Thank you to net gallery and Simon & Schuster Australia, for the opportunity to review this book. The thoughts and opinions in this are my own.

Slight spoilers ahead xx

Pre thoughts:
⁃ Australian academia romance?

Post thoughts:
⁃ I really should have been doing university work, however this book had me invested from page 1 and captivated me to finish it in 2 days.
⁃ The references to other texts in the novel are lovely tidbits.
⁃ The inner monologue of the MMC a great addition (reminds me of Vancouver referencing and had me giggling at some parts)
⁃ The growth and emotional development over the course of the book is impeccable.
⁃ The academia aspects are very interesting and quite honest about the field.
⁃ The story is a great realistic depiction of romance and family relationships.
⁃ A healthy amount of emotional maturation of the FMC and MMC.
⁃ A lot of yearning from the MMC... Jonah is the new standard for men.
⁃ Sadie is an icon and a strong inspiration for other women, as she has tenacity and a tender heart behind the walls she has built.

Overall I loved this read, I can’t wait for it to be published and to add it to my collection of books.

4.5/ 5 stars rounded to 5
2/5 spice

Tropes
⁃ marriage of convenience
⁃ Enemies to lovers
⁃ found family
⁃ One bed
⁃ academic rivals
⁃ Slow burn

From the first sentence I was hooked. The sparkling and witty dialogue to the chemistry between Jonah and Sadie kept me up til '3am to finish because I couldn't put it down. I mean, Much Ado Beatrice and Benedict meets Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe vibes plus two academic rivals marrying for convenience? It's like Jodi McAlister knows all of my rom com jams. Even better, she addresses some of the things that irk me - I'm with you Chess I detest problematic paperwork - and also carefully weaves in literary theory (it makes me want to go back to uni).

I absolutely cackled with Jonah's footnotes (#25 was my fave) and the line about Sadie arguing with him over her proposal. Jonah and Sadie felt so real with their complementary personalities - Jonah with his caring and steadfast nature who has been yearning for Sadie since they first sparred in class, while Sadie is slightly spiky and tenacious but tender hearted who hasn’t quite worked out why she’s drawn to Jonah but knows he’s made uni better for her. Both are passionate about their work and the sorts of Lit academics I wish I had when I was at uni (I wouldn't have switched majors). Best of all they’re staunch union members who go to meetings (more unionism in rom coms please).

If I had any quibbles, I think the work-related conflict wrapped up a bit too quickly, and perhaps could've been woven in a bit more earlier. The signs were there, but it felt a bit last minute for the conflict to arise and resolve. Also timeline-wise the maths doesn't add up with knowing each other for 15 years and their ages (minor I realise).

An Academic Affair is a sparkling gem of a rom com that left me with a smile on my face. I truly hope one day a production company buys the right and sticks to the spirit of it.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley for the ARC.