I love that Ali Hazelwood has a formula that she follows for her heroes because I am going to gobble it up each time. So sorry to Adam and Olive but I think Elsie and Jack might be my new favourite Ali Hazelwood couple. I really enjoyed watching Elsie find herself throughout this book and watch her friendship and relationship with Jack grow because of that. ALSO the George twist and the cameo from Adam and Olive were 10/10.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I couldn't get past the "wet mess" of it all. Like truly AH writes absolutely horrifying sex scenes. But a deeper look:

The first 50% of this book is good - much better than TLH. It has so much tension and is funny and great. And then the books slogs under the weight of the Hazelwood’s tropey characters, ridiculous plot lines, exhausting and unbelievable lead woman and overbearing cinnamon role hero.

Folks at 63% in I couldn’t handle Elsie. I think that my problem with her, and Ali’s characters, is that she is so extremely smart in physics. But in everything else is just not. In a way that I struggle with. The missed social cues, the lack of understanding. There are little lines where he hugs her and she’s like “wha-wha-what is happening what is he doing???” And it feels so unrealistic. Ali’s men sometimes feel like real humans but the women feel completely fabricated, and in a way that makes it so uncomfortable to read.

I find myself asking if her characters are neurodiverse, but I don’t think she’s ever stated that (on page or in real life) and I feel like I’ve read really good neurodiversity in romance before.

My mind is all over the place but it feels like all her characters are “woman who is so smart but completely inept in every other way” “astoundingly quirky” “misunderstands everything everyone is saying” “manic pixie dream girl”

Ar one point when Jack asks to “take Elsie out” she says “you want to murder me” and she is serious. Like this is not realistic!!!!!!! The sex scenes made me want to vomit (I don’t even want to hear wet mess again in a book) and it’s wild that Elsie can talk about an orgasm while she is IN A JOB INTERVIEW but can’t say penis (literally she thinks he has an erection because he HAS TO PEE) and gets too uncomfortable to say anything during sex. This wild dichotomy feels so unreal.

I am a fan of Ali Hazelwood’s books, and Love, Theoretically was another fun, sciencey enemies to lovers romance. I felt that Elsie and Jack both had more depth than some of her other characters. Jack was extremely fun to read and dang do I adore Millicent. I haven’t read much if any diabetes rep and also don’t see a lot of the deep academia rep you get here. It makes this feel different than other romance which kept me invested. I can’t say it stands out very well from her other books/ novellas - all her books are starting to feel the same to me as they share many common elements that - even when they aren’t - make the plots all feel nearly the same. That said, I’ll keep reading them, because they’re fun and I’m trash for these tropes and the banter.

I loved this book! It was a one day read for me.

Elsie is a adjunct professor with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. She's overworked and underpaid making extra cash through FAUX, an app that hires out fake girlfriends. When the opportunity of a lifetime arises, she quickly is thrown into the interview game for a professor position at MIT. The problem? One of the interviewers is Jack, the brother of one of her favorite clients. He is also the publisher of a paper that singlehandedly destroyed part of her mentor's career and caused a major rift between theoretical and experimental physics.

The chemistry between Elsie and Jack is amazing. The banter back and forth is a lot of fun. The characters also show a lot of growth through the book. Elsie and Jack aren't the only ones that shine through this book, there are also a lot of amazing side characters that hold their own in the story. I honestly would love to take a glimpse into some of their side stories.

Like her other STEM-centric romances, Ali Hazelwood successfully balances science and romance. On there romance side, there is plenty of spice as well. I tend to be a sex scene skipper; however, Hazelwood has a wonderful way of creating these moments with intimacy and combining it with additional insight into the characters.

I also liked Hazelwood's nod to the struggles of women in stem. Like her previous novels, she points out the difficulties and sexism met by women in the STEM fields and academe. Some of this is pretty on the nose and predictable, but is worth mentioning. There is also a nod to the need for women to support other women in the field.

Overall, Love, Theoretically is a smart, fun, and swoon worthy romantic read. Elsie's disappointment and self actualization brought me to tears while the conversations and banter made me laugh. So far it's one of my top romantic reads of 2023.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for providing advanced copies of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

There is something so comforting and wonderful about Ali Hazelwood's romances. I know exactly the type of story I'm going to get going in, and I fall in love with the quirky characters, pining hero, and hilarious banter every time.

This one, like Ali Hazelwood's previous books, follows a heroine in STEM. She is overworked as an adjunct professor and desperately wants to get out of teaching and into a full time research position. But when she finally gets an interview opportunity, a man on the committee knows her as his brother's (fake) librarian girlfriend.

I LOVE a pining hero and Jack delivered in spades. He is head over heels for Elsie from day 1 and she, in her awkward glory, is entirely oblivious.

This also has chronic illness rep that I really appreciated! The heroine has Type 1 diabetes and discuss often the financial struggles and burdens that come with chronic illness. I also loved the caretaking moments tied to this! A couple of times, the heroine's monitor fails and she has a diabetic crash. The way the hero cared for and helped her let me swooning.

If you've enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's previous romances, this one will definitely be a hit. However, if you're looking for something outside her typical work, this one is not. She did just announce a totally new paranormal romance for next year though!

This one will sell well but sadly it wasn't for me. It felt like the same book over and over. The same exact tropes, themes, setting, and characters. I was looking forward to something fresh and new and this is not it. Thank you so much for the gifted copy but sadly it fell short for me.

𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚
⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: STEM romance, academia setting, fake girlfriending, diabetes rep

"𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻… 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿… 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀-𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱.”

The Love Hypothesis has a very special place in my heart. It’s the first romance book I’ve finished after a year long slump and it made me want to read books about love again. Also, I really appreciate the women in STEM representation. Also Adam Carlsen - booksta husband of 2021 😂🥰

Needless to say, everything that Ali Hazelwood writes, I immediately read. I’ve read her first 2 novellas and after finding the plot and character slightly similar to Olive and Adam (TLH couple), I’ve decided to skip the 3rd novella. Then Love on the Brain came out and I also felt the same. Still, I wanted to see if her 3rd book will be different, and unfortunately, it is still the same formula: quirky female lead and tall brooding male lead 🥲

I mean, I love it when my fellow quirky female nerds get representation but I’m certain women in STEM are not all quirky - if the author wants to stick with STEM romance (which is great btw, we need more of it), I just hope that she can create characters that are different than her previous ones. During Adam and Olive’s cameo scene, I get so confused with the dialogue because the 2 female leads and the 2 male leads almost have the same personality.

I like that this book featured politics in the academia setting (⚠️ misogyny btw), the author tried to represent people with diabetes (i’ve seen mixed reviews about people with diabetes liking/ disliking the representation though), I like that she loves Twilight and cheese, there’s also some character development arc for the female lead that I really appreciate.

If I’m rating this book as how good of a STEM rep it is, it will be around 4-5⭐️, but if I’m rating it as a romance book, I can’t give it more than 3⭐️ as I think I’ve already read this pairing 5x in total by the same author. :(

Will I still read a book by hers? I don’t think so unless booksta FOMO hits and the 4th book cover is pretty again. 😂

Anyway, I know a lot of people who loved this though, so still definitely give it a read. Your opinion might be different from mine and it’s okay. We can’t like all the same books, it will be a boring booksta world then.

💭 What’s a book that you were looking forward to reading that didn’t meet your expectations?–

This was another great STEM-focused, enemies to lovers romance from Ali Hazelwood! It was funny and sweet and I can't wait to read her next one!

Thank you Berkley Romance for the gifted e-copy.

Love Theoretically is the next book in Ali Hazelwood's STEM romance series. Elsie is a theoretical physicist applying for a new job at MIT. Jack Smith is the older brother of the man Elsie is fake-dating and turns out to be the head of the interview committee - and also Elsie's experimental physicist nemesis.

This is an enemies to lovers, somewhat predictable book. The banter was fun, the sex scenes were kind of awkward though. The scene where Elsie and Jack have to pick up Greg from the dentist was hilarious!

4 stars. Now I need a book for Elsie's roommate and Kirk :)

Elsie is theoretical physicist and an overworked and undervalued adjunct professor. She’s living paycheck to paycheck, making ends meet by working a secret side gig as a fake girlfriend for hire. She plays her parts well - becoming the person everyone in her life needs but never truly being herself in the process.

Up for a position at MIT, she finds herself in a sticky situation, when one of the people on the hiring committee turns out to be her favorite client’s older brother. She finds herself instantly at odds with Jack Smith, who is not only an experimental physicist but the one who ruined her mentor’s career.

I freakin loved Jack and Elsie’s back and forth. He saw the real her and challenged her to grow and be true to herself and not simply play a character or try to please others. This was definitely more of a slow burn but the banter, the angst and the chemistry were sparks flying, sizzling.

This is my favorite book by Ali Hazelwood. It offers a real view into the hierarchy of the academic world and I loved to see all the ND rep and the T1 rep. Jack was a really fun character to come to love alongside Elsie!

Included as a top pick in weekly June New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

There's just something about Ali Hazelwood's books that manage to hit the sweet spot for me. Are they trope-y? Yes. Are the romances predictable? Yes. Are they good? Yes. And will I read them over and over again? YESSSSSS.

I love the protagonists. Jack, especially. He was clearly a case of "I fell first" and honestly, it was a bit of a hoot to see how someone as smart as Elsie be oblivious to the fact that he cared for her. Which I can relate to a bit, because until someone tells me in no uncertain terms that they LIKE me, I probably wouldn't assume. Anyway. Jack. He was swoony. I absolutely fell in love with him. Elsie was endearing. Though I couldn't 100% get behind her people pleasing tendencies, I still sympathized with her, which is pretty much what you want as a reader. The side characters were a hoot as well, though I kept mistaking Greg for George and vice versa. Anyway. Absolutely enjoyed this book, just as I enjoyed every one of Ali's books. Highly recommend!

liked this a lot and not surprised given the other books in the series. thoughtful characters as usual

4.5 stars. Another charming, heartfelt STEM romance from Ali Hazelwood. This one is set in the world of physics academia, with all the politics and machinations you might expect in such a competitive field. Our star-crossed (potential) lovers are Elsie and Jack, on opposite sides of an intradisciplinary rivalry.

I found Jack to be a little overbearing at times, as he pursues Elsie and doesn’t let her off the hook. Maybe she needed the push but I would’ve asked him to back off. Elsie herself was a joy to watch grow, even if I was worried at first that she might never take a chance on anything.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one from Ali. Even though I was concerned I wouldn't like Jack as a hero but as it went on that changed drastically as the story went on. Elsie was delightful and probably the most relatable one of her heroines for me. I am so glad I liked this one especially since her last dull length novel was just "okay" for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this book very similar to The Love Hypothesis? Yes. Did I swoon and sigh and grin like an idiot while reading it, anyway? Absolutely yes. Sometimes, you just need to power your brain down (but not too far down, as there is quite a bit of fun science sprinkled throughout) and just enjoy a smutty romance, and this one does the job beautifully.

I enjoyed this book! It was funny, swoony, and a quick read. It started off a bit slow for me and it took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I liked it. I look forward to reading more of Ali’s books.

4.75 stars: ok there’s two small things keeping me from giving it 5 stars: 1 the plot was a little weak, the whole job plot line kinda dissolved halfway through and got cozy which isn’t bad just a little aimless in its plot

2 (SPOILERS AHEAD)…. SO WHY DIDNT THEY EVER SAY I LOVE YOU??? HUH????

overall though, fantastic fucking read, is it exactly the same book ally always writes, yes but ITS SO GOOD

THE 411...

*•.¸♡ “𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝” ♡¸.•*

Theoretical Physicist Elsie Hannaway is an adjunct professor hoping to make tenure in order to pay her bills and get medical insurance. Her day job(s) don't cut it despite what her family thinks and as a type 1 Diabetic, she doesn't have the privilege of slumming it. Elsie and her quirky roommate Cece have joined a fake dating site which works for Elsie who is comfortable as a people pleaser. She learns her client and their situation in order to convert herself into whomever they need her to be at family functions, parties, or corporate events. This all changes when her favorite client's older brother begins to suspect that something just isn't right, he's not buying their relationship and begins to press Elsie. The hate to love trope is activated and we see Jack Smith truly get under Elsie's skin simply for seeing right through to her. Navigating family functions becomes a game of cat and mouse as they circle one another. Elsie tries to avoid getting caught not being able to answer questions about her client aka Jack's younger brother. She's sold everyone the story of her being a Librarian with no mention of what her career actually is but things take a turn and she soon sees herself exposed. 

Elsie is about to begin an intense interview process for a highly coveted professor gig at MIT when she finds out that Jack Smith is on the committee in charge of hiring the candidate to fill the position. They are BOTH taken by surprise when they lay eyes on eachother and Jack now has more reason to believe his brother is dating someone he should not trust. Elsie who takes the privacy of her clients very seriously can't speak freely so she decides to focus on impressing the rest of the board and getting the job. 

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS...

I first started reading my DRC of this book when I decided to switch to the audiobook I downloaded as an ALC from Libro.FM, best decision I could've made! the narrator did their thing and I was fully engaged laughing, smiling and or grinning throughout the story. Having read all other books by Ali Hazelwood and thoroughly enjoyed them, I was really hoping this one didn't follow the formula of its predecessors. Happy to report that certain things were scaled back a bit (obsessive ogling of male love interest's body) and new themes were explored. Also, THIS is actually a hate-to-love! not a 5 second I thought I didn't like you but really do love you type story. The first 32% of the book is cat & mouse and I enjoyed every minute of it. As a Diabetic myself, it was also cool to see it not being thrown around like a judgment call or joke. Our MC has type 1, she was born with it and brings to light the reality of just how expensive it is to be insulin resistant. On the academia front the author goes more in depth with the inner politics that have shaped STEM to be a field dominated by those who are cis white males. We see more women side characters in STEM who wish to see others also join the field and balance out the odds. I found the inner workings to be interesting, especially when the relationship between student and mentor is explored. The fact that not all mentors can be trusted drives home the point that the odds are def stacked high for the women interested in this field. 

The ROMANCE my loves! steamy AF and fun! Jack is all about pleasing Elsie who has made a whole side hustle out of people pleasing. She doesn't know how to be cared for and her frustration at not being able to figure out what Jack wants/needs is real. That last 30% of the book was LOTS of sexual tension and exploration, not for the faint of heart haha! I'll say it here, Love Theoretically is better than Love On The Brain 🤷🏻‍♀️ and for those who love seeing their faves pop up in later books, I won't say which couple but it is my fave duo who make an appearance! 💞

🔬🧪💞
*•.¸♡ ωнαт ι ℓσνє∂ ♡¸.•*
🧪Women in STEM
🔬Hate-to-Love that's believable 🧪Diabetic female lead bringing awareness to the steep price tag on insulin/Glucometer
🔬ACE Representation from a side character
🔬Academic settings/inner politics of Academia
🧪discussion on post grad financial challenges
🔬Steamy slow burn romance/sex scenes

REVIEW GOES LIVES ON 6/26/2023 8AM EST