This is definitely the steamiest of Ali's books, and damn she delivered! the book has a great plot / workplace drama and family relationships and all that, but the smut and the steam was pretty central - something I feel like we don't usually get from her! And it was pretty delightful, I must say. A bit kinkier than maybe my vanilla persona was used to - but fun nonetheless! I love how Ali is exploring different aspects of romance writing and expanding her influence in the genre - this is not one to be missed!

the story was pretty good, but omg the sex scenes were just not it lol. it's the same old ali hazelwood, but just more sex which is her weakest link. I did like how the main female character was sort of autistic coded and tall for once! I'm done with the hazelwood short girls.

The good people at Berkley have been very kind to me over the years, I don't think there is a Hazelwood title that I have asked for that I haven't received early. The good Dr. Prof. Hazelwood and I have been through a lot together, our journey has had some high highs and some shockingly low lows. I went into this off the highest highs delivered by the good Dr. Prof. with Check & Mate and Bride, so no one is more gagged than I am to say that this book simply did not deliver... In fact, it's quite possibly my least favorite [ full length novel from ] Ali Hazelwood to date, something I didn't think was possible given how much I dislike The Love Hypothesis.

This is the story of Rue and Eli, the first true dual POV romance from the good Dr. Prof. and while I was initially excited I have never regretted something more in my life...

To start with the good, I really appreciated the business storyline in this. That's not too much of a shock given how I've tended to enjoy the B-plot in all of Hazelwood's previous works, at least starting with Love on the Brain. The company Rue works for might get their loans bought out by the hedgefund that Eli is a part of. Simple enough. Things get slightly more complicated when the connection between this biofuel start up and the hedgefund are teased out to the reader, given what could have been just a bland reason to have two characters meet into something that had some layers and added to the tension.

Just about nothing else worked for me. In part because this book does a lot of lip service, characters often proclaim to be one way while acting in total contradiction to their stated behaviors. Take Rue and Eli's first encounter. They're initially not brought together by the acquisition of Rue's place of employment, but a dating app. When their planned one night stand is run afoul by Rue's younger brother it's revealed that Rue is a one night stand girlie and while they never actually got around to doing anything other than Eli playing the part of a knight in shining armor this will be their only encounter. It's only when Eli shows up the next day and there's an obligatory moment of the two in a lab together that that goes out the window. We don't get a series of dates so much as we get a series of sexual encounters, this is by far Hazelwood's horniest book; complete with lots of discussions of the various kings each of our characters have and the quirks that they bring into the bedroom and how best to navigate them, or in some cases prove that Rue does actually like being penetrated when it's by Eli's curative cock. There's no emotional connection here. You could say that is in part because of the way Rue chooses to express emotion, but this is a dual POV and Eli isn't giving anything either, he's just getting chapters to tease the business storyline and play the part of a guy falling first because ~fate.

There's also an examination of Rue and her younger brother's dynamic. Truly some of the worst writing in the book. We meet him under the assumption that he's a belligerent drunk hitting on Rue at the hotel bar she's meant to be meeting Eli at, it's not until after he's played the part of the good guy that we learn the man at the bar was her younger brother and not a romantic rival. This relationship doesn't come up again until later in the book when the narrative needs a reason for Rue to call Eli for help even though we just read about this man betraying her in a way that should cut deep. We do get some info on their relationship and family history; namely that they were abandoned by their father at a young age and then grew up in an unstable home raised by a mother that was either not concerned with making sure her children ate or was simply unable to ensure that. So while Rue was able to get out of that life with a figure skating scholarship and her brain her brother was left behind to continue fending for himself, apparently in ways that Rue looks down on. Understandably Rue is caught between loving her brother but wanting nothing to do with him, but she's also standing in his way? That father that abandoned them, he's dead and left them a cabin he used to own. Vince, the brother, needs the money selling the cabin would provide, Rue is uninterested and instead wants to buy out her brothers portion even though she does nothing to actually move the needle on that and instead just continues to avoid the man... It's all done so vague and coupled with other plot elements of the book it just continues this theme of "fuck you, got mine" that just did nothing for me...

Even the corporate storyline started to feel a little foolish as we got to the end of the book. Rue and Eli were never really dating, so really this element of the story has to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to creating conflict in the story because Rue and Eli don't have any sort of friction outside of it. The genesis of this conflict and some of the resulting fallout could have been seen from miles away, but watching it play out was worse than I could have imagined. Some of the Harkness supporting characters just felt so silly? In a way I could understand given their timetable why they would feel some of the way they did, but again, it was playing into this theme of "fuck you, got mine" that makes sense in the context of a business transaction, but at the same time if you were going to have that attitude it does make you question why they could not understand why the other characters had made the decision they did.

At no point was I rooting for Rue and Eli... Partially because this book didn't seem to have any heart to it. The side characters all had nothing to do, the writing felt so flat and discordant from Hazelwood's previous works. If this wasn't a rushed book it almost feels like one that had been languishing in the drafts and was dusted off for this. It doesn't help that this is the second book getting published by Hazelwood this year, and maybe if this was the only release I wouldn't think that this was as rushed as I do.

I'm not sure who exactly would be best to recommend this book to as I really don't think there's anything done here that Hazelwood hasn't already done better in some of her other works. Only if you're truly against rereading and desperate to get your hands on their next story would I say this could potentially be worth your time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Not in Love! I was soooo excited when I got approved for this, and honestly it didn't disappoint.

Not in Love follows the same Women in STEM theme that all of Hazelwood's works do (and, ya know what, power to her). I loved Eli, the MMC, and all supporting characters. Shockingly, the subplot was interesting - to me at least - and I thought the backgrounds were very well fleshed out. The spice was spicy but not so much that it consumes the book. As someone who finds a lot of smut extremely cringy, this was really well done.

My only grievances: I thought Rue was the blandest, flattest woman alive, but I know she was supposed to be. I just don't really care about boring people like that. I wanted the romance to work because I loved Eli, but I had literally no attachment to Rue. And also... EVERYONE'S eyes are blue. Seriously. Hers were dark and his were light, and they get mentioned often.

It's a great read though, and I'm looking forward to the Booktok girlies getting their hands on this one. 4/5

if sleep weren't necessary, not in love could have easily been devoured in one sitting. the palpable chemistry between our leads was just too riveting to put down. continuing the streak of impressive releases from ali, this book consumed my life for two days. the woman's brain needs to be studied. perhaps her next STEM heroine could take on the task.

....what am I even talking about? anyway, back to the review...

4.5 ★

finally delivering the dual pov so many have been begging for since the love hypothesis, rue and eli were serving spice on a shiny, silver platter and I ate up every crumb. these two were horny, truly insatiable for each other. this is without a doubt hazelwood's spiciest contemporary romance book yet.

from the second chapter, the first from eli's perspective, his complete adoration of rue was evident. he was taken by the sight of her, by the possibility of her, despite their agreement being just one night. one night and they'd move on. luckily for us readers, the universe really didn't care about their cute little intentions because the night after their unconventional meeting, eli and his friends are introduced as the group that will be taking over over rue's beloved place of work. can you spell complicated?

still reeling from childhood trauma, rue just doesn't have the space in her life to let eli in the way he desires. while painful, she truly believes this arrangement is what's best for them. buttttt his goodness becomes a hard thing to resist, drawing her in despite her hesitance. as mentioned above, I flew through this book, captivated by the effortless dynamic they discovered. nothing had ever felt so right for either. something about the knowledge being concious and shared was was really charming and endearing. in many ways, love can be affirming and healing, something eli's presence alone provided rue. start to finish, it was a beautiful romance to witness.

thanks to berkley and ali hazelwood for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is my favorite book by Ali so far and that’s really saying something. It was deeper than her others but she did such a great job. I loved rue so much. She was so sassy. Their entanglement mixed with their trauma made for the perfect book.

4.5 ⭐️. I will be recommending this to patrons, friends and family. The his is definitely making my tops pics shelf!

"I have a lot to say about books written by Ali Hazelwood. Usually, I can't put them down and end up reading them all in one sitting. So, when I started reading 'Not in Love,' I expected to stay up all night and be in a zombie state the next day after pulling an all-nighter. However, sadly, I could only read 30% of it. My lack of excitement as I turned the page surprised me as I never thought I'd say this about a book by Hazelwood. Unfortunately, 'Not in Love' was a DNF for me, and I don't think I'll be giving it a second chance."

3.5 stars
A big tiddied tall woman??? in an Ali Hazelwood novel??? she’s evolving

“We don’t make small talk. We cut through the flesh and show the stories that live in our skeletons” (GOD , WHAT A BEAUTIFUL QUOTE)

Not in Love is a slight tonal departure from Hazelwood’s previous work and in her words, is an erotic romance as opposed to a rom-com. It still had the core characteristics of Hazelwood’s writing such as the STEM setting ( I have the sudden urge to become a food scientist ) a big dude with an even bigger dick (who’s pathetically in love with the main character ), binge-able, engaging writing as well as funny one-liners. However, it also showcased a different side of this author’s writing: the “he’s so big and I’m microscopic” shtick was toned down, we got an FMC who was more reserved , socially awkward and less quirky AND A MAN THAT WAS NOT DESCRIBED AS ADAM DRIVER ADJACENT. The story felt relatively grounded in how Hazelwood approached the character’s backstories as well as the overall pacing of the novel.

I briefly contemplated DNFing this book , even though it practically pulled me out of the depths of my reading slump. I simply felt disconcerted from the characters due to their horniness funnily enough. Caveat: I prefer more emotion-centric romance novels. Since the baseline of these characters’ relationship is sexual, I wasn’t necessarily put off by the emphasis on sexual attraction in the first act. However, the sexual attraction from Eli's perspective bordered on objectification which then became eye-roll-worthy. We get it! you looove her tiddies and her lips and slender fingers! we KNOW your cock is so hard that it could punch through concrete !!! Give me something else PLEASE.

And we did! As the story progressed the horniness was still constant but it leaned toward emotions (instead of it reading like the main guy only seeing Rue as a walking, breathing pornno) Themes set up in the beginning where continued and fleshed out such as complicated familial relationships , food insecurity etc. . Those conversations were the standouts of Not in love , in my opinion mainly because of how Hazelwood approached them. I swooned a few times, I was more invested. I started to actually believe that Rue and Eli liked each other instead of the book telling me they did.

I might be in the minority of ARC readers who thought this but I wanted more science ! I was definitely more interested in the business takeover drama (even though It was pretty predictable) but especially with Rue's research and how it directly related to her childhood was such a fascinating link and I would've happily read more . Honestly might do my own research tbh.

This isn't a book I was obsessed with but I can see that being true for others.

Big thanks to the publisher, Berkely Romance for the ARC!
Pub date : 11 Jun 2024

As Ali Hazelwood states in the note, less rom-com, more erotic romance. Characters with darker backstories. Filled with sexual tension and spicy scenes. The tension of Colleen Hoover but with adults who recognize their own dysfunction. Strong consent thread. Loved it!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

As someone who really likes to loves Ali Hazelwood's books, I was severely disappointed with this one. The plot was largely predictable and, for a relationship that was supposed to be hidden and forbidden, a lot of people seemed to know about it. There was also so much sex that it felt like the plot suffered.

However, the major reason this is such a low rating is the male lead. Eli really turned me off very quickly in this book. There were two times early on when he said stuff that I literally had to put down my phone for several second and just stare at my wall before texting friends to ask if I was overreacting (verdict: I was not). After that, I didn't take a poll, but there were even more times where it just felt like Eli just plain sucked. It actually makes me a little worried about what some of the other love interests were thinking about in their books. Obviously, some of the other love interests also did some questionable things, but hearing about it in Eli's head just made me really dislike him. Minor spoilers, but Rue also expresses that she doesn't like penetrative sex on the hook up app before they even meet, and she reiterates this, but later on in the book, Eli's magic dick obviously changes her mind which just feels really gross.

Honestly, Rue is the only reason this got 2 stars. I really liked her. She was determined and largely knew herself. She's nothing like Ali Hazelwood's other protagonists (who I also love) and I liked that newness. I just wish she had gotten a better love interest.

This book was 🌶️!!! And deep, and oh so lovely. Eli is a new favourite of mine. If you love he falls first, this is gonna be RIGHTTTTT up your alley. Extra points for the sweetest giant doggo.

I’ve heard some folks say they were concerned Hazelwood’s books were starting to seem very similar to each other— this one was very different from her others IMO.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the Arc of Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood! As an avid Ali Hazelwood fan I was excited to read her newest novel, but I knew what I was getting myself into. As like every other Ali Hazelwood book goes, she has truly perfected the formula for writing the exact same book just in different fonts! However this one wasn't too appealing to me. I don't think I really liked Rue all that much, and usually I find at least one likeable characteristic from the MC but I don't know, I didn't really connect with Rue all that much. I actually liked Eli more. There's a lot of sex in this book, outlined with Ali's first kind of author's note where she says this book is technically an erotica (can confirm it this is sometimes awkward to read on the subway commute to work.) I'm not one for over the top sex so there is a little bit of that. I don't know, this was fine..it was okay. But definitely very much a 3 star read for me.

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!