Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First, I love Ali Hazelwood and have enjoyed reading her past work. I didn't love Not in Love. I thought the beginning of the book was tough to get through. I never really felt a connection with Rue and Eli, especially because their intimate scenes were happening WAY too often to even delve into their connection to each other. I just found it cringe more than deepening their emotional connection. The ending was better. I think the plot twist was done well, even though it is predictable.

Overall, not super memorable, however, Ali Hazelwood is still a queen in my eyes and I am excited to see her future work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

Not in Love is certainly Ali’s spiciest romance to date!

Enemies to lovers will always be a favorite trope of mine. When the two characters get together despite what their conscience might be telling them... UGH! The tension is just SO GOOD!

There came a point in this story though that I started to feel like the spice was a bit much. It became super repetitive in my eyes. I honestly never thought I’d say I wanted less spice, but I feel like many scenes were added to just make the story seem more provocative, which wasn’t a plus in my book. I wanted the two characters to get a little deeper into their past relationships to show why perhaps they were the way they were, but maybe this is just me.

I really love how the majority of Ali’s novels revolve around characters within the scientific community. I love how she brings to light the different types of injustices that women experience in the STEM space, and Not in Love is no different. I don’t want to give too much away, but the drama in this story had me STRESSING!

Overall, this was definitely a fun and spicy read! Eli was a total SIMP for Rue and I couldn’t get enough. We love a man with golden retriever energy who falls HARD for his girl!

Thank you to Berkley Romance (@berkleyromance @berkleypub) for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ali Hazelwood never misses, and this is no exception. This book is different from her others. A bit more serious, a lot more sexy. The characters are so special, their tension palpable, but with Hazelwood's humor at the forefront. I will never not adore an Ali Hazelwood book.

Gosh golly I was not expecting this one. 5⭐️ easy.
Ali Hazelwood definitely stepped outside of her comfort zone writing Not In Love, and it paid off. The start of the book was slow but I was completely hooked about 40% of the way in and couldn’t put it down. The unspoken autism rep through Rue’s character was unexpected and sooo appreciated, I felt so seen with Rue and how she navigated life. The way Eli was so disgustingly obsessed with her from the moment they met was my favorite part of all, and I normally hate insta love, but Rue’s pushback made it exciting.
The little mystery of Harkness vs Kline was well thought out and executed.
Rue and Eli are quickly becoming one of my favorite couples and I’m secretly yearning for both of them.

Guys, this book was everything. That’s it. That’s the review. Not really, but also, it could be.
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Not In Love follows Rue and Elizabeth as they try and navigate the world of tech and science and life and love. Rue is so incredibly guarded. She has a few friends, her apartment, her plants, her science. Eli, on the other hand, is big and loud and demanding of what he wants. I love him for his very forward and dominant personality. These two are such polar opposites while also being exactly the same.

Rue and Eli meet through a dating app, intending on having just one night, but life has other plans. While never intending to be the villain in the story, Rue is forced to face that Eli and his investment firm are trying to buy out the tech startup where Rue works. All the while, drama from Rue’s past is rearing its head in the ugliest of ways. In her almost one night stand turned hostile takeover turned secret situationship, Rue is forced to face that her life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and who you should trust isn’t always clear cut,

As expected the chemistry between the leads is burning off the page. Eli is tall, broody, DEMANDING, and Rue is so sure of what she needs. Watching them figure out relationships together was just the most beautiful and sexy time. The back drop of a tech startup and the world of finance, while something I know exactly nothing about, was so interesting. Watching the two completely different worlds collide was so fascinating to watch.

In typical Ali fashion, this book was such a celebration of smart humans being so so stupid. Ali herself has said that this book is incredibly different from her others, and I couldn’t agree more. This book was super steamy and super sexy-driven. I LOVED THAT. These two didn’t fall in love in a traditional sense. This book wasn’t a typical Ali read. I adored these characters and their story and watching it unfold. Another 5⭐️ STEMinist read. Also, Tiny the dog deserves all of the pets and scritches. He can do no wrong.

Rue is a successful biotech engineer and a penchant for one night stands. But her world is turned upside down when there’s a hostile takeover of her company and one of the people responsible, Eli, the man she most recently almost slept with. Despite the conflict, the two begin a secret fling. (Can’t say more without spoiling it).
It pained me to rate an Ali book this low. I fell in love with her early writing blending romance and science, and while she did give fair warning that this novel would be different, it didn’t bring any true storyline. It was smut with a side of unclear plot.
Thank you to Berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

ali hazelwood’s latest books have been a hit for me (NOT IN LOVE, BRIDE, CHECK & MATE)! one thing they have in common is that they are not her stem romances that she is known for. I enjoyed those too, but not nearly as much as these! i had so much fun reading this one and even had moments where i teared up because of the trauma these characters have endured in their life. it kind of reminds me of check & mate, that book handled hard topics with depth, but kept it YA. this is the adult version, but make it STEM 🧪💕

this is the second book that i have read that handled the representation of a relative taking on a guardianship role with care while giving a glimpse of the hard realities that come with it (just for the summer is the other book i’m referring to). i felt seen and related to eli, and for that, this book will have a special place in my heart.

i will note that is book is extra spicy, like 5/5🌶️ just in case open-door romance isn't your thing. this was the only reason it wasn't a five-star read for me, while i don't care if a book has a spice, this one had a bit too much 🤭

what to expect:
- the guy is down bad first
- dual pov
- lots of spice
- character development & depth
- stem (but not nearly as much as previous books)
- might make you laugh and cry

4.5 stars

As always, Ali Hazelwood delivers an absolute joy of a spicy STEM romance. This will easily be one of my most recommended reads this summer. Ali's STEM bibliography is growing and I honestly appreciate the consistency, as someone who wouldn't normally seek out STEM or academic settings & characters, and doesn't always relate to the characters' struggles. Not in Love wasn't my favorite (no one beats Jack imo), but I love the direction she's going in!

This was the first Ali Hazelwood book that I did not love. The Love Hypothesis is one of my all-time favorite books and I adored Bride, but this did not hit the mark. I didn't feel any chemistry between Rue and Eli and I wasn't invested in the plot at all. The majority of the book was centered around sex, but it felt too cold and disconnected for me to enjoy. I ended up DNFing at 61% so I can't give a fully accurate rating.

As one of Ali's biggest fans this one hurt. I think the low stakes plot made it hard for me to buy-in. I was honestly bored! Between the high level science and corporate legalese I was just zoning out.

Book Review for Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

First Impressions: Don’t Forget the Science
What’s Your Type? Grumpy/Sunshine, Aquaintences With Benefits, No Strings Attached, One Night Stand Turns Into Something More
Meet Cute: I Never Thought I’d See You Again
The Lean: Slow Burn, Emotionally
Dirty Talk: Straight Up
We Need to Talk: Science as an Afterthought
Was it Good For You? Not the Best, But Not the Worst

First Impressions: Don’t Forget the Science
I used to really like the sciency aspect of Hazelwood’s covers; they were unique and quirky among the many other illustrated covers out there. But this one’s just lazy. Those test tubes look like a total afterthought, and it’s hard to tell that the thing in front is an experiment of some sort.

What’s Your Type?
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Acquaintances With Benefits
- No Strings Attached
- One Night Stand Turns Into Something More

Dating Profile
Dr. Rue Siebert doesn’t really do people. But when she’s feeling a certain need, she reaches out to men via an app, they both benefit, and then they go their separate ways. No repeats, no strings attached. Nothing to detract her from her true love: working on a new chemical coating for fruits and veggies to keep them fresher, longer.

Eli Killgore isn’t looking for a relationship; he’s been there, done that. He’s too busy with his private equity firm and their interest in Kline, a promising startup in the biofuel industry. But he, too, occasionally needs to scratch an itch, and also turns to an app for quick and easy company.

Meet Cute: I Never Thought I’d See You Again
Rue contacts Eli through an app and expects a night of good fun. Instead, they get to deal with her aggressive brother and end up going home without going home, if you know what I mean. Both feel an immediate and powerful attraction to each other, however, and so consider doing what they don’t usually do: meet up a second time. Until they realize who each other are: Rue being a scientist at Kline and Eli being one of the people (allegedly) trying to take it over.

The Lean: Slow Burn, Emotionally
Rue doesn’t want to like Eli, especially when she thinks he’s trying to ruin everything she and her friend Florence, the founder and CEO of Kline, have worked so hard for. But she can’t resist the chemistry. Eli feels much the same way, if not more so, so the two fall into the spice from a pretty early point. It’s the emotional connection that comes later, through sharing difficult stories about their childhoods to learning the quirks of each other.

Dirty Talk: Straight Up
Rue and Eli are refreshingly honest and open about their likes and dislikes while getting to know each other’s sexual preferences. Rue, for example, doesn’t like penetrative sex (not because of any residual trauma, but because she’s never really enjoyed it) while Eli likes to take control. It’s nice to see two romance novel adults being so clear and explicit in their wants and consents.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose
Being able to read Eli’s POV in this book is an interesting experience; he clearly falls for Rue long before she even gives the idea a subconscious thought. The poor guy is like a teenager again, constantly hard and reaching his climax nearly immediately. I feel bad for how uncomfortable he had to have been the entire book.

We Need to Talk: Science as an Afterthought
Hazelwood made a name for herself with her STEM-heavy romance novels but has slowly been moving away from the actual science. This latest book is the lightest on the science yet (aside from Bride, which is outside her norm), and although I’m not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, I really liked how different the science aspects of her books made them seem. It makes me a bit sad that the science in Not in Love could have been replaced by any sort of other job, and it wouldn’t have changed the plot much at all.

Was it Good For You?
Although Not in Love is a spice-heavy book, I was more interested in the emotional relationship between Rue and Eli. The way they trusted each other with their darkest secrets was powerful, and their explicit and clear conversations about their preferences was a breath of fresh air. Kudos to Hazelwood for those aspects. (And the spice isn’t all that bad, either.)

“Her existence, apparently, did a lot for him. More than an elaborately staged erotic show.”

A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.
_
I just love the characters that Ali develops and the relationships they have to one another. We explored different types of preferences in this one as well.
The double cross hurt in this one. It sucks when you put your trust in the wrong place in your life and/ or your career.
Loved Rue and Eli, their forbidden relationship, their intensity and kink. She didn't want more than one time and he wanted it all. Love when he falls first and I think Ali’s men always fall for these beautiful and brilliant woman before they catch on. Loved how Rue is curvy and awkward and didn't feel like she could do a relationship. But he was so patient with her and made her feel all the things. Loved his preferences, so interesting. 🥵
I really hope we get another story with the friends from Harkness. Love a good hostile takeover with a twist.

Thank you berkleyromance

This was so unlike Ali Hazelwood's other books and yet it still reminded me of how much I love reading her books.
The author's note at the beginning of the book was perfect for the content of the book because I don't want anyone to pick this up expecting something that it is not (a cutesy rom-com like her others). This was a fun, quick, witty, spicy romance with an emotional subplot with a touch of mystery.
I started this and read it in one day. It was impossible to put down and all-consuming when I was reading it. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the amount of spice, but other than that I loved learning more about the characters throughout the story and I felt very emotional connected to Rue and her backstory. I also enjoyed the way Eli and Rue shared their worst stories with each other. That is such a wonderful addition to the book and helped us see new and more vulnerable layers to the characters!
3.5

Ali Hazlewood strikes again with an amazing STEM-romance! I loved Eli and Rue's dynamic and their understanding on what love is.

Thanks to #partners Berkley Romance and PRHaudio for the #gifted eARC and ALC for this clever and beautiful book.

Not in Love
by Ali Hazelwood
Duet narration by Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 4.75/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 ☄️ (0-5) Very vocal dirty talk and deliciously kinky and descriptive.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Cleverly written in dual POV with an important flashback, giving us that perfect, complicated, and forbidden meet-bad/meet-again workplace situation.
🤩 The unique (and maybe quirky) characterization is fabulous.
🤩 The combination of opposites attract plus instant attraction banter is top-notch.
🤩 All of these qualities in such gorgeous voices that are perfectly cast!! You can feel their every emotion (or non-emotion) deeply.
🤩 I love how the story confessions are weaved throughout the plot to help us know the MCs better as they are getting to know and trust each other.
🤩 Eli Killgore is total book boyfriend material. He is open, honest, caring, and puts Rue before everything. I love how he encourages her, his “Good girl.”
🤩 Eli and Rue are super steamy together in a very intimate way. I appreciate the deeper themes of trust and control even in their spicy moments.
🤩 On a personal note: I feel so seen with this beautifully written contemporary wallflower FMC.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 They almost lost me in chapter one. It was a little too heavy in the private equity firm and loan assignment discussions going on. I’m so glad I pushed through, and the plot felt much more interesting once we got past the initial business stuff.

In an update that will shock everyone (no one), I LOVED this book. I literally never shut up about my love for Ali Hazelwood IRL so I’m excited for a chance to SHOUT about her on here🩷🩷🩷 If you’re a contemporary romance lover, you MUST read AH! Her books are like dessert to me and I just keep coming back for more. I highly recommend all of Ali’s books and this one is NO exception!

NOT IN LOVE has the typical badass women in stem (I, too, am an expert in food preservation after reading this book!) and workplace rivalries that we’ve come to expect from Ali Hazelwood BUT with a fun and different twist. 🤭 NOT IN LOVE is also, and more importantly if you ask me, significantly steamier than her other books and it worked well for me. Personally. I loved Rue and Eli and their circles of friends so much and found myself so invested in the plot almost as much as the romance! Almost 😉

This was so different from Hazelwood’s previous books. I wasn’t expecting it to be as spicy as it was. I liked that it still had a woman in STEM as the main character though. The chemistry between Rue and Eli was palpable and I enjoyed the non-steamy scenes they were in together. Learning about their backgrounds and reading about their relationship progress were my favorite parts of this story.

I’m not a prude, but I could have done with a little less spice! When it comes to romance books, I’m more of a moderate spice girl. This is just my opinion though as I know many people who loved the spice level in this book. After I finished reading it, I saw that Hazelwood described it as erotic romance which I think was spot on.

I liked the hostile takeover storyline, and how Eli and Rue kept being thrown into situations together so they couldn’t avoid each other. Their relationship was cute outside of the bedroom, but hot once in it! Hazelwood definitely knows how to write romance, and if you don’t mind steamier books, then check this one out!

Read this if you like:
- he falls first
- reverse grumpy/sunshine
- women in STEM
- dual POV
- spicy books

Thanks for the digital ARC Berkley Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

So fun and hot! Definitely a new Ali fave!! I really enjoyed her writing in this one, and the exploration of these characters’ flaws was done so beautifully. Ali’s MMCs will always be famous!!

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

The simplest review I can write is just telling you that I stayed up until 3 am finishing this book, and it was worth every second of lost sleep.

This is, of course, not the first time this has happened for an Ali Hazelwood book, nor will it be the last. There continues to be something so addictive and easy about her writing that keeps me reading, when for other books I’d already have put it down and taken a break. This only continues to be truer as Ali writes more novels and develops her craft further.

I feel like romance books often get compared to guilty pleasures, or junk food, or other comparisons that seem to situate them as something that’s easily enjoyed but isn’t actually good (for you). Anyone who says that is just plain wrong, of course, and just needs to spend time with the genre, because the depth of human emotion and character-building that happens in some of these romances is just beautiful. For me, there are a few authors who continue to prove the depth of this genre to me, over and over, and Ali is definitely one of them.

As she’s grown as a writer, her characterization has grown stronger and stronger, to the point where she can leave the ‘crutch’ of Reylo-style characterization behind (though I did enjoy those first books a ton as well). We already saw this a bit with Love, Theoretically, but Not in Love feels like the first book where she’s entirely left that space behind. Don’t get me wrong, I would have read thousands of Reylo fanfiction novels from her, but I also love seeing her spread her wings and apply her style of writing and ability of capturing deep emotions to different types of characters. I loved Rue and Eli with my whole heart, and I loved how much they were not like her previous characters. I love how prickly and closed-off Rue was, and how strong and in love Eli was. I don’t know if I would quite call it grumpy & sunshine, but it definitely has elements of that, except this time the woman was the grump, and I was entirely here for it.

There’s also a lot of trauma in this book, mainly in the pasts of the main characters, and I loved how their relationship seemed to lean on it but in a way that wasn’t toxic. Most of those events had happened years ago, and the characters had already gone through quite some healing on their own, but that just meant that this story was able to instead focus on the power of feeling seen, and how amazing it is when you find someone you can be entirely open and honest with (and how that path to opening up and being honest with someone else (and yourself) is not a linear one).

I also really enjoyed the STEM plot in this one. It tackled a new type of problem that people face in these kinds of academic spaces but looked at it from various angles and explored this sort of clash between legality and morality, and how just because something is technically legal does not make it right. There were also layers of power involved, and I loved the exploration of what certain characters thought their goals were worth sacrificing.

Overall, I adored this book, and love seeing how Ali continues to grow as an author. I’m getting to the point where I’ve loved so many of her books that it’s hard to say which one is my favorite, though maybe it’ll always just end up being the most recent one I’ve read, with the way she keeps getting better and better as an author!

4.5*

I am so thrilled to have liked this one. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Ali Hazelwood's work (even though I've rated all the ones I've read highly, but I have Thoughts.), but this was lovely. This one is definitely more serious than her other books (I wouldn't say its a romcom at all), and that worked for me because I sometimes I find the humor to be a bit much.

This followed the usual Ali Hazelwood formula of woman in STEM finds herself shoved into close contact with guy who she really shouldn't be anywhere near and who is also about to get screwed over by some academia issue. Woman is inevitably unaware of how badly she is about to get screwed and chaos ensures. However. Perhaps this is due to the more serious tone of this one, the female main character was not of the usual quirky and, for whatever reason, tiny Ali Hazelwood characterization. Rue was, god bless her heart, serious and shy and TALL, and we (meaning me) are so grateful for this change.

Eli was for the most part wonderful and supportive of Rue in literally everything she does, and spends the majority of the book worshipping the ground she walks on. However, Eli was unfortunately the victim of the ~thing~ that shows up in all Ali Hazelwood novels where there is one (1!) throwaway line that definitely wasn't meant to be taken seriously or even noted at all, but that absolutely enrages me (in Love, Theoretically it was the random dig about librarians). Poor Eli, when trying to explain to Rue why he didn't tell her about very important plot-furthering, life-altering information, proceeds to say that it was because the legal proceedings were ~so complicated~ and he just couldn't find a way to explain it to her.

Rue has a PhD. I think she'd be able to manage it. Eli proceeds to spend the rest of the book treating Rue as exactly as smart as she is, so it's fine. But.... that line didn't need to exist and I will think about it forever.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!