I can’t lie to you, this book was so much better than I expected. I’ve read a few of Hazelwood’s others, the books more widely known on BookTok, and they were really good! For some reason, I had it in my mind that, as this one isn’t that popular, it wouldn’t be as good. 

Well, how wrong I was, because I think this is one of the best books that I have ever read. Ever! 

First of all, I simply adore Rue. I think she might be one of my favourite characters ever written. She’s so real? In fact, all of the characters are so real. They have flaws, they’re not afraid to hide them. I think Rue resonates with me, as she doesn’t try to fit within the criteria of every other romance character. She’s one hundred percent herself, is honest - brutally -, and has a lot of areas where she is ‘flawed’, but those are actually my favourite parts. It’s nice to have a character that isn’t just a carbon copy of every female lead in a romance novel, because I see a lot of myself in Rue, and it’s nice to have that representation. It absolutely broke my heart when Florence betrayed Rue, as it’s disappointing when you have people to lean on, let alone when you don’t have many. 

And where do I begin with Eli? He is the most perfect book boyfriend I’ve ever read about. Even better than Leo from ‘The Rebound’ (by Leeanne Slade), Eli has no red flags. Absolutely ZERO, I tell you. I mean, most of what he does is the bare minimum for me, but I have high standards. He listens to her, communicates with her, pushes her a little bit out of her comfort zone, but never too far. He’s amazing. 

And the sexual chemistry between them both is unmatched. The sex, to me, is never too much, or unrealistic, or painful to read through. It’s nice, loving, intimate. It feels really really deep, and I love that. I normally find sex in romance novels so jarring, so clumpy, like it adds nothing to the story. This, however, I felt helped guide the story. To do that, as a writer, is a very big achievement. Hazelwood is very talented. 

Refreshing. That’s the one word I’d use to describe this book. It’s messy, but that’s what makes it refreshing. It’s not trying to be fake, unrealistic - I could see this being a real love story. The plot is great, the characters are all beautiful and just my favourite thing ever, so I would definitely recommend reading this book! 

 

We follow Rue and Eli, our two main characters. Rue doesn’t date, only does one night stands - only giving them one chance - and so when she matches with Eli, and her brother turns up and starts to threaten her when they first meet up, Eli stands up for her. He keeps her safe, and, although there is no sex, he does walk her to her car, and offer himself to her in case she needs anything. Obviously, her mind is a bit muddled when, at work the next day, Eli turns up, appearing to be surveying her work. 

For context, Rue has two friends; Florence Kline, who is her boss and best friend, and Tisha, who is her colleague and bestest friend. Elie has Minami, Sul, and Hark. Unrelated, but Hark and Minami used to date, and Hark has never really gotten over her. Rue works at Kline, and Eli works for Harkness. 

At first, Rue tries to keep Eli away, but he is magnetised towards her. He shows up at her work, despite her friend’s disagreement, and she finds herself liking to be around him. When they realise they aren’t getting rid of the attraction between each other, they decide to sleep with each other - just once, to get it out of their system, and then they can go their separate ways. However, when they start their sexual relationship, they don’t want to stop, despite both of them betraying their friends and colleagues. Eli starts to fall for Rue’s charm, her frank honesty and her inability to lie, and he’s always there for her. He is the one she calls when she has an issue. When her brother is threatening to beat down her door over a house their father passed down to them, he is there, and he protects her - without violence, may I add, but only for her benefit. 

Their relationship remains physical, but the more they sleep with each other and spend time with each other, the more that something else blooms. 

When Rue finds out that Florence, her best friend and boss, actually got to where she was by stealing Miami’s project, and that’s actually why they’re there, Rue is heartbroken. She put her trust in Florence, only to have it ripped away from her. It stings, because she doesn’t trust many people, and her heart hurts for Minami, and even Eli. She gives them documents, to try and give Minami back the rights to her project, but Florence acts out, and threatens to steal Rue’s project to sell it, so she can keep her company. 

Eli and his friends are faced with a dilemma: to finish what they came there to do, or to make an agreement with Florence, and they don’t get what they initially came for, but Rue gets to keep her project. 

Eli, without a single moment’s hesitation, chooses Rue. And when he professes his love for her, and she says nothing, he doesn’t take anything back. He helps Rue to keep her project, and gives her space. Now, Rue has never done relationships; she’s terrified of letting people down, of not being enough. She thinks that every love story ends sadly, and she doesn’t want that. However, she soon realises that all she wants is to wake up with Eli, talk to him, spend every evening with him. She craves his presence, which she has never felt before. One year later, Eli proposes to her. 

And she says yes!