★★★★☆
Eli and Rue are Not in Love. The two work out an arrangement that’s set to expire before Eli’s company completes its hostile takeover of the tech company owned by Rue’s mentor.
Hazelwood takes fantasy and escapism up several notches in her most recent new adult romance novel. Like her previous works, this one features a highly educated woman in STEM, a supporting cast of science-oriented BFFs, a broad-shouldered male love interest, and steamy scenes galore.
However, Hazelwood diverges from the formula of The Love Hypothesis and several of her other novels in a couple of distinctive ways. First, this one doesn’t fall into the rom-com territory. It brushes up against a few darker topics and doesn’t feature the kind of meet-cute and witty banter typical of a rom-com.
“So this was falling for someone. A ruthless expansion of the senses. The meticulous, unintentional cataloging of a person’s head tilt, the shape their hand made around a wineglass, the little tells in their gaze.”
Ali Hazelwood, Not in Love
Not in Love also puts the ADULT in new adult romance. The smut-to-plot ratio is 80:20, and the language in the spicy scenes goes there and even a little beyond. After reading four of her stories, I thought I was accustomed to Hazelwood’s brand of writing sexy scenes, but she shocked me a few times in this one.
I liked that the female character was tall, assured, athletic, body confident, and highly intelligent. I also liked that she was described more voluptuously than previous female characters (although she isn’t depicted that way on the cover). It has been a bone of contention for me in her previous works that the women are always described as thin and tiny in stature. Unfortunately, the men don’t get any variety in body type – Eli is tall, broad, and ripped. I also thought it weird that Rue’s chapters were written in the first person and Eli’s in the third person.
Ultimately, this was a fast-moving (you can interpret that however you want) read. It held my attention and made me wonder what Hazelwood will write next.
If you’re a fan of daring descriptions of sex scenes, chances are you’ll enjoy this one. Romance readers who prefer more subtlety in love scenes will want to skip Not in Love.
To read my review of The Love Hypothesis, visit this link. My review of Loathe to Love You is available here.