Saturday, September 14, 2024

Review: Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood

 


A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

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.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple | Google 

PenguinRandomHouse

Add to Goodreads

What I thought about Not in Love

Rue and Eli start out as frenemies as the company Rue works for is about to get new funders.I found this idea of the story an interesting one, as these characters are attracted to each other from the beginning, before the details and motivations of one side are revealed

As for the romance, I really liked how this one started, at least when I figured out the voices in the narrative. But somewhere along the way I became less interested in these characters that had intrigued me at the start.  Eli seemed like a good guy, but some of his thinking turned me off, especially the amount of time he brings up his ex. Especially when his thoughts at meeting Rue were so very strong and significant.  IDK, your mileage may vary as they say.

It should be noted that Not in Love is billed as more of an erotic romance rather than a rom-com.  There is physical attraction and quite a bit of sex happening, but it didn't always hit the mark for this reader. I did find myself skimming some of these scenes, especially since I was really looking for how these characters felt about each other. I did like Rue -- she was quirky and socially awkward outside of her group and yet had a sense of humor that was sarcastic and funny. I did love the way Eli and Rue meet via the app.

Overall, I did like the characters although I wished for a more well defined arc of their growth, which was sort of muddled here and sometimes slowed things down too much for me. I had mixed feelings about Eli and I wasn't sure that I really liked him or not. There is also a good cast of secondary characters on both sides of the story.  There are some hits and some misses for me in Not in Love which is why I am rating this 3 stars. 


 

About the Author

I'm Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I'm also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I'm a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life! 

My favorite thing in the world is to explore traditional romance tropes—and to picture how they’ll play out in academic settings.


Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

No comments:

Release Day Review: 5 stars for Holidating:Three Sizzling Holiday Romances by Sarina Bowen

  24-time USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen's first holiday collection! Enjoy three complete holiday romances from Sarina Bowen. Yo...