Not in Love

Note: This is a personal rating. I'm sure this will be a five star book for someone else.

There's an author disclaimer at the start that this one is different in tone from her previous books and that is accurate. It still feels like an Ali Hazelwood book to me, but one aimed at a different audience than her earlier books. Reviews are going to be split. People who loved TLH and LT are probably going to be disappointed. People who read those but wanted something different will probably be pleased. If you really loved the STEM and slow burn aspects in previous books then you might need to adjust your expectations.

It deals with more serious subject matters and is less romcom/STEM focused. I wanted a bit more plot. I was more invested in the Harkness group and their take over than I was in Rue and Eli's relationship which is unfortunate because them hooking up feels like a solid 50% of the book. The chemistry between them just didn't click for me. I also had everything figured out fairly early on, so it was frustrating to have to wade through the different phases of Rue coming to terms with things.

There are a lot of things I really like about it. Overall it has a really great attitude about consent and boundaries. They're discussed often, without shame, and checked in with along the way. Rue specifically has some trauma that affects her day to day life and it's met with respect and understanding from all the characters that matter. There's a big theme of being loved exactly for who you are which is always nice. Rue and Eli are both charming in their own ways. Their banter is fun and I feel like we got to know them both decently.

I liked reading it and would still recommend it to others, I just don't think hookup-to-lovers is my genre. I won't be rereading this but will read more Ali Hazelwood in the future.