Ali Hazelwood is always a must read for me! Another angsty “they shouldn’t be together” delicious STEM read. One of her spiciest ones yet it was a joy to follow along with Rue and Eli as they embark on hidden relationship due to their Jobs. Loved it!

If angst was a book, it would be Not in Love. Ali Hazelwood has written the perfect enemies-with-benefits book to ever exists] and this is now my favourite trope! I loved every second of this book.

Move over SJM. Ali Hazelwood has proven in this novel that she can write grief like the best of them! This is not necessarily a love story. This is a story of two people who depend too much on others and slowly learn to depend on themselves.

Ren is not well adjusted, and it's apparent from the beginning of the book. Having grown up with food insecurity she has a hard time trusting anyone but herself. She also presents in a way that could be seen as being autistic. She is very reserved and only talks when she is sure of what she is saying and relies on sex and physical intimacy as a way to decompress, despite never having been in a long term relationship before. All of these thing I personally related to and was able to connect really well with Ren, which I have never been able to do.

Eli seems well adjusted. Golden boy who pulled his sister and himself up "by their bootstraps" after everything fell apart, but he still has some underlying repressed trauma to work out. Eli isn't as well fleshed out as Ren, which I think is okay. Eli seemed like a character who was written solely to find a way to support Ren and he did that in the most extraordinary way possible. I did not miss having some of his backstory left out. It was definitely more endearing to see Eli slowly coax vulnerability from Ren.

All in all I was very impressed with this new Hazelwood installment. I would go so far as to say this is her best book yet.

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

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-rivals to friends to lovers
-this is just a hookup
-consensual kink
-hoooorny
-steminist
-insta attraction
-he falls first and hard
-wait are these feelings?

I love this book. I am forcing myself to write a review rather than immediatley reread it. There is just a magic to Ali's writing that is so compusively readable, and the moment when I had to go live my life I was counting down the moments until I could read again.

Rue and Eli have their lives figured out. And also just really enjoy sex, a hookup app later these two just have incredible chemistry and Eli's life turns on its head. I adored how just completely feral he was for Rue, even when he didn't recognize it at first, her mere existence just wrecks him in the best way and I ma here for it. I loved that we got to just see them fall in love. Their truth game felt so reminiscent to me of The Truth Above Forever by Sarah Dessen and I just ate it up.

Rue has such a wall around her, and to see them slowly break down, for her to trust and just want to be with Eli and grapple with that just made me want to hug her. How vulnerable she was, how she took her time, and her journey was such as beautiful and tender as Eli's at in her own time in her own Rue way. And gosh can we talk about the sex scenes, this was increidbly horny and I could just keep reading and living in this incredible. Just devestated the book is over but just another Ali masterpiece. This hit the you are the last person in the universe I should be falling for but I can't stay away from you vibes. Addictive perfection is Ali's brand.

This book was so different from other Ali Hazelwood stories, but it was great! Much more mature, and it was interesting to see how that played out in Hazelwood writing. The characters also felt a little more unique and diverse than her others which I loved!

WOW! This is the 6th Ali Hazelwood book I've read, and she is still fantastic and incredibly gifted.

This book gave a different vibe from her previous. It felt like the characters were more serious, and they represented a more realistic romantic relationship in today's society. I will say, the academia elements went right over my head. I am not familiar with academic research and start ups, and maybe wish I knew a bit more before reading this book.

Overall, this book is a great addition to any library and a great addition to Ali Hazelwood's work.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

Oh. My. God. New favorite Ali Hazelwood book unlocked?? And we finally got dual pov!!!

There’s just something about the way that Ali writes that makes my brain happy and content. Do I understand some of the science stuff? No, but I nod my head and agree with the characters cause in the moment I too am a smart and hot scientist.

Right from the start, I was hooked on how Rue and Eli met, which you can just FEEL the tension between them through the pages. Not only that, but they’re vulnerable with each other and share intrusive thoughts and traumatic experiences that no one else knows about. And yet, they both stay because why?? That’s right, they have feelings for each other!!

Rue and Eli were both so well written and complex with their background, especially how Rue grew up and how that had made her into the woman she is now. She may seem cool, calm and collected, but Rue is extremely shy when it comes to meeting new people. Except when it comes to Eli, who is down right obsessed with Rue the minute he meets her (we love to see it).

It’s a horny forbidden work place romance and I have not stopped thinking about since I finished it days ago. I firmly believe that Ali gets better with each book she writes and you can see her growth within the range of genres she works with.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for sending an arc for my honest review!

Some tropes:
-workplace /forbidden romance
-lowkey enemies to lovers
-“once to get it out of our system”
-dual pov
-HOT THICK TENSION
-found family
-hot women in STEM

Ali did it again. I eat it up and she just keeps feeding me.

Once again a main character that isn’t perfect and is smart and successful. I love all the STEM girls and all the guys. This one was no different

I was rooting for Eli from the start and I won’t deny that. What a great slow burn but also good on her for the representation
Thank you for this arc. Can’t wait for the release. It will join my Ali shelf 💕

Not in Love is Ali Hazelwood’s best work. Each book is better than the one before. I simply couldn’t put it down. This might be the book of the year.

I love Ali Hazelwood’s books!! This book had fantastic characters that I empathized with and lots of spice! I didn’t want to stop reading!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early readers copy to review.


Things this book did well:
-first FMC in an Ali Hazelwood book that isn’t petite and tiny and smol
-the female friendships in this book are refreshing and wholesome
-the FMC has a conversation about how hard it is for her to reach orgasm from solely PIV sex which I thought was so refreshing to see in a romance book and it is very realistic for a lot of women and I think it’s a needed conversation in this genre


Things this book did not do well:
-of course that last bullet point is negated by the fact that the MMC has a magical penis that of course gets her off
-the main characters in general felt very flat and one dimensional
-there was also a point where I thought she could’ve very easily made the MC be aro/ace to have a little bit of diversity and inclusion, and I kept waiting for her to name it and it never happened. Very little of the actual story would’ve changed but I think it could’ve made a lot of readers feel seen anyway.

Overall, very weak and I think I’m done with this authors adult contemporary romances. I have her YA book and her paranormal romance book left but I think this is the end of the line for me and her STEMinist books.

Ali continues to reign supreme as Queen of STEM Romance Novels. Rue is a biotech engineer working for a small start-up; Eli and his finance bro partners are part of a business takeover of the company. They're pitted against one another but true to any enemies-to-lovers romance, they just can't seem to stay away from each other. I loved Rue's social awkwardness and the way that she and Eli were slowly able to become more open and emotionally available to one another. Fans of Ali will love her newest novel, as will other readers looking for a spicy contemporary romance novel.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel via NetGalley.

Rue is an engineer working at a biotech company when she encounters Eli at a bar. They are both enchanted with one another even though nothing romantic happens. Rue is startled to find Eli is part of a company takeover at her current employer. Out of loyalty to her beloved boss, she doesn’t want anything to do with Eli. However, these two have a magnetic pull to one another and can’t seem to stay away. This begins their forbidden, secret romance. Rue must decide if Eli can be trusted with her heart and her job.

Ali is back with a STEM romance, and dare I say, this is her spiciest book yet! There are many open door scenes in this book due to Rue and Eli’s physical connection and the way they both initially embrace a sex-positive, no strings attached type of romance. However, there is plenty of depth to the story as both Rue and Eli come from difficult upbringings. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story because it helped explain both of the characters’ personalities, insecurities, and allowed them to connect on a deep emotional level. Ali’s signature humor is present in this book despite some serious topics and it’s somehow balanced enough to be emotionally vulnerable but not overpoweringly tragic. Readers can expect secret romance, grumpy (FMC)/ sunshine (MMC), and the “let’s just get it out of our system” tropes. If you enjoy a spicy, female-empowering, funny romance with depth, you are going to LOVE this one!

Thank you to Ali Hazelwood and Berkley Romance for the arc and my spot on the book tour.

Ali Hazelwood has gone above and beyond with this rom-com. I laughed and cried throughout the entire book. The sexy scenes were very sexy. How could you not love this cute couple, Eli and Rue?

I didn't know scientist could be sexy, but boy was I wrong. I loved the sex forward thinking of this book. I had not heard this term before, but I enjoyed finding out what it meant.

This is a phenomenal book. Be aware she has kicked the STEAM up a notch. Be careful reading it in public on a Kindle with size 20 font.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I've read all of Ali Hazelwood's work. This title was more angsty and less cute rom com but still had that same flavor of romance that her fans will appreciate.

Although "Not in Love" suggests otherwise, the novel is a pretty classic romance. Rue is a straightforward scientist who doesn't do relationships, just one-time hookups. Eli works in finance after his science dreams fell though, but he is hung up on the past wrong-doing that caused his career change. After meeting on an app for a hookup, Eli and Rue feel sparks, although things are complicated when Rue discovers that her place of business is being taken over by Eli's financial group. As a close friend of the owner, Florence, Rue feels like pursuing anything with Eli is an act of betrayal, but she cannot stay away.

I liked this book. I read it in one sitting, and found it super engrossing. This title does explore some heavier topics, like food insecurity and poverty, and I can tell that a lot of care was put into it discussing the issue, but it didn't always feel authentic. The financial takeover plot was predictable. I knew immediately who not to trust, and I think the story could be improved if it had kept you guessing more. But overall, if you like spicy romance, this is a solid choice

Not in Love is another great one by Hazelwood! I always enjoy that her characters are relatable with backstories that create depth, and this one does not disappoint. While it's a little less STEM heavy, it is not forgotten and helps to drive the story. I like that Hazelwood is also becoming more brave with the spice without getting lost in it.

I love Ali Hazelwood, and I will obviously still consider her one of my favorite romcom authors after this book, but I wasn't a huge fan of this departure into erotic romance. Rue and Eli meet through a hook up app--Eli because...???... and Rue because she thinks she's too weird and standoffish to have actual relationships, or something. Her reasoning for hooking up once and done with men is nebulous at best--there's never any concrete reason why she acts this way with men and sex in particular. Eli, despite telling half this book from his perspective, is mostly a black box about it.

And this is why I found myself less and less enjoying Not In Love--I couldn't get a firm grasp on the characters or their motivations. I could guess the external motivations easily enough since that's a common problem in academia, but the characters and why they're throwing themselves into cheap sex to start, why Eli suddenly has this overwhelming obsession with her, why Rue is the way she is and how she breaks free of it...all a mystery. The book spends so much time on sex scenes (that were hot, I will admit it, even though after I couldn't keep count anymore they grew wearisome) that I found myself unable to understand how the characters developed.

I'm looking forward to the Bride sequel and all the other romcoms that will come from Ali Hazelwood, but this book was not it.

Wow. This was honestly so much more emotional and poignant than her other books about women in stem (and I loved those, too). These characters have more complexity than the grumpy/sunshine tropes we’ve become accustomed to in the Steminist series. This story didn’t feel like it was evolving around science and campy humor, but around the characters and their growth instead.

This story builds slowly, but once I got halfway I couldn’t put it down. Eli and Rue build a relationship by sharing their most shameful secrets with each other, and their strictly physical relationship grows into a beautiful dual POV about love, trauma, and feeling worthy of happiness. This book is heartfelt, he falls first, and is probably Ali’s steamiest stem book.