A review by thebookstagrambabe
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

I absolutely adored this book! We have ourselves a little forbidden love story between Rue, a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science, and Eli the man trying to steal the tech behind her friend's company. Talk about a scandal! They meet by chance through a dating app only to find themselves tangled in a secret workplace romance. Rue was bristly and stubborn yet I still related to her so hard. Eli, oh boy, he knew what he wanted and didn't let anything get in the way! I loved him so much as the romantic hero. I loved that they both had this traumatic family upbringing that gave them scars from the past. While the difficulties with their families were very different, it still gave them something to bond over and made them feel more like real people and not perfect storybook characters This was definitely one of Ali Hazelwood's steamiest books yet. the spice was so good and felt it was all relatable to the story and not just spice for spice's sake. But besides the steam and the romance, I loved that this really questioned the perspective on who the good and bad guys were throughout the book. Read if you like, enemies to lovers, dual POV and STEM-focused roles. 

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 6/11