Stevie‘s review of Loathe to Love You (The STEMinist Novellas #1-3) by Ali Hazelwood
Contemporary Romance Anthology published by Berkley 03 Jan 23

The world definitely needs more romances about women in science, so I picked up this anthology of linked stories in spite of not being keen on the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope. Our three female protagonists have been best friends since grad school, which joins the stories nicely and provides a thread of continuity through the whole book, although there’s less of a link for the three male protagonists other than through their respective love interests. We meet all three women in the first chapter of the first novella, after a flash-forward Prologue, in which we meet our first couple, Mara and Liam.


Mara and Liam have each inherited half a house, from their mentor and father (who were siblings), respectively, and both are determined to live in it on their terms, regardless of how much those terms (and many of their other values) clash. One of the biggest sources of friction is their careers. Mara works for the Environmental Protection Agency, while Liam is an in-house lawyer for a big oil company, although we learn early on that he isn’t really a fan of Big Oil. Liam has some other endearing qualities that slowly grow on Mara, and she has skills that he comes to appreciate too, not that we see any of Liam’s inner thoughts. Then, however, we get a Big Misunderstanding, and worse, one that is resolved by sex (and presumably a conversation that readers never get to see, since everything is resolved by the Epilogue). I liked the depth of friendship that Mara had with her two besties, but I really didn’t buy her relationship with Liam or the magical resolution of all their difference. I liked how they supported each other’s career aspirations and the discussions of TV shows were cute, but that’s the best I can say about them.

On to our second couple, Sadie and Erik, who both work in the same industry, although she works for a small start-up and he works for its much larger rival. Both firms having offices in the same building. The two had a brief fling that could have led to something more, if Sadie hadn’t blamed Erik for her firm losing out to his on a major contract negotiation. Sadie immediately severs all contact with Erik, rather than challenging him over his suspected industrial espionage, only for the pair to get stuck in a lift three weeks later. At which point they finally have that conversation, and all is forgiven. I thought the two of them made a cuter couple than Mara and Liam, but it all felt a bit rushed, and again hinged on a Big Misunderstanding that could have been resolved sooner. We also saw less of the other besties in this one, as I recall.

Finally, Hannah and her nemesis, Ian, get to have their story. Both work for NASA, researching engineering solutions for future Mars missions, and they had a brief encounter back when Hannah was still a grad student, after Mara put them in contact for a project. Since then, however, Ian was part of a committee that turned Hannah down for a prestigious research assignment, one which she has managed to carry out anyway, only to find herself stranded in an Arctic blizzard. Now Ian is on his way to rescue Hannah, with an explanation of why he had safety concerns about the project all along. This was probably my favourite of the three novellas, although the Epilogue wasn’t great (I definitely wasn’t a fan of the Bonus Chapter that followed, or the way in which the three male protagonists all became best friends too – that just felt a little forced and/or unnecessary).

Overall, I felt that the three novellas could have done with more fleshing out to give us more science and something of the male protagonists’ sides of the stories. I understand they all started life as fanfic, so maybe they worked better when starring characters who were already a known quantity to their target readers. I’d maybe like to see what the author could do with a full-length totally original novel, but won’t be delving into anything else of hers in this format.

Grade: D

I'm usually not a fan of novellas but these ones were really fun and a nice little break. They were well written and wrapped up nicely. Overall these were great and I definitely recommend this book.

Two out of three of these novellas were not new to me, but even so, this is a great collection worth reading for any romance fan. Ali Hazelwood is at the top of my list of authors I will auto-read regardless. and these don't disappoint. Short, but steamy. They give you a quick fix and help cleanse the palette for the next read!

Ali Hazelwood’s storytelling ability is one of the best in the romance genre, and for this reason, her stories are addictive to read. While I don’t always agree with the content in her books (I’ve written previously about toxic traits to steer clear of in the romance genres), I can’t deny that Hazelwood has a gift with words.

The women in Hazelwood’s stories are independent and beyond brilliant. I’m not always a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, but Hazelwood is starting to convince me that maybe this trope isn’t as bad as I once thought. The problems between the characters in these short stories were believable, and once they had been resolved, there was no reason I could think of as to why the main characters should remain enemies. And the make-up scenes? Yeah. Very spicy. They alone make this book worth the read.

I also appreciated getting small glimpses into the world of women in STEM. Engineering and science-y things have never been my forte, so I enjoy reading about people, especially women, who excel in those fields.

All bodies are amazing and beautiful and should be included in storytelling. However, when each character is portrayed as a Greek god who came down to earth to grace us with their presence, it gets to be a little much. I don’t need to be continuously reminded that the male characters are massive and have huge hands that can wrap around their partner’s torso (is that even physically possible?). I also don’t need to be reminded that the female character is just so small and dainty that the male character could flick them away with one finger and they would break. And I don’t need to be reminded about these size discrepancies on every other page (that’s what it felt like). This part of the character-building began to get on my nerves and distracted me from the main focus of the story: the intellectual and emotional connection between the main characters, the banter, and the steam.

Review will be posted on 1/25/23
Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood is a compilation of three of her STEMinist novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Each novella had Hazelwood's trademark style, a smart heroine, witty banter, humor, and of course, steamy romance. Each setting was very unique with the most memorable being NASA's Arctic Research Station. If you are looking for a novel that's perfect for Valentine's Day, look no further!

Under One Roof is about Mara, an environmental engineer, who inherits a house from her mentor, Helena. Except there's one problem. It's already inhabited by Liam, Helena's nephew, who is a big-time lawyer and the complete opposite of Mara. She dislikes him immediately, but the more she hangs out with him, which can't be avoided since they are roommates, the more she likes him. It's a true opposites attract story!

Stuck with You focuses on Sadie, also an engineer, who gets stuck in an elevator with her nemesis, Erik. Could you imagine the cringe? Also, not only is he her long standing rival, he also broke her heart. Cue more cringing. The more time they spend in the elevator, it has got Sadie questioning her take on him. Maybe there is more to him than she thought? It's a fast-paced romance that will for sure have you swooning.

Below Zero is the last novella and it focuses on Hannah, an engineer at NASA. The setting of this story is very memorable as it takes place at NASA's Arctic Research Station. She finds herself injured and stranded there - cue the panic - and the only one willing to "rescue" her is Ian, her longtime rival. Why would Ian agree to such a dangerous rescue mission? Do you see a pattern starting yet? Although there are many played out tropes, you can count on Hazelwood to have fun with them, include some humor, and a lot of steam.

If you are looking for a read to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day, Loathe to Love You is most definitely it. Fans of Hazelwood will love having all three novellas in one place and they are such quick, yet satisfying stories, that can be picked up again and again. While I like Hazelwood's full length novels a bit more, there's no denying how much fun Loathe to Love You is. So, are you a fan of Hazelwood? Have you read these novellas yet? Let me know in the comments below.

𝘈 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

Three of my favorite novellas in one book and with an exclusive bonus chapter included, I loved every page.

Thank you Berkley Romance for this gifted copy.

𝗟𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 by Ali Hazelwood released January 3, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Under One Roof: Liam and Mara inherit the same house, and neither is willing to budge on dividing it so they end up living together. Opposites loath each other Liam’s employed by big oil, and Mara’s an environmentalist, but there’s more to that story. Their bickering over little things like who stole the creamer made me laugh. Of course, as they get to know each other they find out their assumptions may not have been correct and there’s more than a spark of attraction. Sexy dreaming, and lots of wanting from afar. This was a slow-burn-to-scorcher kind of romance. 4 Stars

Stuck with You: Sadie spent a day with Erik, and they had an immediate connection that ended in a steamy, lust filled night that she thought would lead into something profound and lasting. However, the next day Sadie hears things about Erik and her heart crashes. Fast forward three weeks and it’s her worst nightmare: she’s stuck in the elevator with him.

I was a little disappointed with the way Sadie jumped to conclusions after hearing what her boss said and didn’t even check with Erik to get his side of the story. A lot of heartache could’ve been avoided. I did love their initial meetup and the immediate, intense attraction between them. This is a romance, so I knew they’d eventually get everything sorted. 3.5 Stars

Below Zero: Five years ago, Hannah and Ian had an immediate connection, enamored with each both physically and professionally. They spend an afternoon debugging code, with the attraction between them brewing, which leads to a hot and lusty encounter! Hannah won’t agree to anything but a physical relationship, so they go their separate ways. I had to shake my head at Hannah.

They meet again when Hannah gets her dream job at NASA where Ian works, but it’s not smooth sailing as Hannah thinks that Ian has sabotaged her project. However, it’s Ian who comes for her when she’s trapped in an icy crevasse, waiting for death.

Loved this steamy second chance romance! Ian had my heart from the beginning and I could understand why Hannah had her walls up. 4 Stars

I enjoyed all three of the STEMinist novellas! I listened to them last year when they were released as audios only but did a re-read when they came out in this new bundled book, Loathe to Love You, and I think I liked them even more the second time around. They had just right amount of spice, very hot stuff, but not too much, and they were a lot of fun! I thought for the short number of pages the characters were well developed and I was invested in each of their HEAs. There’s even an extra bonus chapter at the end, a nice epilogue for all three couples.

I initially read these novellas as individual releases, and then the publisher gifted me an e-copy of the collected stories with added end chapter, a quick one or two-year(ish) later where-are-they-now, which I was curious about. It’s pretty predictable, giving some happily ever after milestone moments for the couples via the men’s POV. Is it worth buying the entire book if you’ve already previously read/purchased the novellas? I’d say no. Mildly sweet to read but not emotionally indespensable.

Under One Roof: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Entertaining for what it is, a quick romance novella. I waited and read it on my e-reader, which I definitely recommend. I think the smex does better on the page than on audio and boy does it get hot. It has a little bit of everything, anger, heart, heat. A short and fast “something” to tie you over in a waiting room or airport or between bigger books. The animosity amidst forced proximity is great, though it could have done with one more solid chapter of head-butting/ hijinks. I did like it more the second time around though.

Stuck with You: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A short, quick, and entertaining romance novella. Just the right touches of heart and heat with a capable and smart woman lead. And Hazelwood always does a great job of creating men that respect boundaries but maintain a strong presence. All packaged up in some classic tropes of very-heightened forced proximity and miscommunication. There manages to be some decent depth of character for such a small story. My fave of this mini-series.

Below Zero: 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quick and fun, the first half was stronger than the second. The initial meeting and connection is great, but I definitely wanted more build with that connection and romance. I could have read their first meeting again and again. So endearing and then so steamy. The perilous situation was a great addition but once we’re out of it I think the story lost tension and it was all a little bland into the ending.

Having them all together, read one right after the other, does strengthen them as a whole. But it also really highlights the author’s obsession with petite women and towering men. I wish she’d change up her character’s physicalities someday. Though, overall, entertaining.

TITLE: LOATHE TO LOVE YOU
SERIES: The STEMinist Novellas #1-3
AUTHOR: Ali Hazelwood
PUB DATE: 01.03.2022 Now Available

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter!

Loathe To Love You is a collection of steamy STEM forward novellas that have all my favorite tropes: Strong women, enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, and important themes rolled into these fun to read novellas.

The bonus chapter was great that tied up the story with a pretty bow of these three couples in the novellas. Overall I loved devouring these stories for a fun and entertaining read.

Favorite Quotes:

Under One Roof

Honestly, your boss is a shit nugget and he doesn’t deserve you and you should quit and leave him to stir in his shit broth!

“Could it be that we’ve just been exceptionally unlucky?” There is some noise on Hannah’s side of the line. Maybe she is sharpening a shiv. “Could it be that the tides will turn and we’ll finally meet dudes who don’t deserve to be fed a bowl of thumbtacks?”

Stuck with You

Wait. What you’re saying is that all this time we’ve been doing weekly summoning circles to give this guy disfiguring genital warts and toenail funguses and those giant subcutaneous pimples people get surgically removed on YouTube . . . but he did not, in fact, deserve any of it?

I missed you... I only knew you for twenty-four hours, but I’ve never missed anyone so much.

Below Zero

Mara and Sadie have managed to worm their way into my heart, causing me to amend my previous I did not come here to make friends stance to a slightly altered I did not come here to make friends, but hurt my weird Cheez-It friend or my other weird soccer friend and I will beat you up with a lead pipe till you piss blood for the rest of your life. Truculent? Perhaps. I feel little, but surprisingly deeply.

“Hey, he’s my cousin-or-something.” Sadie pats her on the shoulder. “It’s the or something that gets me every time. You can really feel the unbreakable family ties.”



My Review:

This collection was my introduction to the amusing and clever scribblings of Ali Hazelwood and I couldn’t have picked a better selection to start with. I gleefully smirked my way through all three wittily written novellas and sighed contently upon completion. Each character was uniquely contrived yet authentic, as well as endearingly awkward and socially inept. I adored them all. I have a new favorite author and have added her entire listing to my TBR.

Compiled into three short novellas, Loathe to Love You features three best friends, Mara, Sadie, and Hannah as they battle through their relationships with the men they dislike, until it becomes something more. Under One Roof, Stuck With You, and Below Zero all show how sometimes, hate turns into love, no matter the circumstances.

I gave Loathe to Love You an overall four stars, really enjoying all three short stories. I found each couple really cute and fun to read and loved the fact that when reading each story, you could feel the pining that they have for each other. No matter the time that passes, whether we are reading the past or the present chapters, we can feel the connection between the heroes and heroines as they slowly battle their feelings for each other until one of them decides that they can’t wait any longer to profess their love for the other. Although each novella (to my estimate) is roughly about 100 pages or more, I think that Mara, Sadie, and Hannah’s romances really shined through their stories.

I gave Under One Roof four stars, really enjoying Mara and Liam’s romance. I loved how there are specific wordings throughout the story to show how much they are thinking of each other and how much they can’t stop thinking about each other, even though they are technically each others’ enemies, with the unfortunate event of them living under one roof. I found that Liam and Mara’s chemistry was impeccable and every word I read, you could feel the tension building up. I loved that Mara was quirky in her own way and no matter how serious Liam acted, you could really see he was slowly warming up to Mara. Overall, Under One Roof was really fun to read and the perfect length to show readers the blossoming romance between Mara and Liam, as roommates who are each others’ enemies, yet can’t take their eyes off of each other.

I gave Stuck With You four stars, really enjoying Sadie and Erik’s relationship. I think that their situation was really interesting and that from the start, we are able to see how they work with each other so well and their compatibility is off the charts. Even though they parted ways for a bit, you could tell that no matter how much time has passed, they will always be connected to each other. I think what I liked about Sadie and Erik’s relationship is how easily the fit together. They had very similar interests and even though the conflict was a big part of their relationship, it was really nice to see them overcome the situation. They were like two peas in a pod and I loved that their chemistry was really strong together.

I gave Below Zero 3.5 stars, enjoying Hannah and Ian’s relationship as they battle freezing terrain and the rocky relationship that has spanned a few years. As they have a back and forth dance with each other, it was really interesting to see how the conflict took shape and was a connection between the two. I found that while the plot and the conflict was really interesting and fun to read, Hannah and Ian’s chemistry was slightly lacking. Although overall they were cute together, I found myself not fully invested in the relationship conflict between the two. I found their relationship to be very closed off as both Hannah and Ian were rather reserved people so as time went on, I felt that I didn’t really know the characters that I was reading that well. That being said, I had fun reading Below Zero and nonetheless found this really cute to read and a fun ending to the friendship trio officially finding love for themselves.

Loathe to Love You was a really fun way to read all three novellas and I really enjoyed myself as I read all three of them. Out of the three, my personal favorite was Under One Roof, but that being said, being able to read all three was really fun and seeing how each of the friends, Mara, Sadie, and Hannah appearing in each others’ book was really fun. I loved that each novella was fairly short and easy to read. The included bonus chapter was such a fun edition and I loved that it was included. All of these couples were simply amazing and being able to read about them one last time was exciting.

Thank you again to Berkley Romance for inviting me to read Loathe to Love You and for NetGalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

In this trio of Novellas, Ali Hazelwood has delivered a fabulously fun read in the steamy, STEMinist series featuring a trio of engineers, best friends Mara, Sadie, and Hannah, and their loves in loathing. Adorably geeky, crazily steamy, and all round a fabulously fun read! We loved every book!

Our first read by Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis, wowed us and since then, we’ve wanted to read more by this author, and the Loathe to Love You collection was a perfect choice! Join in the fun and follow the rocky road to true love with these intelligent, witty emotionally disheveled friends, and their swoony future boyfriends! We read every page with hearts full of glee! Fascinated by the trio’s careers, amused by the friendships, spellbound by their enemies to lovers romances.

The bonus chapter…talk about giggling and swooning in equal measures!! These were real winners for us.

Under One Roof:

‘He is going to ruin me for anyone else. He is going to destroy me in each and every possible way.’

An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.

Stuck with You

“She falls asleep, and I watch her and think, this is like nothing else. Scary, almost.”

A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.

Below Zero

“When I saw you, I…I thought you were a little too beautiful.”

A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her long-time rival.

Loathe to Love You consists of three novellas in The STEMinist Novellas series by Ali Hazelwood, connecting the stories of three females who have been best friends since grad school and are now engineers in three different fields. We get to meet their love interests and see how they each became a couple and more.

The couples don’t want to admit to an attraction and often have trouble communicating. But when they’re in, they are all in, and there are some steamy moments. It was interesting to see their initial meetings and what brought them together. All the couples seem to be good for each other—Mara and Liam, Sadie and Erik, and Hannah and Ian. They complement each other but also see where the other is coming from. Erik especially seems to get Sadie and knows what she’s thinking and feeling before she does.

We get to know each of the characters a little at a time and really see the solidness of the friendships between Mara, Hannah, and Sadie and how they are always there for each other—no matter where they are geographically. The addition of their significant others meshes well with the group dynamics, and all are successful in their own rights.

The stories have a good flow but go from present to past and then back again over and over. There are a lot of scientific and engineering terms thrown around, especially in Hannah and Ian’s story since they work for NASA. But Mara is no slouch since she works for the EPA and Sadie works with the environment to keep things green.

Most of the characters have dysfunctional families, and crazily, Ian and Mara are cousins or something (as they say in the story) but were never close and haven’t seen each other in about fifteen years. They are all overachievers and workaholics in their chosen fields.

There are happily ever afters in the making and nice closure with the addition of the bonus chapter, which gave us glimpses into each of their lives.

I wish the books were full novels since there seem to be more stories to tell for each of them. The novella format didn’t give me the depth I was looking for. Ms. Hazelwood is a new-to-me author, and I look forward to reading more of her books.

If you enjoy contemporary romances with lots of loving, nicely matched couples and some scientific and STEM theories thrown in, you’ll enjoy Loathe to Love You.

In this trio of Novellas, Ali Hazelwood has delivered a fabulously fun read in the steamy, STEMinist series featuring a trio of engineers, best friends Mara, Sadie, and Hannah, and their loves in loathing. Adorably geeky, crazily steamy, and all round a fabulously fun read! We loved every book!

Our first read by Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis, wowed us and since then, we’ve wanted to read more by this author, and the Loathe to Love You collection was a perfect choice! Join in the fun and follow the rocky road to true love with these intelligent, witty emotionally dishevelled friends, and their swoony future boyfriends! We read every page with hearts full of glee! Fascinated by the trio’s careers, amused by the friendships, spellbound by their enemies to lovers romances.

The bonus chapter…talk about giggling and swooning in equal measures!! These were real winners for us.

Under One Roof:

‘He is going to ruin me for anyone else. He is going to destroy me in each and every possible way.’

An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.

Stuck with You

“She falls asleep, and I watch her and think, this is like nothing else. Scary, almost.”

A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.

Below Zero

“When I saw you, I…I thought you were a little too beautiful.”

A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her long-time rival.

Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood are three novellas that are part of her STEMinist collection. Since I have read each of the novellas separately, I will note the highlights of each short story. There is a bonus chapter at the end, which I will detail more. Mara, Sadie and Hannah were best friends, with each being scientists in different fields.

Under One Roof
Mara is an environmental engineer, who learns that scientists should never cohabitate; especially when she finds herself with a roommate from hell. They seemed to have great chemistry, but things fell apart quickly. Did they finally get past the bad start?

Stuck With You
Sadie, our heroine, is a scientist, who works for a new firm producing safer products. Within the same building, another firm is very successful, making things harder for Sadie and her boss. One evening Sadie, met Erik and it turned into a one-night stand, which she learns the following day that he is one of the founders of the other company. Sadie feels that Erik betrayed her, when she finds out they took one of their customers away. What follows is a quick story line, with POV’s switching back and forth from the one-night stand and them trapped in the elevator.

 Below Zero
In Below Zero, Hannah is the lead. Hannah is an aerospace engineer for NASA, and she loves her job. She met Ian, early on, discovering how hot he was; but all she wanted was sex, no dating, and Ian just stepped away; since he was interested in dating and getting to know Hannah. What follows is a quick story line, that was a bit funny, somewhat zany, and at times fun. 

 

Bonus Chapter
Mara and Liam are married, and when Liam gets home from work, he is thrilled to learn that Mara is pregnant. He is surprised that she told Sadie and Hannah before telling him first. Mara tries to explain that he was in court all day, and she couldn’t resist telling her best friends. Liam wasn’t too happy to find out that their significant others (Erik & Ian) also knew about her pregnancy.

We get to see Sadie, who is married to Erik, argue with Erik’s brother, about keeping their cat. Kind of funny. Ian seeing how happy their friends are, pushes Hannah to marry him. This bonus chapter was a quick and nice addition, allowing us to see how all three couples were doing.

Hazelwood is great at upping the heat level and the build-up. I have enjoyed Ali Hazelwood’s previous full novels, but was not into these novellas. These novellas were zany and fun, but Hazelwood’s full-length novels are so much better.

Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood, is a collection of her STEMinist novellas featuring three best friends and the men they love to hate; well, not quite, really. All of the stories are smart and witty with a level of nerdiness and quirks that glows through each story. Each story was unique, but similar to the others, as well, especially since the ladies are all friends.

Ms. Hazelwood wrote a wonderful collection of short stories that were enjoyable and should not be missed. She provided tales rich with emotions, intelligent but awkward characters, magnetic attraction, sizzling chemistry, wonderful and humorous conversations, and endearing characters giving three best friends and their men a chance for a forever love. I highly recommend Loathe to Love You to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This collection of short stories was very cute and on point for what we've come to expect from Hazelwood.. I loved the friendship between Mara, Sadie, and Hannah as well and how it stayed steady during the years. I loved the interaction between the women and Liam, Erik, and Ian respectively and the journey to love.

It would have been nice to have at least one different trope for the story, meaning something other than rivals to lovers, but I think that is Hazelwood's MO overall although it will be nice to see if she branches out from that later on down the road. I also personally could have done without the bonus chapter since it seemed unnecessary and out of place for her stories and was just fan service for people who complain about not having the 'traditional HEA' that includes marriage and/or babies.

Overall enjoyable and a fun way to pass a few hours.

Loathe to Love You is a compilation of Hazelwood’s previously released STEMinist Novellas with the addition of a bonus chapter, which is told from the male main characters’ points of view and takes place a few years into the future.

In the first novella, Under One Roof, environmental engineer Mara moves into the house that her recently deceased mentor, Helena, left to her. However, moving into the house means that Mara must live with Helena’s handsome yet annoying nephew Liam, who owns half of the house. In the second novella, Stuck with You, civil engineer Sadie literally gets stuck in an elevator during a power outage with the man who broke her heart, Erik. In the last novella, Below Zero, NASA aerospace engineer Hannah gets injured and stranded while she is working at a remote arctic research station. The only person who is willing and able to undertake Hannah’s dangerous rescue is Hannah’s nemesis, Ian. Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are women in STEM and best friends; each novella focuses on a different couple, but the stories are interconnected, so the three novellas should be read together and in order.

Each novella in Loathe to Love You features a short, opposites attract, “enemies to lovers” rom-com with forced proximity and miscommunication. Some themes present include love and heartbreak, death and grief, appearance versus reality, family and found family, facing fears, isolation, and change. Loathe to Love You would be absolutely perfect for fans of Hazelwood’s previous novels, The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain. I would also recommend Loathe to Love You to fans of interconnected rom-coms like the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese, the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert, and the A Brush with Love series by Mazey Eddings. You should also check out Loathe to Love You if you enjoy romances featuring women in STEM such as Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon or The Astronaut and the Star by Jen Comfort.

Overall, reading each of the novellas was enjoyable and I appreciated the addition of the bonus chapter, which showcases what each of the three couples are up to post happily ever after. All the novellas were super short, fast-paced, and entertaining. Since each of the novellas were so short in length, it was great they were interconnected as I felt like this helped to keep moving the plot moving forward and helped to keep me engaged in the stories. Even though they were all enjoyable, the second chance romance in Stuck with You stood out, especially how it flashed back to reveal Sadie and Erik’s romantic history (including a sweet meet cute) and the elevator setting was great with the couple forced to communicate as they were literally trapped together!

On the downside, since I love Ali Hazelwood’s work, it would have been fantastic if each of the novellas were longer or perhaps even full-length novels—this is perhaps why the characters and plot weren’t as memorable as those in Hazelwood’s novels. Lastly, since I bought all three of the e-novellas separately before this compilation and being published in a print version, it would have been nice if there was more bonus content included in Loathe to Love You.

Overall, Loathe to Love You was enjoyable and would recommend it fans of short and steamy rom-coms!

This book includes three novella stories :
Under One Roof -
When Mara Floyd's mentor, Helena Harding passed away, she left her half of the D.C. house she owned to her. The other half was owned by Helena's brother, who left it to his kids when he died. The youngest, Liam Harding bought his siblings out and currently lives in the house. Liam is a lawyer who works for FGP Corp, a fossil fuel company, which is everything Mara is against as an environmental scientist. Let's just say that when they first meet, it's not all roses. Mara decides to stay put until she has enough money to move out. As time goes by the more time these two spend living together, the more they both realize that they really enjoy the other's company. The attraction keeps at a slow boil until it finally bubbles over just before Mara is going to move out and these two explode! Let's just say that they find their happy ending!

Stuck With You -
Sadie Grantham is a female civil engineer and works for GreenFrame, a company that values things like sustainability, environmental protection, economic viability and efficiency. Sadie also is very superstitious and when she goes to the local coffee shop to get her croissant before her big pitch, they are all gone. It just so happens that the guy that Sadie calls Corporate Thor just got the last one. He also works for a rival company. When "Thor" gives Sadie his croissant, she is very thankful and they end up sitting and talking for a while. Surprisingly, Erik "Thor" Nowak and Sadie have many things in common and soon start dating. When Sadie loses her big pitch job, she quickly realizes that Erik is to blame so she ends up ghosting him. Imagine her surprise when a few weeks later she gets stuck in an elevator, late at night, with Erik. Erik has no idea what caused Sadie to flee but he tries to find out. Over the course of time they are stuck, Erik and Sadie start to realize what had actually happened. They finally give in to their feelings and find their sweet happy ending.

Below Zero -
Ian Floyd and Hannah Arroyo have a love/hate relationship. Hannah wants to go to Norway for a dangerous research project and Ian is doing whatever he can to make that not happen. When Hannah finds a way to go, she jumps at the chance. The weather is impossible, but Hannah insists on doing the experiment. Of course Hannah gets in trouble, thinks she is going to die and who shows up to help her.....Ian.....all the way from the US! Ian has feelings for Hannah but she doesn't do relationships and he doesn't do just hookups. It doesn't take long for Hannah to realize that maybe she does want a relationship with Ian and he gladly jumps in to finally find their happy every after.

If you’re looking for quick and spicy (or hard and fast as Mara would put it) this collection of Ali Hazelwood’s novellas are just what you need. Nerdy, grumpy, taciturn, and hot.