A steamy romance about two troubled souls who meet when he is trying to take over the company she works for. Narrated by Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke, Hazelwood offered an enjoyable listen, but I confess I was more interested in the takeover.
by Ali Hazelwood
Narrator: Callie Dalton, Jason Clarke
Length: 11 hours and 55 minutes
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Heat Level:
Narration: 4 cups Speed: 1.5x
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.
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.
I found Hazelwood’s STEM romances enjoyable and appreciated the corporate takeover element in the plot. The romance in this book is hotter than her previous ones, and I’m all for it. The problem was that there was very little time to focus on building relationships. While I enjoyed the confessions, I don’t think I’ll remember their story in three months.
The takeover stems from revenge, and the storyline was intriguing. We are left in the dark in the beginning and slowly learn the whys. I confess I was concerned for Rue and her current project.
I loved the banter and secondary characters who added to the story. Both Rue and Eli’s backstories were interesting and enough that I felt like I knew where they were coming from. The romance while sizzling lacked a genuineness I felt previously from this author.
Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke narrated in duet. They did well voicing the characters. I preferred the parts read by Dalton and liked both her male and female voices.
While not my favorite Hazelwood novel, I enjoyed the banter, takeover story, and characters.
About Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
I agree that it was good, even if not my favorite, and there needed to be more time spent outside the sexy times for me, and I can’t believe I’m saying that! lol
Rolé @ Hooked By That Book
Great review. I’m excited for this book.
Amorina Rose
Good review.
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I enjoyed the actual plot more than the love story, too. Still, I read a bunch of mixed reviews, so I went in with low expectations and ended up liking it more than I thought I would. I did skim a lot of the sex scenes, though.
Mary Kirkland
Sorry to hear it wasn’t as good as you had hoped.
Laurel-Rain Snow
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ailyn koay
aww, it’s okay we can’t like every book. But the cover is cute!
Ethan
It’s a bummer about the rushed romance. I feel like I have to connect with the flourishing relationship for these kinds of stories to work for me.
Anne- Books of My Heart
I agree. Great review! I wanted more time on the plot than the sex scenes. They were hot but took up so much page time.