Loathe to Love You is a compilation of Hazelwood’s previously released STEMinist Novellas with the addition of a bonus chapter, which is told from the male main characters’ points of view and takes place a few years into the future.
In the first novella, Under One Roof, environmental engineer Mara moves into the house that her recently deceased mentor, Helena, left to her. However, moving into the house means that Mara must live with Helena’s handsome yet annoying nephew Liam, who owns half of the house. In the second novella, Stuck with You, civil engineer Sadie literally gets stuck in an elevator during a power outage with the man who broke her heart, Erik. In the last novella, Below Zero, NASA aerospace engineer Hannah gets injured and stranded while she is working at a remote arctic research station. The only person who is willing and able to undertake Hannah’s dangerous rescue is Hannah’s nemesis, Ian. Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are women in STEM and best friends; each novella focuses on a different couple, but the stories are interconnected, so the three novellas should be read together and in order.
Each novella in Loathe to Love You features a short, opposites attract, “enemies to lovers” rom-com with forced proximity and miscommunication. Some themes present include love and heartbreak, death and grief, appearance versus reality, family and found family, facing fears, isolation, and change. Loathe to Love You would be absolutely perfect for fans of Hazelwood’s previous novels, The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain. I would also recommend Loathe to Love You to fans of interconnected rom-coms like the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese, the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert, and the A Brush with Love series by Mazey Eddings. You should also check out Loathe to Love You if you enjoy romances featuring women in STEM such as Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon or The Astronaut and the Star by Jen Comfort.
Overall, reading each of the novellas was enjoyable and I appreciated the addition of the bonus chapter, which showcases what each of the three couples are up to post happily ever after. All the novellas were super short, fast-paced, and entertaining. Since each of the novellas were so short in length, it was great they were interconnected as I felt like this helped to keep moving the plot moving forward and helped to keep me engaged in the stories. Even though they were all enjoyable, the second chance romance in Stuck with You stood out, especially how it flashed back to reveal Sadie and Erik’s romantic history (including a sweet meet cute) and the elevator setting was great with the couple forced to communicate as they were literally trapped together!
On the downside, since I love Ali Hazelwood’s work, it would have been fantastic if each of the novellas were longer or perhaps even full-length novels—this is perhaps why the characters and plot weren’t as memorable as those in Hazelwood’s novels. Lastly, since I bought all three of the e-novellas separately before this compilation and being published in a print version, it would have been nice if there was more bonus content included in Loathe to Love You.
Overall, Loathe to Love You was enjoyable and would recommend it fans of short and steamy rom-coms!
Loathe to Love You is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 3rd 2023.
Will you be picking up Loathe to Love You? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter!
Under One Roof
An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.
Stuck with You
A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.
Below Zero
A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.
