A forbidden, secret affair proves that all's fair in love and science.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.
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.
Title : Not In Love
Author : Ali Hazelwood
Format : Physical ARC
Page Count : 384
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Piatkus
Release Date : June 11, 2024
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★
Micky's star review
Headlines:
Dating apps
Awkward connections
Workplace shennanigans
As Ali Hazelwood says herself, this was a different offering than her previous books. Still, it appealed in its differences, it was more heat driven, insta-passion, leading to more.
Rue was an awkward and endearing heroine, moulded by a difficult childhood of food insecurity that led to her life's work as a scientist working towards goals that would impact this issue. Eli was part of a company, taking over the labs she worked for. Eli and Rue's second meeting pulled the rug out from under both of them but they kept being pulled back together.
Rue and Eli's worlds were surrounded by a small circle of people, some of which I was curious about beyond this book (hoping for a book about Hark and Eli's sister, even though I'm unsure of their age gap). One of Rue's friends was less of a friend than she realised and that was a tough pill for her to swallow.
This book felt less full-on STEM and more a gentle background but it worked nonetheless. I bought into their connection immediately and wondered if I'd find their intimacy icky, but I didn't. I liked the power Rue had in what happened and Eli's empowerment of Rue in every step. The 'he falls first' was quite lovely in this story.
Another great read from Ali Hazelwood, as ever, I look forward to the next.
Thank you to Piatkus for the review copy.
**All Micky's reviews will now link to a great independent bookshop in the UK called Blackwells which offer free international delivery**
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Not-in-Love-by-Ali-Hazelwood/9781408728901
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