if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that i love a man pathetically (i say as affectionately as possible) down bad and obsessed with his girl, and eli... now that is a pathetically down bad man obsessed with his girl!!

eli and rue had such an interesting dynamic that i could not help but devour. their no strings attached forbidden affair was so juicy and HOT that i was itching just to have them in the same scene together bc their tension and chemistry begged for release. like talk about palpable tension!!! this is definitely ms. ali's hottest and sexiest book and it had me blushing!! 

i loved rue and eli's frank discussions about sex, their past trauma, and their vulnerabilities surrounding their family. and their forbidden affair just added to the stakes of the story.  i love romances that start out physical and detached and turn into something real and meaningful and ali hazelwood did such a great job incorporating those inner thoughts.

the surprise mmc pov (third person) MADE this book. i don't know if it would have worked as well as it did if it hadn't included eli's pov, and i loved that it was in third person too. we're supposed to be in rue's head but with eli, it's more about his intentions, and that was so important to me as the reader! no strings attached could be considered cold and uncomfy if we're only in one person's head, so while we all know ali's men are always obsessed, it was nice to have that further validated through his pov, and it honestly made me love him more. 

really loved this book and i'm excited for what ali hazelwood will feed us next.

thank you berkley and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. it comes out 6/11!