From the Publisher:
An Indie Next and a Hall of Fame LibraryReads Pick!
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science—from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
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.
“The chemistry leaps off the page and Eli’s intelligence and thoughtfulness toward Rue will have readers swooning. Crafting a relationship that is both raunchy and emotionally nuanced, this is Hazelwood at her best.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Hazelwood fills the plot with tension and stress and employs a dual point-of-view that allows intimate access to both Rue and Eli’s roller-coasting emotions. It is less quirky-charming than some of her past work but showcases much of what her readers love.”–Library Journal
“The politics of scientific and engineering development along with the rewards and piracy of intellectual property provide a fascinating backdrop for Hazelwood’s latest smart and sexy page-turner. The queen of STEMinist rom-coms is at the top of her game.”–Booklist
I’ve read many of Hazelwood’s romances and they are all excellent, including her latest. Rue has some issues but she is a brilliant scientist working on new technology to prolong the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Her boss is a woman she admires greatly, and her best and only friend works there as well. She doesn’t do relationships, but she is on a hook-up app, and her primary rule is one and done. Until she meets Eli.
Eli rescues her from unwanted attention in a bar, and Rue thinks that will be the end of it. Except the next day at work, she meets him again, along with the co-founders of a company that buys up startups not to sell off the parts, but to bring tech to market better and faster. Nonetheless, Rue’s boss is very upset about the possibility of a hostile takeover and starts looking for ways around it.
Meanwhile, Rue and Eli are spending time together in her lab, and she is surprised to find that he is as good in the lab as he is everywhere else. A relationship starts building, but Rue is torn between loyalty to her boss and the undeniable attraction she feels for Eli.
Things get pretty complicated as the various factions start revealing their truths, but I’m happy to say that, much to Rue’s shock, she and Eli reach their happily ever after. This was a fun read (and trust me, I am no science nerd!) but even I could understand all the implications and motivations happening here. The characters are well-defined, even the secondary ones, the sex is hot, hot, hot, and the plot moves along at breakneck speed. I loved it!
6/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
NOT IN LOVE by Ali Hazelwood. Berkley (June 11, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593641040. 400p.
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