Not In Love.

 

 

★★★★

CONTAINS SPOILERS 

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. 

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I've heard about Ali Hazelwood for a while. Now that I've read her book, I see why she has such good ratings. . Not In Love has me going through so many emotions. I was there beside Rue and Eli, experiencing everything they were. I felt they were in trouble from the moment they met, and I questioned if they could stay away from each other. When I saw the book in the library, I wondered about the title. Not In Love is an intriguing title for a romance book, especially with that cover. Not in Love is the type of romantic story I rarely read, but I fell in love with this one. At first, I wasn't sure about Rue and Eli's relationship, but it wasn't long before I started rooting for them. 

I knew Rue's feelings for Eli had shifted before she realized it. I had a hunch she was aware of them but was in denial. Rue didn't want to like Eli because of what was happening at her job and felt like she was betraying her friend. If she didn't like him, she would not break her set of rules. There was something about Eli that made her unable to resist him. I knew that if she kept it up, no matter how guilty she felt, her friend would find out what was happening, and I had a feeling it wouldn't go well for her. Not In Love was a hard book to put down; it kept me on the edge of my seat and wondering what would happen with Rue and Eli next, as well as her career. 

I was skeptical about Rue and Eli's relationship; it felt rushed and unrealistic. I thought Eli was overly fascinated with her. It didn't take long for me to see that what Eli felt wasn't obsession; it was love, though he didn't recognize it at first. Everything he did for Rue, including watching out for her and trying to protect her. If Eli hadn't acted that way, the impact on Rue might not have been as significant. In a way, they both attempted to protect each other. I believe that of all the characters in the book, Eli and Rue had the most character development; they both evolved substantially. I would highly recommend this book, especially to romance fans.