Is this better than The Love Hypothesis? I think it may be just a little bit better… what?!

In the author’s note, Hazelwood said that this was the most academic book she’s written and I LOVED it! I loved the pacing, the setting, the tension. This was so much fun to read.

Elsie is not just eager to please, she literally molds herself into whatever the person in front of her needs her to be, and it broke my heart after a while. From a young age, she thought of herself as a burden and it becomes a large part of her adulthood.

Without giving anything away, she is a theoretical physicist, and she knows that people in her field and people who are experimental physicists simply do not mix… so through a series of entertaining circumstances, she finds herself in the orbit of one incredibly aggravating and charming experimental physicists, Jack…

All you need to know is she is up for a new job, he is on the board responsible for the hiring decision and he thinks she is dating his brother… and lying to him about who she is. She thinks he despises her, but is that really the case?

Gah, this was irresistible! I didn’t want the book to end, but I also didn’t want to put it down. Jack was such a great guy. Even though the two are natural enemies, the way they compliment one another was splendid.

After putting in her time being an adjunct professor and working herself into the ground, Elsie finally has the chance to get her dream job at MIT. With her diabetes, and a lack of health insurance, Elsie had to take on a few side hustles as well by being a fake girlfriend for men who needed one. When she gets to her interview and finds that one of the interviewers is not only someone she hates in the industry but also her “boyfriends” brother who hates her…she is shocked and thinks her chances just exploded in her face…

This one was a bit different than Hazelwood’s previous books, but I have to say, I think it was my favorite or hers! I loved that storyline of Elsie fake dating to make ends meet, and really enjoyed the interspersed emails from students with their ridiculous requests and excuses for why they couldn’t come to class/finish their assignments. The chemistry between Jack and Elsie was off the charts, but I really liked that they didn’t just jump into bed, but that the story moved along at a much more realistic pace. This one is a little less spicy overall (definitely still has the spice, but less of it) than Hazelwoods other books, but I fully enjoyed every second of this book!

In Love, Theoretically, Elsie Hannaway leads a double life as a struggling adjunct professor and a fake girlfriend for hire. However, when she encounters Jack Smith, the older brother of a client and the experimental physicist who ruined her mentor's career, her carefully constructed world begins to unravel. As they navigate their complicated connection, Elsie must decide whether to embrace her true self and put her theories on love to the test. When it comes to Ali Hazelwood's books, I've come to expect certain elements in her stories like the enemies-to-lovers trope, a small girl and big guy dynamic, and a STEM setting. Love, Theoretically follows that formula and while I enjoyed it, I wished we could have had Jack's perspective as well. Elsie's people-pleasing personality made sense, but there were moments when her decisions and thought process grated on me. Nonetheless, I appreciated how the author developed the relationship between Elsie and Jack. The cameo appearance of Olive and Adam from "The Love Hypothesis" was a sweet touch. If you're a fan of Ali Hazelwood or enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, this book is worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Wow, this may be my favorite Ali Hazelwood to date.

Not only was it well written and executed, but as a reformed people pleaser myself, I saw so much of myself in Elsie. It was unreal. It was so easy to get in her head because I have experienced every thought of hers in some capacity my whole life. And Jack with his dichotimous approach to his relationship with Elsie, with physics, and with everything. He was such a refreshing male protagonist.

Not a book to be missed, that's for sure.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙭 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙛𝙚𝙪𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙘𝙤𝙢.

📍 Read if you like:
• STEM Romances
• Enemies To Lovers
• Lovable Characters
• Academic Feuds
• Physics

I feel horrible giving this book three stars - nothing has lived up to my expectations since The Love Hypothesis. I’m always going to read these STEM romances as they’re so interesting.

This story has an enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating trope. We’ve seen Chemistry and Biology with Ali Hazelwood’s other books. In this one, we get physics.

I enjoyed the STEM take on this book and the academic environment.

This book started strong and I was immediately intrigued by the story. However, the story felt like it dragged too much and I started losing interest the more I read.

I hate to say this, but these books are beginning to get repetitive. While they’re fun and quirky for what they are, I don’t ever feel a different connection with each book.

We get Elsie and Jack in this book. I liked them both each on their own (for the most part).

Elsie has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and has diabetes, which I thought was portrayed so well. There were times when she made me laugh, especially when she read her students’ emails. She also “fake dates” guys.

Jack is in charge of the physics department at MIT, he is your classic grumpy and strong MMC. I do think his character was stronger than Elsie, but I didn’t love him as much as Adam or Levi. He was sweet and caring at times.

There were some funny moments and great banter throughout the book. The “chemistry” was there and I did enjoy that aspect.

While I know this is going to be a popular book, it just didn’t work for me personally. It was still entertaining and I loved the take on this academic feud with our characters.

The story itself felt so repetitive. I did like the steamy scenes, but I didn’t really feel a connection with the characters.

Overall, Love Theoretically was unfortunately not for me - but don’t let my review sway you. I know this book is going to be well-loved, I just want something different from this author.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Sexual content, chronic illness, emotional abuse, death of parent, misogyny, sexism

o I’m of two minds on this one. On one hand, I love what Hazelwood has done to give women in STEM to their MCM - and especially enjoyed how she brought the politics in academia (and honestly in a lot of male dominated fields) to the forefront.

However, her male characters all seem kind of one-dimensional. “You are perfect and I will do anything for you but I’m going to come across like a bit of a cold ass at first because I’m not capable of enough blood flow between my brain and dick while you’re around.” And why are all the dudes these giant, hulking dreamboats and the women these diminutive little wisps that they can pick up and toss around like rag dolls?

So, while I will continue to read her books because I enjoy her writing style - it honesty feels like I’m reading the same book over and over with just a few detail changes. Maybe it’s just me but it feels a bit stale. 🤷🏼‍♀️

3.5 stars
Hazelwood has found her niche writing about science nerds in love and this latest entry while not very different from her previous novels is still a fun, cute read.

Love, Theoretically is told in the first person by struggling adjunct and theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway. To pay for her exciting lifestyle of cheese and twilight figurines (and since adjuncting pays shit) she takes a job a professional date for men to bring to their family gathering and pretend like they have their lives together (not an escort service). It is during this job that she meets her "date's" older brother Jack. Jack has nothing but disdain for Elsie and the two do not get along. Things get remarkably worse when they both find out she's applying for a job at MIT where he so happens to work. They also happen to be science rivals because theorists and experimentalists have been at war for forever. Because the book is told in first person Elsie is certain that Jack hates her and wants to ruin her career (especially since he tried to ruin her mentor's career). Jack however is obsessed (in a cute way) with Elsie and wants to date her hard. Also complicating things are Elsie's self esteem issues and feeling like she needs to be different versions of herself to please the people in her life. Obviously this is a romance novel so there is an inevitable happy ending but it feels deserved.

I loved the romance between Jack and Elsie and while I normally prefer romance novels where we get both character's perspectives I felt like Hazelwood did a good job letting the reader know Jack's feelings.

Minor spoilers ahead: I also thought Hazelwood portrayed Elsie's issues realistically and didn't give her a love fixes everything ending. Elsie is better able to advocate for herself and her feelings by the end of the book but she's also in therapy and continuing to work at it so that was nice.

If you're looking for a romance novel with rivals-to-friends-to-lovers, science jargon (in a fun way), copious references to twilight, a hedgehog, lots of emotions, spice, and romance then I highly recommend.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley

To make ends meet, theoretical physicist Elsie works as a fake girlfriend, where she tailors her personality to fit the needs of her clients. Whilst interviewing for her dream position at MIT, Elsie’s two worlds collide when she discovers that Jack, her favourite fake boyfriend’s older brother, is a renowned experimental physicist and on MIT’s hiring committee. Elsie’s chances at landing the job are immediately threatened as Jack believes that Elsie’s a librarian who’s lying to her “boyfriend”. Jack also turns out to be Elsie’s archnemesis as he previously published a paper that ruined Elsie’s mentor’s career and slammed theoretical physicists everywhere. However, continuing to hate Jack becomes challenging when Elsie realises that she can finally be her true self whilst around him.

Love, Theoretically is an enemies to lovers, academic romance perfect for fans of Chloe Liese, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Tessa Bailey, Abby Jimenez, Mazey Eddings, or Elsie Silver. It deals with themes and topics like identity and sense of self, communication, truth and lies, family, friendships, feminism, love and heartbreak, revenge, working class struggles, STEM, diabetes, and the aro/ace spectrum. The moral of Elsie’s story is that you should be the person that you want to be, not the person that you think other people want you to be.

Firstly, I enjoyed all the references to popular culture, including Taylor Swift and Twilight, and also really appreciated that Adam and Olive (from The Love Hypothesis) made an appearance in Love, Theoretically as I absolutely love these characters. The plot was unique and it was refreshing to see uncommon topics like diabetes, aro/ace, and physics included in this novel, plus the story remained interesting, engaging, and kept me guessing throughout. Though not completely relevant, Elsie’s students’ emails, which are frequently present at the beginning of chapters, were a fun and comical addition to the novel. Jack Smith was totally swoonworthy and perfect “book boyfriend” material; even though it was a slow burn romance that took a while to get started, Elsie and Jack’s relationship was very sweet as well as steamy.

One thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the physics jargon as I felt like a lot of this went over my head and then how Elsie and Jack’s romance took so long to get started; the first portion of the book is mainly dedicated to Elsie’s “fake girlfriending” and her longwinded MIT interview. I was a little confused about the inclusion of Elsie’s roommate Cece’s budding relationship with one of her “fake” girlfriend clients, Kirk; it takes place during the same time as Elsie and Jack’s romance, but only vague details are given about Cece and Kirk…perhaps Cece’s story will be the subject of one of Hazelwood’s future novels? Lastly, without spoiling anything, even though I liked how the book ended, the epilogue was a tad underwhelming.

Overall, Love, Theoretically was an engaging and unique page-turner that I would highly recommend to fans of women in STEM and enemies to lovers romances. I can’t wait to read more of Hazelwood’s work in the future!

Elsie Hannaway is an up and coming physicist who is stuck in the never ending cycle of adjunct professing. Her salary is abysmal so she makes some extra money as a fake girlfriend on an app, after all her people pleasing tendencies are perfect for being the perfect fake girlfriend. But when she get's the opportunity to interview for a full time tenured position at MIT the interviewer is none other than Jack Smith, one of Elsie's favorite fake boyfriend's brother. Not to mention he is also the same Jack Smith who ruined her mentors reputation years prior endangering her field of study. Elsie is prepared to go to all out war to get the dream job she's always wanted and Jack is a formidable opponent. The only problem is the attraction the two of them face for each other. Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

This book absolutely slayed me! Honestly, if I weren't so responsible, it would have been a 1 sitting binge read. By far my favorite of Ali Hazelwood's books. Elsie and Jack are the most precious main characters. I just want to adore them so much! I feel so seen in Elsie even though we don't have a ton in common (people pleaser over here). I loved that this wasn't just following the process of her interview week at MIT and that it spread further past that and into their every day life. Don't' get me wrong I enjoyed the war between the two physicist camps and the jousting between Elsie and Jack was pure torture in the best way possible, but I just loved the after the interview dating bliss that they get into once they finally acknowledge their feelings. The third act plot twist was realistic and not super annoying considering how much I am not into 3rd act breakups. It was truly there for a purpose. Jack had to eat some crow and Elsie had to stand on her own two feet and figure out what she really wanted. I also satisfied with the steam that was in this book. I don't remember having this much in her previous reads. I loved the friendship between Cece and Elsie as well. Two quirky girls just trying to get by...so relatable! I am also over here hoping we get a Cece book. Honestly I'd give this book 10 stars if that was an option. I just felt so good while reading this and felt so seen.

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 18+
Spice Level: 2.5/5
Over All: 5 stars
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.

I think I might have a new favorite Ali Hazelwood book???
Is it still very very similar to TLH and LotB? Yes. If you’re looking for something different, look elsewhere. But the similarities in Ali Hazelwood’s stories have never bothered me. It’s like they don’t even register while I’m reading because I’m just having so much fun.
Unlike her previous full length novels, Love, Theoretically is written in first person. I’m always a bit nervous when authors venture into different POVs, but this is just as well written as its predecessors—if not better.
I have nothing negative to say about this book. I was just kicking my feet and squealing with excitement the whole time I was reading it. Reading this was the most fun I’ve had in ages!
Elsie, our main character was easy to love and easy to see myself in. I adored her voice and being inside her head. She also has type 1 diabetes, and I really enjoyed the discussions around her disability and health insurance and how much the current health systems in America suck. I don’t believe this is #ownvoices, and I don’t have T1D, so I can’t speak for the accuracy of the representation, but from what I could tell it was handled with tact and care.
I absolutely adore Elsie and Jack. They have impeccable chemistry, but I also could viscerally feel the development of their emotional connection as well. Jack is definitely my favorite AH love interest so far. He felt much more developed than his predecessors, and he and Elsie are my favorite couple. I loved the Adam and Olive cameo and I desperately want an Elsie and Jack cameo in one of the future books!
Another of my favorite aspects of the book is the demi rep. That is one of the things that has kept The Love Hypothesis at the top of my favorites list, so I was really excited to see that rep here again. It’s never explicitly stated, but it is a topic that is subtly explored in a way that really resonated with me and my experiences.
Say what you want about Ali Hazelwood and the cheesiness of lightheartedness of her books—she is an undeniably talented writer. Her prose is so easy to digest. It’s simple, yes, but not in a way that comes off as immature. There’s something about her writing style that feels almost smooth. I think her skill with prose and pacing is often overlooked because her books are “tropey” and “fun”, but they are very well written as well.
I cannot recommend this book enough. I already want to reread it!

I didn’t love the heroine and I’m growing tired of hazel woods books having a really uncomfortable power dynamic between the couple. He always seems in charge of her career in some way and it’s kinda gross and bad. Elsie also was supremely annoying, and I didn’t like that she let everyone walk all over her, it just didn’t feel realistic. Maybe I’m growing tired of Hazelwood essentially writing the same book over and over.

Love, Theoretically employed the usual Ali Hazelwood formula; it featured a tall, big and handsome hero who seemingly hates the heroine but is secretly enamored of her and a beautiful, smart and charming woman in STEM. Jack and Elsie's story, however, left me weak in the knees. It checked all the marks and finally broke me out of the strange reading semi-slump I have found myself in for the last few weeks.

After a rough start in which they believe the worst of each other, Jack and Elsie agree to be honest with one another about their feelings and what they wanted, and it was amazing. I loved watching their relationship slowly develop into something deeper. I loved watching Elsie learn to trust that Jack wasn't going to get tired of the real Elsie. I loved the way Jack took care of Elsie and the way that Elsie finally allowed Jack to take care of her.

I loved everything about Jack and Elsie's story; the slow burn, the fact that he was so obviously smitten from the start and that his love language was acts of service, I loved that Elsie was finally able to be herself around Jack. I loved it all.

Love, Theoretically is the best Ali Hazelwood book I've ever read, and I have read all of them.

This is a win for all the Steminist fans out there! Ali Hazelwood always brings the steam to, of all things, academia and does with with respect for women's intellect, interest in science, and with attention to the parts of academic life that are just... how it is (oh those student emails... spot on).

What really works for me here is the attention to the contexts that the MC, Elsie, navigates: adjunct life (which is so hard, low paying, and challenging), that fuzzy time between finishing a PhD and figuring out an academic career (it's not linear, it's hard), the politics and infighting in the sciences (sigh), and of course the life outside of academic life, which often still somehow integrates other academics (LOVED Elsie's roommate CeCe).

Hazelwood adds in some deft notes about women in science, dysfunctional families, and a really great theme about always trying to be what others want (and then struggling to know what you want... I found that relatable).

I really liked the women in this book and how they generated support for Elsie as well as the ways that Jack respected Elsie, made her feel seen and helped her understand herself as well.

I would actually love a sequel, where does Elsie go with her career? What happens to Cece? To Paul? To Elsie's brothers?

There is a reason why I love Ali Hazelwood so much and it's because she never misses when it comes to creating an engaging romance book that has me feeling so many emotions. Not only did I get sucked in so quickly, but Love, Theoretically is absolutely brilliant and like her other works makes me wish I had an adaptitude for science.

Elsie might be my favorite Ali Hazelwood character to date. As a people pleaser in recovery, my heart ached reading all of the ways she changes herself to accommodate those around her. This was and in many cases still is my life. I felt the rawness and pain that Elsie feels as she meets new people, the way she takes on all of these other people's problems and emotions relegating her own wants and needs to the wayside. And truthfully, the way that Jack swoops in to help her with that is what sold this book to me.

Jack is not without his own flaws, but I loved him even more for wanting to see the real her. For people who are people pleasers, there is a small part of us that wants the world to see how much we've damaged ourselves. We also want someone to swoop in and help us fix it (or at least I did).

I found myself loving so many various aspects of this book it is hard to capture them all. The romance and longing were amazing, the characters are wonderfully well-written. I enjoyed every single Twilight reference. And for someone who is not in STEM, I still felt like I could relate to these characters very very well. I will eagerly await her next book because I'm sure it will be just as good, if not better.

Ali Hazelwood is the queen of writing romantic comedies with an academic focus and TALL male leads. Love, Theoretically is no expectation and I had such a blast reading this one. It is clear that Hazelwood has a bit of a cookie cutter structure, with very similar elements between each of her stories. However, I love the writing style and characterizations that she presents. Elsie & Jack were great characters that were fleshed out and I loved their communication. A classic enemies-to-lovers tale with a STEM/academia focus and great diabetes presentation,

This story may be my favorite of hers, but I said that last time too! So I guess we shall have to see what she keeps writing and I will keep reading her work! A fan since her fanfiction days, I love how Hazelwood's books are reaching the popular market!

When we first meet up with Elsie, we quickly learn that her life is a bit out of control. Between her life as an adjunct professor and fake girlfriend services, it’s never a dull moment. And if that’s not enough, she takes people pleasing to the next level, always giving everyone the Elsie she thinks she wants them to know. Her carefully crafted world spirals even more out of control when she interviews for her dream job and discovers that her client’s brother is on the hiring committee. Elsie is prepared for an all-out war, but what she finds surprises her instead.

Love, Theoretically is a super cute and quirky read. From the moment you meet Elsie and Jack you can’t help but get sucked into their story. I adored how quirky and clueless Elsie was. Don’t get me wrong, she is totally brilliant, but when it comes to her personal life, she couldn’t be more clueless. And Jack was her perfect match. He was broody and frustrating and drove Elsie absolutely crazy. Not only did these two have amazing chemistry, but I loved their enemies-to-lovers vibe and their entertaining banter. The romance between Elsie and Jack was a delicious slow-burn that kept me on my toes and left me salivating for more.

Love, Theoretically was an absolute joy to read. I loved getting lost in this story and look forward to seeing what this author has up her sleeve for us readers next.

Oh my crystals. This is one of my favorites of the year. If you don’t identify with crystals, academia, enemies to lovers, twilight (twihards UNITE!), Star Wars, crushes on cheese, or board games like Go then YOU ARE MISSING OUT! If you give this a chance you enjoy the banter, setting, women in STEM, and so many dad jokes! I’m obsessed with Ali Hazelwood, and I need more please and thank you. Elise/(AKA Elsie) has so much character arc through out this novel over a time span of three I need to hop on this bandwagon. Jack is so sweet and cocky and I don’t know unexpected. I wish men were like this in real life. I wish I could tell you so many quotes or dad jokes with out ruining it but you’ll have to read and laugh out loud for yourself!!!! Thank you so much to Kim-Salina I and Berkley for sending me this via NetGalley!!

Ali Hazelwood is back with a full length novel and it is glorious and wonderful and all the best swoony, sexy things. I loved The Love Hypothesis and when I was the only one I had known (personally) who read it as an ARC, I was losing my mind because I couldn't talk about it. That's kinda where we landed with this one. TLH was one of my favourite reads that year and overall and with Love, Theoretically added to the mix..... I'm feeling it is a close battle to first between the two of them.

Jack was everything. Jack was also so down bad for Elsie that the "enemies to lovers" trope was just "enemy to lovers" and Elsie was the only one thinking this. The respect and admiration from Jack were too much for my brain to comprehend and I was going to lose my damn mind every time he spoke. Elsie was smart as hell but Ali always writes such great STEM romances that I'm not surprised.

Anyways I LOVED THIS A LOT. I'LL READ ALL OF ALI FOREVER.

Obsessed. This is the best novel Ali Hazelwood has written yet. The dynamic between Jack and Elsie is perfection, the setting is so rich, and all of the side characters need their own spin offs. I loved getting to see Olive & Adam and the hint of Bee, bringing the Hazelverse together.

Fantastic story by Ali Hazelwood, as usual. Lovable characters, great chemistry, steam -- all the elements of good contemporary romance. What makes Ali Hazelwood stand above the rest is her homage to the science and math nerds. She knows smart STEM girls like romance, too.