“Maybe people can be happy and sad. Maybe stories are messy and complicated. Maybe endings don’t always include solutions that tie everything together in a bow. But that doesn’t mean that they have to be tragedies.”
― Ali Hazelwood, Not in Love

If you’re a fan of contemporary romantic comedy novels about women in STEM and academia, I highly recommend you try Ali Hazelwood, specifically her Love Hyphothesis series, STEMinist novellas, and Not in Love series. I just finished Not in Love, the first book in her series of the same name. This book is a delightfully steamy mix of love, lust and science that had me checking out the second book in the series as soon as I finished this first book.

Rue Siebert is a biotech engineer at Kline, a promising start-up in the field of food science. Having grown up with food instability, her current job allows her to work on projects to hopefully lessen what she felt as a child. As an adult, Rue has a couple friends she can count on, financial stability, and her current job. Her world is stable, but just begging for chaos.

Enter Eli Killgore and his business partners. They want Kline and they aren’t afraid to take it over. Eli may be incredibly attractive, but the fact that he and his partners are trying to take over Kline kills the mood for Rue. Eli isn’t afraid to push to take over Kline, but his singlemindedness is distracted by Rue. He can’t stop thinking about her, but she’s firmly off-limits. (Which practically guarantees they are going to get together at some point).

Eli and Rue are struggling with their feelings. Torn between loyalty to their respective business partners/bosses/colleagues and the intense chemistry burning between the two, it isn’t long before the two give into this attraction and start an affair. This is supposed to be secret, no-strings-attached, and with a clear ending in sight. Will they be able to stop? Or do they want to go for more?

Not in Love was an utter delight. Ali Hazelwood has written a psychological romance with a sophisticated plot that is full of tortured soul elements. The banter between Rue and Eli was excellent, which in turn fed the explicit spiciness of some of the scenes. I enjoyed watching Rue and Eli’s physical and emotional relationship progress. Check out this title if you’re looking for a read with strong chemistry, explicit spice, and a satisfying happily ever after.

This title is also available in large print.

Not in Love series

• Not in Love (2024)
• Problematic Summer Romance (2025)