Ali Hazelwood’s Stuck with You delivers everything readers have come to expect from the STEMinist Novellas series: witty banter, academic workplace dynamics, and the perfect blend of scientific precision with emotional chaos. As the second installment following Under One Roof, this novella proves that sometimes the best love stories happen when you’re literally trapped with nowhere to run.
A Superstitious Engineer Meets Her Corporate Match
Sadie Grantham is a refreshingly authentic heroine whose quirky superstitions and genuine passion for sustainable engineering make her instantly relatable. Working for the small green engineering firm GreenFrame, she’s carved out a niche in environmental sustainability while battling the typical challenges faced by women in STEM fields. Her ritual of eating Faye’s terrible croissants before pitch meetings perfectly captures the blend of scientific rationality and human irrationality that makes her character so compelling.
When a chance encounter over the last croissant leads to an unexpected dinner with Erik Nowak, Sadie finds herself drawn to his quiet intensity and shared love of soccer. Erik emerges as more than just the stereotypical Nordic god with his thoughtful questions about her work and genuine interest in her sustainability frameworks. Their initial chemistry crackles through soccer debates and discussions of engineering principles, creating a foundation that feels both intellectually stimulating and emotionally authentic.
The Elevator That Changes Everything
Hazelwood’s decision to structure the story around both past and present timelines creates compelling dramatic tension. The elevator breakdown serves as more than just a convenient plot device—it becomes a pressure cooker that forces both characters to confront their assumptions and miscommunications. The confined space strips away pretenses and professional facades, leaving raw emotion and unresolved hurt.
The revelations that unfold during their trapped hours together highlight how easily professional relationships can become personal battlegrounds. When Sadie discovers that Erik inadvertently cost her firm a crucial client by sharing her academic work with his team, the betrayal feels genuine and devastating. Her three weeks of blocked phone calls and avoided elevators ring true to anyone who’s ever felt professionally undermined by someone they trusted.
Where Corporate Romance Meets Environmental Engineering
The workplace dynamics in Stuck with You feel particularly authentic, especially the David-and-Goliath tension between Sadie’s small sustainable firm and Erik’s corporate engineering giant ProBld. Hazelwood skillfully weaves real industry challenges into the romance, from the struggle of green engineering firms to compete with established players to the complexity of intellectual property in collaborative fields.
Erik’s position as a founding partner rather than just an employee adds layers to both his character and the central conflict. His ability to promise changes in company policy and client agreements feels believable rather than convenient, grounded in his actual authority within the organization. The resolution of their professional conflict through communication and compromise models healthy relationship dynamics while addressing real workplace power imbalances.
Character Development Through Crisis
Both protagonists undergo meaningful growth throughout their elevator ordeal. Sadie’s journey from assumption to understanding demonstrates emotional maturity, while her willingness to examine her own reactions shows self-awareness. Her superstitious nature, which could have become annoying, instead humanizes her scientific persona and provides moments of levity.
Erik’s careful revelation of his feelings and his patient approach to Sadie’s panic attacks reveal emotional intelligence that goes beyond his corporate success. His collection of her academic work and company-wide distribution of her research, while professionally problematic, shows genuine admiration for her expertise. The way he handles her moment of claustrophobic panic demonstrates both physical and emotional caregiving skills.
The STEMinist Novella Series Evolution
Stuck with You builds effectively on the foundation established in Under One Roof, expanding the friend group dynamics while maintaining focus on individual character development. The series continues to excel at portraying women in STEM as complex individuals rather than stereotypes, each dealing with different professional challenges and personal growth opportunities.
The novella format works particularly well for this story, allowing Hazelwood to maintain tight focus on the central relationship while providing sufficient backstory and character development. The pacing never feels rushed despite the compressed timeline, and the confined setting eliminates unnecessary subplots.
Technical and Emotional Precision
Hazelwood’s engineering background shines through in her detailed descriptions of sustainable building practices and industry dynamics. The technical discussions feel authentic without becoming overwhelming, and Sadie’s passion for environmental engineering comes across as genuine expertise rather than surface-level research.
The romantic elements balance emotional vulnerability with physical chemistry. The intimate scenes feel organic to character development rather than obligatory, and the progression from intellectual connection to physical attraction follows a believable trajectory. Their shared love of soccer provides a nice common ground that extends beyond professional interests.
Areas for Improvement
While Stuck with You succeeds in most areas, some elements feel slightly underdeveloped. The three-week gap between their initial night together and the elevator encounter could have been explored more deeply to understand how their miscommunication festered. Gianna’s role as Sadie’s boss sometimes feels more functional than fully realized, serving primarily to deliver exposition about ProBld’s business practices.
The resolution, while satisfying, arrives somewhat quickly after the emotional climax. A bit more exploration of how Erik and Sadie navigate their professional relationship going forward would have strengthened the ending. Additionally, some of Sadie’s superstitious behaviors, while charming, occasionally veer toward quirky-for-quirky’s-sake territory.
Romance That Builds Bridges
Stuck with You ultimately succeeds as both a workplace romance and a story about professional women finding their voices. The engineering metaphors feel natural rather than forced, and the emphasis on building sustainable solutions extends beyond environmental work to relationship dynamics.
The novella demonstrates that second-chance romances work best when both parties have genuinely grown during their separation. Neither Sadie nor Erik is quite the same person who walked away hurt and confused, making their reunion feel earned rather than inevitable.
Similar Reads and Series Continuation
Readers who enjoy Stuck with You should definitely explore the complete STEMinist Novellas trilogy, including Below Zero featuring Hannah’s story. For similar academic romance vibes, consider The Love Hypothesis by the same author, or branch out to The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang for another STEM-focused romance.
The series as a whole offers a refreshing take on workplace romance that prioritizes professional competence alongside personal growth. Each novella can stand alone while contributing to an overarching celebration of women in science and engineering.
Stuck with You proves that the best romantic conflicts often arise not from external obstacles but from internal miscommunications and assumptions. In Hazelwood’s capable hands, an elevator breakdown becomes the perfect catalyst for building something stronger and more sustainable than either character could construct alone.
