A review by maggiestraveledbookshelf
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

📖 Not In Love

✍🏻 Ali Hazelwood

☑️ Contemporary Romance 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙄’𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”

This is a departure from Ali Hazelwood’s usual rom-com style, and I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Overview:

•STEM Romance

•Forbidden Love

•Angsty Vibes

•Spicy Spice

•He Falls HARD 

𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗥𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝗶 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁, 𝗻𝗼-𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀-𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁-𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 - 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀.

This book dove into the grittiness with nuanced characters and darker themes.

Rue and Ali have both faced heavy hardships in their past (food insecurity, parenting problems, etc), and it’s formed them into complex humans. 

I loved how Ali Hazelwood crafted these characters with such integrity and innate humanness.

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚? 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙-𝙪𝙥 𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙?”

I saw myself in the character of Rue. As someone who also feels like she was born without a sense of humor, her introversion and serious nature felt so familiar.

𝙄𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨.

And I appreciated her no-nonsense attitude and pure confidence. I feel like Rue is different from all other Hazelwood’s FMCs, and I loved her resilience and her quiet fortitude.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙.

Sex is a huge part of this narrative, which makes so much sense in this context. Rue uses sex as a defense mechanism, and I appreciated that every sex scene had its purpose in moving the story forward. 

Also - Eli was OBSESSED with Rue. In an awe inspiring way. 

“𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙄’𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡.” 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝. “𝙍𝙪𝙚. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

A hidden gem of this book: the banter between Eli and his friends.

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚—”

𝙀𝙡𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?”

“𝙃𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙧-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. ‘𝙄 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙯, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡’ 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮.”

My main drawback of this book: It was a little too insta-love for my preferences with how quickly they became attached.

Overall, I would recommend this book to all romance lovers who appreciate some extra angst and don’t mind a sexual narrative!

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