Ali's horniest book yet?!

I had a lot of fun reading this. It has a lot of the classic Ali formulas, but the structure is different: it's dual POV, FMC written in first person past tense, and MMC written in third person past tense. It worked for me! I've been bothered by that structure before, but here I didn't mind it.

Insta-lust to lovers is how I'd probably categorize this. The characters are on opposing ends of a company takeover, but they can't seem to successfully suppress their attraction to one another.

The setting was great, the other characters felt full, and the relationship developed in a way that didn't feel forced. Solid contemporary romance!! Would give it 4.5.

Ali hazelwood does it again. I enjoyed this romance very much. I look forward to reading the rest of her novels. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

Having read everything that Ali Hazelwood has written, I will have to say that this is my least favorite - simply because of personal taste! I thought the book was well written, funny, and touched on meaningful topics but was more focused on the physical relationship than her other work. I typically love Ali’s work for the yearning aspect. The fact that something (oftentimes something infuriating and silly) is keeping our main characters apart and so we have to survive on longing looks and yearning, but because these two characters in Not In Love have already made it very clear that they are physically attracted to each other, there isn’t the yearning aspect. I think that romance fans will still enjoy this book, but just personally it lacked the ingredient I love from Ali’s work!

Not in Love is so good! It’s angsty and romantic, and I just loved these characters! Rue yearns for stability but when a takeover of the company she works for shakes things up, she’s thrown for a loop when her unsuccessful one-night stand Eli shows up as part of the team looking to take the company down. But there’s a lot more than meets the eye, and Rue will never be the same again. Having the dual POV made this book so much better. Eli and Rue are such complex characters and their game of trading dark stories of their past back and forth is tragic and beautiful, and the acceptance these characters had for each other was striking and lovely. It was so easy to fall for these two. I will say I think this book leaned kind of hard on the steamy scenes that I found myself skimming them some. But I loved the development of these two, the growth of their romance and of them as individuals too. It’s deep and beautiful and the subplot is so good, I couldn’t wait to see where the story went! It’s witty and angsty and smart and just a super bingeable read!

I love Ali Hazelwood's books, and this one was no different. Ali does an awesome job at portraying women in STEM, and strong women with their own ideas and successes and struggles. Rue was an easy heroine to root for, in all her awkward glory. I recommend this to anyone who loves romance, science, and strong female (and male) leads. Compulsively readable.

this may be a bold statement, but i think this has been my favorite book by ali hazelwood so far. 🫢 typically, her books aren’t usually the biggest standouts to me but i still very much enjoy them. also this cover is GORGEOUS!!

for me personally, this one felt a lot heavier to read than her previous works. topics such as grief, food insecurity, child neglect, social anxiety and feelings of inadequacy were touched on and i think they were all handled nicely. always check tw’s!!

one of the things i loved most about this book was rue. while i love my confident and extroverted fmc’s, it is so refreshing to get to read about a character who is seen as “aloof” and “detached” when in reality she just has a hard time communicating with others which causes her to self isolate. if this sounds like you, you are going to love her!! she’s my girl. eli was a such a sweetheart (definitely not in the sheets lol🧎🏻‍♀️), and was highkey obsessed with rue (as he should)!

i will say there is a lot more smut/spice in this book than her previous ones, but it didn’t overwhelm the romance for me. with the issues/topics involved in this story, it makes sense how the characters went about their physical relationship and why. 

i don’t want to give too much away, but this was definitely a great and heartfelt read for me!!
thank you netgalley and berkley publishing group for this arc! 💐

3.5/5

This is a very spicy forbidden romance, that is rich with more unique characters, and a new kind of story from Ali Hazelwood. Both Eli and Rue felt very different to the typical characters Hazelwood writes. They have immediate chemistry, and this is evident and a bit in your face for the entirely of the book. I cannot stress that this book is HEAVY on the sex scenes, sometimes over the top, but I feel like it is important to note how prevalent the physicality of their relationship is.

I had a difficult time getting into the story, the characters didn't feel as though they were sharing much about themselves for quite awhile. This changed and I began to really know them by the middle of the story! However, despite the dual POV (which I enjoyed) I still wasn't the biggest fan of the way Eli expressed his connection to Rue, it felt at times as though his obsession with her was only sexual. I did enjoy Rue's character a lot, she felt so confident in being herself, and I loved her and I appreciated the way she was written to be loyal and honest with who she was.

I wasn't sold on the plot at the start but became quickly obsessed with the corporate storyline and the conflict, it was what kept my attention the most throughout the book. I even cried at the end when it all came together, the friendships and conflicts became my favorite part! I will say this book is very sexy, however it may just not have been what I was expecting and for that reason some of the spice felt overwhelming at times. I did still really enjoy reading this, especially the last 3rd of the book which was my favorite part of the book.

Thank you Berkley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

I know a lot of people will ding Ali Hazelwood for following a pretty similar formula in her novel writing, but the formula works for me and is changed just enough each book that I vibe with it. However, Not in Love feels like it builds upon all of her former works. There are notes of her go to story elements: STEM/academic setting, miscommunication/misunderstanding, a secret or forbidden relationship. But we also get dual POV (finally), more spice (it's possible!), and she's grumpy/he's sunshine. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I can't wait to read the next one! Maybe we'll get a romance sort of hinted at in this book as the next one!

Ali Hazelwood continues to amaze me! This story has a different vibe from the other AH books I've read, steamier and more emotionally vulnerable, and I love it.

I adore Rue, an emotionally unavailable, shy scientist who presents as aloof to all. She lets herself have near-anonymous hookups every once in a while, and this time she picks Eli. When he shows up to meet her, she's being harassed by a guy (later confirmed to be her brother). Rue and Eli don't hook up but are stunned by their instant mutual attraction. Later, when Eli arrives at her office to take over the biofuel company from one of Rue's friends, we get our conflict! Can they resist each other as they line up on opposite sides of this business struggle? Of course not!

I really love Rue and Eli's connection. They both have baggage from their pasts and realize they mesh together in part because they understand and listen to each other so well. I laughed, I cried, I will continue reading Ali Hazelwood books forever!

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC!

I thought it started out really good, but then it just turned into porn on paper and never really stopped. The plot was fighting for it's life. It was more than I have ever seen from her. I don't know I didn't really like the plot that much. It was beyond predictable. I want more like The Love Hypothesis or Love Theoretically and this just wasn't it. I will still read everything she writes, but this was a bit disappointing. I am grateful for my copy, however. I hope Ali's next book is uber-amazing.

Thank you to Berkeley Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Rue's career as a biotech engineer at Kline is rocked by a company takeover that she didn't see coming. Eli and his partners want Kline and are digging into the company, trying to find the leverage they need to win the rights to the company. Rue and Eli have an attraction that neither of them can ignore. Being on opposite sides of this takeover makes their relationship impossible but they can't help but want one another.

This book ROCKED MY WORLD!!! When I finished the book, I was so sad that it was over. I immediately wanted to re-read it so that I could jump back into Rue and Eli's world.

Rue and Eli had an intense and fiery chemistry that I ate up. They had an undeniable attraction and an ease between them that was there from the start. Rue was closed off to most people, but there was something about Eli that made her want to share things with him. They fell hard and fast for one another and life as they knew it would change, whether they were ready for it or not. Their sexual chemistry was EXPLOSIVE. This is Ali Hazelwood's steamiest book yet and I AM HERE FOR IT!!!

What I loved about this book was that the journey that Rue and Eli went on was unexpected. I didn't expect things to play out how they did and I loved that it wasn't predictable. I enjoyed the bit of mystery about Eli's motives for the takeover and how that complicated their relationship.

I cried tears of joy at the end of the book. It was beautiful how Rue and Eli fit together, like yin and yang and complimenting each other perfectly. He knew what she needed and he did everything in his power to give her what she needed.

This book is going on my all-time favorites list. I can't wait to read it again in the near future!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: mention of food insecurity and death of a parent

Eil is the definition of man OBSESSED. I loved this book so much, Ali did it again!
I read bride earlier this year and I wondering how 2 releases in the year would go, and it happy to announce that I loved both with all my heart.
Eli and Rues relationship was fast physically and had the perfect slow burn emotionally that I loved

This was exactly what you would expect from an Ali Hazelwood novel. The setting is a tiny bit different than her other novels, but again it revolves heavily around academia and STEM. I did like that Hazelwood diverged slightly from her "not like other girls" quirky main characters, but it almost went too far in the other direction. I liked Rue as a character, but I wish that more time had been spent on giving her a personality aside from her personal struggles. I get that as people we are often defined by our life experiences, but that should not be the entirety of a character's personality. As for the male main character, Eli, he was just okay as well. I didn't like the insta-love aspect of his characterization. He's completely gone for her upon first meeting her, and you hear a lot of his inner dialogue, but you never really understand what he likes about her past her looks and her and her "unattainability."
A large portion of their relationship and the overall plot of the story, relies on the idea of the main characters not considering themselves "good people." Hazelwood spends a lot of time building up to the big bad things that these characters have done and regularly has the characters divulge said "bad things" to each other on the basis of creating an honest relationship. But the build up was unnecessary and honestly anti-climactic. All this to say, if you like Ali Hazelwood's previous novels then you'll probably like this one as well; but don't expect it to be anything different.

Another banger by hazelwood! As much as I enjoyed watching the romantic relationship blossom between them, it was the emotional connection between them, and especially Eli‘ encouragement of Rue to be who and what she wants to be that really took this story to the next level for me.

Ali Hazelwood has done it again! I absolutely adored this adult romance and everything about it was perfection! I know many criticisms of Ali Hazelwood include something about how she writes her books in the style of a ReyLo fanfic, but this is anything but that. Finally, the reylo haters can enjoy an Ali Hazelwood book. This is about a nerdy, quiet, but extremely lovable main character, falling for the most golden retriever, sweetest boy ever. This book is everything a romance novel should be while also leaving the reader surprised and wanting more. Once I started Not In Love, I couldn't put it down. I've heard some other books being called "a book for romance readers who think romance is for everyone but themselves," and I think this book falls firmly in that category. This was so incredible, and truly shows Hazelwood's range and growth as a writer. I can't wait to see what she writes next, because her books just exceed expectations every single time!

This wasn't my favorite Ali Hazelwood, but I still really liked it! Rue Siebert, engineer at a company called Kline, is not into relationships (she actually reminded me quite a bit of the FMC in Hazelwood's YA novel, Check & Mate). She periodically meets one-night stands through a hook-up app, and pretty much never sees them again. That formula is broken with Eli Killgore in more than one way - one, they don't hook up because her brother shows up and kind of ruins the vibe, and two, she runs into Eli again almost immediately. Eli and his business partners have bought a loan owed by Kline (this is where I must admit that there was some financial stuff in this that I fully didn't understand), and there's fear throughout the company that they'll take over operations and lay off employees. So Eli is now a clear enemy of Rue and her friends and colleagues, but she can't seem to stay away from him. Rue and Eli had great chemistry and banter (I laughed out loud a few times), and I liked that these two mains were a bit different than the main characters in Hazelwood's first three steminist novels - she's slightly less naive, he's slightly less alpha. There's still plenty of what I think of as Hazelwood's signatures - representation of women in STEM, a fast-paced plot, solid side characters, complicated character histories, and some scathing commentary on mentoring of women in science and tech.

took me a bit to get into mostly because i was so tired and kept falling asleep but as i’ve said before, ali hazelwood keeps getting better and better with every book she writes. not in love has a very different tone than her other works, but she handles it so well and knows how to ride the emotions all the way to an hea. loved this book and now everything that ali hazelwood writes

OBSESSED.

Am I talking about myself while reading this book or Eli's feelings towards Rue? The world may never know.

Ali Hazelwood said this is her angsty-est novel yet & she did not disappoint. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and I made me want to hug both of these characters for a long, long time. Who says a venture capitalist and a biochemist can't be the perfect match for each other?

As per usual, Hazelwood has hit it out of the park. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

As a certified Ali stan, getting to read and review her upcoming books never gets old. I was especially excited to receive an early copy of NOT IN LOVE thanks to Berkley Romance + NetGalley and it may just be my favorite release since her first.

Still featuring a steminist focus (I would expect nothing less!) and a smart, attractive male main character that is every bit her match, this book is a little bit different from Ali’s normal writing formula but I was caught up in the story from the start.

Rue knows what she wants in all things, and is not willing to give more than what she knows she can, setting clear boundaries and expectations in all aspects of life that at times may make her seem unfriendly. The qualities that some may think of as unlikeable make her exactly who she is, a fierce and loyal friend who is incredibly intelligent and determined to succeed in her work, that is tied to her past in a big way. I found even the science of her work interesting, and how Ali wrote the interactions between Rue, her childhood and her work made her a character I could not wait to know more for, and who I wanted to have everything she ever wanted and more.

Our love interests have a meet cute that is unique and attention-grabbing, only to wake up and find out they’ll be working together in the worst case scenario possible, setting them off on the wrong foot in every way. After Eli crashes into her life and makes her question what she knows, their forbidden affair becomes everything as he gives her the space to be herself and loves her for it, even as she questions his motives — it had me absolutely swooning.

With plenty of steamy scenes full of mutual consent and joy, I loved every bit of their close proximity workplace romance and their complicated family and friends that make up the rest of the plot line. Their lives are messy and wonderful and this book just gave me so much hope that everyone can find their someone, and choosing love is what’s most important. It was emotional and different and I really enjoyed the couples chemistry and their emotional vulnerability with one another throughout the book.

“Maybe people can be happy and sad. Maybe stories are messy and complicated. Maybe endings don’t always include solutions that tie everything together with a bow. But that doesn’t mean they have to be tragedies.”

Rue meets us with a man she matches with on an app for a hook up, things don’t go as planned and they don’t end up hooking up, but he does drive her home. Then at Rue’s work things have flipped upside down - and suddenly hook up man is the new loan holder of her work company. The 2 try to avoid each other, but there’s too much attraction between the both of them, they just can’t stay away. Rue doesn’t know if she’s betraying her friends or letting herself be happy. But with everything going on Rue doesn’t know who she can trust and who to mistrust.

It did take me a minute to really get into this book. The storyline wasn’t as intriguing/eventful as previous Ali Hazelwood works I’ve read. I felt the storyline was a little flat. There was too much of an emphasis on certain facts that you just KNEW something was going to go wrong with it, and once you discover the ‘truth’ you could already tell a potential repeat was going to happen. Both Rue and Eli were a little annoying/repetitive with their continuous ‘we shouldn’t but we will’ and ‘I know it’s not what I/you want but I’ll take what I can get and I’ll give you anything you want’

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.