m madly in love with you,” he’d breathed. I’d closed my eyes to memorize the feeling of being love-drunk with him. “I love you, too. So very much. Stay with me, please. I don’t ever want to let you go.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kaity.
1,921 reviews24 followers
Read
November 10, 2023
Audio: 4 stars, I enjoy Michael Dean, I know many people don't haha
Book:: no rating...

I zoned out on this short novella after being only 30% in... it was good background noise, but I forgot where in the Sunday brother line up Porter was... so I didn't feel the connection with him or with Theo... so to me this passed the time, but at the moment I remember nothing besides a tree falling down and they are trapped at Theo's lol, after that it's all a blur.
Profile Image for SJ.
2,019 reviews32 followers
November 29, 2023
Bring on the tropes! Some of my favorite ones! From A, attraction(and antagonism) to Z,😴, as in they do sleep together, but very little sleep is had! I love a snowed in cabin story and this was so very well done and enjoyable.
A satisfying read.
Profile Image for Adaline.
324 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2024
I probably would have rated this 3 stars if it wasn’t for how much it made me laugh. Especially the first few chapters. Grumpy professor perfection.
Profile Image for Tina J.
1,326 reviews172 followers
November 15, 2023
Age gap between college student and professor though not actively teacher/student.
Minor love/hate feelings to start out.
Porter Sunday gets his HEA, finally!
Enjoyable shorter story, under 200 pages.
Minor cameos from previous characters.
Profile Image for RJ.
86 reviews4 followers
April 16, 2024
The Sunday Brothers Series is a fun and humorous read, and this short Novella to round our the final Sunday Brother was a welcome addition to the series. If you looking from a slightly taboo student/professor story, complete with drunken shenanigans, horrible sonnet renditions and weekend of getting snowed in, then this book is for you.

It's a quick read, with a nice HEA. Plus, getting to see (even briefly) the rest of the Sunday Brothers and their husbands, is always welcome.
Profile Image for Meagan (FranticVampireReads).
768 reviews54 followers
November 22, 2024
Bone To Pick was the perfect read to kick off the holiday reading season with! It’s got all the Gilmore Girls meets Hallmark Christmas movie vibes you could ever want. I loved that Porter thought they were in an enemies-to-lovers romance and Theo thought they were in a forbidden romance. The mutual pining was astronomical and I loved that they got stuck together in Theo’s one bedroom cabin during a blizzard. It just let all the feelings come to the surface! Bone to Pick was so much fun and is getting four out of five stars.
Profile Image for Kristel (hungryandhappy).
1,782 reviews90 followers
October 2, 2024
If you listen to audiobooks, please listen to this whole series because the narrator is just fantastic!
Profile Image for Sudsana Reads  (mostly smut) .
203 reviews10 followers
September 8, 2025
📕2.4 Read on 8th Sept, 2025.

i somewhat liked Cherry Picked and so wanted to check out more books from this series, so here i am. Picked this up cuz mainly cuz of Michael Dean!💙 But even his narration couldn't save it. im mad that i just wasted my time on this. It makes me quite angry so im going to pretend i didn't read it and move on.
Story- 2.5⭐, Characters- 3.5⭐, Sex- 0⭐, Epilogue- 1.5⭐

Nice premise, boring book. An English prof and his ex-student (enemies to lovers) get snowed in after Porter drunkenly recites poetry at Theo's cabin. But everything is narrated, not shown.

But for a snowed-in trope, there was only 1 terrible sex scene so a lot of my enjoyment instantly dimmed. Especially after how amazing the intimacy was in The Castle! i just wasn't invested, and ended up finishing the book passively.

● This is a cozy book, no angst. And this has a lot of poetry and sonnets which i liked.

● There’s already some attraction from the beginning but it’s not insta lust since it has been building up before the story started. They were pining for each other so hard lol while also being mad at each other! 😂

● There was some good back and forth between them. Lots of snarky banters & retorts! They bonded over shared grief and Theo trying to bring out the best in Porter’s writing. That was heartfelt.


♦My main gripes were the characters themselves and the sex. We're told, not shown, who these characters are. We never see Theo as a professor or understand why Porter deserved his job in the first place. We only get 1 brief scene of Porter at the community hub after he starts working. This needed more depth, and it missed everything.

♦And how the fuck did the love even develop?? A few days in the cabin and suddenly they’re in love?? Nothing happened enough to warrant that, you know?


// i rate sex different from sex acts and all my reviews reflect that. The views are my personal and may not align with yours. Only read if you’re ok with that. Else, please skip this next part.

♦ This isn’t a spicy book at all imo. There’s only one sex scene at 73%, and it’s mostly monologues with no reactions. This was receiver pov + mute sex + such poetic language which again, i don’t like at all. Ghastly combo.
Just have sex bro, don’t write poetry ffs. 🙄

📕Tropes & tags: ex student x ex professor, enemies to hookup to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, make him food, stays strict on page, buff bottom.
Profile Image for Tim.
956 reviews4 followers
December 29, 2023
Porter Sunday is a six year senior at his university. He's got a grudge against Dr Hotco--... Dr Hancock for failing him in Creative Nonfiction last semester, and delaying his graduation. He's also got a huge crush on the Professor. One night, he's out with friends and they're drinking and comparing notes and in their inebriated state they agree Porter needs to show up at the professor's house and read him the totally bitchin' hate sonnet they've just composed.
Theo Hancock is has a lot of patience with the adorable student, but he's not infinitely so. Last semester he gave Porter dozens of suggestions to come talk to him about the class, but Porter just didn't do it. (Porter is so attracted to Theo he wouldn't be alone in a room with him in case he'd do something inappropriate.) Then one night Theo is awakened at 2:30 in the morning by drunk-off-his-ass Porter yelling about hate sonnets from his front lawn, before the student passes out.
So Theo brings Porter in, gets him warm, and is about to drive him home, when a massive snowstorm traps them in his one room cabin for the long weekend.
Will they kill each other or will they fuck their way through their problems?
Well, this is May Archer's Sunday Brother's series so we know what they wind up doing. ;-)
This wasn't awful, but I found parts of it very middle of the road. If this had a been a full length novel, I'm not sure the story would have held up. As an English Lit nerd, I LOVED the literature references within.I liked that Theo was doing the appropriate thing about not dating a student, even one about to graduate. I thought Porter was a little immature (he's 26, Theo is 34.) His educational program, his lack of direction just seems a mess. Maybe Theo's calmer head will be a good guide for him.
Three stars.
Profile Image for Katherine.
2,852 reviews13 followers
November 22, 2023
The best that I can see is that this one was made as a novella because none of it happens at the Sunday Orchard. Yes, it does follow a Sunday brother but....Gasp.....isn't going to move back home! Porter is bound and determined to find a life away from his small town, not because he doesn't love the town he grew up in or small towns in general, but to give back. And this move away seems to have made it more of a side story, even though this is still about a Sunday.

It was clear from the last book that Porter was having problems at school, and it becomes clear that it is about grades, but grades from one professor in particular. Theo is the only professor who not only didn't like his work but seemed to personally not like him, which is awkward because Porter is both angry about the failing grade and utterly attracted and turned on by the professor. This angry attraction leads to some poor drunken decisions and a snowed in encounter that finally lets everything out in the best of ways.

This was a really enjoyable book even with the shorter length. Seeing each point of view, about the class, about English, about their attraction, was full of complimentary points and contrasting points but it all revealed so much and worked so well together. These two are fun even when they are trying to contradict each other, and even more fun when they work together. The fears about family and acceptance all were revealed in time and the push to make something in the world was understandable and well worked with. It was a really great read with it's central focus around these two characters but building up to where it all fits in this Sunday world.
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