📝 What is Not In Love about?
Rue Siebert has a stable life with good friends, financial security and a successful career at a promising biotech startup. Rue’s stability is threatened by Eli Killgore, who is determined to take over her company. He finds himself irresistibly drawn to her. As they navigate a secret affair amidst corporate turmoil, they must confront their conflicting loyalties and the risks of their deepening feelings.
📚 Genre: Romance
🎧 Format: ARC E-Book
💞 Feels: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood was a quick read that had me fully engrossed. I fell into this book the same way I devoured Bride. The book reminded me of some other books that I’ve read, with the company takeover, revenge plot, and general misunderstanding of the male lead’s motivations. Is he the enemy or do they just need to have an honest conversation?!
I’ve now read most of Ali Hazelwood’s books. I find it so easy to identify with her characters; the socially awkward heroines are my jam. It doesn’t take many pages for me to be fully on board with wherever we’re going. I liked that Rue and Eli had habits and hobbies in common. Their shared interests made it seem like they would’ve met eventually through their connections.
This story felt a bit like it was the non-paranormal version of Bride. Rue and Eli are on opposite sides of a corporate “war.” They’re being pushed together by their friends, in order to spy on each other. He’s not being honest about how smitten he is and she’s clueless about relationships. Rue meet Misery (IYKYK, Bride readers). Now that I’m on this track, Hark and Maya are great comps for Koen and Serena….if only Hark and Maya were in the paranormal world, their age difference wouldn’t be so problematic.
You’ll like this book, if…
Okay back to the romance genre. I think fans of Love, Theoretically; The Spanish Love Deception, The Worst Best Man and The Kiss Quotient would enjoy this book. Not In Love has a little dose of each of those books.
✅ Spinoff novella nomination:
Hark and Maya are my nomination for a novella. Maya’s crush on Hark is not one sided. Hark was doing his best not to look at her until she was walking away, so it seems he’s only hiding his feelings from her (and maybe her brother). Eli was narrating the chapter where this happened…it seemed odd he knows Hark so well, that he didn’t notice this exchange. Either he’s blind or willfully ignorant about this attraction.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments.