Author: Ali Hazelwood (Page 1 of 2)

BOOK REVIEW: Problematic Summer Romance (Not in Love #2) by Ali Hazelwood

November 14, 2025 / Jen / 0 Comments

Problematic Summer Romance (Not in Love #2)
by Ali Hazelwood
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

Review:

Problematic Summer Romance was an older brother’s best friend, age gap romance that was so much fun! And while I didn’t enjoy the first book in this series, I definitely did with this one! The way the past and the present were woven together was done beautifully! The characters were so easy to adore! Maya was fierce and sassy. And Conor was so multifaceted and effortless to love. And the destination wedding made me desperately want to travel to Italy!

“You okay?” I ask, cautious.
“Yeah.” A deep inhale. “Yeah. I just wanted to listen to you exist.”

But of course, my favorite thing about this story was the romance. The angst and tension constantly thrumming between them was addictive. And when they did cross the line time and again, it was hot! Plus that ending, awwww, I loved the happily ever after! Also, the soccer scene was probably my favorite nonromantic scene, I laughed so hard! And while I listened to the audiobook, the narrators weren’t my favorite. But I enjoyed listening to this story enough that I didn’t reach for my kindle.

“Since the first day I met you, you have been the best thing in my life. And you weren’t even in it.”

BOOK REVIEW: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood & Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt

December 23, 2024 / Jen / 0 Comments

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
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.

Review:

Ali Hazelwood has written some of my favorite romances, and this was not one of them. Rue was challenging for me to like or even click with, it took till 82% into the book. And while that last 18% was amazing, it was a little too late for me. I kept trying to figure out what Eli saw in her. He could be so kind, and I loved how he made sure she was safe. Whereas Rue was completely closed off and rigid. I am all for the reverse grumpy sunshine trope, but I desperately need to connect to the characters to enjoy any aspect of a book. So, when you add in that I was bored to tears with the buyout, and I didn’t like how they shared terrible stories with one another, this book was just not for me.

I like you when you laugh. I like you when you’re serious. I like you all the damn time.

Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When falling in love is the punchline…

Farley Jones is a loud, chaotic, and hilariously clever standup comedian on the way to stardom. The only thing she loves more than the rush of telling jokes in front of a revved-up audience is her hot older manager Meyer, though he doesn’t have a clue. Keeping her feelings hidden from him is agony (a tragedy, even―in lieu of flowers, please send cash...) but Meyer has been Farley’s closest and most treasured friend, not to mention vital to the trajectory of her career. She can’t risk ruining their relationship by telling him how she truly feels. After all, who else would have the patience to put up with a hot mess like her?

A former standup star himself, single father Meyer Harrigan left the stage years ago in order to focus on raising his deaf daughter Hazel. Farley has been everything to them since she came into their lives three years ago, and despite his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention, Meyer will do anything to make her standup dreams come true.

When the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career comes along and forces the pair to fake-date in order to stir up publicity, it doesn't take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open. Like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.

Touching on the creative spirit and all that comes with sharing that gift, Tarah DeWitt's Funny Feelings is a swoony story about friendship, love, and looking for the laugh in life.

Review:

Funny Feelings was an adorable, friends to lovers, fake dating, single dad, age gap romance. The characters were easy to like, the story-line was so enjoyable to listen to, and I loved the steam in the pages. One of my favorite things was the relationship between Farley and Meyer’s hearing impaired daughter, Hazel. It tugged at my heart, and I loved how easily they clicked. I also loved that we got little flashbacks here and there to see how Farley and Meyer met and how they progressed to where they were now today. It added so much to their story. This feel good romance played out with some wonderful tension and their happily ever after was fabulous!

BOOK REVIEW: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

November 30, 2023 / Jen / 4 Comments

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Review:

It pains me to say that I struggled to find anything to love within these pages….besides Nolan. If the characters would have been older, I would have labeled this Women’s Fiction on Goodreads. Sigh. So here are the top three reasons I struggled with this book……

“You’re not being fair to either of us,” he says calmly. Maybe he’s right, but I’m past caring.

Nolan, the romantic interest, was barely a side character….
I adored Nolan. The tiny bit of time we got to spend with him in this book made me realize he was kind, thoughtful, caring and understanding. Unfortunately time would fly by and we wouldn’t see or hear from him. Three weeks here. Two months there. Etc. We barely got to see, let alone spend time with Nolan. And it felt like we spent less time with him than side characters in so many other countless stories. That’s why this book gave me strong Women’s Fiction vibes, other than the ages were all wrong.

“Ah. I’ve seen your press conference, by the way. Nice job making it look like you totally despise him even when he said nothing but super- nice things about you.”
“I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” Darcy and Sabrina say in chorus, without tearing their eyes from the TV.

I didn’t like Mallory….
From page 10 and her slamming gluten sensitivity, I was hoping that that was just a weird fluke with me not liking what she was saying or how she acted. Yet I never found that connection to her, or the ability to like her. Even though she helped her family and was financially responsible for her mom and two younger sisters. Yes she gave up her dreams, but her words, actions and lack thereof made me just not like her. She ran away from situations. She lied to others. She could be so harsh. And when others helped her, she lacked the simple common decency to say thank you. And there was a situation at the end of Chapter 17 that just left an ick factor and a bad taste in my mouth towards her. Granted she is 18, but there are so many YA books where the character is immature or has qualities about them I don’t like in the beginning of the story. Yet they show growth as the story progresses, and by the end of the book I am so proud of how far they have come! Yet by page 263 she took a step. And then by page 334 she seemed to to grow a little. But at those points it felt like it was too little too late, and also not enough.

“He’s cute,” Mom whispers while I’m loading the dishwasher.
“Cole Sprouse?”
“Nolan.”
I huff. It doesn’t come out as indignant as I’d like. “No, he’s not.”
“And he seems to have great taste.” “Because he ate a stomach- pumping amount of your meat loaf?”
“Mostly that. Only secondarily because he doesn’t seem to be able to look away from my most oblivious daughter.”

The naming was just too much….
I read to escape reality. And while reality can bleed a little into the pages for me, I prefer not to have political people or pop references throughout a book. A few I have no problems ignoring. But when they’re in almost every single chapter and multiple times within that chapter, I just can’t anymore. By page 25 we already heard Obama, Harry Styles, and I’m forgetting what else. And it continued that way till the end. But here’s the thing, I need a break from the real world at times *cries*. And this book definitively didn’t allow me to have that.

So what did I love besides Nolan? I loved Nolan’s friends. And Oz. Especially on page 281! That scene right there had me clapping my hands for Oz! Also, for me this book was NA. It’s set in the summer after she graduated High School, and her friend was leaving for college. And then it followed her life through what would have been her first year of college, if she would have accepted. For me, that’s NA. So yup. This one definitely didn’t work out for me.

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

July 7, 2023 / Jen / 4 Comments

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Review:

Love, Theoretically was a heartwarming, academic romance. With a smidgen of enemies to lovers, this book was so easy to binge in a day!

I hate that I look at Jack Smith, with his good jaw and his good dimples and those good hands, and find him handsome.

Elsie Hannaway was a theoretical physicist. She wanted to be a researcher, yet she was currently adjuncting at three different colleges. So on the side to help pay for her bills, she was a fake girlfriend. Her favorite client’s older brother was Jack Smith. Who was my favorite *screams*, totally not biased at all haha! Yet when Elsie went on an interview for a dream job, she realized Jack was actually Dr. Jonathan Smith-Turner, the head of the MIT Physics Institute. Elsie hated that man with a passion. His past published work ruined her mentor’s career and undermined her career field. So with her nemesis standing in the way of her dream job, Elsie was determined, focused and set to get that job!

I remember his hands, warm, unwavering around my waist, a hushed settle down murmured against my temple, and I suppress a shiver. Have I mentioned that I hate him?

My heart hurt for Elsie. Her shock at who Jack was, was so palpable. She got it all wrong. And during that interview dinner, I was laughing way too hard. Jack had no problems messing with her and I loved that. But what I loved most of all was that Elsie was finally herself with Jack. With everyone else, she tried to be who they wanted her to be. Even with her best friend. With Jack, she was always true to herself. She let him know she hated him. She let him know what he did to her field and how she has struggled because of that. She let it all out! As she continued to go through the interview process over the days, I loved that she killed it time and again! Yet Elsie could definitely be her own worst enemy. By not being herself. By reading other people wrong. By blinding following along. And at times being clueless and assuming too much.

I notice it, the amused gleam in his eyes, like he knows exactly what I’m trying to say. I press my lips together, because I don’t want to encourage him, I don’t want to smile, but I’m about to. “I hate you.”
“Sure you do.”

While Jack Smith was closed off with his expressions and feelings, I just knew that time and again Elsie had to be reading him wrong. Her preconceived notions made her see him in a completely different light than who he truly was. I loved how he interacted with his brother. I loved how much passion he had. But most of all, I loved when Jack would mess with Elsie. It felt like he secretly liked her. So when he could see through her BS, facades and called her out on it, I was cheering! He seemed to want what was best for her. Even if he did damage her field of study in the past, but I knew there had to be a solid reason behind it. He didn’t seem like the type to not have reasons behind his actions. So as we got to watch Jack stand up for Elsie and protect her, I continued to fall for him. He not only showed that he cared, but he was smart, kind, compassionate and beyond sexy. And as Jack got vocal, sigh, he completely had me melting into a puddle!

“Bold of you to assume that the real me is my best hand.” That stupid, crooked half smile is back.
“Foolish of you to think it isn’t.”

Jack and Elsie’s progression had me grinning from ear to ear. I loved the banter and sexual tension between them. I loved that it wasn’t aways easy. So as they slowly started to become friends, I loved watching them build that foundation. And when more happened, ohhh their story was so steamy! The side characters were my absolute fabulous too. I adored Jack’s Grandma, his brother and Elsie’s bestie too. AND we got to see Adam and Olive from The Love Hypothesis *cheers*! My only hiccup with this book was I hate being pulled out of a story. I don’t mind pop references, but political people no matter if I adore or hate them are a big no for me. There were multiple references and each time it appeared on the pages I was pulled out of my happy place and put into the real world. I desperately need a break from the real world when I’m reading and this book didn’t fully give me that, sigh.

“You could be my entire world,” he whispers in my ear before moving to my collarbone. “If you let me.”

This was just one of those stories where it’s so easy to sit down and read it in a day. It flowed so quickly and was so much fun! While The Love Hypothesis still holds the spot as my favorite Ali Hazelwood book, this story was so much fun! It’s also a great book to buddy read with a friend and talk about! I loved how binge worthy this story was, and I’m hoping that Ali’s next book will hopefully become my next favorite story ever!

BOOK REVIEW: Under One Roof (The STEMinist Novellas #1) by Ali Hazelwood

December 22, 2022 / Jen / 2 Comments

Under One Roof (The STEMinist Novellas #1)
by Ali Hazelwood
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A scientist should never cohabitate with her annoyingly hot nemesis—it leads to combustion.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

As an environmental engineer, Mara knows all about the delicate nature of ecosystems. They require balance. And leaving the thermostat alone. And not stealing someone else’s food. And other rules Liam, her detestable big-oil lawyer of a roommate, knows nothing about. Okay, sure, technically she’s the interloper. Liam was already entrenched in his aunt’s house like some glowering grumpy giant when Mara moved in, with his big muscles and kissable mouth just sitting there on the couch tempting respectable scientists to the dark side…but Helena was her mentor and Mara’s not about to move out and give up her inheritance without a fight.

The problem is, living with someone means getting to know them. And the more Mara finds out about Liam, the harder it is to loathe him…and the easier it is to love him.

Review:

In his sleep. I swear I’m going to kill him in his damn sleep. When he least expects it. And then I’ll celebrate by throwing empty bottles of creamer at his corpse.

Under One Roof was an enemies to lovers with a fabulous forced proximity! While they were both mesmerized by each other at first sight, once they knew who the other was Liam’s walls went up ridiculously high. You see, Liam didn’t want Mara in the house they were now supposed to share. And while he tried to buy her out multiple times, Mara was determined to keep her portion of the house she had inherited from an old professor. She loved it there! Even if Liam was the worst, sexiest roommate ever!

“And I guess I could lay off with the Disney soundtracks?”
“Could you?”
“Yeah.”
“Even The Little Mermaid?”
“Yes.”
“What about Moana?”
“Liam, I’m really trying, here. If you could please—” I am ready to storm out of the kitchen when I realize that he’s actually smiling. Well, sort of. With his eyes. Oh my God, was that a joke? He jokes? “You’re not as funny as you think.”

Liam was the king at being cold towards Mara. He was also talented at antagonizing and messing with her too. I felt guilty laughing at some of the scenes, but I just couldn’t help it lol. Plus I adored Liam! So when push came to shove, Mara got her hands dirty too. Their banter and fighting was so much fun! And I loved that they had quirky moments of peace watching The Bachlorette.

He is going to ruin me for anyone else. He is going to destroy me in each and every possible way.
“Please,” he murmurs.
I don’t really have a choice: I want to say yes, so I nod. Whatever you want, you can have, Liam.

From their first meeting I was constantly searching for clues that Liam liked Mara. Especially since we got the story only in her point of view. Yes their work was oceans apart, yes they had a strong hate vibe going on but there was also so much more simmering between them too! And when things got steamy, my heart was so happy! I would have loved to read a full length novel with these characters though. We got little snippets here, and other moments in time as the weeks go by, but I wanted to be able to see all the moments and more of their lives! Under One Roof was still a ton of fun, and I can’t wait to read the next two novellas!