Ali Hazelwood (“The Love Hypothesis”) released a book titled “Loathe to Love You,” which includes three novellas she released only as audiobooks in 2022. For many, this is the first time being able to read these novellas because many people do not enjoy, or have access to audiobooks. The three novellas follow three best friends who live in different states, falling in love.
Under One Roof
The first novella in the book is “Under One Roof.” This story follows Mara, an environmental scientist who inherited half a house from her mentor, who was the only real family she had. Unfortunately, her mentor’s nephew, Liam, owns the other share of the house, and he is not looking for a new roommate.
When Mara shows up on his doorstep, he tries to buy her out, but she refuses. The novella shows them living together over the course of four months, and you get to see the progression of their friendship into something more.
This novella was a funny, lighthearted read that is nice for people not looking for a long book. It shows the important parts of their growing relationship without all the extra parts of their lives.
Hazelwood has perfected the art of showing the perfect amount of the characters’ lives for a novella. She completely focused on how their relationship went from strangers to enemies, to friends, to lovers.
Stuck With You
“Stuck With You” is the second novella in this book and it follows the relationship between Sadie and Erik. They both work in the same building for similar companies, but Erik’s is much larger and has a habit of taking away Sadie’s company’s clients.
When Sadie and Erik meet by chance in a coffee shop, they immediately hit it off and make plans to go to dinner that night. After one amazing night, Sadie goes to work the next morning to find out Erik has betrayed her in the worst way possible.
The novella goes back and forth between the present and three weeks ago when the two first met. In the present, they are stuck in an elevator due to a power outage, and are forced to talk about what went wrong.
This novella includes the tropes of forced proximity and love at first sight. Hazelwood does an amazing job once again showing the progression of their relationship in a short amount of time.
Below Zero
“Below Zero” follows Hannah and Ian. The novella switches between three timelines, which seems like it would be confusing, but Hazelwood executes it perfectly.
Hannah and Ian met five years ago when Hannah was supposed to interview him for a project, but the mutual attraction between them leaves them wanting more. Hannah has a bad past when it comes to relationships so she does not want to commit, but Ian is the opposite.
Five years later, Hannah is working at NASA, where Ian is now a head director. They start to catch up like no time has passed until Ian vetoes Hannah’s project, which leads her to despise him.
The novella is titled “Below Zero’’ because in the present timeline, Hannah is stuck in a giant hole she fell in during a snowstorm in Norway. Despite the conditions, Ian comes to rescue her and they are forced to talk about their past.
Hazelwood does an amazing job with the timelines, but there were some details that could have been left out. She talks a lot about scientific stuff that is hard to understand if you are not well-educated in that area. Also, there was not a lot of time with Ian and Hannah’s romance so it felt a lot like insta-love.
Image from Ali Hazelwood via Twitter
