I'm Not In Love is a lighthearted romance between Remi, an art student being raised by conservative grandparents after he lost his parents as a child, and Tristan, a nude model for Remi's art class who is struggling to help raise his nieces and nephews with his sister. The premise is that Remi, based on his tragic past, and that Tristan, caught up with family responsibilities, are both incapable of forming long-term relationships, but end up tangled up with each other anyway.

The premise of this story has a lot of promise, but is let down by underdevelopment of the characters. The author spends most of the novel telling rather than showing and illustrating, so the characters' portrayals, emotions, motivations and development lack emotional resonance. The novel also seems a little confused as to what it is - the summary/cover/branding set it out to be a steamy, complicated romance that evolves into something else, but half the novel is actually about Tristan's kids.

Overall it's a cute if slightly off-tone beach read. If you like romance with complicated family backstories, this is for you.

I'm going to say this first so I don't forget, I really liked the cover for this book. I'm a fan of art and it's super relevant to the story! I'm a fan of Mia Kerick's writing. "I'm Not In Love" was a fun read. I liked Tristan a lot. The ice of someone being a nude model to help support his family was new to me - and I loved his interactions with his family. I always enjoy reading about a loving family relationship.

Julian Remington III (Remi) was a harder sell for me - but that could have been deliberate. I found him to be quite arrogant at first. I also struggled a little bit with the speed at which he went from being a confirmed Batchelor to a guy who suddenly was babysitting Tristan's nieces and nephews.

The story was sweet.

Remi is an artist and a playboy who refuses to get attached to anyone after the death of his parents. Enter Tristan who also is unwilling to commit to any relationships as he is fully focused on supporting his twin sister and her children. Well, their paths cross and, despite their aversion to relationships, they fall in love.
While this was a fun, easy read, I didn't love either of the main characters. They both had a bit of "I'm a God" complex, especially Remi.
I did absolutely adore Tristan as an uncle, that was adorable.
Thank you Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy parts of this, but it would have been nice to have a little more dimensionality to the characters. Remi almost seems to know he's a stereotype - resisting the risks that come with any kind of commitment, he deliberately lives life at the shallow end of the pool. Tristan is a bit of a saint, with some naïveté thrown in.

I did like the class issues that came up because of the discrepancy between Remi and Tristan's lives. Remi's seamless and unhesitating integration into Tristan's family life was a little weird. Remi clearly gets something out of it, and so does Tristan's sister, but it seemed a little too pat.

This story left me wanting a little more. I loved Tristan, and everything about his character made a ton of sense and I felt like he was well rounded. Remi, on the other hand, seemed very one dimensional until close to the end of the book. The side characters were actually my favorite part of the book.

The smut scenes were written in such a way that I felt continually pulled out of them and questioning if the characters were really enjoying it, based off the word choice. A lot about this book left me confused or frustrated about character decisions. Especially towards the end when Tristan seemed confused about a VERY OBVIOUS reaction from Remi.

This book is fine if looking for a casual beach read, but it doesn't get deeper than that.

A sweet story about two men who have their reasons for avoiding relationships and finding someone who makes it worth the risk.

I found it to be an enjoyable read but I wasn’t drawn into the story or able to connect deeply with the characters. The side characters, however, were adorable and really added to the story.

The main conflict was based on miscommunications between the romantic interests, self-sabotaging the relationship, hiding their feelings and past trauma, all tropes that I am not immensely fond of.

Overall a cute, albeit slightly predictable, read. 3 stars.

I truly wanted to like this book, but sadly, it simply wasn't for me. I found that even though the premise seemed intriguing from the blurb, a lot of the book came off super shallow. I never really understood what all the characters were going through or what drove them, which is especially true for the secondary characters. The writing also seemed to be really superficial for me to read and focused a lot on telling me about various things instead of showing them to me. For example, Remi's reasoning for keeping emotional distance is explained multiple times in this book in very similar ways using similar details. Instead, just showing that to me with his actions would have been more effective and less repetitive. The same is true for secondary characters and their interactions with each other. Ultimately, I think the telling led to this stilted feeling when I was reading and I ultimately didn't understand the connection between the two MLs. Their relationship felt so superficial to me and I didn't see their growth as a couple at all. Overall, I think this was a pretty decent idea that was unfortunately not that well executed, but many other people seemed to enjoy the book, so to each their own.

3/5 stars.

This was a sweet love story about two men who have a lot in common despite their seemingly different lifestyles. Remi is an art student who is following a predetermined life path. After a tragedy leaves him with serious trust and commitment issues, he swears off love and relationships. Tristan, a model, is a participant in Remi's class. He is devoted to his family and trustworthy, but is dealing with his own trauma as a result of his mother's erratic actions. Tristan aims to be a teacher and is dedicated to supporting his family financially and emotionally, no matter the circumstances. Tristan and Remi grow closer as they discover more about each other.

One of my main issues with this story is that I personally didn’t connect much with our characters as a couple. And although I found them both interesting characters individually, I didn’t feel the chemistry between them. This story also has the “love at first sight” trope, which was not my favorite, yet the author was still able to highlight the importance of setting boundaries and communicating with your partner which I appreciated. I also think the book was a bit too long, especially since the initial developmental stage of their relationship was pretty short. On another note, I absolutely ADORED Tristan’s family, his siblings were well-developed characters who had their own lives and personalities. I also think the author did a great job with showing genuine familial relationships and how certain events can bring people closer to each other.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author Mia Kerick for providing me with a digital arc.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I kind of expected it but still.
We follow Remi, a really rich guy who has attachment issues due to losing his parents when he was a child. One day, he meets Tristan, a stunning and selfless guy who sacrifices everything for his family. Do you see where I am going with this? Well, I found the characters to be extremely cliché and that is what I enjoyed the less. I was into the book for the first third but then it was just dramatic events on dramatic events and I almost stopped it. So yeah, overall an easy read but not amazing for me.
I recommend it to people who enjoy a lot of drama
2.5/5

First, Thank you so much for the Advance Copy, I was so pleased when I received this one.

The first thing I thought about this book was "I love the cover art". I had never read any of Mia Kerick's books before. So, all I knew is she used to write queer romance. As for me, I enjoyed reading this book. But, There were many parts that felt off to me, like how the plot went so fast in the first pages, and I thought that was not how kids talk. I also dislike some metaphors in this book, like this one :

"Well, can I t lest have some more garlic bread?" His eyes are hungry as Remi's were when he noticed me leaning on the wall etc

Well, That was obviously different kinds of Hunger... And somehow, It felt off comparing a kid craving for a bread being with a man's hunger for another man.

I found myself tried so hard to read the first half, but then the rest of story just got better. This book was "Okay" for me. But, I wasn't sure I want to read the next book. I enjoyed it as stand-alone.

Thank you for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author (which I’m now keen to remedy - I LOVE queer romances!)

I was very pleased with the artist/nude model romance execution. I’ve read a few books taking on this scenario and they really botched the opportunity! This was excellent.

The part of the book that fell flat for me? Remi and Tristan’s inability to effectively communicate. I know that they both had their own reasons for their attitudes/insecurity, but in general I really struggle with poor communication storylines. When they did “talk it out” at the end I thought it was done well.

My favourite part of the book: the integration of Tristan’s nephews and niece into the plot, and the love and care shown towards the kids. It was really sweet and made both Remi and Tristan even more hunky.

Will definitely be checking out more from this author!

Tristan and Remi are absolutely adorable characters and I enjoyed watching their love unfold.

There are moments when the characters don't seem to talk like real people. At some points it makes sense, like with Remi's grandparents because they are supposed to be well-to-do snobby people, but in other conversations the words don't fit the characters.

I loved the addition of the kids to the story and how Remi is just naturally amazing with them. It doesn't seem entirely realistic, since he was raised in boarding schools and didn't have nurturing parents after the age of 9, but it's still a great piece of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I would absolutely love to read more about what their future holds.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book!

I'm Not In Love is a pretty cute book that delivers a fairly run-of-the-mill romance between two guys in their early twenties from wildly different backgrounds. Even though it was dual POV, I felt like Tristan was a much more fleshed-out character whereas the book relied too much on exposition with Remi. I liked their chemistry and both of their interactions with Tristan's sister and nibblings (even if I felt the way the kids talked seemed off) but Remi was a bit too hot and cold for me to really cheer for the two of them to end up together at the end. I'm happy they did but I definitely felt more invested in the first half of the book, as the latter half dragged on a bit.
I'd have appreciated a content warning at the beginning regarding the repeated attempted sexual assaults that were a major focal point of the plot.

I really liked the first third or so of this and then it just went downhill for me. It got progressively repetitive and a little bit whiny.

The premise is interesting and the characters most interesting. However, the language of the kids really ground my goat, particularly the youngest speech. It just completely took me out of the story and was weird.

This was a pretty quick, easy read and wasn't terrible but just wasn't for me and I skimmed the last six or seven chapters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book, however, after finishing it I felt slightly underwhelmed.

I think the biggest problem for me was the writing of the characters and their interactions. There were times where some of the characters conversations, specifically tristan and remi's, didn't feel realistic. I found this issue specifically before the 50% mark of the book and don't remember coming across it after that.

That aside, I enjoyed the romance between Tristan and Remi. Although they are vastly different, they both have a fear of the people they love the most leaving them in some form or another. They both have childhood trauma. And then they found happiness and freedom in each other which was beautiful to see.

Tara's children and their interactions with "Emmie" were just the sweetest. They are a big part in what kept me glued to this book enough to finish it in one day.

Towards the end of the book, I started losing interest as I felt Tris and Remi weren't communicating what they truly wanted to each other. In this, I cannot relate to the characters. I abhor miscommunication and it will always be a let down (for me) if I come across it in books. However, this is a personal grievance and should not reflect badly on the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

from the beginning i was sucked in my the artist/muse dynamic. however it fell a little flat as i got into the book. my main dislikes were the writing style the some of the characters in general. the dialogue was a little off as well.

2 stars
Overall, I liked a lot of themes of this book, but it didn't have the best execution.

WHAT I LIKED:
I like Tristan's POV a lot. I thought he was interesting and the author did a good job of portraying him.
I loved Tristan's relationship with his niece and nephews, as well as with his sister.
Remi's grandfather was great!


WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I didn't mesh personally with the writing style. Remi felt way too cocky for me and I couldn't stand it.
I don't understand a lot of Remi's motivations either. He literally goes on about how he just wanted to hook up with Tristan and then two minutes later, he's going to a soccer game for his nephew? Makes no sense to me.
The exposition was way too obvious and people don't actually talk like that when giving things away about themselves. It should be more subtle.
A lot of the dialogue felt forced and stilted. So did the conflict.

Got an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.05

For those who don't understand attachment issues, read this. The story and feelings of the characters are so raw that I also get scared of coming to terms with why I don't want to let people in my life. Tristan and Remi are examples of those who risked for the right person because they felt it, and running away from something real and vulnerable won't do anything. But there's also nothing wrong with wanting to protect your heart out of fear. Just acknowledge if running away will do you good or damage you more.

I don't blame Remi for getting attached to the Wilder family. Even I would love to spoil and take care of Tristan's nephews. This book is an intense read because of how much I get to see what's running in Tristan and Remi's heads. The emotions that they feel were described thoroughly that it hurts.

CW: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, and Mentions of Parent Abandonment/Neglect

Thank you to Netgalley and Mia Kerick for this ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was amazing, definitely in my top 10 of this year. The chemistry between the 2 MC was chef's kiss 💋 and the relationship between Remi and Tris' family was absolutely adorable. You NEED to read this book!

3 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. The story is centered around Remi and Tristan. Remi lost his parents when he was 9 and was raised by his (rich) grandparents. This tragic loss coupled with his cold and distant relationship with his grandmother has shaped him to avoid any type of emotional bond with others, including friendships and romantic relationships. On the other hand, we have Tristan, who is working as a nude mode for Remi's class, and desperately needs the money to help his twin sister care for her 3 kids. The story and romance was good in the sense that is was an interesting concept and had a whole lot of potential and I still enjoyed myself a lot reading this, however, in my opinion, there were some shortcomings. First, the relationship felt a little flat to me, I wish they would have shared more of their emotional issues with each other, not at the get go, but eventually, and that they could have reached some of their breakthroughs together and grown and both individuals and a couple. I get that there would have been some push and pull but I felt a lot of push and not a lot of well contructed pulls in the story. Further, the realizations and emotional breakthoughs felt forced and drawn mostly by others or, in Remi's case, a bit superficial. I would have loved this book and for sure it would have been a 5 star for me if those issues have been dealt with in a more organic and profound manner. At the end, I did not trust Remi not to hurt Tristan again, and i felt Tristan would have allowed him to do so and just accepted the heartbreak and moved on.
*I was send an e-arc of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*