Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I don’t think I have ever rated a Hazelwood book under 4.5-stars, so we’ve entered new territory here.

This was still a good story, all things considered, but I didn’t find it as witty, swoony, sexy, or as charming as her previous books. I also felt less STEM-vibes than I am accustomed to with her writing.

In this we are following Rue, a biotech engineer, and Eli, who works in finance, think venture capitalist, and they’re brought together as Eli and his partners are beginning a takeover of the company that Rue works for, Kline.

Because they find themselves on opposing sides, it does have a bit of a forbidden romance feel initially. For me, I would have loved if that had been dragged out a little further. They didn’t keep it secret for very long.

Maybe I am supposed to believe it was because their chemistry is so strong everyone could just see it…

I loved Eli. I actually felt like he could be Hazelwood’s sexiest male lead to date. There was something about him; strength, confidence and kindness for days. I’m in love.

Then there’s Rue. My gym shoes have more personality than her. No offense.

Every moment from her perspective bored me. I felt absolute zero connection to her and I understand her background, and I guess that is why Hazelwood made her feel more dead fish than engaging female lead, but I wasn’t into it.

I struggled to picture the two of them together. At the start, it’s just supposed to be a hook-up, right? So, I get that. She’s a wildly attractive woman, who seems to only want one thing. What guy wouldn’t be attracted to that?

As the story continued though, I just couldn’t get behind the idea of him becoming so magically obsessed with her. It made no sense to me, thus causing the entire story to feel a bit…put on, I guess. Which, for the record, I have never felt with one of Hazelwood’s books before.

Also, there was one aspect of Rue’s backstory that felt more like a platform than a genuine part of her character. It just felt oddly placed the way she discussed it. It came off like she needed an interesting, tragic backstory to explain the way she was as an adult.

I know it is a serious topic, and I always appreciate when authors include things worthy of discussion, it just felt too strange in this story, with everything else going on. I would have rather spent more time exploring the business, the takeover and Rue’s research.

This all comes off as pretty negative and I don’t mean it to be. After all, my opinion on Rue all comes down to personal taste. I feel like for the right Reader, for one who can see a bit of themselves in Rue, they may adore this story.

Taking everything into consideration, I still enjoyed this and appreciate Hazelwood’s risks with the steamy scenes in this one; definitely dipping into some new territory here when it comes to pushing the limits, power plays, etc.

I also loved Eli’s story, from his time in college to the present, including him becoming the sole guardian of his younger sister, Maya. I really felt for him in having to make those kinds of sacrifices, but what an incredible man he grew into. He’s very emotionally mature.

I’m happy with the conclusion. Having been bored a bit throughout, the end really came together for me and is ultimately why I decided to round up to 4-stars.

Overall, I had a decent time with this. There were some great moments. I walk away happy and anxiously anticipating Hazelwood’s next release.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Hazelwood has made such a name for herself in the Romance genre and I’m so happy to be along for the ride!

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