I. LOVE. TENSION. AND. FORBIDDEN. MOMENTS!
4.5 stars

This is the first male pov we have had in an Ali Hazelwood book and I NEED her to make this a regular thing in her writing because damn she writes them in my favourite position... on their knees begging.
Eli Killgore oh! We love a man who knows how to long, grovel and take control.
Rue was such a strong heroine, even in her weaker moments of blind loyalty and devotion it just shows her humanity. Her trials with her emotions for Eli, her problems with her family, her conflict with the threats looming over her work and the struggles she has with food insecurity and finances have placed her in my #1 slot of Ali Hazelwood characters. The growth and solid structure of this character from beginning to end was on point.
There was so much patience and tenderness in this romance between Eli & Rue that was the stronghold of this book. The hot spicy and very much appreciated sex scenes were also good *wink wink* but that level of intimacy that their talking and 'experiments' gave were magnificent!

Also, I want to bring attention that this book touched on some backstories that were a touch darker - not really dark but that wasn't the usual trauma backstory. We touched on sibling relationships, in two areas that went in two different paths; one sibling having to step up and raise their sibling after parental death and how that relationship was not all sunshine and roses but hurt, pain and rocky. While the other shows you can choose yourself and while it can hurt someone else and make you feel guilty in a way, choosing your own happiness is right and important. Didn't really think this would hit me in my emotions but I cried and actually realized this was something I needed to hear - even if I didn't know it!

I only reason I think I didn't give this 5 stars was because of the abruptness of the start of the book and how it took 50-60 pages for me to fully get into it, but once I was in I was in. It has a longer build-up than many are used to but I highly recommend it!

BONUS NOTE: CONNOR HARK, THEY CAN NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU! GIVE ME A HAPPY ENDING FOR THIS IRISH MAN!

3.5 stars

According to Ali Hazelwood, Not In Love differs from her other books. On the one hand, the themes addressed in Not In Love are darker (child neglect, grief, and food insecurity), and on the other hand, the book is more of an erotic romance than a rom-com. I liked both characters, Eli a little more than Rue, and I loved reading from both their POVs. However, I struggled getting into the book at first. I found the second half of the book more enjoyable. I liked the premise, but I didn't love all the sex scenes, even as someone who usually likes steamy romances. Overall, I enjoyed Rue and Eli's love story but didn't love it as much as the author's other books.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the advanced reader copy and PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Ali Hazelwood is back to her woman in STEM roots with Not in Love. Rue is a biotech PhD, and she is working on a new patent in food science that would help to address food insecurity. She knows what she wants, and it's not love. So she uses a hookup app to meet men with one rule, no repeats. The day after she meets Eli, he turns up at her office as one of the private equity founders buying out her company.

This book felt like an emotional roller coaster. There were times when I loved and hated both Rue and Eli. And there were times when I was so frustrated with them both. I found their way of connecting with each other by sharing some of their deepest stories incredibly moving. And the steamy aspects were quite well done (though I strongly disagree with the author intro saying this is erotica).

I loved the secondary characters from both their friend groups, the fun little nods to a hockey romance and ice skating, his role as a single guardian, and that he falls first. And all the taboo aspects and more serious drama added a whole additional dimension for me.

I was so appreciative of how the audiobook was performed. Zachary Webber is always a favorite of mine, and he and Callie Dalton nailed the characters.

So different from anything Ali Hazelwood has written before, Not in Love is beautifully gritty and raw! The romance, chemistry, and plot are all tied up in tender emotions and balanced so well with one another. I loved how this was written and how Rue and Eli's relationship developed, they seemed to communicate through sex and their love was so dirty and sensitive. Their histories and characters were explored thoroughly and I enjoyed getting to know them as they reluctantly fell in love. The dual POV was such a nice touch, I loved reading Eli's perspective and his absolute obsession with everything Rue. While I believe this is more of an emotional romance than a romcom; the banter, touch of angst, tension, and steam all wrap up into an enigmatic forbidden romance that perfectly treads the line between serious and sweet.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Berkeley publishers for this arc of Not In Love.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t grasp my attention as much as I wanted it to. I found myself struggling to push through the chapters and connect with the plot/characters. Which in turn, left me to DNF this book.

I feel like the chemistry between the two MCs just wasn’t there for me and I just felt slightly bored. Overall, there was some good banter and nice friendships, but I don’t think I have the right to completely give an opinion if I simply was not able to finish the entire book. I feel so many people may love it, it just wasn’t for me.

3/5 stars ⭐️

Another excellent title from Ali Hazelwood! She revisits many of the same themes seen in her other works: contemporary romance, enemies to lovers, STEM setting- but manages to make it different and engaging every time. The characters in this book have experienced more trauma than typical Hazelwood characters, and I appreciated Hazelwood's approach to that.

This is an intense, addictive, steamy read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

I think this ranks as one of my least fav novels of Ali's unfortunately. Too much smut ruined a plot I actually found to be interesting. I found both MCs to be annoying. Sorry!

I loved Ali Hazelwood's first few novels, but this was a miss for me. It lacks the romcom aspect that is the main draw for me of her other novels, leaving only unlikeable characters and lust.

I never connected with either character. Eli spends his page time either a) lusting after Rue or b) remembering past relationships. He has no personality? Rue spends her time either being clueless about anything that's not science with her best friend, being cold and unfeeling, or avoiding dealing with her past. They bond by telling each other all the horrible things they've done.

The sex, decoupled from emotion as it is, is absolutely not what I want to read (I put up with skimming sex scenes to get to the romance / romcom). Without the romcom or romance... there's nothing there for me to like. I never connected with any side characters either. They're all annoying or unlikeable. Even the science/academia setting I loved in her previous books is missing. The science is barely there and it's focused on the takeover of a company.

There's literally nothing about this book that I like which is incredibly rare for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an advance copy for review.

Thank you Berkley for my copy of Not In Love! All thoughts are my own.

I had seen a lot of conversation around Ali Hazelwood’s latest, about how it was “different” and “not to expect a rom com” but I still didn’t really know what to expect or what that meant. And I was unsure! I really liked The Love Hypothesis and also really enjoyed Love, Theoretically. I love that Ali’s books are a little quirky but are quick, engaging romances. Bride was very different, after all! And that book was so much fun to read.

But I was intrigued and excited to try something new. I didn’t connect with these characters as much. There is an edge to this story which is great and important. Sadly, it’s not a new favorite of mine but i know lots of people who loved it!

Synopsis:

“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.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

That it was “Different”—I think it’s great when author’s step outside their usual box. While this book didn’t become a new favorite, I still commend the author for writing the story she wanted to write, rather than churn out something to appease the masses.

The STEM World—I have nothing to do with math, science, engineering, etc but I still love these hot nerds Ali dreams up for us.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

A Bit too Edgy for Me—I didn’t connect with the language or writing, which left it hard for me to get invested in the love story.

Pacing—I had to switch to the audio because the pacing didn’t keep me wanting to reach for it!

Character Authenticity: 3/5 Spice Rating: 3/5 Overall Rating: 3/5

Content Warnings:

child abuse, death of a parent, emotional abuse, stalking, abandonment

Slept on it and woke up still loving it. Of course, this book is NOT like her past published works. She mentions how it's tonally different and how the connection between the two is used through a physical relationship, more towards an erotic romance. So keep that in mind going in! I don't think this book will be for everyone. Very open door!

With that said, I loved how it was dual POV but Eli's POV was in third person. Eli was down 😭 so bad 😭 for Rue 😭 there's a big physical relationship over romance to start and continue down the path for the story. But the way the story was told, their relationship building, and their personal relationship too. Rue is the main narrator of the story and seeing her need for safety and protection given from Eli was so great. I really appreciated Rue as a character too and love their dynamics and the quirks they loved about each other. Of course, academics were thrown in and I always love seeing that. Research studies and STEM. It was her least STEM book though, I'd say!

I never saw this as insta love or insta lust, but you're seeing how their relationship and story unfolded for them. I loved the storyline and literally being in any moment for them, I am obsessed with Eli. It is by far her steamiest book, maybe too steamy for some, but I thought it was just perfect for them. I was clutching my pearls on the beach and on the way home on the train, people!!!

At last, their love confessions and just how they felt for each other. My heart! I loved how their communication got stronger with each other, and how they communicated with each other. Ali keeps improving as a writer to me! I need to figure out the rankings of her books for me now...brb!

*I received an e-arc via NetGalley as part of a blog tour and thank you to the Libro.FM ALC program for providing an audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Content Warnings from Ali Hazelwood’s Website: a lot more graphic explicit scenes, childhood poverty and food insecurity, anxiety around food, mentions of addiction (secondary characters), social anxiety, parental death (accidents, illness / off page, in the past), parental neglect, power exchange, attempted assault of the FMC by her brother (she is unharmed), pregnancy of a secondary character

I am convinced that Ali Hazelwood can never write a bad book for me. EVERYTHING I have read from her has been an absolute hit for me each time and Not in Love is no exception. While this book isn't all sunshine and rainbows, it still held that signature Ali Hazelwood writing style that I enjoy even while exploring slightly darker topics (see content warnings above).

As I explore more romance books and tropes, I find that I love the he falls first trope and with the added tropes of enemies with benefits, this book HAD ME and the fact that these characters were all over each other even though they were on opposite sides of a company take over!? I loved it.

Now that I have had 6 winners from Ali Hazelwood for me, I feel like I will never have to worry about whether I will like the book or not. She has consistently been an auto-buy author for me and I will continue to go into her books excited and swooning. It’s no surprise that this one is a 5 stars from me and, as always, I look forward to the next book released.

I will be posting a video review after the release date. Once again, thank you to the publisher for inviting me on this blog tour.

💕NOT IN LOVE by Ali Hazelwood💕

📆PUB DATE: April 23, 2024
➡️Swipe or see below for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audiobook/E-book
Read if you like:
🌶️LOTS of spice
2️⃣Dual POV
🤔”Rivals” with benefits

Thank you @prhaudio and @berkleyromance for the #gifted advanced audio and e-book copy of Not in Love! I switched between the two formats and enjoyed both! I’m going to start off this review by saying that this book is not for everyone. It is way steamier than any of Ali Hazelwood’s previous books, and even Ali herself has stated that it’s a lot different than anything she’s written before.

With that being said, I think you’ll enjoy this if you like very spicy books that also have good plots and characters with emotional depth. I loved both Rue and Eli and the chemistry between them was excellent. I won’t say too much about the plot, but they both have motives for their actions that sometimes contradict each other. Luckily, I could empathize with them and see both sides. Overall, I was sucked in by the plot and the characters of Not in Love and thinks it’s Ali’s best yet! I also loved that Rue was a chemical engineer, because that was my major in college🤓❤️

“Food was what brought the Fuli family together every night, what…parents…made for their kids after a hard practice, what people talked about when they came back from weekends spent in quaint coastal bed-and-breakfasts. Food was collagen, the connective tissue of our society.” #Foodie here so I agree wholeheartedly!

So it seems Ali Hazelwood has a dark side. I see you girl. Me likey. Not In Love is an enemies-to-lovers STEMinst romance that easily weaves intellect with sexuality. And holy hell this book is HOT 🥵.

I am going to give a special shout out to @jasonclarkereads and @callie_dalton for their EXTRAORDINARY narration of this audiobook. It’s told from dual pov, Rue and Eli, and so it has two narrators. Perfect. I love that. But usually, in an audiobook, if you’re listening to the male’s narration then any dialogue in that chapter is done by that male narrator. But for what I think may be time first time ever for me, these two narrators still narrate their respective roles, even in the other character’s chapter. So it’s like a legit dialogue between them. I was utterly absorbed. Sucked in. Oh my I just loved it!

Thank you to @libro.fm for the #gifted #audiobook! Also Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for the ARC.

4.25⭐️
One thing about Ali Hazelwood? She knows how to write a man HORRENDOUSLY down bad and I’ll eat it up every single time!!! I had a fun time reading this book! I loved the dynamic between Rue and Eli even though their relationship started out as something just physical and transactional it became more. I loved seeing how that played out between them. The issues that both Rue and Eli faced individually was written so well and it seeing the two of them form a connection that they both longed for in some way was beautiful. All in all I enjoyed this one!!

This book starts with an author’s note that is VERY IMPORTANT TO READ. She notes that this book is not similar to her other books in that it deals with heavier topics and she would classify it as erotic fiction. When I first saw the cover, I instinctually felt like the story might be darker than her usual fare based on the difference in the pictures. But I had no idea until the author’s note that it would be considered erotica.

It was quite explicit, but the story around all the sex was great as per her usual standards. If you like her novels and you are at least tolerant of erotica, you will enjoy this book. If you lean more closed-door, stay far away.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I absolutely love Ali Hazelwood's books for their realness and quickness and how they get serious without getting too serious. However, I think I love her more for a book like this that demonstrates how things are messy, complicated, and while they may have a happy ending, there is so much that can happen to get there.

This book is not a happy one. I wouldn't say that it's sad, though, just a bit heavy and it takes a lot out of your to try and navigate the emotion behind it. But for someone who has written a certain way for the last 4-5 books, this can be an incredibly daunting task, and Hazelwood definitely was up for it. I love her for her rom-coms, but this romance wrapped up in drama was so deeply resonant that I have found a new way to love and appreciate one of my favorite authors.

Absolutely loved this one.

This might be my new favorite from Ali Hazelwood!

Read if you like forbidden romance, enemies-to-lovers, tons of spice, he-falls-first, and tons of pining.

Rue meets Eli on a hookup app, but the night goes south because of her brother and nothing happens… except both of them feel an immediate connection to the other.

The next day, Rue realizes Eli is part of the company that just bought the loan taken out by the company she works for. Eli is part of a hostile takeover, and as such, he’s the enemy.

But he doesn’t want to be her enemy. And the pull between them is too strong for them to stay away from each other, especially in such close proximity to begin with.

I loved this. How hard both of them fight their feelings, how hard Eli falls, and Rue’s process of deciding how she feels about Eli.

As always, this has the author’s trademark STEM angle, which was so enjoyable to read. I loved all of the characters (well, except one) and even felt this could set up for another couple.

Really, this has everything! Tension, drama, the best spice, our MMC caring for the FMC, and the best feminist energy. Not to mention, I really like Ali’s writing style here.

Utterly readable, I can see myself rereading when I want a quick and heartfelt romance. With Tiny the dog thrown in, this was simply irresistible.

All my stars, my highest recommendation— this is a must read!

I’m a massive Ali Hazelwood fan and this did not disappoint! This one is definitely up there in my top 3 Ali Hazelwood titles now and it’s exactly what I’ve wanted from her—it’s a bit heavier and more angsty than her past works. And it’s also dual POV which was a delightful surprise. Ali Hazelwood continues to prove herself as a romance writing powerhouse and I’m so glad to be able to be along for the ride and reading her works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have become one of those readers who sees that Ali Hazelwood wrote something and that I am going to read it. I have had a somewhat unconventional journey with her books as I started with her Y.A. after winning an ARC and then went from that to her paranormal romance and then finally read her debut earlier this year. However, I think that this helped me enjoy her works more because I'm not sure that I would have continued reading if I had started with her debut, but enough about me.

Not in Love was a quick and fun read. I loved both of the main characters, partially because Eli is like a giant puppy and Rue reminds me of me. I was invested in their romance, but I will say that this has more sex scenes than any of her other works that I have read. I don't know about the ones I haven't yet, but this one is a bit heavy on the sex scenes, probably because of the nature of their relationship from the very beginning. As a side note, because I have seen it asked, when it says that it is a secret affair it is from colleagues, not spouses or significant others. This is not a cheating romance. It is a fun romance, with a few heavier topics dashed in, but not spoken about at such a length as to be a downer on the mood.

Overall, I think fans of Hazelwood's other books will be happy with this installment. If you haven't read any of her other books, read this if you like: women in STEM, golden retriever men (but he can also be a bit domineering), he fell first, and sort of secret work romances.

I would truly read this woman’s grocery list and ask for more. Going into Not in Love I had expected it to be a bit darker than previous stories and I am glad that I was aware of that. It’s not as if it was a horrifying tragic read or anything, but tonally it felt different. I loved Rue and Eli and I loved their relationship, especially in this world we live in their story felt incredibly authentic. I liked watching Rue figure out how she felt and I loved how patient Eli was. The dual POV was god-tier (one of my favourite things in a book). One of the best parts about Rue for me was that she kept her world small and was comfortable in her own skin. I also love the way the story was told. I felt even with Eli’s POV I took me some time to warm up to him and trust his intentions, and I really do love being won over.
Overall this was as good as anything else she’s written, and definitely spicier than usual 🔥