A witty, fun and sizzling new romance novel, from the queen of STEMinism 🥼

Fake Dating ☑️
Rivals to Lovers ☑️

Elsie is a struggling adjunct physicist who resorts to a rather strange second job to make money. She offers her services as a “fake-girlfriend” and uses her people pleasing skills to become the perfect girlfriend. Her two worlds come crashing together when Jack Smith, the broody older brother of one of her clients, sits on the hiring committee of Elsies dream job at MIT.

Whilst being her third STEM based romance novel, Ali Hazelwood has managed to create 3 distinctly different stories that are all of the same high quality. And I have loved every single one of them!

Elsie is a character who really grows on you throughout, her character development is really well done. She believes herself indebted to her family due to having health issues as a child. And so does all she can to please them, even if its at a detriment to herself. But with help she begins to realise how unhealthy this is. And Jack is sceptical, and broody and kind and gentle and just everything you want in a romance MMC.

I loved this! One of my new favourite Ali Hazelwood reads. I loved the banter and tension, Elsie being relatable and a fanfiction lover, and JACK. The diabetes representation was really interesting.

If you've read any of Ali Hazelwood's previous books, you will 100% enjoy this. Its geeky, romantic and fabulous. Thank you for creating some fantastic characters and keep them coming!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

Ali Hazelwood has done it again, every book I pick up of hers just has a homely feeling to it. The suspense and romance in this book has the Ali charm and once I read it I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend.

At this point I don't think I need to review an Ali Hazelwood. She's an absolute powerhouse, introducing the whole romance genre to the more scientific girlies (ie me). As always I love the inclusion of women in STEM, the fact that Elsie is smart and not afraid to show it. And her chemistry with Jack is great. And the little cameo from The Love Hypothesis made me squeal out loud, and was a perfect little Easter egg for die hard Ali fans. And anyone who can get the phrase ' unpasteurised emu tit juice' into a book needs a round of applause.

This was also a good spin on the fake dating trope too. However I do think at this point that the tried and tested formula is getting a little old. Women can be over 5ft and men don't have to be massive and aloof all the time.

Great writing and romance from Ali is usual though.

Ali Hazelwood, I give you my soul and my life please don't stop writing these books ever, I eat these up so fast!!!!
Absolutely love them shes done it again.

I adored this book. It has to be one of my favourite Ali Hazelwood books. I love how realistic Ali's characters and romances are but Jack and Elsie take the cream. The chemistry between jack and Elsie was phenomenal. Elsie is a people pleaser and has spent her entire life living to help other people fulfil their needs before her own. Seeing her work through that and Jack be patient with her was the loveliest thing to read. I also of course loved the academia aspect of the storyline as well. if you like grumpy sunshine and a slow burn I would urge you to run to your nearest bookshop and pick this up.

This has got to be my favourite Ali Hazelwood book yet! Honestly I have loved all of her books but I felt like this was on the next level for me. It felt the most different from her other books in terms of tropes and I was a big fan of the cast of characters, with some really fun side characters! I liked that it dealt with academic politics again and I love that Ali Hazelwood writes characters, and especially male love interests, that are feminists and are really positive about women in STEM and academia. I found Elsie and Jack to be really interesting characters with their complicated families and relationships, and their chemistry and relationship was really compelling. I loved the strong friendships between women and I found this to be the funnies of Ali Hazelwood’s books that I’ve read. I liked that the academic rivalry between the two branches of physicists really helped play into the enemies-to-lovers vibes. The progression of Jack and Elsie’s relationship was paced really well and it was nice to see a lot of connection between them without feeling like it was too rushed. It was clear that Jack really admired Elsie as a person and as a scientist, and his relationships with Greg and their grandmother fleshed out his character really well. Elsie’s character arc was really captivating and it was great to see her development in her personal and professional life, as well as with her relationship with Jack. It’s great to see these well-rounded characters that have really been fleshed out and are very flawed, and seeing how they change over the course of the book. I was so extremely excited to be able to read this early and it really lived up to all of my expectations. I would definitely recommend this to fans of rom-coms and romance novels, and it would probably be the Ali Hazelwood book that I would most recommend to readers that are new to her books!

I cannot believe I forgot to review this back when I read it in 2023! Here is my review now, since Ali Hazelwood always dazzles and her books remain stuck in my mind:

Even though a lot of feedback about Ali Hazelwood's books complain about the recycled tropes that Hazelwood tends to use in her books, I think this one is different from the rest because of its originality in premise. Sure, there is a Big Guy, and Small Woman, and there is forced proximity...but there is also representation of the nuances of physics departments and the struggles of academic research. As well as depictions of sex work and escort services. Also tattoos that aren't cringe-y and related to Fae lore.

Ali Hazelwood always has my heart and this is proof that she has yet to disappoint.

Another fantastic installment from Ali - I enjoyed the plot less than I had in her previous books but the characters were still endearing and I enjoyed the romance - can't wait for the next!

As a scientist myself, I love reading Ali Hazlewood's books that focus on the lives on women in Science. Although these are maybe a bit mature for my students to read, these are the kind of stories I want to share with my students to highlight the importance of women in science, not just traditional science routes, especially in theoretical physics.

I found this book quite slow to start but after getting into it I actually started to enjoy it!

The book follows Elsie who is a graduate looking for work and Jack who is the brother of the boy she is fake dating AND potentially could be her boss, if she gets the job.

I am such a big Ali Hazelwood fan so shocked it’s taken me this long to read the book. Personally I didn’t like it as much as her other two mainline books about women in STEM that I’ve read, but the romance was cute.

I would recommend if you’re a fan and trying to read all her books but I also feel like this is one you could skip.

Ali Hazelwood's books always have the perfect mix of science, spice and romance, and this one was no different!

I was so invested in the plot of this book that I did not want to stop reading it! So many things happened throughout this book that made me want to laugh, cry and yell. It was a roller coater of different feelings, but I would not have had it any other way. It is one of my favourite things when the authors way of writing allows me to feel the emotions of the characters, and that is exactly what this book did!

I both loved and hated Jack throughout the first part of this book, but that all changed when certain situations showed why he did and acted as he did. I loved how much he wanted to help Elsie, as well as how quietly obsessed he was with her, even when she hated him. Elsie was such a loveable character, and everything she did in order to fit in made me sympathise with her, which is why I was so happy when she got with Jack, as he allowed her to be herself.
Elsie and Jack together are such a strong couple, and I love them both so much! I also greatly appreciated the Olive and Adam cameo in this book, as that book made me fall in love with Ali Hazelwood's writing!

Another fantastic book from Ali, her consistency for good love stories keeps bringing me back time after time. I’ve heard criticism that her books are all the same, and whilst this book didn’t break out of the mould it was still fantastic!!
I loved Elsie’s character and the tension between her and Jack was just chefs kiss.
Their interaction at times was down right hilarious! I’d say that if you love any of Ali hazelwood’s books you’ll be sure to love this one as well

It has indeed an interesting storyline, liked the characters and how things turned up. I think it is realistic in terms of love within "our world". I would recommend the reading, the author does a good job once again

This is such acute romcom I absolutely loved it what more can I say hearts and flowers, cute,I loved it thankyou for the opportunity too read it

‘Love Theoretically’ was… disappointing.

This book has been recommended to me and described as way better than ‘The Love Hypothesis’ by the same author. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed ‘The love hypothesis’ even though it definitely was not the greatest romance I’ve ever read (on the contrary), ‘Love Theoretically” left me feeling unsatisfied and, quite frankly bored.

The struggles of Elsie-our main character in being a people pleaser and her attempts to overcome her own fears and become her own real self, as well as the trials and tribulations she went through trying to get the job of her dreams was the most interesting and most entertaining thing about this book. I kind of wish ‘Love Theoretically’ was not a romance but a book about a woman trying to come out of the shell she put herself into to appease others.

Everything else in this book was just boring. I couldn’t care less about the romance because Jack, our romantic interest, was as bland as wet corn flakes. Moreover, through his attempts to ‘help’ Elsie be more honest, he ended up just telling her what to do and pretty much demand she completely abandoned behaviours she developed over many, many years as if it was just that easy. This was insanely annoying because we were told he is a man who finds boundaries very important (apparently only when it’s his boundaries). Luckily, Elsie calls him out on his bullshit but it still didn’t help me seeing him as a bad potential partner for her. Also, he never really feels bad for what he did as a teenager. His apology is caused (AND HE ADMITS TO IT) by her pretty much telling him what he did was wrong and his attempt to get her back, not because of self reflection. That man was just… not a great guy.

Honestly, how can you write a romance and make the romantic interest wave red flag left and right as if he was his country’s flag carrier at the Olympics opening ceremony!

Because of this I just could not enjoy this book and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

I don't care that all her books are sort of the same cause they work every single time. Women in STEM, one sided enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentioning how big the mmc is every single chapter, toe curlingly cute scenes and just a little bit of spice. A recipe for perfection. The characters in this book were a little more complex than her other characters though! Both Elsie and Jack suffer through some trauma but they work it out together and work towards a healthy relationship. I loved Elsie's character and her character growth. She was very interesting and loveable (like all of Ali's characters). ADAM AND OLIVE MADE AN APPEARANCE. My babies. I loved Jack but Adam is still my favourite Hazelwood man. Anyway, if you love a simple romance that does the trick. I definitely recommend all of Ali Hazelwood's books.

A great romance book, I really enjoyed the tropes and found myself rooting for the couple! Ali is always the best for the women in STEM details which really make the books! Thank you net galley for the review copy!

At this point Ali Hazelwood will be an auto buy author for me. I just love their writing style and the stories they write.

This book was everything i want in a romance. I loved how quirky and loveable the characters were. I need a romance where i like both of the main characters because who wants to root for a romance when you dont like one of the love interests. Also enemies to lovers yes please.

overall Ali Hazelwood is yet to disappoint and im excited for future books they release