I, along with many other readers, LOVED the Love Hypothesis, so I knew I had to read all of Hazelwood's new novellas.
Synopsis: Sadie, a civil engineer is attempting to focus more on her job. That is until she gets trapped in an elevator with her arch nemesis Erik–who also happens to be a previous fling. Timelines jump between that previous fling and their time spent in the elevator to explain what went wrong and where those feelings went.
Plot: This honestly felt very complete and was so well told for a book with only 127 pages. I've been burned by novellas in the past, so I wasn't expecting to love the narrative arc as much as I did. I couldn't put the book down either and finished it in one sitting. Plot left me completely invested the whole time and curious about the outcome and figuring out the mystery of their issues. Hazelwood has nailed the balance between sweet and spicy moments making the overall outcome and ending (!) great. Plays a lot into Hazelwood's cherished and well-used tropes like miscommunication, grumpy/sunshine, Star Wars references, and large hero vs. small heroine, so if you're sick of those, maybe skip it. Going further, I hope she explores more diverse dynamics between her characters but we'll see.
Characters: These characters were more developed than some characters in longer books I've read. There was immediate chemistry between the two and due to the good balance of smut, sweetness and actually communication, I could overlook the insta love aspect. Hazelwood really knows how to write some dreamy men. Boundaries? Consent? A+.
Overall really sweet and well-done for such a smol little book.
4/5 stars.
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