Thank you to Netgalley and Mia Kerick for this ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was amazing, definitely in my top 10 of this year. The chemistry between the 2 MC was chef's kiss 💋 and the relationship between Remi and Tris' family was absolutely adorable. You NEED to read this book!

3 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. The story is centered around Remi and Tristan. Remi lost his parents when he was 9 and was raised by his (rich) grandparents. This tragic loss coupled with his cold and distant relationship with his grandmother has shaped him to avoid any type of emotional bond with others, including friendships and romantic relationships. On the other hand, we have Tristan, who is working as a nude mode for Remi's class, and desperately needs the money to help his twin sister care for her 3 kids. The story and romance was good in the sense that is was an interesting concept and had a whole lot of potential and I still enjoyed myself a lot reading this, however, in my opinion, there were some shortcomings. First, the relationship felt a little flat to me, I wish they would have shared more of their emotional issues with each other, not at the get go, but eventually, and that they could have reached some of their breakthroughs together and grown and both individuals and a couple. I get that there would have been some push and pull but I felt a lot of push and not a lot of well contructed pulls in the story. Further, the realizations and emotional breakthoughs felt forced and drawn mostly by others or, in Remi's case, a bit superficial. I would have loved this book and for sure it would have been a 5 star for me if those issues have been dealt with in a more organic and profound manner. At the end, I did not trust Remi not to hurt Tristan again, and i felt Tristan would have allowed him to do so and just accepted the heartbreak and moved on.
*I was send an e-arc of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Mein Leseerlebnis

Hach, was war das schön, emotional und unterhaltsam. Der Roman hat mich Anfang bis Ende in seinen Bann gezogen und er gehört zu einem meiner bisherigen Lesehighlights des Jahres 2022.

Die Geschichte dreht sich um das Leben von Remi und Tristan. Vom ersten Kennenlernen hin zur ersten gemeinsamen Nacht hin zu einer Beziehung. Dabei es gibt natürlich auch ein paar Steine aus dem Weg zu räumen und vor allem Remi muss in Bezug darauf an sich und seinen Ängsten arbeiten.

Die wunderbar vielschichtigen Charaktere (Haupt- und Nebencharaktere!), der packende Schreibstil und eine emotionale Liebesgeschichte waren für mich eine fast perfekte Kombination.

Ich habe die wechselnden Perspektiven in der Geschichte zwischen Tristan und Remi sehr genossen. Dadurch hatte ich das Gefühl, beide gut kennenzulernen und dadurch konnte ich beide auch ins Herz schließen.

Die Geschichte wird mit viel Gefühl und ohne unnötiges Drama erzählt, beides schätze ich. Das Ende war schön und emotional befriedigend. Außerdem hat es mir ein Lächeln auf die Lippen gezaubert. Vermisst habe ich allerdings einen schönen Epilog.

Etwas nervös hat mich der Umstand gemacht, dass das Buch das erste in einer Reihe ist. Ich hoffe, dass sich das zweite Buch um andere Protagonisten als Tristan und Remi drehen wird, denn ich will nicht, dass beide noch mehr Mist durchmachen müssen, davon gab es in ihrem Leben bereits genug.

Sollte das zweite Buch in der Reihe den Fokus auf z.B. Tristans Schwester lenken und Remi sowie Tristan tauchen am Rande auf, werde ich es auf jeden Fall lesen. 🖤🖤🖤🖤1/2

PS: Das Cover passt meiner Meinung nach super zum Buch und vermittelt perfekt, wie sich die Geschichte beim Lesen angefühlt hat (intensiv und wunderschön).

Für wen?

Wer emotionale, intensive und eher ruhig erzählte Liebesgeschichten mag, dem kann ich das Buch ans Herz legen. Von mir gibt es eine klare Leseempfehlung.

Thank you, Mia Kerick, for allowing me to read I’m Not In Love early!

I really liked this. Intrigued by its premise, I found the book very satisfying!

Tristan “Tris” Wilder and Julian “Remi” Remington III couldn’t be less alike. Tris struggles to support his sister, her three children and himself. While Remi has inherited a fortune after his parents death. The trauma experience by both men have left them leery of relationships, but how long can they fight the feelings burgeoning between them?

This is the book I’ve been waiting for without realizing that I was. Tris and Remi are such a great duo of MCs. Their slow burn romance is real, it’s not the happily ever after fairy tale relationships we see so often. They have trauma in their past that cause mental and emotional strife that make it hard for them to build meaningful connections to people. The death of Remi’s parents and the cold nature of his grandmother have left him cautious of relationships. Tris’ mother’s flighty undependable nature has left his waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Remi and Tristan go through many ups and downs through their story and whether it’s pervy artist/professors, family, or their own insecurities, they realize that trust and communication are need for their relationship to become what they both hesitantly long for.

The supporting characters are perfection. Tara, Tristen’s sister, is both guilty having to lean so heavily on her brother and extremely protective of him. Tara’s three children, Jared, Tommy, and Wendy, are just adorable and perfectly written. You can tell from the depiction that Kerick is a Mom. Dacia, Remi’s best friend and neighbor is just the perfect “bestie”. She is a “ride-or-die”, but kicks his tail when it’s necessary.

I really enjoyed so much about this book and I am trying to bring myself through the fact that I have to wait for a second book.

I’m Not in Love is a book about the ups-and-downs of the relationship between Remi and Tristan. Remi has closed his heart since the traumatic death of his parents as a child and Tristan has issues of his own regarding a flighty mother. As Tristan and Remi get to know one another they grow closer, though not without difficulty.

This book handled some difficult topics and it was lovely seeing Remi and Tristan work their problems out like competent adults. I really liked the fact that Remi and Tristan improved each other when they were together. All the characters were unique and loveable. They all managed to worm their way into Remi’s heart and mine! I appreciated how Remi and Tristan didn’t fall in love right away. They found each other attractive but it wasn’t a whole soulmate situation. Many books have the love at first sight trope that I find unrealistic, so this book was refreshing.

Overall, I’m Not in Love was a great read. If you are looking for some great romance where the characters work out their problems, look no further!


(On a very silly note I could not stop thinking about Remy from Ratatouille for the duration of this book! I know they are spelled differently but it gave me a good chuckle when the thought crossed my mind.)

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this story! I loved the depiction of Tristan and Remi both who had struggles at younger ages that had limited their ability to let people in! Remi is the future heir to a hotel chain and in art school, one day Tristan shows up for his Live Model class and Remi knows right away that he wants to have him. Tristan spends his time modeling nude to make the money to care for his twin sister and her three kids and does not have time for a guy. Remi does not love, not since he was nine. When these two start spending more time with each other can they grow? I enjoyed that this was a slow burn! Often with Romance novels the characters get to sex right away, which is fine, but not what happens for everyone! It was nice to read a book where one of the characters puts a pause on more intimate things and they develop a relationship anyway! I loved the Remi so quickly developed a relationship with Tristan’s nephews and niece and it wasn’t long before Tristan’s family felt like Remi’s! I also liked that when it came to more intimate things they were patient with each other and talked things through! Given there situations it felt really realistic and helped develop a strong bond for them! I also loved that when it came to their hang ups, given their pasts, those also felt very realistic! I highly recommend this book if you like LGBTQ+ romances! Can’t wait to read it again when it comes out or to read the next book in the series!

I WANT TO PUNCH THESE TWO IDIOTS IN THE FACE SO BAD IT MAKES *ME* LOOK STUPID

Okay. I don't think I've ever read a book with characters so dumb for each other, and it turns out I'm all for it. Despite the minor miscommunication trope, which I normally despise, their conflicts with their romance are valid and resolved without prolonguing it extensively, and that makes all the difference.

I wished we could've seem more of Remi's detattched love life before meeting Tristan, to emphasise his manwhoreness and how much Tristan changed him. Also, I'm serious need of more artsy make out sessions between these two, messy with lots of paints on very naked bodies.

Now, Tristan is such a perfect man and Remi with the kids (insert crying emoji here) And I'm still holding out hope for Dacia and Tara to fall for each other. Just saying, they have crazy chemistry.

I'll definitely be on the look out for the next volume, can't wait to see what comes out of this wonderful family.

Thank you Mia Kerick and NetGalley for this ARC!