Thursday, June 20, 2024

Review: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

 

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Publication Date: June 11th 2024 by Berkley & Penguin Audio
Pages: 384
Audio Book Length: 11hrs 56min
Narrators: Callie Dalton & Jason Clarke
Source: Publishers
Rating: 
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Rue and Eli are on opposite sides of a hostile takeover of Kline. Rue works as a biotech engineer for the company and Eli works for Harkness, the company who’s taken control of their finances. However, before this happened, they met through an online app for a hookup, and made a connection.
 
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Not in Love. I got off to a rocky start, set it aside, read a few friends mixed reactions and then dived back in, a little more prepared for the story, and was hooked.
 
I’m not a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope if there’s a lot of mean back and forth. It’s hard to come back from that, but this wasn’t that. I’m also not a fan of more sex than plot, and there were quite a few sex scenes. I read a couple, (they were well done and very hot!) and then skimmed over the rest. The plot lines, the reason Eli and his friends were investigating Kline, what was behind the takeover, as well as Rue and Eli’s troubled backgrounds, were what grabbed my attention and kept me invested in the story. The story was more serious, less silly and laugh-out-loud than Hazelwood’s previous romances, and it fit the story. Even though they were on opposite sides of this conflict, they couldn’t stay away from each other.  I truly liked both Rue and Eli and rooted for their HEA. I appreciated there wasn’t a dramatic third act breakup, too.
 
I alternately read an e-copy and listened to the audio version of the story. Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke did a phenomenal job narrating and I loved that they each performed their character the whole way through, even when it wasn’t their POV! Such a treat!


4 Stars


Book Description:

A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science—from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

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.



14 comments:

  1. I'm a little sorry Hazelwood upped the sex scenes in this book; I don't like when a romance starts to trend towards erotica. But I'm glad to hear there isn't a third act breakup in this one. I'm getting really tired of those. ;D

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    1. Yes, I ended up skimming a lot of them, but I did enjoy the story even so. :)

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  2. Rue and Eli’s story sounds intense with the whole hostile takeover backdrop. I’m usually wary of enemies-to-lovers too, especially when it gets too mean, but it’s great to hear that wasn’t the case here.

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    1. Yes, enemies-to-lovers is a tricky trope. I'm glad it wasn't really that here.

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  3. I don't love that Hazelwood felt the need to put more sex scenes in this one; I like it better when authors focus on the characters and on their relationship. (And sorry for commenting a second time; my first comment seems to have disappeared.)

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    1. I don't know why your first comment ended up in spam. Blogger is frustrating sometimes! I'd rather the focus be on the characters and plot as well!

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  4. Yeah, while the book is good, it's a departure from her usual STEMinist books. I thought she was trying something new and making this more of a contemporary erotic romance. I couldn't connect with Rue and that took me out of the story a bit. Will it stop me from reading more Ali Hazelwood books? Absolutely not. Great review!

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    1. Yes, while it was more sex scenes than I'd like (I skimmed most of them) I actually liked Rue so that helped me enjoy the story. I've seen a lot of mixed reactions to this one, so I'm not surprised you feel that way.

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  5. Great review. I can't wait to read this one.

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  6. I just love Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke. They both have such distinctive voices and I get excited when I see they've narrated a book I'm picking up. Glad you enjoyed this one... and hooray for no third act break-up!

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  7. Like you, enemies-to-lovers is a trope I have a love/hate relationship with, but I have had great success when it was done well. I want more plot than sex, too. I have this book. The kid was supposed to read and review (she loves Hazelwood). I do find Hazelwood is able to charm me with her snappy dialog and witty nods to science.

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  8. There wasn't a breakup, Eli just thought there was one. But I really wanted more plot. The sex scenes really slowed the pacing.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  9. I have only read the one, but I do want to try more books by this author

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  10. I don't mind more sex, but the story didn't quite capture me as much as I wanted, or maybe I just needed more to some parts? It was good, just not my favorite of the author's books. Glad that you enjoyed it more than me though! Great review!
    Lisa Loves Literature

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