Review: “Stuck with You” is told from the perspective of Sadie Grantham, a civil engineer who finds herself stuck in a New York elevator with Erik Nowak, a rival engineer and the man who broke her heart. With nothing better to do while they await rescue, the two reflect upon their whirlwind romance and where things went wrong. 

 

The premise of Hazelwood’s March publication works perfectly as a shorter work, features a woman in STEM, and is jam-packed with all the tropes romance readers know and love (lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity to name two). Though I am not a huge fan of miscommunication in romance novels, I was willing to look past the use of this trope in “Stuck with You” because of Hazelwood’s well-written steamy scenes. 

 

In addition, each chapter within the novella alternates between the past and the present. I appreciated Hazelwood’s choice to write in this way because it allowed her to both slowly reveal the history of Sadie and Erik’s relationship to the reader and showcase the atmosphere in the elevator resulting from the termination of their relationship. 

 

Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed were the cameos made by Mara, Liam, and Hannah.  The reader is first introduced to these characters in “Under One Roof,” the first of the three STEMinist Novellas. Their reappearance interconnects Hazelwood’s short stories and allows the reader to check in on Mara and Liam’s life together post “Under One Roof.”