Not in Love Book Review
![Not in Love Book Review](/content/images/size/w2000/2024/06/Not-in-Love-Ali-Hazelwood-1.jpg)
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today, I am back with another book review. Ali Hazelwood pumps out books like no other. This is her second book to come out this year, the first was Bride. So, let's get into it!
I love Ali Hazelwood's book, she has become one of my favorite auto-buy authors. I love the women in stem, strong main female characters. And Rue is no different. We follow Rue who is a scientist that works for a company called Kline. Recently, another company, Harkness, has come into the picture to potentially take over Kline's ownership. Rue and the other scientists are nervous as to what this could mean for their jobs and the projects they've spent years working on. Eli works for Harkness and is alarmed to learn that a failed "one-night stand" works for the very company he's trying to take control of. Rue and Eli are the definition of a forbidden romance. Because why mix business with pleasure? But their infatuation with each other can't let them stay away.
Before reading I had heard this book was even spicier than Bride which is saying a lot because Bride was something else entirely. However, Not in Love beats out Bride 100%. I think this is one of the spiciest book I've ever read. Not a complaint but definitely something you should know before going in.
Rue and Eli...forbidden lovers. I love the forbidden love trope, the he falls first trope, etc. Eli must be protected at all costs. He was always so protective of Rue, always made sure she felt safe, always made she there was trust between them, etc. He was absolutely perfect, and I think this is one of the best couples Hazelwood has ever written. They complimented each other so well. There was so much chemistry, nothing was forced. As the reader, I was rooting for them the entire time.
To see Eli's perspective, to see what being around Rue does to him...I just loved being able to get his point of view on things.
Rue was a very quiet and reserved character. The most reserved female character Hazelwood has written, and that is not a bad thing. Rue is still a badass. She cared for Eli and his friends. She stood up to her boss (can't say too much), and just all around was a really great friend and someone who worked hard.
I loved learning their backstories, and how even when we let someone in, let someone see all the bad parts, we still are able to be loved. Rue and Eli both thought they weren't worthy of love, but seeing their characters development was so heartwarming to see.
Rue's backstory may be the saddest yet.
This was honestly such a quick and easy read. I read this as a buddy read with my friend, and we blew through it.
Overall, I would give this a 4/5 stars. The only reason it wasn't 5 stars was because the book was a little bit predictable. It didn't take away from the story, but I wasn't surprised by anything. I still highly recommend!
Alright folks, that is all for this week! Come back next Wednesday for another blog post! As always thank you for reading :)