Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood

 

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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198971010-not-in-love

********

My Review: 4/5 Stars

Rue is content with her life. She has a job she loves with a project she is passionate about and works with her best friend. She has financial stability and a few people she can count on. Something she never had growing up. But everything is threatened when a group comes in to take over the company. A company run by a mentor Rue admires and is close friends with. And the icing on the cake? One of the members of this business is Eli. The man she almost hooked up with the night before and would have if they hadn’t been interrupted. Now she can’t help but feel like being with him would be a betrayal. But the connection between them is undeniable. They seem to just get one another. Something that is super hard for Rue. She doesn’t click with people naturally and it takes a lot for her to be comfortable. So what is about Eli that makes it different? Makes her able to tell him the darkest parts of her and him return the gesture? Eli feels like he was struck with something. Because the moment he has his eyes on Rue, he knows things are about to change. One night could never be enough even if he does give her the chance after they realize they are on opposite sides of business. But then fate throws them together over and over again, and he can’t resist. And neither can she. I really loved Rue and Eli, they are so different than other characters we have seen in this author’s books. And I liked that we got a lot of Eli’s point of view as well. They both have quirks and interesting personalities. Believe that maybe love isn’t for them or they are incapable, yet prove the very opposite. Make them question everything they know but it’s needed for them to grow and become closer than either thought was possible. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and see their love story unfold to a happy ending they both very much deserve.