Not in Love Review: Ali Hazelwood's Spiciest Contemporary Yet

Is Not in Love worth reading? Here's an honest review of Ali Hazelwood's corporate rivals-to-lovers romance.

8/3/20263 min read

Not in Love Review: Ali Hazelwood's Spiciest Contemporary Yet

Ali Hazelwood stepping outside academia entirely for a corporate-world romance was a real departure, and Not in Love delivers a noticeably different energy than her STEM books. Here's my honest take, and where it fits if you're working through her full catalog (see my Ali Hazelwood reading order guide for the full picture).

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Quick Answer

Yes, and it's genuinely her spiciest, most tension-forward book up to this point in her catalog. The corporate rivals-to-lovers setup trades her usual nerdy banter for something hungrier and more intense — a real tonal shift that mostly works, though it's worth knowing going in if you came to Hazelwood for her lighter academic rom-coms.

What It's About

Rue Siebert, a biotech executive, finds her company's future threatened by a hostile acquisition — led by Eli Killgore, a man she has a complicated, intensely charged history with. Forced into professional proximity with someone she can't decide whether to trust or want, Rue navigates a corporate battle where the stakes are as much personal as financial.

My Honest Take

I think the corporate rivals setting gives this book a hungrier, more adversarial energy than Hazelwood's academic romances, and I mostly responded well to that shift. Rue and Eli's dynamic carries genuine heat and tension from very early on, in a way that feels distinct from the slower-building nerdy chemistry of her STEM books.

The power dynamics are handled with real intentionality. Corporate rivalry romance can easily tip into uncomfortable territory if the professional stakes aren't balanced carefully — I think Hazelwood navigates this well, keeping Rue an active, capable player in the conflict rather than a passive party being maneuvered by Eli.

This is genuinely her spiciest book to date. If you're coming from her more restrained STEM romances, know that the content intensity here is a real step up. I don't think this is a flaw, but it's a notable shift in what to expect.

The corporate setting is less specifically rendered than her academic worlds. Hazelwood's neuroscience background gives her STEM books a lived-in specificity that I don't think fully translates to the corporate biotech setting here — it reads as more generic "high-stakes business" than the granular authenticity of her academic work.

Eli's motivations take a while to become clear. I found the slow reveal of what's actually driving his side of the conflict effective, though it does ask patience in the earlier chapters before his full perspective comes into focus.

What to Know Before You Start

This is her most explicit book up to this point. If you specifically want her lighter, more restrained STEM romance tone, know this book pushes further into spice than her earlier catalog.

It's connected to a second book. Problematic Summer Romance follows and is best read after Not in Love, in publication order.

The setting is corporate, not academic. If Hazelwood's academic specificity was a major draw for you, know this book trades that world for a less granular business setting.

Who Should Read This

  • Readers who want Hazelwood's voice applied to a hungrier, more adversarial rivals-to-lovers dynamic

  • Fans looking for her most explicit content to date

  • Anyone who enjoys corporate power-struggle romance with real stakes on both sides

Who Might Want to Skip It

  • Readers who specifically love her academic settings and want more of that specificity

  • Anyone wanting her lighter, more restrained tone rather than higher-intensity content

Amazon link: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this spicier than her other books? Yes, it's generally considered her most explicit book up to its release, a real step up from her earlier STEM romances.

Do I need to read this before Problematic Summer Romance? Yes — the two are connected, and reading in publication order avoids spoiling outcomes.

Is the corporate setting as detailed as her academic ones? Not quite — in my opinion, it lacks some of the specific, lived-in detail her neuroscience background brings to her academic settings.

Final Thoughts

Not in Love shows Hazelwood successfully applying her voice to a hungrier, higher-stakes corporate rivalry, even if the setting itself doesn't carry quite the specific authenticity of her academic work. If you're ready for her spiciest, most tension-forward book yet, this delivers exactly that.