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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
hopeful
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Title: Not in Love (Not in Love #1)
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: 18+
Publication Date: June 2024
Rue Siebert has what you need in life: a couple good friends, financial stability, and a successful career at a biotech company, Kline. That is, until a hostile takeover happens at the company where she works. Oh and the attractive front man of the operation. Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, no matter what. Eli is the type of man who gets what he wants. With one exception: Rue. He cannot stop thinking about her, yet she is extremely off-limits. Rue and Eli throw caution out the window and have a steamy, no-strings-attached affair with a set deadline. The only hiccup in their plan, the heart plays by its own rules.
Rue is very different from the rest of Ali Hazelwood's FMCs and I still cannot decide if how I feel about her. I love her backstory and the rationale of why she studies what she does and how she became who she is. Her relationship with Eli is what doesn't really work for me. I like Eli immensely. I just don't know how I feel about them together. It makes sense yet doesn't? I'm torn. I enjoyed the background plot of the hostile takeover and the drama with the Harkness company and Kline's founder. Let's just say that I related to the reasoning behind Eli and his business partners rationale for the takeover a bit too much. Like any other Ali Hazelwood book, this just blew by and was a fun quick read.
While I liked this book, it was definitely one of my least favorite Ali Hazelwood books so far. It is still worth reading but I feel like there was more she could have added to make it feel more round out. Maybe we get some of those missing details in the next book in this little series. I would say if you are wanting to read all of Ali Hazelwood's books, read this. Otherwise, you may be able to skip it.
Rating 3/5
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this series out of order, not recognizing this was a series when I picked up Problematic Summer Romance. I’m glad I came back to this one, because I enjoyed Rue and Eli’s romance. The forbidden love trope meeting corporate battle was interesting a fun way to experience this trope.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I absolutely love Ali's books, so I'm so sad to say that this was boringgg😭
There was a lot that I liked. I liked Rue as a character, how straightforward she was and how she didn't shy away easily. Unfortunately, Eli wasn't as memorable for me, even though I loved his POVs. Seeing how Rue totally filled his thoughts and how he fell in love with her was so sweet.
I also loved Rue and Tisha's friendship, and although Florence was a terrible person, I kind of liked her as the villain.
I was a little bit annoyed by all the secrecy though. Considering Eli wasn't even trying to use Rue for information, I was so frustrated when he didn't tell her about Florence right away once she got the smallest hint about what was going on. The secrets felt so unnecessary.
Even though there was a lot that I liked, and on paper this seemed like a book I'd absolutely love, I was so bored most of the time while reading this. The number of times I was able to read only one or two pages before almost falling asleep is embarrassing🙈
This started off great. I was enjoying it so much, but then Rue and Eli started their affair and my interest just disappeared🥲
Unfortunately, this book was just a big miss for me🥲
There was a lot that I liked. I liked Rue as a character, how straightforward she was and how she didn't shy away easily. Unfortunately, Eli wasn't as memorable for me, even though I loved his POVs. Seeing how Rue totally filled his thoughts and how he fell in love with her was so sweet.
I also loved Rue and Tisha's friendship, and although Florence was a terrible person, I kind of liked her as the villain.
I was a little bit annoyed by all the secrecy though. Considering Eli wasn't even trying to use Rue for information, I was so frustrated when he didn't tell her about Florence right away once she got the smallest hint about what was going on. The secrets felt so unnecessary.
Even though there was a lot that I liked, and on paper this seemed like a book I'd absolutely love, I was so bored most of the time while reading this. The number of times I was able to read only one or two pages before almost falling asleep is embarrassing🙈
This started off great. I was enjoying it so much, but then Rue and Eli started their affair and my interest just disappeared🥲
Unfortunately, this book was just a big miss for me🥲
epah… adoro a Ali, mas este não tem como defender.
Sinto que li quase 400 páginas de dois adultos que mais pareciam adolescentes, a pensar em sexo 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana. A essência do ambiente de STEM reduzido a praticamente nada, que era o que mais gostava das outras obras e o character development a raspar o zero. Se tirasse todo o conteúdo sexual do livro, sobrava por volta de 60 páginas de história a sério.
“But that’s because they have issues, traumas, disturbed personalities and shit” yah, okay, assim como 99% dos personagens de todos os outros livros que já li, mas nenhum deles é assim. Acho que a autora se focou em coisas completamente dispensáveis ao invés de aprofundar o que realmente faria a história tolerável.
What a waste of potencial
Sinto que li quase 400 páginas de dois adultos que mais pareciam adolescentes, a pensar em sexo 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana. A essência do ambiente de STEM reduzido a praticamente nada, que era o que mais gostava das outras obras e o character development a raspar o zero. Se tirasse todo o conteúdo sexual do livro, sobrava por volta de 60 páginas de história a sério.
“But that’s because they have issues, traumas, disturbed personalities and shit” yah, okay, assim como 99% dos personagens de todos os outros livros que já li, mas nenhum deles é assim. Acho que a autora se focou em coisas completamente dispensáveis ao invés de aprofundar o que realmente faria a história tolerável.
What a waste of potencial
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmm.. I love Ali Hazelwood’s work and books but I am not a fan of this one.
The vocabulary in this book is no fun. English is my second language and I read a lot in English, but this book really felt like “look how many difficult words I know in STEM”.
Love actually and love hypothetically is also about STEM and I loved it and I had no problem with a few difficult words. And obviously I can search for their meanings, but within this book.. I just had to stop the whole time.
I read similar reviews about this book. So hopefully other books will be much more fun!
The story line is good though! I liked the characters and their flaws and the development they have made.
The vocabulary in this book is no fun. English is my second language and I read a lot in English, but this book really felt like “look how many difficult words I know in STEM”.
Love actually and love hypothetically is also about STEM and I loved it and I had no problem with a few difficult words. And obviously I can search for their meanings, but within this book.. I just had to stop the whole time.
I read similar reviews about this book. So hopefully other books will be much more fun!
The story line is good though! I liked the characters and their flaws and the development they have made.