I like Ali Hazelwood, but many say, if you've read one of her books, you've read them all. This stands true of this book as well. I wouldn't not recommend it, but it is getting a little repetitive.

Love, Theoretically should come with a warning: read this when you have enough time to finish in one sitting to avoid heartache. My lunch break was spent reading and left me with an immense feeling of dying when I had to return to work. I couldn't put this book down. I wanted to call in sick just so I could stay home and read (I couldn't do that, as I'm a librarian, loved the nod to librarians by the way). Somehow this book not only managed to live up to The Love Hypothesis, but it actually had moments of unpredictability, humor, and left me feeling smarter; all of these elements are very hard to come by in a romance. I loved every second of this book and have already purchased at least one copy for our library. Patrons will devour this. Now, cue my book-hangover.

I was nervous about this book, but I ended up reading it in 2 days! It seems like Ali follows a formula in her books (all men are the worst, incredibly stupid and get everything in the world except for the love interest, the mc must be betrayed by a man in the second half of the book, the male mc is perfect in all ways) but I did really find the guy in this book to be adorable. And the best friend was great too.
3.5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkeley publishing for the E-arc!
I was so excited to see another Ali Hazelwood book and even more excited when someone told me to love interest looked like Milo Thach. I really enjoyed the stem romances, especially since I am a stem major myself. Whenever I see a new addition to the series, I get very excited as I enjoy reading these romances quite a bit. They are fun and quick and great for a relaxing read.

This authors books all follow a pretty similar recipe & flow, but I still enjoy them each time. I truly love seeing the life of women in STEM & seeing them find HEA!

Elsie is a theoretical physicist that is about to interview for her dream job. She will no longer be an adjunct and 3 different schools and teaching an absurd amount of classes. To make ends meet, she and her roommate offer their services as a "fake girlfriend". Everything is going well until she realizes that the brother of her favorite client is on the hiring committee.
Ali Hazelwood's books always live up to the hype. This book had me laughing out loud at several points throughout the book. I absolutely loved the pining and chemistry between the two main characters.

First, a song to set the mood: Are You With Me – Highnoon

I think Love, Theoretically has surpassed The Love Hypothesis as my new favorite Ali Hazelwood book.

When I first read the description of Love, Theoretically, I squealed with glee – the whole concept sounded so fun! This book definitely did not disappoint.

As is standard for Ali Hazelwood’s work, this is a nerdy STEM romance – this time between two physicists of opposing disciplines – theorists and experimentalists. There are a lot of details on various parts of academia in this book, discussing topics like adjunct professorship, academic advisors, controversial interview practices, and more. It was really interesting to see how all these topics wove together in the story and how Elsie and the rest of the cast tackled those challenges.

Even with those more serious STEM topics, this book is chocked full of quirky details and romantic hijinks. I’m obsessed with Elsie and her love of cheese and Twilight movies – she really gets me. Elsie and her roommate, Cece, were totally roomie goals (well, except perhaps Elsie’s contemptuous relationship with Cece’s hedgehog).

What really made me love this story the most though was Elsie’s personal journey. Elsie is a people pleaser who is extremely anxious in her relationships. I found a lot of the things Elsie struggled with to be really relatable, and it was incredibly satisfying to see how Jack helped pull her out of her shell and challenged her to be true to herself. I think this book falls a bit heavier on the character driven side compared to The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain, but the character development was so important and so intertwined in the romance – I was so invested in Elsie’s growth and my heart absolutely broke for her as she was facing her fears throughout.

I absolutely loved every moment of Love, Theoretically – it was incredibly heartfelt and sweet while also filled with odd little details that made the whole thing a lot of fun. It was also so fun to see how Olive and Adam were doing in their little cameo. Ali Hazelwood delivered once again with a heartfelt, quirky, nerdy romance, and I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you os much for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! I wanted to like this, but I think I struggle a bit with Ali Hazelwood's style and how similar all her books are. In the end, I ended up DNFing it. Just not for me!

Ali Hazelwood has a formula that works for me - I’ve definitely been enjoying the books set in her academic/ STEM based world. Her writing delivers what I’m looking for - a fun escape into another world, where I’m guaranteed a happily ever after.

Her characters feel real to me - they have real struggles, hopes and dreams that make them relatable. I once again enjoyed her smart, driven fmc, Elsie. I also loved to see her come into her own and maybe not have it all together to begin with. Elsie and Jack were a great match, I enjoyed the enemies to lovers, slow burn they presented.

I dove into this one since it kept calling to me - despite my TBR 😅 and I meant to pace myself, but just got caught up in the world and lost in the story. As always, eager to see what Ali has coming next.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

It was a decent read, but I didn't love the male hero. The politics got on my nerves, within the school but also general politics.

I feel like Love, Theoretically has made me a card-carrying member of the Ali Hazelwood fan club. I loved her two previous novels, but this one solidified what I adore about her writing and her romances. And while it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite, I feel like this one may be the one that’s the most all-round success. There was never a point in the book when I felt pulled out of the story, and that’s how I know a book has consumed me.

Love, Theoretically is hard for me to review because I think readers should go into it as blindly as I did. I barely even read the synopsis before I dove right in. If you’ve read and loved any of the author’s other books, you should love this one, as well, and that’s all the information you really need. Her signature humor and compelling storytelling are both present.

BUT if you insist on knowing more, then please keep reading.

I love how complicated Hazelwood’s characters always are. They have meaningful backstories and traits that always surprise me. In Love, Theoretically, Elsie and Jack have complicated relationships with their families. And Elsie’s biggest complication is that she is a people-pleaser. She changes herself, even discrediting her wants and desires for those of others. It’s something she’s been doing for years, even with her closest friends and family. And it was a character trait that hit close to home for me at times, but I loved watching Elsie find her truth. With Jack’s help, of course.

I always believe in the chemistry between Hazelwood’s characters. They make sense together, and I’m usually rooting for both leads equally. I’m not sure, but I feel like this one was even more of a slow-burn than her other novels. I didn’t mind at all. It was deliciously excruciating waiting for these two to finally come together.

And let’s not forget her side characters. They can hold their own. Sometimes they even deserve their own books. Especially Elsie’s quirky best friend and Jack’s brother. And sometimes they already have their own books. Yes, Olive and Adam from The Love Hypothesis make a special appearance in this one!

I think this is Hazelwood’s most science-y book yet. Pretty much everything science-related that was mentioned went over my head. Way over my head. But I didn’t mind at all. I’d like to think I learned a few things, but probably not. I’ve never been able to retain much math or science information. My brain was made only for words.

It’s hard for me to know if I loved this book because of the story or the many, many Twilight references. And while I am (mostly) joking, when Twilight was first mentioned, I had a moment of panic. Is the author about to make fun of Twilight, and therefore all its fans?! Nope! Elsie loves Twilight, and I had so much fun with all the references. I feel seen. Thank you, Ali Hazelwood!

Love, Theoretically is Hazelwood’s best yet, and that’s saying a lot since I’ve adored all her books. But this one had something even extra-special. This one lands solidly on my ‘books to re-read’ stack!

I have so many thoughts here and I just wrote them down on my insta stories which is great but it means I have to rewrite them here bahahaha.

I love Jack so much and I love how he loves. Also I know a common criticism Ali Hazelwood gets is that her books and love stories are carbon copies of each other and while I agree with that assertion most of the time, I don’t think it’s true about her men. Well, besides the fact that they’re all supernaturally tall, buff and in love with women who don’t believe in themselves. Jack is different from Levi and Adam in my opinion though when it comes to his personality - he’s snarky, he’s a bit mean, he’s certainly not perfect, but he is just so THOUGHTFUL I CANNOT STAND IT.

So I really do adore Jack and the romance here which is why I’m rounding up!!

Ali once again I think does a phenomenal job at exploring life in academia and how hard that must be to navigate. Love, Theoretically deals with academic politics and what really goes into the hiring process and it felt realistic to me! And I can always count on Ali to call out sexism in the academic workplace.

I just like…

How Ali continually writes her women gives me pause.

Elsie has no confidence and no agency in her life. In ANY aspect of her life. It’s just really frustrating to read a brilliant FMC who has a PhD and she doesn’t know how to believe in herself in her job search. Because if she can’t advocate for herself, who will??? It’s just such a weird take to write another woman who isn’t confident despite her intelligence and successes.

If I have to read another Ali book where the FMC thinks the MMC hates her but really he’s been in love with her for a long time…

Clearly I’m all over the place, but happy with this rating for now!

Review copy courtesy of Berkley through Net Galley

Ali Hazelwood delivers another satisfying “steminist” romance where an adjunct theoretical physicist gets the opportunity to have a job at MIT, but her interview is complicated by the fact that one of the deciding faculty members thinks that she’s dating his brother, even though in actuality her relationship with his brother is through a fake dating app where she can make money. Unlike the over the top dramatics of her second book, this book is more of a quiet, academic drama that delivers some funny lies and weird characters. I’m not sure if it’s the fan fiction background but even though I’ve enjoyed reading all of her books so far, the main characters pretty much always fall into the same molds (shy, small main female character - even though this character’s struggle is that she people pleases to an extreme; and large, tall, mean male character), which becomes a little repetitive, especially when side characters seem so vivid and interesting. Looking forward to future books that break this mold a little.

I had a lot of fun reading this one.

Much has been said about all of Hazelwood's stories starting to read the same, and while I get that a lot of the romantic partners have a similar relationship dynamic, I'm finding that it's the smaller parts of the story that have been increasingly getting more care and attention that are working for me. Here I really enjoyed the part of the story that focused on Elsie's job hunt, I liked getting a look at the extended interview process not only because it was something I hadn't read about, but that it was so easy to have that lead naturally into the romance arc of the book. It also let the side characters feel like they were actually important. I felt that Elsie had relationships that existed outside of her attraction to or frustration with Nolan.

Maybe I'm just jaded, but the only part of the academic side of the plot that bothered me was her relationship to her mentor. I wanted to be able to view things the way that she did, but from the beginning of the book it felt that something was off there, in a way that I would expect any and everyone to pick up on. If anything it was the one aspect of the book that felt very paint by numbers, the most predictable part of the book.

Other than that I found myself pleasantly surprised by a lot of how the romance was paced. I liked the way that their relationship with one another felt realistic and something I wanted to root for. Honestly if it wasn't for some of the foolishness that occurred in the third act, I might've bumped up my rating. I think that it's more of a me thing, and that other readers will have a fun time. As what feels like a longtime reader of Hazelwood's work at this time I think that it's nice knowing what I'm getting myself into and seeing the execution of the idea as varied as they have been so far.

Ali Hazelwood is just an auto-buy author for me at this point, her books never fail to entertain me. I do feel like there is a kind of repetitiveness to her books, but I have come to the realisation that is part of why I reach for her books. I know exactly what to expect from her stories (cute STEMinist romance with a lot of laughter), but at the same time her writing and funny swoon-worthy moments make it impossible for me to put down.
I did have my doubts going into this book, but I enjoyed reading about Elsie and most importantly I fell in love with Jack immediately. Are these characters that different from the characters from previous books? Not really, but it doesn't take away from how entertains this story is and I was definitely swooning throughout reading the whole book.

Thank you for PRH International for providing me with a free copy for review.

Another cute read in this series! I know some people have complained that the books are all too similar, but I disagree. I found it really valuable to read about someone who was living the reality of adjunct life. It's a hustle and it's demoralizing and the author showed that in a way that made you feel it without coming across as bitter. Plus, the brother relationship and the the grandmother's scenes were really fun.

Ali Hazelwood is probably who can disappoint me without actually disappointing me. Love, Theoretically was most definitely fun and enjoyable, and I binged in a day. However, it's the same story as in her previous books and novellas - a very tall and big guy falls for a girl, and said girl thinks he hates her and wants to ruin her scientific career, all while the guy actually does everything he can to protect her.

Jack Smith is my favourite of Ali Hazelwood's men, because he is so raw, makes mistakes too (like a human being should), and has a bit of a bad-boy vibe, which I love. Elsie is a bit of a compulsive liar (she is a people-pleaser) but I didn't find that as annoying as I thought it would be. More annoying to me was her self-consciousness - when a man tells you repeatedly he is attracted to you, that means that he is, in fact, attracted to you. I also loved the diabetes rep in this book.

Overall, it's a fun read, which will make you smile, and probably love Jack Smith (especially after the spicy scenes). So I recommend it, especially if you liked some of her previous books.

Thank you for the free book PRH International.
#PRHInternationalPartner #ad and #prhinternational

I absolutely adored this book. Ali Hazelwood knows how to write the good, the bad, and the ugly of higher education. This book could have taken place at any university. Not many authors could combine romance with a commentary on the treatment of adjunct faculty but she did it beautifully.
Love, Theoretically is the story of Elsie, a promising theoretical physicist who is living the life of an adjunct. She has an interview at MIT that could solve all her problems. But of course nothing goes as planned. She meets Jack, her professional arch rival, and things fall apart. I couldn’t put it down!

I enjoy Ali Hazelwood's writing (I love reading about STEM and academia, especially), so I've read all of her books. I did feel kind of unsatisfied after the novellas, because it drove home my suspicion that all of the stories were the same, but with different fields of study. Luckily, there are a few differences in this book that I really enjoy.

I think the "enemies" part of the enemies-to-lovers arc resolved more quickly, and it felt like there was less miscommunication than in previous novels. The hero was very clear with the heroine once the conflicting interests were removed. I really liked that it was less drawn out!

The heroine went through a much larger personal change than I remember from the previous stories (although I could be wrong), but I really wish we were able to see more of her trying to fix her relationship with her mother.

There were more decent guys (who weren't future protagonists) sprinkled around. A hallmark of an Ali Hazelwood book is that it is LITTERED with horrible men either actively harassing the protagonist, or working against her behind the scenes. I know this is probably true of many STEM departments, but if we can have hot nerd protagonists who don't work out but are super strong and muscular, we can have a sprinkling of medium nice male background characters who support the protagonist.✨ It's a fantasy.✨

I have complicated feelings about Ali Hazelwood's third novel. On one hand, you could say that this was indeed Love Hypothesis 3.0 because it is SO SIMILAR. So similar that I did not bother to learn the names of our two love interests until half way through the book. Because they are basically Olive and Adam. And Bee and Levi. Mara and Liam. You get the point.

Two people who work in STEM, the guy falls first, they have a fight, they get back together. That's it.