A review by rtl199973
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have some mixed feelings about this book. 

Now this was my first Ali Hazelwood so I’m not going to compare this to any of her other work, just how I feel about it as a romance book. 

The first 30-50% of this book had me GIGGLING. Our two main characters, Rue and Eli, have an instant connection and the tension is tensioning 🤌🏻 It started off so strong and easily would have been a 4.5 ⭐️ read for me. But, it fell off a bit in the second half. 

The characters start to do things that feel distinctly out of character. Eli gets mad at Rue for something that honestly makes a lot of sense and the whole scene that follows is— weird. Rue is in denial for the majority of the book but I feel like it goes just a step too far. She’s a smart woman. I think it would have made more sense for her to realize her feelings and try to run away than be completely clueless until it’s “too late”. So the second half was more of a 3.75 ⭐️ for me. 

Was I obsessed with this book? No. But with elements of it, yes. 

For example, I loved the found family. It was a very good he falls first. The friendships in this book felt so real. I loved Eli’s dog (that’s no surprise). I loved that he never pushed Rue even when he wanted to. But I can’t get past some of the things that bothered me either. 

Also all of Rue’s chapters were in first person while Eli’s were in third which felt weird. There’s no other way to put it. I didn’t like it. 

This book was really hard to rate. If you want a lighthearted romance book I’m not sure if this is for you. If you want a book with lovable, realistic characters who mess up sometimes but still get a Happily Ever After, I’d say give it a try! 

4.25 ⭐️

4 🌶️