There were a couple of reasons why this book didn't work for me in the end. The first of which was that this book is marketed as a romance novel, which I found very misleading. The romance between the two main characters is a significant part of the novel, sure, but it felt like Ely's character development and the process of her figuring out her life took center stage for most of the book. This book is much more about Ely reconnecting with her Jewish faith, coming to terms with her past and establishing a support network than it is about anything else. I'll never know for sure, but I feel like I would've liked this book more if I had gone into it with more realistic expectations.

That does leave the other, arguably secondary POV character, Wyatt, whose inner conflict mainly revolves around the fact that he's had a one-night-stand with a woman he later discovers is part of one of the classes he's teaching. He kicks her out of his class immediately after he's recognized her but agrees to keep supporting her as a sort of mentor in one of her school projects. I don't even know what to say here. Firstly, I totally understand his apprehension here. However, he keeps seeing her anyway, even though he rejects her romantic advances. There is little else to his POV for most of the book aside from this inner conflict. I hated this, considering there was a whole lot of shit from his past that deserved more attention on the page.

Towards the end of the book, Ely is mad that Wyatt is being distant after the two have had sex again while they're technically still professor and student at the same institution and once she's finished her final project and decides not to return for the next semester, Wyatt comes to her grovelling after he lashes out to her because he felt shitty about getting involved with a student??? Sigh. What a fucking mess. I don't know what to think anymore. Two stars will have to do for now.