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boba_nbooks 's review for:
Not in Love
by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 / 5
Did I read Ali's content warning/author note at the beginning? Yes. Did I still not expect what this book had in store? Also yes.
Rue Siebert is a no-strings-attached kind of woman. She knows what she wants and won't settle for anything less. Her life is (almost) perfect. Until a company comes to take over the company one of her closest friends own--the company she works for. And the man in charge of the takeover, Eli Killgore, is devastatingly handsome and everything Rue didn't know she needed. Rue and Eli struggle to deal with their mutual attraction and their clearly rivaling companies. Even though they should be off-limits to each other, they can't deny the spark between them. A one-night stand should be enough to get it out of their system... right?
Phew this book is SPICY, guys!! I went into it knowing that but still wasn't quite prepared. The spice was my least favorite part of it, though, honestly. Ali was trying to write a "kink," but it didn't quite play out in the way I think she meant it to, and the plot was eerily similar to another one of her works, Love, Theoretically.
I did, however, enjoy Rue as a character. She is very different from the other female protagonists Ali has written. Rue is unapologetically herself--blunt, uncompromising, and truthful. Eli felt a little one-dimensional for me, but that might just be because he was a complete and total simp for Rue. Truly down bad. What I wanted more of was Rue and Eli overcoming their traumatic childhoods together. I loved seeing that side of their relationship, but it didn't feel like a major plot point.
Overall, this book was not bad! I can see why so many people have enjoyed it.
Did I read Ali's content warning/author note at the beginning? Yes. Did I still not expect what this book had in store? Also yes.
Rue Siebert is a no-strings-attached kind of woman. She knows what she wants and won't settle for anything less. Her life is (almost) perfect. Until a company comes to take over the company one of her closest friends own--the company she works for. And the man in charge of the takeover, Eli Killgore, is devastatingly handsome and everything Rue didn't know she needed. Rue and Eli struggle to deal with their mutual attraction and their clearly rivaling companies. Even though they should be off-limits to each other, they can't deny the spark between them. A one-night stand should be enough to get it out of their system... right?
Phew this book is SPICY, guys!! I went into it knowing that but still wasn't quite prepared. The spice was my least favorite part of it, though, honestly. Ali was trying to write a "kink," but it didn't quite play out in the way I think she meant it to, and the plot was eerily similar to another one of her works, Love, Theoretically.
I did, however, enjoy Rue as a character. She is very different from the other female protagonists Ali has written. Rue is unapologetically herself--blunt, uncompromising, and truthful. Eli felt a little one-dimensional for me, but that might just be because he was a complete and total simp for Rue. Truly down bad. What I wanted more of was Rue and Eli overcoming their traumatic childhoods together. I loved seeing that side of their relationship, but it didn't feel like a major plot point.
Overall, this book was not bad! I can see why so many people have enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Stalking
Minor: Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment