Not in Love

Sometimes Rue feels like “dozens of neuroses in a lab coat,” but she has a small group of friends who support her no matter what, and when she needs something more physical, she has sex-positive apps to help find hookups without hang-ups. When one such setup results in a failed rendezvous because of Rue’s family drama, she is first disappointed and then endlessly relieved, as Eli, the missed match, turns out to be part of the group that just acquired the food science firm where she works. Though the outsiders incite a rivalry, Rue and Eli can’t overlook their attraction. Hazelwood (Bride) presents a racy STEM rom-com full of well-developed, witty characters. Narrators Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke give expressive performances of Rue and Eli’s first-person perspectives. Together they turn each moment, from upbeat to explicit, into an engaging listening experience, though the decision to have them read their own dialogue, even in the other’s respective chapters, interrupts the otherwise fast-paced flow.