This is enemies to lovers done so well!
Coming from someone with a love for this trope, I honestly found how this book unraveled just perfect.

The representation is great with a diabetic main character in STEM with a fantastic arc. A character I could really invest in and know I wouldn’t be let down because she was never needy, whiny or annoying but still needed the growth and development, became something via her experiences and set out to evolve as a result of her situation. Hazelwood really nailed it!

Lots of heart sinking, stomach plunging moments of dread, embarrassment and longing on the characters behalf and a plot that revealed its self at just the right moment again and again.

I can’t praise this reading experience enough and will highly recommend to all I encounter for weeks, months or years to come and Jack will become their new obsession too.

Thank you for providing me with a copy to review.

This is my first book by Ali Hazelwood and it did not disappoint. I loved the characters especially our main protagonist being STEMinist. I love stories about love conquering all, and all the tribulations and fun getting there. Loved the characters and will definitely read more of Hazelwood's books. This was a great, quick read which brought joy to the reader on every page.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this book prior to publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Am I actually shocked this is 5⭐️? Absolutely not! Ali proceeds to make me fall in love with her MMC and where once again, I feel like less smart and cool but Chaotic version of Elsie.

Did I expect to be called out with the amount of time I change myself to be someone someone else prefers? Definitely not but I just loved her!!!

The side characters are amazing (apart from her mentor and Caroline and Andrea) but I love George and I’m so happy that Elsie realised her mistake on hating her! Even though she was done dirty still!

I loved the mention of Elsie being diabetic! You really don’t read books of it often at all and it’s such good representation!

I love how real the characters were and accepted they made mistakes and are bad people sometimes! It’s just so chaotically read! I loved it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this arc in exchange of my honest review

Love Theoretically - Ali Hazelwood

The perfect enemies to lovers romance. As always with a book from this author the reader can be guaranteed emotional and sexual tension with academic geekery, however I don't think it was as spicy as her previous books.. The main character has type 1 diabetes and as my husband is also type 1 diabetic I felt that it doesn't get much representation in the book world at all, so that was an added interest for me.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Ali Hazelwood, Little Brown Book Group UK and Sphere for this e-arc in return for my honest opinions and thoughts.

Good romance book Ali Hazelwoodnalways knows what’s she’s doing and integrates the STEM so well. Loved the cute plot and the character development

Loved it! Such a fun entertaining read! I couldn't put it down, loved the chemistry between the characters and I am always here for a good enemies to lovers and fake dating troupe!

Highly recommended for those who like the above troupes and for anyone who just wants to be entertained and have that feel good feeling.

I also really appericiated the representation of a person with a life long medical condition and the logistics of what that means for some one without health insurance. Was this a plot point, no, but I appericiated it anyway.

Once again Ali Hazelwood knocks it out of the park. I loved how this was a slightly different formula to love hypothesis and Love on the Brain but you can still tell ut is Ali Hazelwoods writing . I am so excited to see more from this author. A quick . Fun and steamy read

Well I loved this...simple as that! I think the thing that makes me adore Ali's books is the banter between the characters. It's not cheesy romance, these characters are well thought out and intelligent. I love the sciencey bits sprinkled within the story and it never feels overwhelming or difficult to understand. So i appreciate that aspect.

As far as the characters go Elsie and Jack are amazing, I love their banter and I love how grumpy he is lol.

so give it a go if you enjoyed her other books I think you'll enjoy this one too!

I really love Ali Hazelwood’s writing, she really has me routing for a couple, and I enjoyed the forced proximity and build up of tension in this sort of hate to lovers element of this book (even if the reasonings were completely ridiculous). I also really enjoy the academia settings of her books, and the conversations that she always has about how the politics of it all, I always find those bits really interesting.

But I just have to say that this book just felt a bit cringe and ridiculous (and not in a good way). Elsie was just a bit too much, and I didn’t really enjoy reading from her perspective. She’s just too much of a people pleaser, and I know that this is the point of the book, but it got really repetitive and a bit dull to read about. She also just seemed a bit childish and infuriating.

I do have to say that this also just felt like The Love Hypothesis 3. The love interests felt just as generic as the last two and it’s just getting a bit dull at this point. It’s just the quirky scientist with the tall and muscular other scientist with a hate to love dynamic that doesn’t really have much rational underpinning. And whilst I don’t mind reading the same tropes over and over again I just really wanted more at this point, and I don’t think it fully delivered.

The side characters were the real stars of the show in this one. Greg, Elsie’s fake boyfriend and Jack’s brother, was just so kind and lovely and I really loved to get to read about him along with Cece, Elsie’s eccentric and fun roommate who really adds a great dynamic to the story.

There are also some just really quite huge moments in the book that are rarely addressed, like the fact that Jack ruined many people’s careers, including Elsie’s mentor and despite the fact that she hates him for the first half of the book because of it, she very quickly dismisses any concerns of it once they get together and only brings it up later when there needs to be a third act conflict.

Also, I hate the way she almost idolises Jack for literally doing the bare minimum, like remembering she has diabetes. The bar is absolutely on the floor. It also annoyed me the way that she would go back and forth about whether she liked him or not. It got tiresome, especially when you knew they would end up together.

If you like books about academia then this one has some great conversations and provides a bit more insight into it all than her other books. There were also some good moments of tension between Elsie and Jack, and I enjoyed the romance once we got into it, but I just wanted more.

One of the things I love most about Hazelwood's novels are rooted in her representation of young women in STEM. That's one thing that continues to be really important and enjoyable about her stories. In Love, Theoretically, physics is on the menu, with Elsie waging into the war between theoretical and experimental physicists. However, you don't have to be knowledgeable about physics to be able to enjoy the story. Sure, it helps if you've watched Big Bang Theory a few times, but it's a pretty accessible read nonetheless.

So the story is definitely similar to The Love Hypothesis and Love On the Brain. I think anybody who says it isn't is kidding themselves a little bit. And I really thought that would be a problem for me. However, it wasn't at all. Although there's a very similar structure and plot progression, I really enjoyed the story in its own right.

I think the reason for that is partly because the story felt really well-padded. Half of the problem with a lot of romance books I read is that they're so focused in on the core romance, all plot and structure cease to have any real development. This felt like it actually had a lot going on. We start with a fake dating situation, then lead into a full-blown physics war, and somewhere along the way, we stop off at a job interview. There's a lot, and it all works hard to serve the story.

The other reason I enjoyed this book so much is because I just really, really liked Elsie and Jack. They had that perfect enemies to lovers romance, and written so well. There was lots of depth and detail that made their connection believable, but it was still incredibly easy to read.

Overall, for everyone saying this is a copy of Hazelwoo'd previous books: Yes. I agree with you. But also, it's written really, really well. So who cares?

Well this is my favourite Ali Hazelwood book to date!

When Elsie meets her Faux boyfriends brother, there is instant hate. He stares at her and asks questions he has no right knowing the answer to. But when Elsie goes for an interview at MIT, who should walk in? But the very same brother.

What follows is an enemies to lovers, miscommunication with the best banter.

Jack is by far my favourite book boyfriend! I love him.

This whole book was incredible!

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Love, Theoretically
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Ali Hazelwood
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 13th June 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 14th May 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.25/5

“In my fantasies, you allow me to keep an eye on you.” I feel his lips at my temple. “And when I really let go, I imagine that you let me take care of you, too.”
It does sound outlandish. “Why?”
“Because in my head, no one has done it before.”
I fall asleep huddled in the curve of Jack’s throat, wondering whether he might be right.

This was a truly great STEMinist romance. I was hooked and entertained the whole way through. It was one of those books that are easy to pick up and hard to put down. The entire novel is equally as hot as it is wholesome.

Ali Hazelwood is well known for her STEM romance novels. This one centers more around the academic politics of experimental physics and theoretical physics. I loved the science metaphors, the scientific banter, and the chemistry between the main character and her love interest.

In fact, I found the main character deeply relatable. Hazelwood has a bit of a rep for repetitive characterization and I noticed this in Loathe to Love You, where the three female main characters were extremely similar to each other. Elsie, our main character in Love, Theoretically feels much more fleshed out in comparison and also a lot more dimensional. She was deeply relatable with a combination of a lack of boundaries and an excess of people pleasing behaviour.

I also really enjoyed just how much the love interest was obsessed with her.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

I have really enjoyed Hazelwood’s books and so when I saw this one was up for a review copy I instantly requested. Thank you to Netgalley for this.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one. I struggle with enemies to lovers storylines quite a bit, mainly because I don’t always believe the enemy part. In this case, I do think that the beginning of the story needed to be a bit longer so that we could explore this further. Whilst I didn’t love it I did find it funny in many places, which is typical of Ali Hazelwood’s writing style. Fun, lighthearted read that just wasn’t my thing sadly.

I know I am late to the party, but this is my first Ali Hazelwood book. I have heard all about her books on booktok, Instagram, YouTube... you name it, and people are probably talking about them. So, I was a little nervous going in, hoping that Love, Theoretically would live up to the hype, especially since I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately. But the worry was for nothing, as this book really did live up to all those expectations. It's a perfect blend of romance, and science with a host of adorable, nerdy characters.

I really liked Elsie as our main character, this book focuses a lot on her journey towards self-improvement, it had me tearing up at points and cheering her on. She's definitely someone that's easy to get behind. And the romance she found herself involved in felt fresh and unique too. I loved the contrast between one character who lives a life based on lies, and another character who is brutally honest at all times. Yet, their relationship was SUPER healthy, with both characters working to let go of the past and build a better future together.

Having a love interest who is very clear on their intentions was also very refreshing too, there's less misunderstood feelings or confused conversations like we see over and over again in other romance books (usually leaving me to yell at my kindle telling the characters to "JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER"). They both know where they stand, and they are honest about how they feel. Plus this book didn't just focus on healthy romantic relationships, it also talked a lot about how to have a healthy relationship with family too, with a lot of our characters struggling with this in their own ways.

This book also put a focus on friendship. Each of Elsie's friends, new and old, were bursting with personality, and I loved all of them. Then there's the juicy rivalries too, this book delved a lot into academic politics, which I found really interesting. Although this was taken comedically in places with great puns and entertaining email conversations between Elsie and her students, it was also quite serious at times too, talking about how hard it can be to be a woman in STEM and how brutal (and underpaid) a career this career in academia can be too. These themes reminded me a lot of Adam Kay's This is going to hurt, even if it is fictional in this case.

Finally, I have to talk about the representation in Love, Theoretically. Not only do we have a main character with a chronic illness (Elsie is a type one diabetic), but there's an aro-ace side character too! I don't think I've ever read a book with a diabetic main character, and I learnt a lot about pods and monitoring food intake. As a British person, I still can't get over how hard life is without free health-care, and at times seeing Elsie's struggle was heartbreaking. I have family members with type one diabetes (although they use injections rather than a pod) so reading this made me feel very grateful for the NHS, and the fact that they can get their insulin without struggle.

SUMMARY

This was my first Ali Hazelwood book but I really enjoyed it. It’s about science and academic politics, and the characters are very likeable. Plus there’s a swoon-worthy romance and the cutest of friendships too. It's a fun, emotional and engaging read. I can already see this is going to be a summer favourite for many

This book follows the same type of plot as her other books. A woman working in STEM and a man who is her superior ends up falling in love with her. Some kind of enemies to friends to lovers. Loved the banter between them and the fact that it didn't focus on the romance side of things and focused more on the characters. I don't usually these types of books so the spicy scenes were not of interest to me. It was entertaining!

Love Theoretically is the third book in the Ali Hazelwood STEMinist verse and while this book does feel similar to the first two book, Hazelwood has her winning formula & just goes with it, I didn't love it quite as much as The Love Hypothesis (Adam & Olive are my absolute faves) but I did prefer it to Love on the Brain and I think the main reason for that was the characters.

Elsie is someone I had no trouble empathising with, mainly because until a few years ago I was a notorious people pleaser, always trying to fit into the mould I thought the person would want, so I totally got her struggle when she finally meets someone who just wants her to be herself... like it's so simple. Having to constantly be the mediator between her family and her job as a 'fake dater' ensure that she is well versed in being what others want her to be, and while some of these situations certainly added a levity to the story, Hazelwood fills it with a boat load of heart and emotional moments too and I adored seeing Elsie start to, not only stand up for herself, but realise that there are people out there who will like her for her, not for who she thinks they want her to be. Her character growth is astounding through this book and so realistic because Hazelwood never makes it a quick fix, in fact she's not properly kicked the habit by the end, but she has grown so much thanks to her relationship with Jack.

Jack, barring Adam, is by far my favourite of the Hazelwood men. Once he and Elsie get over their initial distrust and misunderstandings he becomes the one person she can be herself with, mainly because he call's her out on her bullshit, not wanting the Elsie she thinks he wants, just wanting Elsie herself. He's a little gruff and maybe a bit rough around the edges, but he's also incredibly supportive of Elsie and her work. These two are both suffering from trauma in their lives, both have things from their past they might regret, but together they seem to become better versions of themselves. It was definitely hilarious seeing his reaction when he first meets Elsie in a scientific setting, imagining her to be his brothers girlfriend and librarian, and he does initially put his brother above any feelings he might have for Elsie, but once he realises what their relationship actually was, he starts to realise that he might actually be able to have Elsie for himself.

As I said before, Hazelwood has decided she has a winning formula and very rarely strays from it which is fine. Am I a little over the 3rd act break up? Maybe. But will it ever stop me from reading her books? Absolutely not. We have the drama, the tension, plenty of steam and one of the hottest sex scenes I think she's written to date, but we also have her usual deception and dickhead character who is using and abusing our MC in some way, and trust me the one in this book is bad. She also treats us to her usual cast of quirky and just completely lovable side characters that definitely sometimes steal the scenes and manage to add even more humour and drama to some of them.

The romance was... hot, but also filled with misunderstanding which definitely annoys me sometimes. There was a lot of tension and it was definitely slow burn, but I think what I loved most was seeing Elsie realise that Jack likes her for her. He makes it quite clear, in bed and out of it, that she is in charge, he wont do anything without her permission or saying she wants it and in parts that was so incredibly hot. Yes, there is the usual 3rd act, part misunderstanding/part breakup, but it was needed to allow our characters to learn certain things about themselves and the people they surround themselves with, as well as allowing them to realise their feelings for one another. But what really steals this for me isn't the romance, it's Jack pushing Elsie, sometimes a little too hard, to just be herself. It's their relationship allowing her to realise that there are people who will love her, not the persona she puts on.

Shocker, I loved it. Ali Hazelwood because an insta buy author for me with just one book, and that is something that she cements with every single one after. I powered through this book in a matter of hours and have already pre-ordered my Waterstones sprayed edge edition to match the others... I can't wait to see what Hazelwood has in store for us next.

*Arc copy in return for an honest review*

-5 stars (but I’d give it more if I could!)

So I’m a fan of Ali Hazelwood and I knew I would love this book as I love her writing style plus the usual tropes she includes. However, I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did! I think I actually love this book more than The Love Hypothesis and I really loved that book!!

The book follows Elsie, a theoretical physicist by day and a fake girlfriend to those in need on the other days! Elsie is a people pleaser, often changing her personality to suit others. All is going well, that is until she meets Jack Smith, an experimental physicist and the unnerving older brother of one of her clients. Jack seems to be the only person who can see through her carefully crafted facade. He’s also garnered fame in the scientific community for undermining the theorists as well as ruining the career of Elsie’s own mentor. Elsie dreams of a career at MIT and is shocked to discover Jack on the hiring committee. Elsie thinks Jack hates her as she does him, but his long lingering looks say different. Will they be able to put their rivalry aside to explore their growing attraction?

As a fellow people pleaser, I really connected to Elsie’s character and I found it nice to see her progression as she, with the help of Jack, explores her own wants and begins doing things that she likes for herself as opposed to the wants of others. I know Ali Hazelwood likes to create ‘quirky’ characters which sometimes ends up in annoying characters but I think Elsie is really well balanced and relatable! Jack is the typical alpha male while being very intelligent and having a soft spot for the main character much like Adam and Levi yet I feel like there was still a newness to his character. I loved his approach to Elsie and their dynamic, he’s yet another big softie we can all gush over!! They are definitely my new favourite couple!

Overall I highly recommend this book, I loved it, definitely my new favourite!

'Love, Theoretically' is another classic Ali Hazelwood to scratch that itch for cheesy rom-com literature. If you liked her other STEMnist novels, this is a good pick for you.

'Love, Theoretically' follows Elise Hannaway, a theoretical physicist, hoping to land a tenure. While Elsie hunts for a better paycheck, she makes extra cash as a fake girlfriend for hire.

Life is doing pretty okay until the older brooding brother of her favourite client is the same Jack that is her rival, an experimental physicist.

Whether you read a lot of romance or you're just starting out, Hazelwood is a very fun author to read. However, if you are looking for something new, 'Love, Theoretically' is very similar to her other works.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC copy.

If you've read any of Ali Hazelwoods books before you will already know they follow women in STEM, this one was no different.

If you're looking for a nice easy read this was it. I enjoyed the cameo from Adam and Olive and seeing her shine more light on successful determined women in an academia setting.

You can always rely on Ali for what you're going in for and this story was no different 😊

Elsie is a diabetic working in STEM struggling as an adjunct. With the hope of moving onto a new role, will her mentor support her? And will she be able to take down the man that almost ruined his career?

To help make ends meet, Elsie uses an app called Faux where men can hire her to pose as a fake girlfriend. Her favourite client, Greg, has a brother who gives her long brooding stares and is the only person that can rival her at the game Go. What’s scarier is that he is the only one that can see her true self.

When a job at MIT comes up, Elsie goes for it with the support from her mentor. Her mentors arch nemesis works there and will be interviewing her so they get the idea that this could be a way to sabotage him. But will she be able to?

Ugh I loved this book! I found the main character Elsie so loveable and her way of adopting a different Elsie depending on what each person required had me questioning if I do that too. Like all good books, I was DREADING the third act break up - I hate it when that happens when I love the characters and think they have already overcome a lot. This was my first book by Ali Hazelwood and I look forward to reading the others (they’re all now firmly on my TBR!).

Thank you NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and Ali Hazelwood for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.