Thanks for holding up the mirror, Ali. 

This book hit me right in the college era feelings and surprise me in the best way because I saw SO MUCH of my younger self in the main character. The perfectionism masked in ambition. The white knuckled grip on control that only ever covered up insecurities. The quiet spiral as you try to hold everything together while hoping that someone else might see what you're going through. 

A lot of readers didn't like her and said she was too insecure or felt like she was accepting less than she deserved. And I agree. But that's why I loved her. She was real. If you've ever wrestled with your own trauma, disordered thinking, or  trying to grow up while still healing from the things that broke you while you were a child then you'll get her. And you might even relate to her the way I did. 

Now, if you're picking this up and expecting 300 pages of kink and spice you will be left wanting. There is tension and it builds slowly before they even get into the BDSM lite stuff. The romance is even slower building as Scarlett has a lot of work to do before they can work. 

I think that if you go into this book expecting a traditional romance, you might be let down. I think it's better to go into this book expecting some smut, and a lot of mental blocks (in more ways than one) and growing so you can learn to swallow love. Truly, I loved this one and it's my first Ali Hazelwood book so I'm interested to see what comes next.