This may be Ali Hazelwood’s best book.

The lead characters in Hazelwood’s books are often rifts of one another. And that remains true for this book. Furthermore, Hazelwood’s books have common plot points, which again are present in this book.

But for all the commonalities, this book stands out amongst her others. I enjoyed Rue as a character. As a lead character, she has a personality not often explored in romance books, and I appreciate the emotional depth and growth she undergoes. I also enjoyed Eli as a lead, but I was truly captured by Rue.

The book is certainly spicier than Hazelwood’s previous books, but the scenes did not override the book's plot either, which I appreciate.

I would suggest a trigger warning for food insecurity be added to the beginning of the book. While not troubling for me as a reader, it’s something decently explored in the book and could be troubling for an unsuspecting reader.

Overall, 4.5 of 5 starts. This book will likely be in my top 10 reads of the year.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

4🌟!!

I enjoyed this one! I think it was a bit different than Ali’s other books, which was nice. It definitely didn’t dethrone Love Theoretically as my fave Ali book as the first bit was slow for me, but I ended up enjoying it nonetheless.

This book explored a lot of deeper topics that can be tough to read, like raising younger siblings and food insecurity. The food insecurity, in my opinion, was dealt with delicately, yet in a very real and vulnerable way.

This is DEFINITELY one of Ali’s spiciest (if not the spiciest) books, and sexuality plays a huge role in the story. I do wish that we got a liiiittle less spice and more conversation and emotional connection at times, but that just might be me!! It definitely felt a little insta-lovey on Eli’s part, but his personality made up for it haha.

While I didn’t relate too much to any character, I was still able to connect with them and cheer them on. These characters feel a lot different than Ali’s other characters for some reason, and it felt sort of refreshing???

Other things I loved:
- Eli’s words of affirmation and reassurance
- The banter!!
- Seeing the way Rue slowly let him in
- Sharing stories
- HOW DOWN BAD ELI IS!!!!
- Dual POV with Eli’s POV being in 3rd person 🥰
- Rue’s work and why she does it
- Rue’s loyalty

Overall, Ali Hazelwood still holds a spot on my auto-buy author list, and I really enjoyed! Thank you so much Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

WOW WOW WOW WOW

Read this in one sitting on a plane ride. At first, I was intrigued because it seemed so different from her other adult romances, and I had an ever so slightly harder time getting into the actual science/business plot. However, once I got it I GOT it, and I looooooved how Rue was a bit prickly. She's tall, curvy, and kind of antisocial. Her character is incredibly well developed.

The romance was HOT and the end made me cry. fiiiiiive stars this woman can do no wrong

Ali finally wrote a book I don't love. The tropes were TROPING too hard in this one and I didn't love the FMC as much as I normally do. Still better than many other romances and with a read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Receiving an advanced copy was a delightful surprise. I believe both existing fans and newcomers will find it equally enjoyable.

First, thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC of Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood.

This book is different from her other STEM titles in that it really focuses more on the romance and less on the science. It is also extremely steamy- much much more so than some of her others.

I liked the main characters and appreciated the alternating points of view, but I did not enjoy this one like I have her others. It didn't give me enough backstory and character development.

I really enjoyed this one! It was very different from Ali’s usual romances to me. Yes it was still a STEM type of romance but it wasn’t her usual “big large tough man small tiny quirky girl” that we see so often. We had a tall fmc (finally) and yeah the mmc was a big former hockey player but not in an obnoxiously overdone type of way. So I really enjoyed the change there.

This is definitely her most serious book yet as far as the topics and mental health issues that it covers. I honestly really appreciated that and loved that she made these characters so complex because while I couldn’t 100% relate to them, I could still connect to them so well. I could relate to Rue a little bit with her feelings towards being around people and social anxiety so that was really lovely to read.

I adore Eli. He is the sweetest mmc who would do anything to make Rue happy and comfortable. He sees her for who she is and doesn’t push her into anything she doesn’t feel comfortable doing. He is a man obsessed and I loved it. The character growth from both characters was amazing. And the love declaration?!?!? Bye.

I enjoyed the plot line of what was going on at Rue’s work and how this affected her relationship with Eli. While a bit predictable, it was still very entertaining and enjoyable.

My ONLY complaint (and this is 100% a ME thing) is that there was too much spice. For me. Totally understand it plays a part in how they met / Rue deals with relationships but I would’ve loved to see even more of that emotional connection instead. Literally my only complaint. I loved everything else about this book and loved how different it was compared to her previous romances.

Thank you Berkley & NetGalley for the early copy.

Thank you for the ARC copy. I am a huge fan of Ali and have read all her books! I love her characters and spicy themes. This book was of course just as good and spicy. I think this was the spiciest book by her. Still keeping the amazing theme of female bad ass scientists. I will continue to read Ali.

Loved the characters and overall storyline. I wish there was a little less patent talk and family conflict.

Ali Hazelwood’s darkest, dreamiest, most unnerving book to date with steam that just won’t quit. Diving deep into the mindset of young academics set on revenge— she highlights the lengths women will go to survive in a field that walks all over them.

Hazelwood gets better with each book, and this turn to darker subject matter is just what we all need. Focusing on unresolved trauma and intellectual property theft issues, this book will keep you on the EDGE of your seat— do not miss it!

Thank you to NetGalley & the Berkley folks for an arc to review 💕

What a different story from Ali Hazelwood! 2024 is off to a really interesting start and I am a big fan.

While this book follows some of the classic Ali themes - a woman in STEM and a fight against academia/capitalism- it also veers in many new ways. Also, this book is spiiiiiicy.

Not in Love follows Rue, a socially awkward food sciences engineer working on a project that will extend the life of fresh produce. This whole project is built around a lot of food insecurities she faced as a child. There is multiple sentences and references to her and her younger brother having starved or having to ration out the smallest bits of food. A good chunk of the book is built around the relevance of this in her life and quirks that she deals with even as an adult. The main conflict revolves around the MMC and the threat that the company he works for imposes on Rue's research/workplace.

The rest of the book is an introspective masterpiece into love, sex, and the messiness of humans. Rue and Eli often share the worst of themselves through small story confessions. While they were only planning for one night of sex and to move on, finding themselves work enemies, and unabashedly attracted to each other really gets in the way of that plan. Huge note for this, Eli falls HARD and FAST. There is a lot of thoughts around the beauty and wonderfulness of Rue. But also such great conversations around consent and kink. Definitely a different style, but I couldn't put it down!

Ali was not playing around when writing this!!!! The steam! The spice! Ah!

This is a book you read on the couch and you continue to kick your feet and squeal until the person in the room asks what the heck you are reading!

I really love the meet cute and dynamic that Eli and Rue are thrust into. It felt realistic but far enough away to be sexy and fun. They literally could NOT stay away from one another. Ali made it impossible to put down.

Thank you so much for this arc! I can’t wait for this to hit shelves!

Ali Hazelwood's latest novel explores another element of STEM with a side of hot romance.

"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."

We meet the structured and straightforward Rue as a crossroad enters her life. Already uncomfortable with change and any kind of chaos, Hazelwood creates a character with aspects of being neurodivergent, anxiety and attempts to control/treat it and shows what I think is some well needed interactions with that character and people in all different anxious/communicative/neurodivergent levels.

As with her other books STEM is a huge focus with an emphasis on Women in Stem and the uphill battles they face. This one delves into food science and motivations of the scientists in that field. I found it humanizing and interesting to dive into that side of science.

I also really love how Hazelwood also flips expectations/misconceptions of who is the bad guy/who you can trust upside down within this capacity.

I really enjoyed this book and it has a fun level of spice.

"Not In Love" was a spicy, forbidden workplace romance between Eli and Rue, who had the unexpected discovery that they were on opposite sides of a business deal after an attempted one-night stand. Eli and Rue's physical chemistry was immediately evident, and there were MANY in-depth spicy scenes. Personally, there were too many for my taste, as I thought it stunted their romantic development since their relationship was very lust-driven.

Eli was absolutely enamored with Rue, and it was clear that he liked her for exactly how she was, but at times, his obsession made me feel a little uncomfortable. I really enjoyed Eli and Rue as individuals; they both had very distinct and unique personalities, different from the typical Hazelwood archetypes. Eli was snarky and witty, while Rue was very reserved and particular, which was an interesting combination for a couple.

I was quite invested in the plot and the business deal aspect by the end. Some shady stuff went on, and I was all in for the drama! I definitely saw the conflict coming, but it played out in a very engaging way. To be honest, I was way more invested in the work and friend drama than the romance, which is rare for me.

Overall, this isn’t a favorite romance for me, but I enjoyed my time reading it. This type of sexually-driven, messy romance is not what I expected from Ali Hazelwood, but I’m not mad at it since I was eager to see her switch up her STEM romances. Love to see the tall girl representation!

Thank you Berkley Romance and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood was different than her other romances. I was expecting her normal storyline, where something happens at work in a STEM related field and the romance was more of a slow burn. This title, however, started off with a bang (that was interrupted) and the romance and smut was heavy throughout with the job adding additional tension. I felt the focus was really on the romance/casual sex storyline and the characters really didn't get enough attention to make them fully 3 dimensional. I had higher hopes for this book. I hope she goes back to her previous writing formula.

Ali Hazelwood is one of my insta-read authors. No matter what she writes, I know that I will enjoy it. This book is, of course, no different from the rest of her catalogue.

Rue is a successful biotech engineer, working with her best friends on a subject she feels passionate about. Everything is going the way it should when Eli comes along.

Eli is a confident businessman who understands the scientific world. What he does not understand, though he desperately wants to, is Rue and her determination to keep her distance.

Their mutual attraction meets an unavoidable conflict when Rue realizes that Eli is a part of the company that is taking over the start-up she works for.

I adored this book. As always, I love the STEMinist element and the empowered woman.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Not in Love
ARC Review
4.5/5 ☆

Synopsis: Rue works at a Kline, a start up in food science founded by one of her close mentors. When a firm enters and puts that at stake with a possible takeover, she quickly finds out Eli, the man who she almost had a one night stand with is the lead of that.

Forced to shut down her feelings and do what she feels is morally right by distancing herself from Eli to support her friend, the tension quickly thickens when their paths cross more and more often. What should be her nemesis, she finds is the one person she can open up to.

Tropes:
• Forbidden Romance
• He Falls First
• Enemies with Benefits
• Supposed to be a one time thing but they catch feelings
• Women in STEM
• She's grumpy x he's sunshine

Listen, if there's one thing that I am, it's an Ali Hazelwood stan. This gives similar vibes to her other STEM romances but I had a good time reading it and that's all that matters to me.

Rue definitely has that Ali Hazelwood FMC speciality. She's not as quirky as others, she's more shy and closed off to people she's not comfortable with. But I connect with her introverted self and she's someone you want to root for.

Eli isn't what you'd expect for someone who works in private equity. He's warm, caring, has a close knit friend group, and a precious dog that he just wants to walk at the end of a day. One thing I love about Ali's love interests is how much they are absolute simps. This man will take any scraps of Rue. Like literally just wants to feed her dinner, talk to her, look at her, etc. Some may say it's over the top, but my goshhhhh who doesn't love that.

I do feel like there was more trauma and difficulties the characters go through than her usual books. But that made the story feel more raw and added to the complexity of Eli and Rue's relationship as they face that together.

And most importantly, Ali Hazelwood really said let's turn the spice levels up a bit. 🔥 I've read all of her books and this one is definitely the spiciest to date. Since Rue and Eli most easily connect on that level, we get pleeeennnttty of content 👀

Ms. Hazelwood has answered our prayers with her best book since “The Love Hypothesis.” And she finally gives us what we’ve all been begging for—dual POV. It’s a wonder how it has taken her this long to try dual POV when she’s so damn good at writing male main characters who are absolutely frothing at the mouths for their love interests. Eli’s chapters were my favorite parts, and often had me giggling and kicking my feet like a teenager. (Quick note: The only catchup with Hazelwood’s use of dual POV was the odd switches from first person point-of-view for Rue and third person for Eli. At first, I thought it was a writing slip-up but when I realized it was on purpose it often felt jarring. If she’d just chosen one tense, it would’ve felt more seamless moving between the two characters’ perspectives.) Although the book is probably in my top three Ali Hazelwood books, it still lacked that certain something. Yes, this is Hazelwood’s smuttiest book yet, but did she sacrifice a real, meaningful connection built outside of sex for Rue and Eli? I’m not so convinced. The only other lackluster aspect of the book was the anticlimactic third act. The villain’s “betrayal” is both discovered and solved by the MMC within the same breath, plus he manages to tie up the loose strings from her other, forgettable B-plot with her brother. Despite these pretty significant pitfalls, I couldn’t help but enjoy “Not in Love” by Ali Hazelwood. It was funny, blush-inducing, and finally sees Hazelwood taking steps outside of her comfort zone. I’m a devoted Ali Hazelwood reader, and I continue to be after this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
3.5 stars-- but I may be a little salty because I want more Bride 😉
Rue is a really unique FMC, which is a strength in this novel-- she's not overly bubbly, talkative, or automatically friends with everyone she meets.But Eli really likes her... A LOT. This book is extra spicy for Ali Hazelwood, but I feel that the extra spice was a bit at the expense of the side characters/plots. The betrayal didn't pack a lot of punch for me as a reader because I didn't spend enough time on the page with the betrayer.

Not a comfort re-read for me like Love on the Brain, The Love Hypothesis, or Under One Roof (or Bride... which I'm still obsessed with...) still worth checking out for Hazelwood's fans.

I haven’t met an Ali Hazelwood book I didn’t enjoy and it’s not starting now! Her books always put me in a great mood and I have the best time reading them.

Not my absolute fave of Ali’s but still great! I’d say this is probably closer to 3.5 stars. This one seemed much more serious and smut-focused than her others. I really liked seeing Eli and Rue’s relationship evolve tho, and there are a lot of really swoony declarations throughout this. (Also the Check & Mate reference made me immeasurably happy!)

LOVE LOVE LOVE. i am obsessed with this book!!! eli and rue are EVERYTHING. ali’s writing in this book is absolutely phenomenal and this is easily one of my new favorite books of all time