Releasing 13 June
Buy: Amazon
Review
4.5 stars!
This is such a gorgeous read! Smart, funny and swoonily romantic, with a hero that owns my heart, and a nice amount of depth to give it real substance, I loved this one!
Elsie is an adjunct professor – which sounds super important, but actually really isn’t. She’s bouncing between multiple teaching jobs, struggling to get by and hating every moment of it. In order to make ends meet, she’s taken a second job moonlighting as a fake girlfriend– being paid to accompany men to events, and turning herself into the perfect companion for whatever the situation needs (with no touching allowed). What Elsie really wants is to give up her side gig and find a tenure position which will give her the stability and the income that she needs, and will allow her to conduct the research that she’s so passionate about.
She’s starting a days-long interview process for a fabulous job opportunity when she is introduced to the hiring committee, and learns that her favorite client’s grumpy older brother is on the panel. She and Jack have met a few times but have never really gotten along, so it’s not an ideal situation. It gets even worse when she learns that Jack is actually Jonathon, a well-respected scientist who previously published an article which crapped all over her profession and ruined her mentor’s reputation. So now she hates the man for two reasons.
But Jack seems to see her like nobody else does. He calls her out on the way she tries to change herself to suit whatever situation she’s in, and he wants to know who she really is. And then there’s the way he looks at her, the way he’s always seemed to look at her, with a burning intensity that she has spent months misreading. And the more time she spends with him, the more she gets to know him, the more her own feelings change.
With Jack, I don’t need to be someone else, because I can’t be someone else
OMG, I loved the dynamic between these two! There’s plenty of snark to keep things fiery, but Jack has well and truly fallen, and his protectiveness, sweetness and support of Elsie is gorgeous to see. As is his flirting and openly heartfelt declarations, which had my heart pounding.
“In my fantasies, you allow me to keep an eye on you.” I feel his lips at my temple. “And when I really let go, I imagine that you let me take care of you, too.”
The man holds nothing back from Elsie, putting his feelings right out there, and it is a dream for romance junkies such as myself. He’s open and honest, and so freaking swoony, and I just adored him and his huge heart.
“I want to play it cool, like I’m attracted to you and not obsessed out of my mind, but that’s not where I’m at. Not at all. And I need you to keep us in check. I need you to pace us, because wherever it is that we’re going…I’m here. I’m already right here.”
He’s also sexy as all hell, and the quiet, brilliant scientist is also a dirty, smooth-mouthed sex god, and I was here for it!
“You could be my entire world,” he whispers in my ear before moving to my collarbone. “If you let me.”
Of course, Elsie falls for him just as hard. But to get her happy ending, she will need to trust the man she’s spent years hating, and she’ll need to learn to let go and actually be herself with somebody. Jack is right there with her all the way, encouraging her to be her true self and take what she wants, and his support of her, and his love for her were so beautiful to see.
“You are the most magnificent thing that ever happened to me.”
All the while Elsie is unexpectedly falling in love, she’s also fighting hard for the job she needs, all while navigating the politics of academia, and her journey is so well written. She is obviously waaaaay more intelligent than me, but Hazelwood writes her in a way that is relatable, she makes Elsie’s story so interesting, and I was fully invested in her story, her goals, and what she was trying to accomplish.
The different elements of the story come together so well, and I loved Elsie’s story. Her character growth is really well written, and it’s a wonderfully happy ending for these two.
4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the publisher via Eidelweiss in exchange for an honest review.