Queen of STEM romance, the birth mother of the most quirky, nerdy, entertaining, likable and very huggable characters is back! And she returned back with my all time favorite trope: enemies to lovers!

I can honestly say this is my favorite book of hers: because it’s FUNNIER, SEXIER, QUIRKIER! Did I tell you Jack Smith is the best book boyfriend she’s created? That sulking, intense, intelligent man knows how to make a girl happy! He’s passionate but he perfectly controls himself to put Elsie’s needs first. He’s caring, patient, gentle. I loved him!

And let’s introduce you dear Elsie who earned my ten thousand hugs. She’s graduated with Ph.D. in theoretical physics. When she couldn’t get an academic position she’s dreamt of, fake-girlfriending her way through her student loans turned into her only solution to put her out of her misery.

Even though she still lives in a crappy apartment she’s sharing with her bestie Cece, she still keeps her hopes high to find a better position in near future. She still tries to keep her head above the water as an adjunct professor, lecturing five different classes, reading students’ very sincere emails ( those emails made my week! I guffawed too loud) , grading labs, teaching thermodynamics. In the meantime, her mother forces her to become negotiator to solve her big brothers’ extra immature problems they’ve gotten themselves into!

Here’s the weakness of Elsie Hannaway: she doesn’t know the meaning of “no”! She can never say this word! She’s molding into different character for each person in her life, putting their needs first. That’s why she never thinks through what she really wants from the universe!

Then her path crosses with her big nemesis. She finds out her best fake-dating customer Greg’s brooding but also very charismatic brother Jack Smith is also the same person who has written an article that ruined her mentor’s career! And unfortunately he’s the same man who is ruling the physics department at MIT! He’s one of the decision makers who will decide if she’s the right candidate for her dream job. You may guess Jack supports another candidate for the job and he’s really shocked to find out Elsie is not librarian girlfriend of her brother as he’s been introduced. As an experimental theorist he has every intention to reject to work with a theorist!

Elsie has no intention to leave her dream position without a fight. She’s adamant to fight against the man who gets under her skin. Yes, she finds him very attractive. Yes, she wants to rip his clothes and kiss him senseless then punch him in the face. But she can restrain her feelings to be professional, right? Oh, you already know the answer!

Overall: Elsie and Jack were dynamites! I loved their dialogues, hilarious banters, blazing chemistry! That’s my favorite work of the author! I wish I could give more than five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

What an absolute DELIGHT!!! Ali's protagonists are so likeable and the academic content/commentary is still accessible and interesting for people not in STEM. 10/10 let's keep this going.