Ali Hazelwood knows how to craft a romance! I can feel the tension between Rue and Eli as they pulled on each other's threads. The side characters were engaging and interesting. This book was heavier on the romance than typical for Hazelwood's previous novels and while I wanted to fight for the main plotline with the Harkness takeover, I felt that the romance was distracting me from that rather than enhancing it.

✨ Review ✨ Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Thanks to Berkley and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Finally an Ali Hazelwood romance where the man is not gigantically tall! 😂

This one was sort of a middle of the road AH book for me. I liked the main characters most of the time, but wasn't super engaged by the plot overall. The sort of "mystery" providing tension to the story felt a little predictable and didn't sweep me in.

I did love the friend group in this book and the ways they supported each other! And the theft of work in academia theme resonated as something that's not unfamiliar. But overall, I hoped for a little more from this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: f/m contemporary romance
Setting: Austin, TX
Pub Date: June 11, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ main characters in STEM
⭕️ awkward academic characters (A++ on this lol)
⭕️ Ali Hazelwood romance writing
⭕️ big hands

Things definitely went a different direction in Not in Love and it wasn't like Ali's previous books. And I was absolutely okay with that, however, I went into this expecting what we normally get from Ali. I genuinely love reading erotica and erotic romance. And Not in Love is definitely stepping into the erotic romance genre. And I kind of wish I knew that from the beginning, it would have set up my expectations a little bit differently. I love that some kinks are lightly mentioned or well, not really said on page (not sure if that's the norm or not), but I wish it was explored it a bit more.

The romance was okay and wanted so much more from that. Eli realllly set the bar high for book boyfriends, I really loved his character. Head over heels in love with Rue, an absolute putty mess at her feet. I loved it. At times it was tough to feel the connection between them and it took Rue a long time to accept what was happening between them. And it's very much something that carries through further into their relationship (I did actually like seeing that side of her). Trust is extremely hard for her and it was nice to see a MC constantly managing that and letting it develop on their own time once they're in a committed relationship.

Overall, I did like it. I think Ali could do wonders writing more erotic romance with some fine tuning. Definitely looking forward to more reads like this!

3.5/5

Eli Killgore is obsessed, devoted and down bad. He’s a stage five clinger and a level ten munch. I need him terribly.

I didn’t love the beginning but it won me over eventually. This book is a bit different from Ali’s typical work, being an erotica rather than a romcom was an interesting leap and initially I wasn’t feeling it. On a personal level I think her sex scene writing skills left too much to be desired for a story fueled by sexual chemistry and encounters to fully work for me. She eventually found her stride and I got invested into the dynamic around 50% in. Not my favorite by Hazelwood but very fun nonetheless.

3.5 stars

probably my least favorite hazelwood book, the chemistry and love scenes are great, as always, but it took too long to figure out what was going obn here and the corporate/academic intrigue for once didn't add to it.

I liked that this book was a bit different than Ali’s usual STEM tropes. I enjoyed it! It was a cute read and I would recommend for anyone looking for an easy romance read.

Ali Hazelwood NEVER misses and Not in Love continues to be proof of that. Something I love about Ali Hazelwood's books lately is she has been doing very different things since her first three novels and knocking them out of the park while still staying true to her very distinct voice and what makes her books feel so very "Ali Hazelwood". First with Check & Mate, her first YA novel, then with Bride, her first paranormal romance, and now with Not in Love which follows a women in STEM and a man down bad much like her other novels, but this one has a much more serious tone and themes and Rue and Eli find a connection unlike any in her other books. There is just something so addicting about her writing and I love picking up any book of hers and knowing its going to make me feel the same way every time - GIDDY and emotional and loving love.

I fear Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong in my eyes. I loved Not in Love. A science nerd meets another science nerd, I’ll eat it up every time. I feel like with each book we get more & more depth & im here for it.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the eArc of this book!

This book is out now.

Listen. If Ali Hazelwood writes it, I will read it.

"Let me take you to dinner."
"Why?"
"Because. I haven't seen you in two weeks and -- I actually do like this. Being with you. You can tell me more stories. The awful secret ones. I'll listen and tell you mine."

There were things I really liked about this book but honestly the part that confused me the most was all the work/science stuff. I tried really hard to follow along with all the technical stuff but it just was lost on me. Luckily the romance of it all was just so good. I love how this was different in the sense that this was purely supposed to be a one time hookup but naturally circumstances happen and they end up being around each other way more than intended.

This is the first time Ali has dabbled into the dual POV (Rue being first person & Eli in third person) and Ms. Hazelwood if you are for whatever reason reading this, please continue to do so!!! She did such a great job with both characters and I felt like we got a healthy dose of each of them. Ali warns us in the beginning of the book that this is a erotic romance but I just felt like it was an extra spicy romance compared to her others. And boy does Ali know how to write a sex scene. WHEWWW!

Rue and Eli were just so hot together and I felt like their chemistry was believable to me. And I think because of their tension & secrecy with work and trying so hard to resist each other once they were working together made it all hotter. Eli was incredible smitten from the very beginning and I feel like he knew she was changing him. I love that Rue knew what she wanted and opened herself up to Eli. And Eli was just so laser focus on pleasing Rue and doing whatever it took to make him hers - "I like you when you laugh. I like you when you're serious. I like you all the damn time."

All the other stuff in between the romance was fine. I mostly just invested in the couple even though all that other stuff was important to the book and the plot of the story.

If you are a fan of steamy STEM romances, dual pov/narration, in a workplace setting - give this one a try!

Whew!!! This was spiiiiicy. Go off Ali Hazelwood! This isn’t usually my typical type of romance book but man, it may have altered my tastes a bit. The angst, forbidden love, and he falls first, oh this was DELICIOUS. This was a departure from Ali’s usual STEM romances but I ate this up!

Thank you NetGalley & Berkley for this ARC!

𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 is another STEM-themed romance from Ali Hazelwood. I wasn't as invested in the characters as I usually am with her books but I still enjoyed this one. It's definitely a different kind of steamy than her previous books...

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

Thank you @prhaudio for the free audiobook, and Berkley for the review copy and including me on this blog tour. #gifted

It’s pink Wednesday, and it’s pub week for @alihazelwood ‘s latest, Not in Love. I’m a few books behind on her backlist, but I really am enjoying her most recent books and definitely recommend this one.

Not in Love is written in a different, darker tone than other works by Ali, but the amplified emotions, suspense, and — let’s just say— steam really elevate Ali to a whole new level of romance writing. I’m glad I went in without knowing the synopsis — learning about Eli & Rue’s background as the story unfolded kept me on the edge of my seat. I appreciated the discourse about intimacy and how pasts and personality influenced each of them - both characters approached being together as impersonal in the beginning, but for their own reasons their brick walls broke down in very natural (to the characters) ways.

Listening to the audiobook also led to an amplified reading experience. Callie Dalton & Jason Clark read in duet narration, and while this book was a bit on the longer side at 12 hours 30 minutes, it passed quickly because of their excellent performance.

I love the science world(s) Hazelwood creates! As someone who works in academia but not in the science realm, it is fun to be engulfed in world of labs and experiments. The main character, Rue, was interesting and I loved how Eli just completely falls for her. I wish Rue's relationship with her brother was a bit more developed, I didn't understand some of it even with the background story given. All in all, a great book. I'm really hoping Eli's sister and his friend Hank get their own book...

This book has been everything. It's been a while since I read an Ali Hazelwood novel and now I'm hooked. I loved the STEM rep and how it was an underlying theme throughout the whole book, the depth of these characters and the bond they created over time, and how relatable they are. I found parts of myself in Rue and developed a soft spot for her throughout the whole book.

Thank you Berkley for the digital ARC!

This book is hit or miss for lots of people, and sadly it was a miss for me. I know it's different than Ali's usual books, and I think that's what got me the most.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood is different from her previous books (not a Henley in sight). This is much more serious and definitely spicier. Hazelwood handles the serious tone very well and the topics she covers are handled with sensitivity. While I wish that I felt like I knew Rue a bit more, it made me really understand Eli’s situation (and frustration) with her. Overall, it was a read that I enjoyed!

Let's face it, there's only so many different ways to do a Reylo-like hero/heroine and keep it fresh as far as the characters go, especially in Eli's case, but I liked Rue anyway (even if there came a couple of points at which I thought she should've gotten a clue about certain things a little sooner), and the business side of science-related A plot was reasonably interesting. Overall I didn't enjoy this title as much as the fake escort tenure track candidate search book or Hazelwood's recent departure into paranormal, but it was diverting enough that I'll probably read her next one.

“I want her to be all right more than I want to keep my dignity.”

“Safe,” she said. He forced himself to remain silent. “And accepted.” More silence. Harder, this time. “And enough.”

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

I loved this book so much. I thought the fmc was very unique, and not the normal.
I love the direction Ali Hazelwood's writing is going. Its growing and evolving, and so do the characters.
This book was romantic, and unique, and left me with a warm feeling.

This was unlike any other Hazelwood's books. The banter is there but it is a slow growing process. This is a enemies to lovers that has too many secrets. There is some initial confusion with what secrets main characters carry as they try to navigate their weird relationship. The secrets are used as a plot device but it drags on for so long that I started to lose interest. It does however do a good job of developing the side characters and the main issue at hand which is a work related issue. I did end up liking the characters and the resolution but it was a convoluted way to get there.

Considering Check & Mate and Bride are the only other books by Ali Hazelwood I've read I had no idea what to expect. 😂 The book does start with a content warning which I always think is a pleasant surprise, especially with the trend of cartoon character covers.

I LOVED the background that we got on the characters, they were deep. Food scarcity is a huge topic and I appreciated it being part of this book. Both of the main characters had big traumas and responsibilities that no kid should have. I truly loved that because we never get anything like that in stories. Pop off Ali!!!

Despite these characters having well-thought-of backgrounds I didn't feel that the characters had as strong of personalities as I expected. Naturally, a lot of the 'lust' (okay I hate that word...lol) took over the character's personalities. Both characters are smart but dang, they are street stupid.

There is no denying Ali's ability to write a fun book that you zooooom through. Which is exactly what I did. 😎