Book Review: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood’s most recent STEM romance novel comes with a new twist on her (very) predictable plot lines. Check out my full review of Not in Love below.
Book Information
Rue isn’t good at making friends. She actually isn’t good at being with people period. So when she meets Eli and finds herself fully comfortable around him, she thinks she has hit the jackpot. Except, Eli is part of a company that’s trying to take over her workplace and that is NOT okay. Not only because she works there, but because it’s her friend’s company, too. Rue must learn to keep her feelings to herself, or end up betraying one of the only friends she has.
Review | Heidi Dischler
Alright, we all basically know the drill with Ali Hazelwood’s novels. Big, broody men. Very very feminist (men are bad, except for the big broody man at the center of the novel). Also, the nerdy, socially awkward heroine.
This book has it all, except it had a lot less “feminism above all” vibes and I actually really appreciated that about this novel. Not all men are bad obviously, and surprise surprise, this novel gave us a breath of fresh air with that one.
Still, you get the same big handsome man (who is very big) in this novel, just like with The Love Hypothesis, Love on the Brain, and Love, Theoretically. While this one probably ranks higher that Love on the Brain and Love, Theoretically, it did not woo me like I wanted it to. Honestly, my favorite of all Ali Hazelwood’s novels is Check and Mate because it was so different. Eli, though, is still a swoon worthy main man who makes you believe that chivalry is not dead (until he has you in the bedroom, that is). Rue was kind of just blah, but that’s just me. Eli and Rue together, though, had a lot of chemistry and I appreciated that.
The writing style was almost exactly the same as the other books, so if you liked those and you’re not bored of the same stories with different character names, you’ll like this one. For those of you who have never read one of Ali Hazelwood’s novels, you get the main character who is snarky and sassy and gorgeous event though she doesn’t know it. You get the romantic interest from a guy who is absolutely chiseled and knows how to take care of a woman in bed. You get witty comments, steamy bedroom scenes, and whip-smart writing.
As for the plot, I was so happy that we moved away from the she-woman-man-haters (hope you got that reference…). There was one thing that, while predictable, was refreshing, but I’ll talk about that in the spoilers.
Spoilers ahead.
Yep. There was a female villain. I was very happy with this and honestly it felt more true to life than having all the men always be the bad guys. Did I see it coming? Absolutely. Didn’t mean I wasn’t happy to see our female villain.
My overall thoughts on this novel? Not much has changed from the past three STEM feminist novels, but if you aren’t bored of it yet, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. 3.5 out of 5 stars rounded up to 4 for social platforms.
Source: Audiobook from Libby Public Library
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
