Love Theoretically
Release date June 13th post about the review will come 2nd June on Instagram
5 stars
Thank you for the arc @netgalley and little brown
Where do I start with this book except, I feel seen in this book so much so I cried twice full on tears but not because of the romance because of the rep. As someone who has the same condition as Elsie I am so happy to finally read from a woman’s perspective about this condition. The rep is 1000% accurate and as someone who knows what is like the constant need to know such things is something I can relate to. I won’t say what it is as its not in the blurb but finally I felt seen. I do think this book needs to be shouted out about the rep because for so long I have been wanting to read about a woman who has what I has and not a man- the other times it has always been the man who has had it so thank you Ali for finally giving me what I have been craving.
I loved Jack he was adorable even if moody I knew the moment we met him that his looks was because he liked Elsie and the steaminess in this book is something that is unmatched in her other two books, I wonder if this was because I connect more to the character and was rooting for them a little more. It was so relatable what Elsie was going through and how she was coping with things I kept nodding my head and saying things like been there.
Am I excited for more from Ali Hazelwood? yes- would I take more from Elsie and Jack? Absolutely and I cannot wait until I am able to talk to more people about this book because I feel without a doubt it is the best one and as soon as I cried I knew the book was going to be five stars because what else could I give it?

Like the majority of bookstagram, I fell in love with Ali Hazelwood through The Love Hypothesis. Romance set to a background of STEM whilst smashing stereotypes and being some-what educational yet not confusing is a tough task, but Hazelwood manages it perfectly.

Love Theoretically has loveable yet flawed characters who develop throughout the story. The tropes (fake-boyfriend's brother, enemies-to-lovers, academic rivals ...and more) are all top tier and the book makes for a nice, easy read. The spice was there, but not to the point of it overriding the underlying narrative. For me, this book is very similar to TLH, but I'm always down to fall in love with new characters!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an E-book in exchange for an honest review.

Right so let’s talk about it.

This is not the worst piece of writing Ali Hazelwood has ever written. Trust me, she’s written A LOT worse. However, this is probably the most disappointing. What started off as a very interesting premise with actually interesting characters ended up falling into the usual “big man small virginal woman” narrative that she loves so much. And I can’t for the life of me understand why.

Elsie is a character that needs to learn to stand up for herself, advocate for herself. And Hazelwood delves into her family background to help us understand where it all came from. But she does nothing with it. There is no “development” for her character until the 92% mark (not joking).

The love interest is less a romantic partner and more so a life coach/therapist (the mc should just go to therapy bc she’s got a lot going on).

The aroace rep was fine as was the diabetes rep. She touched on the realities of not being able to access affordable healthcare and what that means as a chronically ill person.

Quick bullet points of what didn’t work for me:

* massive miscommunication
* two adults that are obviously attracted to each other but act like petty children
* reylo references (barf)
* a bunch of white people in academia
* they use this type of technology which is constantly referred to as the iTwat which was jarring . i need everyone involved to be serious.


it’s probably a 2.5 but i’ll round it up to be nice

I was thrilled to have been able to read and review an ARC copy of Love, Theoretically, one of my most anticipated romance reads of 2023. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype I had built for this too - thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for allowing me the opportunity to do so!

Hazelwood is known for her fantastic STEM/academia-inspired romcoms with strong female protagonists and broody, attractive love interests. Love, Theoretically is no different so Ali Hazelwood fans are bound to enjoy this.

Elsie is a theoretical physicist and an adjunct professor desperately hoping to stop teaching and start being herself. Used to adapting her personality to meet the needs of whoever she is talking to, Elsie has become a master at people pleasing and not being herself. When the opportunity arises for her to land tenure and stop struggling to pay rent, Elsie is determined to prove herself. However, there is one particular brooding person that seems to be in the way of her achieving her dreams.

This book felt like more of a slow burn than Love on the Brain and The Love Hypothesis and personally, I preferred this. There seemed to be more STEM background and I could feel myself being dragged into STEM politics and rooting for Elsie's success. Ali Hazelwood's books are always so easy to be drawn into with sizzling chemistry and quick wit.

If you love easy romcom reads and the enemies-to-lovers trope, you will not want to miss Love, Theoretically!

Ali Hazelwood does it again, third one I've read of hers that's 4 stars! This one was closer to 4.5 to be honest as I would say out of the three it's the best one. I threw through this within 2 evenings and loved every minute of it. Yes she has once again written about a rather large male character with a smaller female one but she does it well! Both characters have complicated pasts and even presents during this story and it was nice to see some diabetes rep in this one too and if you like any of this authors work I recommend picking this one up!

Elsie is a people pleaser and young physics lecturer interviewing for a dream theoretical physics job at MIT. During the interview she bumps into Jack, the brother of a man she’s been fake dating and the lie could escape… Enemies to lovers trope done brilliantly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The story of Elsie, the people pleaser, is something that resonates with me quite a lot. We all have this idea that we need to change ourselves to fit in sometimes, she just does it more often. Along comes Jack who calls her out on everything and a clear romance starts blossoming very early on.
The book was the perfect mix between romance and insecurity, along with an academic twist to make it slightly different to the usual meet cute books.
I would have liked more at the end, a bit more about them as a couple but other than that the book is a definite yes from me.

I am a big fan of Ali Hazelwood’s other works, and this was no different. As usual I fell in love with this story and its characters. I loved the focus on communication and honesty between Jack and Elsie, I think it’s a much fresher approach than the typical miscommunication trope that is often relied upon to cause tension. I also love that Ali often uses ace/aro characters, I love that we are finally getting to see little glimpses of this representation. My only criticism is that I felt the ending was a little abrupt, I wish we’d gotten a little more of a glimpse into Jack and Elsie’s future.

I was very excited to read an Arc of Love, Theoretically. I really enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's previous books and this latest story had the same witty dialogue and loveable, slightly awkward characters. I always enjoy the wit and creativity that goes into Hazelwood's writing, and Elsie was great fun to read, particularly in her interactions with her friend, though she did have a habit of getting flustered a lot though given her experience talking to men in various different social situations through her fake dating job I didn't quite understand her naivety, Of all Ali's male main characters I had a little more trouble warming to Jack, I didn't quite enjoy the patronising undertone of their relationship, whereby he seemed to be constantly undermining her words from a vey early stage, despite not really knowing her at all in the beginning. As an example, the first sex scene in his apartment felt like Jack was pushing her into a situation that she was uncomfortable with, and then ignoring her words when she told him she wanted them to sleet together like she wasn't smart enough to know her own mind or make her own choices, I really wanted Elsie to use her words to put him in his place and point out the hypocrisy of his actions, and though she did a little, it wasn't quite enough, and didn't get through to him at all. For that reason it wasn't my favourite of her stories, but having said all of that I still enjoyed it and would definitely recommend to friends who I know also enjoy comedic romances.

In future books:
In future stories it would be great to see the female main character in a position of authority rather than the man again, and to explore the dynamics that would come from that.
It would also be great for the ending to be drawn out a little more; so far Ali's books tend to finish almost immediately after the tension/conflict has found some sort of resolution, whether that is accepting a job, or making up after a fight, and it would be great to be able to see more of what comes after those decisions are made.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of cheesy easy going romcoms and have enjoyed all of Ali Hazelwoods previous books and this one did not let me down either.

This book focuses on physicist Elsie as she tries to land her dream job at MIT. However one of the interview panel is her sworn academic enemy and the brother of her fake boyfriend. All of which makes for lots of fun romcom tropes and drama!

As with other Ali Hazelwoods books I love to see the women in STEM representation and academic setting. This book follows the same formula as her previous books and the result is a fun, entertaining romcom with interesting characters and some witty banter.

Yesssssss. When I saw this was available to request, I didn’t even hesitate. I thoroughly enjoy Hazelwood’s work. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s amusing, and so easy to read and some good smut through it, too.

<I>Love Theoretically</I> delivers in spades. I had so much fun reading this. I enjoyed the characters, had a few good, laugh out loud moments, and thought the situations came together well. No, there weren’t any major twists or anything like that, but that’s not what these books are about.

Well worth it, and I cannot wait for more from Hazelwood, she’s a great romcom writer, and I really like that her books have characters that are in science, makes it a bit different from the regular tropes.

This is the second of Ali Hazelwood's novels that I have read, and I enjoyed it just as much as The Love Hypothesis. Was it predictable? Yes. Did I love it anyway? Yes. Easy, entertaining romance with great characters and an interesting academic setting.

Love theoretically was yet another completely enjoyable read by Ali Hazelwood. If you enjoy slow burn romances this is the ONE. I almost thought I was going crazy halfway through. But when the time finally came I loved Elsie and Jack together, they had real chemistry and Hazelwood truly managed to convey that.

This is also definitely the most academically political book she’s written thus far, with a lot more stem politics talk in the beginning although this dies down toward the end as the romance becomes more apparent. Love on the Brain will forever be my favourite from Ali, however this is a strong contender to Love Hypothesis in my opinion! It really feels like the author has taken on the critique of readers and put it into her writing. I also found Elsie truly relatable, I loved her as a protagonist despite the occasional over-explanation of why she was SO small in comparison to Jack (I think we all have to accept that this is part of every book now).

The ending for me could’ve done with a little more, it was short and sweet but I wish we’d had a little epilogue or something at the end to fully show & flesh out Elsie’s development! Other than that it was a super enjoyable read and i’ll be picking up anything else Ali Hazelwood writes as per usual🤍

Absolutely yes yes yes! Ali can do no wrong! I absolutely adored this one. I cannot write about it too much or I'll end up giving spoilers. But YES you need to read!

I have all the feels and I bloody love it. Ali Hazelwood is just so damn good. I adored this Elsie was so adorable in her little messed up self and Jack was a sweetheart. Loved all the characters and the plot was just perfection. Fabulous. And could quite possibly be my fave.

When Love Theoretically became available for request on NetGalley, my Twitter feed was awash with excitement. Naturally, I joined the masses.

Between me and you - I purposely requested no other books so I could sit comfortably at the desired 80% mark awaiting approval.

Elsie is fed up of earning very little, rationing her insulin and dealing with paper extension requests from her students - she's being championed for a position with MIT but her two worlds are about to collide. Whilst working on the side as a Date-For-Hire, in walks Jack, the brother of one of her Fake Boyfriends.

Elsie has to navigate the interview process under the tutelage of her mentor whilst also managing to keep up the charade of the fake relationship.

Focussing much more on the politics of academia; if your main challenge with Hazelwoods books have been the science element - this is going to be right up your street.

Yes, Love Theoretically does follow the tried and tested formula for this series of incredible STEMinist books but don't let that discourage you. This is great addition and we even get a visit from Adam and Olive from The Love Hypothesis to tie the books in together.

I seem to be unable to dislike anything Ali Hazelwood writes. I was a bit sceptical about Love, Theoretically at first - the premise of immensely talented female researcher falling for grumpy/misunderstood scientific archenemy is starting to get a bit old. Nevertheless, the chemistry between the characters is unreal and Ali manages to write in a way that is laugh-out-loud funny (and occasionally incredibly steamy), so I was little surprised when I finished this book in less than 24 hours. I also appreciate the realistic portrayal of academia - as a fellow PhD graduate in science (albeit significantly less brilliant or successful than our hero Elsie) I recognised and sympathised with many of the struggles our characters experienced. Overall, yet another solid science romcom by Ali Hazelwood that I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review.

This book surprised me! I enjoyed it more than I expected to, given my experience of the Love Hypothesis, which fell a little flat for me…

But Love, Theoretically was funny, full of banter and chemistry between the main characters. I enjoyed the side characters of this book a lot too - Millicent most of all, she cracked me up. The pacing overall did feel a little too quick, their relationship changed lanes very, very quickly. But overall I enjoyed it. One aspect I admired was the representation of Elsie’s diabetes - I thought it was a meaningful part of her character without becoming the only thing the author/characters focused on, which is a glance not everyone pulls off!

Review will be posted to goodreads and storygraph 1st week of june

Wow I loved this one! I have loved everything that Ali Hazelwood has written and was so excited to read this. Elsie endeared herself to me from the off and I really felt for her struggles and challenges, particularly with her views of herself and how people might feel about her if she was honest with them.

From the first time we met Jack, I was so excited to see where the story went. Jack was absolutely dreamy and I loved how sweet, caring and protective he was! He was a delight and I loved seeing his relationship with his family too. Him and Elsie had such chemistry and this shone through, particularly in the steamy scenes!

I loved how the plot developed throughout the book and the ending was so perfect! Just a pure delight to read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown book group for this E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've read every Ali Hazelwood book that's been released so far and I have to say, I really wish she would switch it up somewhat when it comes to the male lead. Every single one is big and larger than average, in several different ways, if you get what I mean.
I did like it but I just feel like Hazelwood has found a formula for success that she isn't willing to deviate from even in the slightest, which makes you ask why you would essentially want to read the exact same book three times.
I also found the amount of physics/academic jargon in this one off putting. I completely get why it needs to be mentioned but to the amount and detail that it is, won't work for the majority of those reading it.
I did like seeing Elsie begin to show who she really was instead of the version that others would most like her to be. And there were some cute moments between her and Jack.
But having Jack admit to having romantic feelings for her from pretty much the get go, then have her not be interested in the slightest, then her starting to like him but him then saying that he would never sleep with her, was not really the romantic arc that I was looking for. It just felt frustrating to read and created a super slow burn that wasn't really necessary.
The fake dating agency storyline was actually an interesting one that I would have liked to see explored more as that was something different but it just ends up a STEM romance between a quirky female lead and a grumpy huge male who is higher up than the female in their workplace.
I also hated the 'miscommunication' between the two leads near the end.
I'm maybe being a bit over generous giving this 4 stars instead of something lower but I did still enjoy reading it and can only hope that Hazelwood will switch it up in her next book.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.