Book Review : Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood



Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Berkley
Publication date :  June 11th, 2024
 
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.

I was pleasantly surprised by how different this one was from Ali's other books in some aspects - especially the steam!🔥 It was also dual pov and I loved seeing how Eli was utterly obsessed with Rue. Like he's pretty much thinking about her 24x7, but he also makes her comfort and security his priority. I do love MMCs like these!⁣
The relationship between them has all of the tension of a forbidden/secret romance with some instalust mixed in but it worked well here mainly because of their characters and their pasts. Rue is closed-off but very loyal to those she loves and she's caught in a dilemma when her almost-one-night-stand from the previous night turns up at Kline(where she works as a biotech engineer) - and he and his partners are here to takeover the company. Right from the start, they're very attracted to each other but what surprises both of them is the fact that they're able to be very emotionally vulnerable to each other too. And what begins as a friends with benefits scenario soon turns into something more!⁣
I loved both of the narrators for this one - Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke(two of my faves squee!). They were perfect for Rue and Eli! Additionally, I enjoyed the fact that Rue's dialogues in Eli's chapters were voiced by Callie & vice versa! There were many humorous moments along with the heartfelt ones and I think everything was balanced quite well! Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I think if you've enjoyed other Ali Hazelwood books you'll definitely like this one too!❣️✨

You can also find my review on my bookstagram here


*I was provided with an ALC in exchange for an honest review*

You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here 




I’m originally from Italy, lived in Japan and Germany, and eventually moved to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. I recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies me. When I’m not at work you can find me binge-watching shows with my three feline overlords (and my slightly less feline husband), running, or eating candy.

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