Title: Not in Love
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Publishes on: June 11, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Source: digital
Pages: 384
Synopsis:
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through – and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.
Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business – one that plays for keeps.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free, unless noted)
If you’re a fan of Ali Hazelwood but would like more spice, then Not in Love is the book for you! She doesn’t shy away from anything in her latest book, leaving the door wide open. Personally, I don’t care what level of spice there is, as long as the emotional connection is there, too.
I’ve read everything Hazelwood has published, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read. However, I have a lot of thoughts about this one. Good thoughts and mixed thoughts. So forgive me if this review is kind of all over the place.
As with all her books, the characters are great. Even the side characters. Although there is one side character in Not in Love that I didn’t feel like I understood, and she plays an important part in the mess that brings our two leads together. I especially loved Tisha, Rue’s best friend, and Eli’s friends—specifically Hark who needs his own book!
I instantly connected with Rue. It’s never stated that she’s neurodivergent, but I identified with her social anxiety, the fact that she’s shy and people think she’s just a snob, that she struggles with small talk. I also liked that she’s comfortable with her sexuality. It’s always refreshing for female characters to be portrayed that way, however sometimes it felt incongruous with her personality.
I like the fact that Hazelwood often makes her male leads the ones who realize their feelings first, and I liked Eli, but I did get a bit of an insta-love feeling from him. It seemed fast without much emotional build-up. But, this is a very sex-forward novel. Hazelwood even includes a message at the front of the book to the reader stating this is more erotica than her usual books, which are already quite spicy. She states that Rue and Eli want to connect, but only know how to do that physically at first. So I tried to keep that in mind as I read, but I still felt like I needed a little more time from this couple outside the bedroom to convince me.
Maybe endings don’t always include solutions that tie everything together in a bow. But that doesn’t mean that they have to be tragedies.
Ali Hazelwood; Not in Love
Not in Love is more the business side of STEM, less academic than Hazelwood’s other novels, which I don’t think I liked as much. I wanted more time with Rue’s process as a biotech engineer, less of the administrative side.
As the complications built towards the climax of the book, I kept expecting a miscommunication or secret that would temporarily separate our leads. But thankfully that didn’t happen to any large degree. It was refreshing!
Mild spoiler
This is my own bias, but I found it odd that Rue was a figure skater and Eli played hockey when they were younger and they live in Texas, which isn’t really known for those sports—at least in my neck of the woods. Rue being a skater also didn’t really match her personality for me. It felt like something that was thrown in just to serve the plot.
And Hazelwood fans! While our hero is still tall and well-built (in alllll areas), our female lead is not cute and tiny. She’s beautiful and tall!
Even with all my mixed emotions, I loved the last few chapters of Not in Love. I thought Hazelwood did a fabulous job wrapping up the story, hitting all the right notes, and making me finally believe in this couple.
Ali Hazelwood refuses to be pinned down! She’s proving she can do it all in romance: fantasy, young adult, and new adult. I’m anxious to see what she’ll do next!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
My Rating:
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About the Author
Ali Hazelwood
I’m Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I’m also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I’m a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!
I’m originally from Italy, lived in Japan and Germany, and eventually moved to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. I recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies me. When I’m not at work you can find me binge-watching shows with my three feline overlords (and my slightly less feline husband), running, or eating candy.
A Song For A Book
I’m one of those (annoying) people who can remember song lyrics from years ago but can’t remember what they had for breakfast, so when I read titles of books, my mind immediately pulls out matching lyrics from songs. And this song is definitely dating me, but “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc was the song on rotation in my brain while I read. And while you could interpret these lyrics literally, I like to think that the singer is trying to convince himself he’s not in love, when clearly he is!
I’m not in love
So don’t forget it
It’s just a silly phase I’m going through
And just because
I call you up
Don’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it made
I’m not in love, no no, it’s because
I like to see you
But then again
That doesn’t mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don’t make a fuss
Don’t tell your friends about the two of us
I’m not in love, no no, it’s because…
Have you read Not in Love? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I do like Hazelwood’s romances…though I do tend to prefer less spice more emotion. So I’m a little sad she’s chosen to up the steaminess factor in this one. Though I will still be reading it. 😀