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A review by romantasyandtea
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
4.0
4.25 stars.
I am SHOCKED at the low rating this book has because it was easily my favorite of Ali Hazelwood's work. And here I was, thinking that I was officially off the Hazelwood train after Love on the Brain, but I'd been hearing good things about this one, and decided to give this author's books one more chance, and I'm so glad I did because this has restored my faith. Admittedly, it wasn't a flawless read, and I want to start with the not-so-great parts before I end it with the good.
So, the few reasons this isn't a 5-star read. Spoilers ahead:
- It felt like some loose ends were left abandoned. Like Vincent? I understand that he hasn't chosen to reach back to his sister, but after the super harsh way we found out they'd grown up, it just felt cruel to leave him forgotten in the end. We don't get any inclination of whether he's doing any better, or how he's doing at all, and I was honestly interested in his well-being. I'm not condoning his behavior, but my heart broke for him after hearing that backstory, and it just felt like here was a character that needed a lot of help, and we just never hear from him again, and it felt so unsatisfying. Also, Hark? Do we just assume that he stays miserable forever? Does he not get a chance at a happy ending, too? So, yeah, multiple threads hanging that I would've loved an answer to.
- This is a very subtle problem with the story, but... the main characters share their "terrible stories" with each other a lot throughout the book, and after a while, it started to feel like both Rue and Eli were just commiserating. They were both accomplished, good people, and yet every interaction between them started to feel more and more like they were just wallowing on past misdeeds, so much so that it was hard to imagine what a life with both of them together would look like. I think they legitimately have a lot of chemistry, I think their dynamic is SO cute, and I'll get more into why I loved them as a couple later, but I can't say the book is very feel-good because all the constant lamenting on past mistakes started to feel like a stain on their tapestry of good moments that just wouldn't go away. Like I was spending just as much time reading about past choices that couldn't be undone instead of getting to see what they loved about each other in the present. I get the idea behind their terrible stories, I really do, but I couldn't deny that at some point, it just started to get exhausting to read.
- Finally, the misunderstanding in the last 5 chapters?? It doesn't even make sense! At this point, Eli KNOWS that Rue is the kind of person who thinks about what she's going to say, who's different with her responses, who's honest, but answers anyway. If she looks shocked and isn't saying anything, why would he assume she doesn't love him? You're springing this on her in a conference room after she just found out one of her best friends was betraying her, like ?? Give her a second??? Anyway, it just felt so unnecessary and adds to my earlier point that I wonder how these two would have a relationship when they can barely talk to each other if it's not in relation to a miserable past experience.
Okay, that was for the not-so-great. Here's the wonderful:
- Everything else
I am SHOCKED at the low rating this book has because it was easily my favorite of Ali Hazelwood's work. And here I was, thinking that I was officially off the Hazelwood train after Love on the Brain, but I'd been hearing good things about this one, and decided to give this author's books one more chance, and I'm so glad I did because this has restored my faith. Admittedly, it wasn't a flawless read, and I want to start with the not-so-great parts before I end it with the good.
So, the few reasons this isn't a 5-star read. Spoilers ahead:
- It felt like some loose ends were left abandoned. Like Vincent? I understand that he hasn't chosen to reach back to his sister, but after the super harsh way we found out they'd grown up, it just felt cruel to leave him forgotten in the end. We don't get any inclination of whether he's doing any better, or how he's doing at all, and I was honestly interested in his well-being. I'm not condoning his behavior, but my heart broke for him after hearing that backstory, and it just felt like here was a character that needed a lot of help, and we just never hear from him again, and it felt so unsatisfying. Also, Hark? Do we just assume that he stays miserable forever? Does he not get a chance at a happy ending, too? So, yeah, multiple threads hanging that I would've loved an answer to.
- This is a very subtle problem with the story, but... the main characters share their "terrible stories" with each other a lot throughout the book, and after a while, it started to feel like both Rue and Eli were just commiserating. They were both accomplished, good people, and yet every interaction between them started to feel more and more like they were just wallowing on past misdeeds, so much so that it was hard to imagine what a life with both of them together would look like. I think they legitimately have a lot of chemistry, I think their dynamic is SO cute, and I'll get more into why I loved them as a couple later, but I can't say the book is very feel-good because all the constant lamenting on past mistakes started to feel like a stain on their tapestry of good moments that just wouldn't go away. Like I was spending just as much time reading about past choices that couldn't be undone instead of getting to see what they loved about each other in the present. I get the idea behind their terrible stories, I really do, but I couldn't deny that at some point, it just started to get exhausting to read.
- Finally, the misunderstanding in the last 5 chapters?? It doesn't even make sense! At this point, Eli KNOWS that Rue is the kind of person who thinks about what she's going to say, who's different with her responses, who's honest, but answers anyway. If she looks shocked and isn't saying anything, why would he assume she doesn't love him? You're springing this on her in a conference room after she just found out one of her best friends was betraying her, like ?? Give her a second??? Anyway, it just felt so unnecessary and adds to my earlier point that I wonder how these two would have a relationship when they can barely talk to each other if it's not in relation to a miserable past experience.
Okay, that was for the not-so-great. Here's the wonderful:
- Everything else