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A review by booksbydann
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for the E-Arc of this book.
“Being with you was a betrayal from the very start. I just couldn’t stay away.”
Not in Love is the first book by Ali Hazelwood that I couldn't fully connect with.
When I was 20% into the book, I suddenly realized that I was not liking it. In the end, I wouldn't have finished if I hadn't been hooked or liked it in some way, but for most of the book, I was lacking the connection I always feel with Ali Hazelwood's books.
I have mixed feelings about this book, and I don't know how to order everything I think about it, so let's organize what I liked from what I didn't.
Some things I liked:
-All the honest discussions about sexual life and how explorative the book is in that aspect.
-The talks about food insecurity. I really appreciate how Ali incorporated it into this book and how it was portrayed.
-Rue! I couldn't completely connect with her, but I liked that Ali wrote a character as complex as her ♥️
-Tiny. We love big dogs with ridiculous names here.
-I loved all the legal/financial drama.
Things that didn't work out for me:
-First of all, even though I wanted more than anything for a book by Ali to be narrated in dual POV, I didn't like it in this book. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the chapters narrated by Eli had been fewer and farther between. Most of his perspectives revolve around lusting over Rue. I love a male character who is completely gone for the female MC, but this was too much.
- Is it possible to say too much spice? Beyond 2-3 steamy scenes in a romance book, they seem unnecessary to me. When a book has too many sex scenes, it becomes boring very quickly for me, so I wasn't a big fan of that aspect.
- The initial interactions between Rue and Eli felt too anticlimactic and forced. It wasn't until 30-40% into the book that their 'situationship' started to feel more natural for me.
- I would have appreciated more character development instead of focusing solely on the sex scenes. I also think that the amount of sex scenes
took away the potential for a deeper emotional connection between the characters. I only felt their emotional connection towards the end.
At first, I thought I was going to give it a 3.5 star rating, but the aspects I disliked or didn't work for me were more significant than I initially realized.
It's not a bad book, just not entirely my cup of tea.
“Being with you was a betrayal from the very start. I just couldn’t stay away.”
Not in Love is the first book by Ali Hazelwood that I couldn't fully connect with.
When I was 20% into the book, I suddenly realized that I was not liking it. In the end, I wouldn't have finished if I hadn't been hooked or liked it in some way, but for most of the book, I was lacking the connection I always feel with Ali Hazelwood's books.
I have mixed feelings about this book, and I don't know how to order everything I think about it, so let's organize what I liked from what I didn't.
Some things I liked:
-All the honest discussions about sexual life and how explorative the book is in that aspect.
-The talks about food insecurity. I really appreciate how Ali incorporated it into this book and how it was portrayed.
-Rue! I couldn't completely connect with her, but I liked that Ali wrote a character as complex as her ♥️
-Tiny. We love big dogs with ridiculous names here.
-I loved all the legal/financial drama.
Things that didn't work out for me:
-First of all, even though I wanted more than anything for a book by Ali to be narrated in dual POV, I didn't like it in this book. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the chapters narrated by Eli had been fewer and farther between. Most of his perspectives revolve around lusting over Rue. I love a male character who is completely gone for the female MC, but this was too much.
- Is it possible to say too much spice? Beyond 2-3 steamy scenes in a romance book, they seem unnecessary to me. When a book has too many sex scenes, it becomes boring very quickly for me, so I wasn't a big fan of that aspect.
- The initial interactions between Rue and Eli felt too anticlimactic and forced. It wasn't until 30-40% into the book that their 'situationship' started to feel more natural for me.
- I would have appreciated more character development instead of focusing solely on the sex scenes. I also think that the amount of sex scenes
took away the potential for a deeper emotional connection between the characters. I only felt their emotional connection towards the end.
At first, I thought I was going to give it a 3.5 star rating, but the aspects I disliked or didn't work for me were more significant than I initially realized.
It's not a bad book, just not entirely my cup of tea.