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.

Ali Hazelwood never disappoints. Her books are always funny, insightful and touching in unexpected ways.

To be very honest, this book follows the same formula as The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain. However, the formula is nearly perfect and brings stories that make you feel warm and fuzzy all around. I genuinely had a blast reading this book even if I could predict it most of the time. It is fun, it is easy to read, it has loveable characters and it has representation that I barely see anywhere.

This book follows Elsie, an adjunct professor by day, fake-girlfriend by night. She is also a people pleaser and has one of the worst families ever.
And then we have Jack who is one of her fake boyfriend's brother, but he's also head of the physics department at MIT, where Elsie wishes to be accepted.

Jack might just be my favorite Ali Hazelwood book-boyfriend. That's all.

What brought this slightly down for me and left a weird aftertaste is the "3rd act" events. I'm not sure if it truly was the 3rd act but something that happened really made me angry with the characters and how impossibly stubborn they were to the degree that was catastrophic. Anyway, remember kids, communication is key. Talking is key!

I also loved one of the representations in this book, I won't say which but it's so rare to see it & made my heart warm.

4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it, I just loved it. Ali Hazelwood’s writing makes me happy. Everything just flows and before you know it, you’ve been reading for 3 hours, but the time just flew by because the story is that good. I think The Love Hypothesis will always be my favorite of Hazelwood’s, but Love, Theoretically is in a close second.
There are so many things I loved about this book that it is hard to summarize.
Elsie has been a people-pleaser all her life, which is great for fake-dating as a side gig, but not so great for having your own life. Despite this and her other struggles, she overcomes so much without even giving herself credit. She does not realize how awesome she is. Luckily, Jack does. Jack is hot and smart and pays attention to people and honest and intense and has lots of friends, and, and, and the best book boyfriend ever. He sees through Elsie’s people-pleasing nature, truly encouraging her to be herself.
I love that the problems that occur are more about assumptions, than communication, and how everyone makes them. Elsie is a quick judge of people, identifying what they are looking for and molding herself into that for them. It causes her to make a lot of assumptions about people and things, many of them not being true. Jack also makes his assumptions and decides what to share based on them.
The chemistry between Jack and Elsie is perfect. Their humor and banter are so enjoyable to read. I’m not putting spoilers here since I’m reviewing an ARC, but I will say, the steam…it’s good, very good.
I also will never stop being excited about women in STEM as romance main characters. Especially, when they are as well done as Hazelwood writes.
And for those thinking it sounds too similar Hazelwood’s other books: it isn’t. Yes, it is set in academia, they are in a STEM field, and yes, Jack is big (deliciously big, but I digress), but without getting into spoilers, know that it is different and if you have enjoyed any of Hazelwood’s other books, you’re going to love it.

Full disclosure. I did not go into this thinking I would enjoy it. The Love Hypothesis was okay. It felt very familiar until I was told it was a converted Reylo fanfic. I read that fanfic. It was better.

While the tall guy/tiny girl trope is seemingly overdone, but seems to be one of Ali's favorites, I found I liked more of the science in this one. I don't get the difference between the physicists, and that's fine. Please don't comment the differences. I don't care. I do know a bit more about postdocs now, so that was curious to read about. Don't ask. Or do.

We do get a little Adam/Olive cameo. I could've done without it, but again, I didn't enjoy The Love Hypothesis. Jack fits my type. I think. Actually, ask my sister, because I have no idea what I like anymore. He's tall, because that's the only kind of man Ali can write about. He's a scientist. He's half Swedish. Alexander Skarsgård? Call me? Remember when I finally read Big Little Lies so that I could watch the show that he stars in? And hated it?

As always, this review is all over the place. I'm not sorry. Suffice to say, I enjoyed it the best out of Ali's work. It's still very white, so if you're looking for some POC rep in your reading, this probably isn't for you. But I liked hearing Ali speak on a panel at last year's LA Times Festival of Books. Anyone know who is speaking this year? Or going? Let's meet up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Elsie + Jack

Elsie is a doctor. Not a medical one. If she were, she might already have a great job. Nope, she works in physics and the pay sucks if you're not a real researching prof at a super cool university.
Which is why she's jobbing a second job next to teaching at three colleges while waiting for her dream job.
Her second job you ask? Hiring herself out as a fake girlfriend. Nothing illegal. Just play the girlfriend in front of his friends and family.
One of those family persons is Jack. He's the super hot and grumpy brother of Greg - the guy she's been fake dating for a few months now - while pretending to be a librarian.
And suddenly hot brother Jack is standing in front of her at her first job interview for MIT as not Jack but Jonathan! The most hated physicist in her field - which is not his field - his people adore him. And he's kinda the guy responsible if she gets hired or not.

LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN ...

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ADORABLE!

Another perfect Ali Hazelwood STEM rom-com!
I so need to see these books on Netflix!

Jack and Elsie are so adorable together.
Both physicists but on opposite ends of the physic whatever. LOL. And the rest is also not a perfect fit - nothing really says: they belong together. But they so do!
I just loved the way he tries to draw the real Elsie out of her people-pleasing old self.
He's so sweet and calm and patient. And she's so not that.
I loved the roommate's pet! LOL!
I loved the brother and the grandma.
I did not love the mentor and Elsie's family!

This was a really sweet and funny and slighty heartbreaking love story with some very serious and real health and science-world problems thrown in.
I loved every word of it! I didn't understand all of them - but pfft - who cares.

Perfect STEM romance - can't wait to get more from Ali!
GIMME!

► LOVE, THEORETICALLY was such a sweet + funny + sparky + slightly sad physicists love story. I just adored it! Run to your nearest book seller for your own Jack - he'll be sold out in no time!