NOT IN LOVE might be Ali Hazelwood's best novel yet! It's definitely steamier than her other books, but it only serves to deepen the connection between the main characters. I can't wait for this author's next book!

This book was not my favorite of Ali’s. The story was just okay. I feel like once you’ve read one of her books you’ve pretty much read them all. Overall it was just okay!

Ali Hazelwood is an insta-buy author for me. Her warmth and humor are evident in her writing, and let’s face it, the spice is THERE. So I was incredibly grateful to be given an ARC of this book.

Now listen, I will basically read a grocery list from Hazelwood I love her writing so much. And I think many fans will enjoy this STEM based romance between a loyal scientist and the executive who is poised to take the business over.

Rue, our heroine, is smart and sweet and seriously too damn loyal to a fault. She’s based her entire research on a handshake agreement with her friend who happens to also be her boss. Which is really bad considering that boss is currently scrambling to save her company from an investment group that is looking to oust her.
Enter Eli. Eli, Eli, Eli. Oh dear. He has some history, (no spoilers!) and is really used to getting what he wants. Except he really wants Rue. Who hates him. Sorta. Kinda. Maybe?

There is some spice and Hazelwood does her usual magic of creating well drawn out characters with conflicting priorities. I especially enjoyed her female friendships in this one. Her best friend and her best friend's sister was much needed anchor for our heroine, providing comic relief and gravity.
That said, for some reason and it’s probably just me and has nothing to do with the book, I didn’t feel as connected to these two. I rooted for them sure, but I felt Rue, while supposed to be incredibly smart, didn’t act very smart. I felt like she should have realized what was happening sooner and even though she is incredibly loyal, really, lady? Come on. The writing was on the wall like four chapters ago.
And Eli and Rue together, while the writing is solid and spicy, it didn’t feel as strong as some of her other couples.

But let’s be honest, Hazlewood’s books are consistently solid romantic Stem stories that deliver spice and heart. So even though this one might not be my favorite, it’s still a solid addition to my Ali Hazelwood collection!

And then, Rue, I met you. And you casually cracked my life into before and after you.”

A quick and spicy read! This was my first Ali Hazelwood book and I was hoping for more romance. Yet, it is definitely a book that sucks you into the story and as you read, you feel the immediate attraction between the main characters.

Ali Hazelwood is a queen of quirky romance. I loved every minute of this book - it was a total must read. I just loved it.

This was not the typical Ali Hazelwood book that I'm used to and it threw me for a loop. If I had known it's more of an erotic romance than a romance, I would have gone in thinking something different. As far as the story goes, it was ok for me and the end made it a little better for sure. As always, I love the STEM element. I will still keep reading her books and just seeing what she comes up with next!

I have genuinely loved everything that Ali Hazelwood has done. The Love Hypothesis was probably my favorite book ever written This one did not disappoint. It was fun, spicy, and everything in between. I can't wait for her next book to come out.

This is my first Ali Hazelwood in awhile, and I really enjoyed the tonal shift into this read! Had an undercurrent of darkness, but the love was strong and the MC was incredibly unique. The first half, I wasn't sure. The second half I LOVED. Overall really enjoyable read.

Thank you Berkley for the gifted e-copy.

Ali Hazelwood is on a roll this year! Not in Love brings a bit more steam than most of her previous books, which is totally fine with me. However, I didn't feel like I connected with the characters in this one like I did in her previous books. I will say this plot was a little deeper (and darker?) than her previous books, and her characters had a lot more depth as well.

Rue is a biotech engineer that focuses her work on extending the shelf life of produce. She doesn't do relationships - or anything longer than one night. She had a rough childhood and has a lot of food issues as a result (hence her research), and she's still dealing with some issues with her brother. She's supposed to have a "date" with Eli but her brother shows up and causes drama, so Rue calls it off - even though there's some sparks flying between her and Eli.

Too bad Eli turns out to be part of the company that show's up at Rue's work because they just took over their loan.

I'm struggling with this review, obviously. There was a lot I liked about this book, but I feel like it dragged a bit in the middle. Rue frustrated me as a character, although I loved Eli. I also really liked Rue's bff and would love a book about her!

Ali Hazelwood is an auto buy author for me, so without a doubt I will read her next book!

Prior to reading this book, I saw people keep saying "this is her spiciest book yet" and then I read it... I AGREE. It still has the same Ali elements that I've loved in all her previous books, but I definitely was panting 🥵 over them more than usual. This was a fun read overall. Love when the mmc is down so bad for the fmc!

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by receiving this copy.

I really enjoyed the drama of this one. And how much spicier this was than her past books. Like she finally stepped out of her asexual super teeny tiny female MC cast type. I mean, sure she was just tall, still only had 1 friend, and was dirt poor. But who cares, this shows growth for Ms Hazelwood.

I really just want a strong female character that also has friends! Is that too much to ask.

But this was good. Entertaining. Definitely skewed from her normal way of writing. And certainly a step in the right direction after how bad (imo) her last adult novel was. So good for her.

I'm so disappointed. This is not a bad book by any means but it's boring. The love story feels pointless 30% of the way through, making the rest of the book drag. It's insta love, it could've been 100 pages shorter and it put me in a reading slump that I have yet to recover from. Also, the change in POVs was jarring. First person to third person? What are we doing. Why.
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After 'Love, Theoretically' rocked my world I was so ready to be in love with this but nope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was way more smut than I was anticipating and not really in a good way? I didn’t find the characters had a whole lot in common and anytime we heard anything from Eli’s perspective all he seemed to like about Rue was her body/physical appearance despite being an extremely smart, well educated scientist. Not terrible but definitely not my fav.

My first Ali Hazelwood and unfortunately not going to be my favorite. The insta-love trope isn't something I particularly enjoy, and I didn't feel like I could relate to the characters all too much. Excited to try out more Ali Hazelwood that I will hopefully enjoy more!

Took me a while to get into this book but once I did, I definitely enjoyed it! I loved Rue and Eli's spicy chemistry. I also enjoyed the twist and turns associated with Harkness' (Eli's company's) takeover of Kline (the company Rue works for) as it kept things exciting and engaging. Lastly, the found family and forced proximity tropes were definite pluses for me.

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I devoured this book, I didn’t want to put it down, every time I did I was thinking about it and the next I would be able to pick it up again. This book felt different from other Ali Hazelwood books, the characters were different, and they were both closed off and convinced they weren’t capable of love. This being said Eli was Obsessed with Rue from the moment he met her and it was so hot. Eli is so hot, Ali leveled up the spice in this one because some of the things this man said and did were so hot, that the spice had me blushing. In similar Ali Hazelwood fashion, I loved the representation of women in science I always feel like I learn something new about the field every time I read her books, and even though that’s the main point I enjoy it. I liked learning about the issues these characters had and how their life experiences shaped them. From the beginning, they knew they could trust each other and would share their terrible stories that they hadn’t and didn’t want anyone else to know it was so cute. This book ranks in my top two Ali books I think love theoretically is still my favourite but they are pretty close!

I also posted my review on GoodReads. Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6303319750

I love reading Ali Hazelwood's books, so I was worried when she said this one was different due to the character's back stories/trauma and focus on adult content. I love Ali's MMCs, the smart, sciency women, small moments that mean so much, internal dialogues, ride or die friends, and even the villain storylines. The "he falls first" trope is seriously one of my favorites and she's a master at it! However, I do not love books that are "spicy" and filled with graphic content, because most follow the formula where the MMC is a Golden Retriever by day and then turns into a foul mouthed, alpha male by night. I don't want to read chapters full of crude language, potential consent issues, and very specific descriptions about their body parts and noises. It makes me cringe way more than swoon, so I was worried about not liking this book.

Although there are a lot of intimate scenes in Not in Love, I didn't find it crude or contradictory to the characters' personalities. They both have a lot of emotional traumas, especially Rue, and physical connection is their common language. It's safer than emotional feelings and both really enjoy it. So, physical intimacy is how they begin to connect emotionally, versus the other way around. But these interactions are full of understanding and trust, so the spicy scenes were also sweet. Eli knew how to care for Rue in the ways she was willing to accept, and consent is never questioned. He's a very gentle, intuitive, caring person and one of my favorite MMCs, aside from Jack in Love, Theoretically.

Okay, not as "good" as other Ali Hazelwood books, but fans are fairly warned at the beginning of this book about the differences between this book and what she's written in the past. I liked it because there's healthy sex communication included and it features an autistic MC. It doesn't quite hit a full 5 stars because it's more erotica (I'm not a huge fan).

This was the first title I read by Ali Hazelwood. i have heard great things about her earlier books and decided to give this one a try. I like both the main characters individually, but I found it hard to believe in the development of the relationship and feelings for each other with so much time spent apart for weeks at a time. I will still give Hazelwood's other books a shot when I get the chance to see what all the hype is about.

okay this is so entirely different from the books ali hardwood usually writes but i was pleasantly surprised by it. It still had that wholesome love story feel i get when i am reading her books but you get a deeper connection to the characters and their individual stories with this. It is also one of her most spicy books so i enjoyed that aspect as well