I enjoyed this one but didn't love it. It had all of my favorite tropes: Guy falls first, rivals to lovers, dual POV, but I had a difficult time connecting with the story/characters. I think my favorite part of the whole book had little to do with the romance and more to do with the female friendship.

I absolutely adored this book. Eli and Rue were so sweet together and they brought out the best in each other. Eli was absolutely swoony and his complete adoration for Rue was so clear from the second they met. He was so patient with her and she grew so much throughout the book. I liked that Rue was just being herself throughout the story and she was able to figure out what was going on in a way that didn't feel overly dramatic and was realistic. I just couldn't get enough of this book and I am really hoping we get a book with Maya and Hark as the leads because that is a story that needs telling.

Thanks to Berkley Romance for the copy of this book.

As a STEM girlie myself, I love to read and support books where STEM women are lifted up. Ali Hazelwood is a go-to for all her “STEMinist” novels, but I honestly think this is my least favorite of hers so far.

What I loved:
- the dynamics of the company / investors and wondering what will happen there
- the focus on eco fuel
- the portrayal of foster care and the trauma that brings

What I really didn’t love:
- an ultra-domineering MMC
- so. many. sex. scenes. I honestly skipped a lot of the book because there was just such a major focus on the physical relationship and not a buildup of anything else. I think they probably both needed a lot of therapy and to talk it out and develop some outside-of-the-bedroom intimacy instead of getting all weird inside the bedroom and saying how they were going to use each others' bodies all the time.
- our FMC felt like she was betraying her BFF by sleeping with the MMC and felt really guilty... but did it a lot anyway. Seems kind of gross.

Not surprisingly, this is my absolute favorite work of Hazelwood!!!! I literally am upset that I have to wait months and months, well who knows how long really, to read her next work. Eli and Rue will forever hold a place near and dear to my heart. I also, absolutely loved that there was no "oh no the couple broke up when they found out a tragedy" type of twist or trope. I genuinely knew it would work out, just wasn't sure how amazingly cute, sweet and romantic it would be. 5 stars top list!!!

I swear on my life Ali Hazelwood has bops only and this is probably the horniest book she’s ever wrote. Truly a treat if you ask me. 10/10 recommend!

I adore Ali hazelwood and her writing. I truly just feel like she gets better and better.

Rue and Eli have a lot of things to overcome but I love how they are brutally open with each other from the get go. And this book was a spiccyyyy one for Ali. And I was all here for it.

Eli may just be one of my new favorite book boyfriends. Sarcastic but straight to the point. Fell hard and fast for her. He is the most green flag book boyfriend and I loved him. 10/10

Rue and Eli didn’t have a traditional first meeting. They were introduced on an app, but when they tried to meet for just a mutual fling, they were interrupted by Rue’s brother assaulting her. Eli defended her and made sure she got home safe, but that was where there encounter ended, or so they thought. It turns out that Eli is buying Rue’s company. He is the enemy, so why can’t she stop thinking about him? Ali Hazelwood has introduced readers to another STEM couple, this one a little shy and awkward, but very steamy when they get together. A little too steamy, maybe. This book could have been edited a bit more and still had the same effect. We didn’t need the same argument and make up over and over again. It was a detriment to the chemistry between the two characters. Of course, it’s an Ali Hazelwood novel though so it was still entertaining, but it’s not her best.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I did not vibe with this one. The characters were awkward and the audiobook narrators made it worse. The MMC though is basically the same as all her other books 😅

Thank you Berkley for the EARC & ALC

Not In Love is a super unique romance from Ali Hazelwood--much more mature and grounded compared to her previous rom-coms. The character studies that can be conducted on Eli and Rue are so vast--they were truly such interesting characters! I loved their dynamic and how they used physical intimacy as a way to communicate. The moments of verbal communication they do share (such as sharing the terrible things they did in the past) were also very endearing. And while this book does lean more towards the erotica genre, there are still many romantic moments, and I found myself smiling at many of them. It's been really interesting watching Ali break out of her quirky STEM rom-com era to write books like Bride and Not in Love. I'm excited to see if she continues this trend, and what she writes next!

There’s no question that Ali Hazelwood is one of our favourite Authors. Her beautifully written stories always consume us from the moment we turn the first page until we reach the last. Her characters are intensely lovable for their quirks, their humour yet they also all have that ‘something different’ that makes us fall in love with every single one of them. We want to know them; we want to be their friend and we want to protect them. We fall in love with them page by page. Not In Love gave us everything we expected from this Author. Everything we look for in her stories and everything we needed to fall in book love. Without question Eli Killgore is one of the most soulful and beautiful characters we’ve come across in a while and as for Rue Siebert, well she just unapologetically honest and uniquely beautiful.

Rue and Eli’s journey is one of the more melancholy stories we’ve read by Ali Hazelwood. It had an atmosphere which felt very heavy at times with less humour interspersed compared to what we’re used to. We hasten to add that whilst still labelled a romcom it felt anything but on many occasions such was the effect of the subject matter. Yet, there was quick witted banter to be found, in amongst the more heartbreaking and morosely poignant moments. As we mentioned, we fell in love with Eli and Rue, we fell in love with their journey, we loved their friends and once again we fell in love with yet another story from Ali Hazelwood. Now we’re hoping for a Conor Harkness book with a certain someone’s little sister perhaps?

This Ali H was different to her others in ways I can’t fully explain but that you just KNOW if you’ve read her books.

I really enjoyed following Rue and Eli on their journey to each other. I liked Eli’s steadfast presence in Rue’s life, unafraid and not at all dissuaded in his interest of her even when she pushed.

And Rue’s social anxiety was so special to see on page, someone who comes across as harsh or uncaring simply because she’s unsure how to navigate a social situation-boy can I relate!

4.75 ⭐️

once again, ali hazelwood has destroyed me.

Eli & Rue. ELI & RUE!!!!!!!

“I love you because you showed me how to fall in love”
😭💕🧎🏽‍♀️‍➡️🙏🏽😍✨🤌🏽

I read the last 60% of the book in ONE DAY !!! I was so invested in the Kline drama and how the truth would unfold. I neeeeeded to know if Rue & Eli end up together, and that they have a happy ending and not a tragedy. I love everything about this couple. Rue is so strong & smart & deserves the world. And Eli is right there to give it to her. Ali Hazelwood has written a romance that makes me want to cry, laugh, and fall deeply in love with the characters she’s created . I will be buying a copy and annotating it like crazy 💓

This book was Hazelwood’s HOTTEST book. i’m not sure i loved that which is why I took .25 off from 5 stars!

thank you to Netgalley & Berkley Romance for sending me an e-arc of this book!

I lovedddd this book, and I could not put it down. I love that Ali strayed from her usual formula to give us something different, while still incorporating a woman in STEM as our FMC. It was nice to have a happy/golden retriever MMC as opposed to the usual grumpy brooding one. I also loved that this was dual POV!

This is definitely Ali’s steamiest book yet, but it worked for me because I felt like each interaction helped us understand both of them better as people, and their connection. I also really enjoyed that Ali dove deeper into some more serious topics, as both of them had some childhood trauma that impacted them as adults— and was crucial to the story.

There were only a few things that didn’t work for me— Rue’s relationship with her brother felt weird. What he wanted seemed really fair, and she kept blowing him off instead of trying to find a solution but then saying he was at fault. I also felt like the side characters in this book were quite weak compared to her other books. I felt like Rue has such a cool bestie, and had the opportunity for her to play a bigger role in the book— and she didn’t! Same with Eli’s sister.

Still loved this one, and think so many are going to love too!

Rue Siebert is a biotech engineer at Kline, a start-up business where she works with her best friends, Trish and Florence. Rue has had a difficult childhood and has difficulty letting people in. She prefers one-night stands with no strings attached.

When Rue's almost hook-up with Eli Kilgore is interrupted by her brother, she is relieved - especially when she finds out that Eli and his partners have started a hostile takeover of Kline.

But even though Rue never has a second date, she makes an exception for Eli, if only to get him out of her system. Soon they are both torn between their attraction to each other and their loyalty to their respective companies.

Why We Love This Book: If you love Ali Hazelwood Books, this pick from the spring 2024 book releases will not disappoint you. It is a very steamy pick, even when compared to Hazelwood's other romances. Her books always depict women in STEM and we love a strong female protagonist.
Trigger Warnings: This book talks about food insecurity and its lasting effects

YA I ATE IT UP THANK YOUUUUUUUUU!

I’m down BAD for this pairing! 🫦

This might be my favorite Ali book!!

It follows Rue who is a biochemical engineer (women in stem >>>>) who matches on an app with Eli who works in finance for a night of entanglements until he shows up at her work place to possibly acquire the company she works for! Uh oh!

(What ever will they do with all this tension, secrecy
and angst! )


One of my favorite things while reading about this couple was the nonverbal communications between Rue and Eli. He completely understood her and admired her through so many cues when she couldn’t verbally communicate it at times.

To be loved is to be seen and this story embodied that in the most beautiful way!!

The understanding and acceptance of just being who you are in their relationship actually had me sobbing! It was so😭😭😭😭 and so🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹


Also lemme get into the spice real quick buckle up my friend. Every chapter this man OOOWEEE HE WAS TALKING IT THROUGH TO HER LEMME TELL YA.

When I thought damn he can’t get anymore 🥵🫦 Ali said clutch ur pearls bestie then BAM he’d say something WILDT.


There’s a grand gesture that had me punching the air because you can see the love being reciprocated and how special that moment was!!



Thank you Berkley romance for sending me an ARC forehead kisses to u all!

WOW. ali hazelwood’s spiciest book yet and i LOVED it. i could not get enough of this book, i’m serious. her books continue to get better and better with each release, and this one was no exception. the characters felt so complex and realistic, and the plot + the obstacles it brought were so believable (which can feel rare in the romance genre). the way that eli loves rue??? TO DIE FOR.

this book also takes place in my hometown (austin) and my university was mentioned constantly (UT), and it was both bizarre and heartwarming to read about the neighborhoods i’ve lived in. i also appreciated how ali gave a realistic depiction of the sexism within UT as an institution.

For Dr. Rue Siebert everything is going perfectly. She works for a great company where she gets funding for her research, and her boss is one of her best friends. But one day everything seems to be falling apart- Kline-the loan for the company she works for has been taken over by Harkness. When the smug CEOs of Harkness show up at her workplace to explain the takeover, Rue recognizes one of the CEOs as the man she met online.

Eli Killgore is proud of Harkness, the company built by him and his closest friends. Their end goal in sight, Eli celebrates by matching with a beautiful woman online. She is everything he wants in a woman but their date is rudely interrupted. Imagine his surprise when he sees her the next day at Kline. Will Rue and Eli keep to their own sides, or will the growing attraction between threaten to destroy everything they created?

I loved this latest by Ali Hazelwood full of the same snark, sparks and Reylo shenanigans.

Thank you SO MUCH to the publisher for providing me a free eARC for review! This one is out June 11!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Rue and Eli are on opposite sides of a hostile takeover of the food tech start-up where she works—but their attraction might prove impossible to resist.

Are you tired of hearing about how much I love Ali Hazelwood? If so, TOO BAD. Every time I read a new book by this woman I become even more in awe, because there is truly nothing she can’t write: STEM rom-coms? Check. Novellas? Check. Young adult romance? Check. Paranormal romance? Check. And now, erotic romance with SO MUCH heart and an absolutely beautiful character arc about realizing your own worth and learning to love others and yourself????? CHECK ONCE AGAIN.

This was genuinely one of the most lovely and poignant books I’ve ever read, while also being one of the swooniest and spiciest. I love a “he falls first” book, and Eli fell HARD, y’all. This man was down bad and I loved every single second of it. I’m also so picky about third act conflicts but this one was PERFECT—it made sense in the context of their relationship and added stakes to the story without feeling over-dramatic or unnecessary.

Truly, my only complaint about this book is that I have now finished it, because I never wanted it to end.

CW: Poverty/food insecurity/child neglect; mentions of death of parent

Relieved about my rating because Bride was blah for me. The duet audiobook narration definitely helped. I generally dislike books where MC1 is first person and MC2 is third person, but it was easy to ignore that in audio (especially because both narrators would speak in both POVs).

It’s interesting to see the author’s note categorizing this book as a darker, erotic romance. I mean, yes? And also no. My main issue is that I don’t think AH is fantastic at sex scenes. Decent and better than most writers, sure. But memorable enough for me to get hooked and hang onto every description? No. AH’s strengths lie elsewhere. I kinda glazed over most of the explicit content, which is unfortunate since there’s more here compared to prior installments. But outside of that, I was totally invested and moved by the characters.

I don’t *totally* understand what dual POV added to the book, tbh. We get it, the hero isn’t as evil as the heroine assumed. But I didn’t need the hero’s thoughts to know that, lol. It was abundantly clear from the heroine’s initially-oblivious perspective. I mean, I liked getting to know the sister and the colleagues, but there’s a version of this book that would’ve been equally informative/successful without Eli’s POV. AH is so good at dramatic irony and it would’ve been more impactful with only Rue’s narration. My feeling of dual POV romance can be summed up as: do both characters experience an equally-significant emotional journey and change? No? Then why am I reading about both characters’ thoughts!!! Eli isn’t a static character, but Rue’s emotional journey is a 100x more complicated and interesting.

Read via audio (narrated by Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke).

Not in Love is NOW my new favorite book by this author. We are back in the world of STEM to meet Rue and Eli. Rue is a biotech engineer, and owes her success to her mentor and company. When a equity firm makes a play for the company, Rue's lifework is in jeopardy. Eli is part of the hostile takeover, and is viewed as the enemy.

These two meet the night before on a dating app, specializing in one-night only rendezvous. This no strings attached fits both of their lifestyles, until feelings get in the way. Their chemistry is undeniable. Eli's sexy talk, and swoon worthiness is scorching hot.

Hazelwood writes fun, interesting, lovable characters. I especially appreciated the duel POV, alternating between the love interests.

Not in Love leaves the readers giddy, joyous and blushing.

Thank you, Berkley.