Book Review: Not In Love

I want to assure other scientists or people from the EH&S department, they did not make out on a lab bench like the cover depicts. 

Not in Love is Ali Hazelwood's latest STEM romance. Other books in her universe are The Love Hypothesis, Love on the Brain, and Love, Theoretically. She has a few other books and short stories out as well. I've enjoyed her other work, so I was excited for Not in Love. 

Not in Love focuses on Rue Siebert, a chemical engineer in a start up company that gets their loan bought out by sharky investors at a company called Harkness. Eli Killgore is one of Harkness's founders and is on a mission to get a patent from Rue's company. However, a chance meeting and a lot of chemistry lead to Eli and Rue being more focused on each other than patents and plots. But when it comes down to it, Rue must decide who to trust and what she wants most.

I liked the set up because I also have worked at a science startup that got bought out, so it felt like a familiar situation. I liked Rue's sass, although she was only sassy in Eli's POV, not really in her own. 

Not in Love is unlike Hazelwood's other books in that it is way spicier. A note at the front even clarifies it's erotica, which I didn't realize until after I bought it. I got way more heat than I bargained for. Whoops! Consequently, there was a lot less plot than I'd bargained for to make space for all the spicy scenes.

This book is for you if you want erotica and high heat romance or if you enjoy Ali Hazelwood's other STEM romance books. This book is not for you if you're not looking for erotica, if you'll be listening to the audiobook or reading in a public place, or if you are reading this for the subplot about the legal nitty gritty surrounding the patent--you'll get no answers. 


Have you read Not in Love? What about Hazelwood's other books? Let's discuss in the comments, but keep it PG-13.