Publishers Weekly
★ 04/01/2024
Bestseller Hazelwood’s raucous latest STEMinist rom-com (after Love, Theoretically) turns up the heat. Rue Siebert doesn’t want romance. She’s perfectly content with her dream job working as a biotech engineer for a food science company alongside her lifelong best friend, Tisha, and using dating apps for impromptu hookups. Vigilant about protecting herself from vulnerability and heartbreak, she has a strict “no repeats” rule. But her most recent date with gorgeous businessman Eli Killgore is interrupted by her volatile brother before it can really begin. The next day, a frustrated Rue’s life is turned upside down by an aggressive takeover of her company. Leading the charge? Eli and his partners. Though across corporate enemy lines, neither Eli nor Rue can stop thinking about their aborted date. Their tension becomes so distracting, that, with a work deadline looming over their heads, they decide on a no strings attached tryst to get it out of their system. But soon they’re both coming back for more. The chemistry leaps off the page and Eli’s intelligence and thoughtfulness toward Rue will have readers swooning. Crafting a relationship that is both raunchy and emotionally nuanced, this is Hazelwood at her best. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for Ali Hazelwood
"The reigning queen of STEM romance."—The Washington Post
“I am obsessed with her books and desperately want her to keep writing forever.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult
“Gloriously nerdy and sexy, with on-point commentary about women in STEM.”—New York Times bestselling author Helen Hoang on Love on the Brain
“Hazelwood is an absolute romance powerhouse.”—New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren
"Hazelwood shows every indication of continually outdoing herself with this latest romance...Business and personal proposals collide in Hazelwood’s strongest book yet."—Kirkus, starred review
Library Journal
05/10/2024
Hazelwood blends business and STEM after her paranormal Bride. Rue works as a biotech engineer at Kline, a hot start-up born, so she thinks, from the mind of a woman she has long admired. She has built a good life doing good work, and that focus has gone a long way to help her overcome challenging childhood issues—even as her brother's distressing and dangerous behavior casts a pall. Meanwhile, Eli, along with an avenging and motivated group of friends, have designs on Kline and strong reasons to take Rue's boss down. The couple first meet via an anonymous hook-up that gets derailed and then again as Eli and his friends begin to take over the company. Tossed together as antagonists, their chemistry supports both a steamy-tense relationship and a business showdown. As Rue learns more about Eli and his plans, and Eli makes multiple moves, they face a difficult reality: few outcomes are going to be harm-free. VERDICT Hazelwood fills the plot with tension and stress and employs a dual point-of-view that allows intimate access to both Rue and Eli's roller-coasting emotions. It is less quirky-charming than some of her past work but showcases much of what her readers love.—Neal Wyatt
