Not in Love Paperback – Import, 11 June 2024

Ali claims that this one is different from the rest, and you can tell! It's majorly spicy/steamy, doesn't have a FMC you can relate to, and doesn't do it like the rest of her books. Sadly disappointed by this one!

I’m not sure how I want to rate this. On one hand I appreciate that Ali Hazelwood dipped her toes into a bit more new adult instead of formulaic rom-com. On the other hand this was my least favorite of her books. My biggest problem with the book was the character building & relationship building. When NA authors write characters who are flawed from past trauma their characters behaviors, words, actions etc, usually seem to flow and connect back to that trauma and makes the reader feel something for the characters. These characters, Rue & Eli, their backstories and trauma didn’t connect to the majority of their characterizations. There seemed to be a lack of connection & depth between who the characters were and why, if that makes sense. And because of that I think it was hard for me to feel any connection to these characters or the story, and so where the “spicy” scenes were supposed to be a plot device to move the characters forward, they were just eh, there. I do love the cover of this and the writing itself was wonderfully classic Ali Hazelwood.

Absolutely love Ali‘s writing & this book is no exception!

I'll start by saying that this is not your typical Ali Hazelwood book. Yes it involves STEM, and romance but asides from that it's definitely a move in a different direction. It's darker, not that it's dark overall but there are some darker themes. Rue, the main female, is not your typical bubbly female with the hilarious quips you would normally come to expect from an Ali book but she's loveable all the same, in her own way. I liked having both Rue's and Eli's POVs but the fact the tense changed between them was a little confusing. Rue and Eli definitely have undeniable chemistry and it was fun exploring their different type of relationship between two somewhat damaged people and how they helped each other heal