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2.75/5

The review contains spoilers!

It pains me to have to give this story such a low rating because Ali Hazelwood's books have always been one of my favorite forms of escapism, but Not in Love was the first book by this author that didn't make me blush, giggle, kick my feet, scream into my pillow, and highlight every possible cute scene. I don't know if it's because of some kind of curse that seems to be weighing on me this year and making most of this year's book releases a huge disappointment, or maybe the fact that Ali's more erotic romances may not be for me, but while reading Rue and Eli's story, I felt practically nothing. I literally went to scroll through instagram in the middle of their love confession. I think that speaks for itself.


Ali Hazelwood is known for writing obsessed, even pathetically obsessed men—just how I like them, so when I heard she was finally going to write a story that was also from the hero’s point of view, I knew I had to read it the second it’s released. Unfortunately, even though Eli Kilgore was the epitome of "man in finance, six-five, blue eyes"—I don’t know if he was exactly six foot five, but he was obviously tall and big everywhere, as usual—and he was a gentleman, who could cook, wore glasses, loved dogs, didn’t like driving microwaves (Teslas), and would probably do anything for Rue, there was one thing about him that didn’t sit right with me. I'm not even talking about him mentioning his schlong in almost every chapter and saying that Rue was a "fantastic lay," but I'm talking about him and his ex-fiancée. Look, I know he was a thirty-four-year-old man and it would be weird if he had never been in a relationship and had gone through life with only one-night stands, but the fact that he was "A little" jealous of his ex new partner, and

“Was your fiancée into it?��
“She was. We were very well matched in that sense.��
��…]
“I’d tie her up. Blindfold her. Hold her down. Tell her what to do. Do you know what orgasm denial is?��


“My ex-fiancée was a chef,�� he said.
Her look was blank. “And?��
“She was—is—damn good. And she thought everyone should have at least three signature dishes they could prepare without needing a recipe.��


"Cooking with McKenzie had been a lot of fun—McKenzie, who was bright and sunny and made everything turn into banter and kisses flavored with whatever ingredients they’d been using. Rue was nothing like that. She was intense and focused. A real fortress. She spoke little, always relevant questions and the occasional deadpan joke that had Eli biting his cheek to avoid laughing."

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Rue also had some one night stands and briefly mentioned them, but those men meant nothing to her, but every time Eli talked or thought about his ex-fiancée like that, all I could think was, "Please stop. Please. Stop." I know he was over her and only had eyes for Rue, but quotes like that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Also, why did they have dinner with his ex? It was mentioned in the epilogue. Why did his ex make him and Rue dinner? It’s weird.


Moving on to our heroine—Rue Siebert, I liked her. Will she be added to my favorite characters shelf? No, but I could relate to her in some way, so it was hard for me not to like her character. In fact, it's hard for me not to like this author's heroines, because I could never dislike passionate women in STEM. I mean, if they were terrible people then yes, but Ali Hazelwood's women are not.


As the beginning of the book states that Not in Love is "less of a rom-com and more of an erotic romance", I knew that it would have more mature scenes than most of Ali's books, and probably less of those typical rom-com-y ones, but I didn't know it would turn out to be something I wouldn't be a big fan of. I've read a lot of erotic novels and I've really enjoyed some of them, but I don't think books like this by Ali Hazelwood will be for me. It's not that there weren't some touching and romantic scenes, but Rue and Eli's intimate life seemed to overshadow them, and because of that, I couldn't feel a deeper connection between our main characters. I think I could have survived even without the feeling that the two of them were soulmates if I had felt any chemistry between them �� which is usually welcomed in erotic literature, but even that was missing for me.


Ali's stories bring so much happiness to my life and I can't help but smile when I think about some of them, so even though Not in Love has unfortunately ended up at the end of my list of her books, it doesn't mean I'll stop reading them. Yes, they are cringey, and yes, some of the quotes make me wonder who allowed them to be published, but I don't think I'll ever be able to hate them.


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ahhhhh it’s here it’s here it’s here