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!

I thought Love on the Brain was my favorite, but now it’s Love, Theoretically. I absolutely LOVED the characters and their interactions. Especially the ones with Millicent. Gosh, it sucks for women in STEM. I loved that this story exists in the same universe as some of Ali Hazelwood’s other stories and there are some Easter eggs in here if you’re looking for them. The story was an enjoyable sloooooowww burn romance, with spice. The 3rd act breakup was done well, even if I keep reading books hoping that if I’m over 80% through there won’t be one. One day! Once I got started this book was unputdownable. I appreciated the character growth for some. Nerdy dad jokes were on point. Jack and Elsie were chefs kiss. Highly recommend.

I absolutely LOVED Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood. We follow struggling physicist, Elsie Hannaway as she applies for her dream job - the only problem is one of her could-be future co-workers is her arch-nemesis, Jack Smith. This is quite possibly the SLOWEST burn I have ever read (with no kissing until 73%!) but I actually did not mind it one bit. It allowed for the characters to become completely comfortable with one another and care for each other in ways that may not have been possible with earlier steam. For a more in depth review, see the attached video from 17:40-24:08.

Another banger from Ali Hazelwood. And let me just say, broody older brother is one of my favorite tropes.

All of the MML's that Hazelwood writes are truly perfection, however I will say that I had a bit harder time digesting our main, Elsie. Jack Smith was truly a perfect specimen- stern, caring, observant. etc. However, the caveat is that both of them probably (should be) are in much need of therapy (don't worry!). I think the characters and their own problems, was the only drag here.

This was a solid 4-star read- plot carried us well, characters were relatable, and the emotion evoked in readers was really the best part. I mean, the outrage! Truly the best part of reading any book is when the emotion is so visceral that readers can't help but feel as reading along. This is something that Hazelwood definitely succeeds at, here and repeatedly so.

As always, will probably be buying multiple editions because her books are just so digestible and easily re-visitible.

Ali Hazelwood not only gave us another smart, fun and witty book, but also provides believable characters and storyline. I enjoyed every chapter of this book and found myself being able to truly relate to some of the lines that just hit home a little harder than I expected. Excellent read, lover's of Hazelwood's work will fall head over heels with this book!

This started off so strong for me but unfortunately, I felt like the pacing was off so by the 70% mark I was starting to get bored. Miscommunication is also a large part of this book which is always my least favorite trope. With that being said, if you've enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's books in the past, I'm sure this one will still hit the spot. It follows a lot of familiar themes and tropes as her prior releases. If you were looking for something different from Ali Hazelwood, you won't find it in this release. There's still a tiny heroine and a huge hero. There's a lot of talk about science and academia. There's a mustache twirling villain. But none of that is a negative as far as I'm concerned and I'll continue reading her upcoming releases.

Hazelwood has done it again. I adored Love on the Brain and The Love Hypothesis, but Love Theoretically is my favorite yet. Elsie’s deep desire to people please, to give people the version of herself they want, is highly relatable. Like Elsie, I spent much of my life caving to those same impulses.

And even though many of Hazelwood’s male leads share characteristics (super tall, famous leaders in their STEM fields, etc.), Jack is my favorite. He’s the epitome of a man written by a woman who all women want. He’s thoughtful, attentive to Elsie’s needs, devoted, intelligent, handsome, and a wizard in bed. What else could we possibly want?

This book is physics heavy, but I never felt like I was lost in a sea of not understanding. I love that we got a peek behind the insanity of working in academia. And Elsie’s bestie in this book definitely needs her own story.

Even though I got a digital arc of this one, I’m still planning to buy a physical copy when it releases in June!

I think Ali Hazelwood has truly hit her stride as an author. Not that her first novel wasn’t enjoyable, and I enjoyed her second as well, but there were clunky elements. Repeated dialogue, silly interactions that didn’t match characters, etc, and I’ve seen none of that in Love, Theoretically. And as much as I enjoyed the character dynamics in her debut novel, I think we can all agree that she copy/pasted it into her second. I’m thrilled to see that she can in fact write something outside of uncomfortably tall man and worlds smallest woman. (Edit - I just got to the part where he is in fact described as horribly tall while her poor brittle neck can barely help from breaking as she looks up at him. So, never mind. However, the characters themselves are still much different from like likes of Olive and Adam so I’m still very relieved and excited to read something new.)

This is easily my favorite book of hers and I’m very excited to see what comes next. It seems to me that she’s exclusively on an upward trajectory.

This book was so much fun. I've read Hazelwood's other books as audiobooks and wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one as much when I wasn't listening but I really enjoyed this book.

Pros:
I loved the comedy in this book. Even though a lot of heavy topics were discussed and some of the nuances of academia went over my head a bit, there were so many funny and relatable moments.
The ace/aro spectrum representation was fantastic. This spectrum and sexual and romantic orientations are so rarely represented in media, and it was so refreshing to see them represented here and depicted in an understanding and positive way.
I liked that we got to see Olive and Adam again. If I remember correctly, Adam at one point in the Love Hypothesis talked about his friend Jack in Boston and I really liked seeing them again.
I thought Elsie was a fun heroine. There were some points were I was like come on Elsie, but I really liked her.
Jack was an interesting caveman but I really liked him too.
Cece and Hedgie were fun side characters that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Elsie's character arc and growth were fantastic. I liked how Jack helped her grow too but that a big part of her growth ended up being her pushing herself even when Jack wasn't around.
I liked that the final confrontation with Dr. L wasn't dragged out. It was quick and painless and I think that was nice.

Cons:
Sweet Elsie seemed to be putting on deliberate blinders with Dr. L and by the point where she was discussing a post-doc with him the first time, I was like seriously. because it really seemed like this went beyond Elsie having some low self-esteem and really seemed like she was not thinking about the fact that maybe her mentor didn't have her best interest in mind.
I found the resolution between Elsie and her mom to not make sense. There was no explanation as to how this relationship got better if that even is the right way to put it.
Jack really got on my nerves during the first sex scene. It felt like he was deliberately trying to embarrass Elsie for no reason and he was being so high-handed and patronizing. It really aggravated me and I felt like based on Elsie's character, his questions would have been a turn off and would have scared her off too.
Jack was being very secretive about the issue with the article and by the time we got to the explanation as to what happened, it sort of felt like he could've at least tried to explain sooner.
I don't understand why none of the academics around Elsie ever mentioned to her that the job market for her field wasn't anemic enough for her to still be working adjunct positions. At some points they seemed to imply it, but it didn't make sense why none of them ever came out and told her that there were plenty of jobs and her mentor might not have the connections he should to help her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be so much fun and I think the best book thus far in the STEMinist universe Hazelwood created. I'm excited to see what's next and I think romance readers will really enjoy this book.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

OH MY GOD! Ali Hazelwood has done it again in my book! I fell in love hard with The Love Hypothesis and have been obsessed with Ali Hazelwood books ever since. I was shocked to be approved for this e-ARC, but I am so happy that I was. Getting to read this book early has been a ride and I loved it so much.

Ali Hazelwood writes the kind of romance books that have me swooning. I love the chemistry she writes between her characters and this was no exception. The fact that this book was more STEM heavy with the academia backdrop being even more present was so interesting to read about, especially since I bet it is pretty accurate with Hazelwood having an academia background.

I hope she keeps writing adult romance books because I will keep buying them. Five stars all around and I will definitely be re-reading this book as soon as it is released because I have to annotate this.

The rivalry between theoretical and experimental physics has never been cuter!

Ali Hazelwood's LOVE, THEORETICALLY is a big thumbs up from me, her biggest fan. This romance is more smart, sassy women in STEM perfect for contemporary rom-com fans everywhere.

I started the year off with a bang with a book that is going to be one of the best of 2023 for me. Hazelwood's writing just clicks with me with her alternately quirky and serious characters, the tenderness and trust and understanding between them, and their unfailing support for each other. I know, last summer, when I read her entire backlist back-to-back, while I loved each book individually, I felt that the characterization was a bit repetitive, but I had also suspected that time and distance would make the next book exciting to read. And it turned out to be true. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. This book is a clash between a theoretical physicist adjunct professor and an experimental physicist tenured professor, set in Cambridge (Boston). He disapproves of theoretical physicists and has recommended another experimentalist for the dream job she is gunning for at MIT. Since her paycheck as an adjunct in non-existent, she supplements her income by offering her services as a fake girlfriend. This book contains more science than her previous books; that actually was a draw for me. Untangling their vulnerabilities and deep-seated views of self is where Hazelwood shines. Highly recommended!

[This review will be published on my blog, Cogitations & Meditations (http://keirasoleore.blogspot.com), later this month.

Wow! I opened this at 7:30 p.m. and didn't put it down until it was finished at 2 am. That doesn't happen to me very often! I have read all of Ali Hazelwood's previous works of fiction (that I'm aware of), and she definitely likes certain tropes, but I still totally love everything about this book. As always, there's a bit of a nod to Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, in the hero of this book, Jack. And there's a female in STEM academia, which I can't fully relate to, but find it interesting. Hazelwood infuses the story with lots of humor, and that combined with the romance between Jack and Elsie had me beaming and grinning from ear to ear. Highly recommend.

This book was everything I was hoping for and more! I am a long-time fan of Ali’s books, and I loved this one SO MUCH. The cast, the setting, THE CAMEOS. Everything about it was delightful and heartwarming and hilarious.

Read if you love:
- STEM
- found family
- quirky, lovable characters
- banter for dayssss
- enemies to lovers

I want to preface this by saying I will be rating this as an individual work based on my absolute enjoyment while reading despite the similarities to Hazelwood's other works.

I loved this book. From the opening paragraph that established the scene for fake dating, forced proximity and enemies to lovers, just chef's kiss. I was absolutely obsessed with every character in this book, they were diverse and interesting and very fun to read.

I adore how Ali Hazelwood goes out of her way to create an extremely diverse cast of characters. From the "imperfectly perfect" Jack, to the ace rep of Greg, to the sapphic rep of an important side character as well as a main character who has T1D, it was a triumph of diversity.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. I found the story made sense and the plot twists were well placed and made sense.

I am literally in love with Jack and I am obsessed with his and Elise's banter and interactions throughout the book.

Without going into detail, the nod to the characters in her previous books were fun little Easter eggs to read.

As a Twihard, Elise's takes on Twilight were hilarious and entertaining, I really enjoyed all the references to the franchise.

Although this has become a trope used in many of Ali Hazelwood's works, the use of the protective MMC trope never fails to make me obsessed with the MMC.

The politics showcased of scientific academia between experimentalists and theorists was very interesting to read about, and I like that she went into more detail instead of just having it be in a STEM setting, we got to see the nitty gritty of it all.

I ALMOST liked this more than the Love Hypothesis. I say almost because despite everything, there were so many glaring similarities to AH's other works. It's always a strong independent woman in STEM, it's always a large Nordic man & issues with men in STEM that become the central conflict of the story. However, I found this one was much better paced than the second installment in her series (Love on the Brain) and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book despite the similarities to her previous works.

The ONLY real issue I had was the constant mention of Jack's previous lovers in the latter part of the book, I wish the two MCs would have just focused on themselves. It only went on for a chapter or two, but it became off putting.

All in all, I am obsessed with Jack as well as Jackie and Elsie as a couple and I can't wait to get my hands on whatever Ali Hazelwood writes next.

Thank you SO much to Berkley (and PRHC!!) as well as NetGalley for and E-ARC in exchange for an honest review ❤️

Thoroughly adored of course. Elsie’s people pleasing/shape-shifting abilities were so brilliantly written and Olive-and-Adam’s appearance was just the cherry on top. And I loved the deeper dive into academia politics too.