"Love Theoretically" is a steamy romance novel that delves into the complexities of love and relationships. The book is filled with passionate interactions between the two main characters, and the plot is filled with twists and turns. Hazelwood’s writing is descriptive and evocative, making it easy for readers to become fully immersed in the story. In this book, they add more character depth than ever before, by delving into past trauma and helps the characters find ways to heal. If you're looking for a steamy, engaging read, this is definitely a book to check out.

This is Ali Hazelwood best book yet!! I could not put it down and didn't sleep until I had finished it. The enemies to lovers was a consistent slow burn and our male lead was vulnerable at all the right moments, Jack is the perfect man and my only small niggle with it was when Elsie just doesn't seem to absorb what Jack is telling her about how feels.
The unfairness of the recruitment and the struggles for Elsie add a depth to this story that doesn't come across and patronising nor being a political statement but certainly puts the point across about how in this context so much more needs to be done for equality, it just gently weaves its way through subconsciously.
If Love Theoretically is the theory, then I as the reader deam myself the experimentalist and prove this is an all out success, 5 stars!

Firstly, I'm absolutely thrilled to have been able to read this eARC, so thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book.

This is Ali Hazelwood at her finest, and I'd go as far as saying I loved this more than the Love Hypothesis, definitely more than the novellas. I barely put it down.
The characters of Elsie and Jack were likeable and believeable, and I loved the slow burn enemies to lovers in this book. The chemistry between the two was sizzling.
I found Elsie to be so relatable. I feel like at times we are all a bit Elsie, changing ourselves to fit a certain situation to people please. Jack is my favourite male lead of Hazelwoods that I've read by far. Broody, big, intimidating, but caring and kind too. I loved the way he immediately saw the real Elsie.
The supporting characters were brilliant too, I especially liked Greg and Millicent and would have liked a bit more from them.
My only slight gripe with Ali Hazelwoods books is the pattern of the women in them all been sexually inexperienced. For me this is starting to feel a bit repetitive.

Review to be published on Instagram and goodreads on 30.05.23

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy!

I want to start off by saying I absolutely adored The Love Hypothesis, it was a 5⭐️ read for me and one of my all time favourites!

But this one fell so short for me. It felt like the exact same as the last two books which is disappointment because I really wanted to love it. But it felt like the same plot, the same sort of characters and unfortunately the writing just feels like it’s gone downhill since The Love Hypothesis - it felt pretty chaotic to me.

The conflict felt so manufactured, a normal conversation between the two characters would have easily resolved the issue but instead it was amplified to the extent that it just didn’t make sense and felt SO over the top!

That being said, there were still enjoyable parts to this story. I liked Elsie and the diabetic representation was good and I appreciated this element of the book.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me but I still appreciate the ARC, thank you Little Brown!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC and opportunity to read and review this book!

After finding TLH just okay, and being disappointed with LOTB, I have to say Love Theoretically is hands down my favourite Hazelwood novel to date.

Our lead, Elsie, is someone lots of people are going to relate to with her crippling need to please and her tendencies to change how she presents herself depending on who she is with. I found her so charming, and her development by the end of the book is stellar.

And of course our love interest, Jack, in typical Hazelwood fashion is the most humongous man Elsie has ever set eyes on – as well as her most prominent academic rival. Though despite the unavoidable cliches of a Hazelwood man – large, broody, and intimidating – Jack is by far my favourite of Hazelwood’s love interests. He is so attentive to Elsie, and the two actually have good communication throughout the novel.

The plot is also super solid, as we mainly focus on Elsie and her trials and struggles in academia. I really felt for her at times.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and am definitely going to recommend this! My only major problems were some of the humour/references being a tad too quirky; and despite Elsie being described as ‘medium’ at one point, there are wayy too many mentions of her and Jack’s size difference for my taste.

Although, bonus points for the various cameos.

I absolutely loved this book! I don't think I'll ever be able to not love an Ali Hazelwood book, because women in STEM in romance novels is exactly the representation I love to see! That being said, this might've just been the best of the author's books. I loved that though there was a hint of miscommunication, it was handled much better than before and Elsie didn't seem too oblivious to Jack's feelings - though whenever she seemed to be it made me want to shake her a bit. I mean come on! A man like that isn't something to pass up on! This book was also super spicy, which I very much appreciated and the way the smut was written was 10/10 perfection! The consent and love and caring... I can't. I love it! Overall I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait for the next Ali Hazelwood book! It cannot come soon enough!

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for this eARC.

I will read anything that Ali Hazelwood writes, and this book deserves the hype.

From the moment that we see Jack and Elsie together I was so intrigued by them. The twists and turns that we see them take kept me on the edge of my seat and just wanting to see more of them. Elsie and Jack have perfect chemistry, and a perfect amount of drama to go with it for the story. You can always count on Ali Hazelwood to write an incredible guy falls first trope.

As someone who has very little knowledge of the kind of science that is going on in this book, I love the academic settings, and how we got to see a little more of the political side of academia in this book.

This book had a perfect mix of comedy, drama and an enchanting romance. I would recommend, wholeheartedly.

P.S. Thank you for the Adam and Olive cameo. I missed them.

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

“I’m right here. With you.”

I was lucky enough to get an arc of Love Theoretically and to be honest, after absolutely hating Love On The Brain I had very low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised.

I honestly felt like Ali Hazelwood took all of the critiques I personally had about her other two books and said “bet” because the only thing I didn’t enjoy in this book was a couple of cringey references and wordings but other than that this book was so solid

Elsie was a really great main character I related to her a lot, I liked all of her flaws and enjoyed her character arc a lot. Now, Jack was perfect. He was the right amount of dickhead mixed with sass and stoic-ness that just amounted to a really enjoyable character.

The plot was super engaging and nothing crazy happened (I’m looking at you cat from love on the brain) but it was sweet and interesting. The banter between the characters was also just amazing.

Overall, I would like to thank Hazelwood for changing up her writing style I’m looking forward to what she does next

First of all, just want to say a huge thank you to Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for sending me this ARC.

I'm honestly in a state of pure bliss after reading this. This book was everything I had hoped for and more. Elsie is such a relatable character and her development throughout the book was amazing. Jack is the most considerate, loving and caring person ever. Their dynamic throughout the book was marvellous and everything about them left me feeling warm inside.

I know it's a big claim, but this is hands down my favourite Ali Hazelwood book. Jack Smith? My favourite fictional man. He honestly puts real men to shame. He is such a warm and kind soul and the way he cares for Elsie is truly unmatched.

I can't wait for the rest of the world to experience this book like I have. I really hope they fall head over heels in love with it as well.

Elsie is a theoretical physicist, one year post-grad she is barely scraping by as an adjunct professor teaching multiple classes in three separate colleges. Even then to afford the rent on her crummy apartment she has to work as a fake date for sad losers. Elsie is particularly good at being a fake girlfriend because she has spent her entire life being what other people want her to be, agreeing with their opinions, hiding her own views for fear of being rejected. The only one of Elsie's clients that she actually likes is Greg Smith, although his older brother Jack seems to heartily dislike her. Elsie has broken her one date rule for Greg because the rest of his family is so obnoxious, and she told them she was a librarian.

She blames this sorry state of affairs on Jonathon Smith-Turner, an Experimentalist physicist who wrote a pseudo-paper on theoretical physics which was published in the Annals of Theoretical Physics journal which made theoretical physicists, and Elsie's mentor Dr Laurendeau especially, a laughing stock.

When a tenure position comes up at MIT Elsie is beyond excited, a chance for a job with a decent salary, no teaching, and best of all full health insurance to cover her Type 1 diabetes insulin. But it seems like the physics department at MIT is equally divided between theoretical and experimental physicists. But when Elsie meets the physics department for dinner as part of her interview process she makes a terrible discovery. Jonathon Smith-Turner is no other than Jack Smith, Greg's older brother. Even worse? He sees straight through Elsie's people-pleasing ways, and he thinks she's some kind of scam artist. Elsie hates Jack so much for what he did to her beloved theoretical physics that she feels no desire to hide her true self from him, with him she lets rip and she's not giving up this job without a fight.

I'm afraid this has all the Ali Hazlewood clichés, Elsie's a tiny girl, Jack is huge (she thinks he's some kind of lumberjack when she first sees him, but then thinks he's a PE teacher), Elsie likes to reference nerdy science stuff, she can't believe that Jack likes her, even when he explicitly states it, etc. But I don't care. This really worked for me, I loved the snark and the weird flatmate, the nerdy science talk and Jack was such a sweetie. I'm so glad I requested this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

thankyou to Netgalley for providing the arc.

unfortunately this just didn't give what it was supposed to. its such a slow burner, like I like slow but this was slloooooow. the love hypothesis was fantastic, love on the brain was okay but this just felt so samey to me. the same MMC, super tall, grumpy, muscley and the same MFC, short, always unsure of her decisions, constantly getting embarrassed etc.

I love Ali's writing, don't get me wrong but like, we've seen the same plot and character in her previous books and novellas. I appreciated the diabetic representation, but yeah a shame tbh, I wanted to like it. thankyou to Netgalley for providing the arc.

unfortunately this just didn't give what it was supposed to. its such a slow burner, like I like slow but this was slloooooow. the love hypothesis was fantastic, love on the brain was okay but this just felt so samey to me. the same MMC, super tall, grumpy, muscley and the same MFC, short, always unsure of her decisions, constantly getting embarrassed etc.

I love Ali's writing, don't get me wrong but like, we've seen the same plot and character in her previous books and novellas. I appreciated the diabetic representation, but yeah a shame tbh, I wanted to like it.

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she's an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Ali Hazelwood is the best. I mean it. The only thing wrong about is book is the fact it is now out yet which means I need to wait for another one for a while.
Reading her books is like floating on your back (well, if you like water that is). Relaxing. Cosy.
F... I freaking loved it. Loved Elsie, loved Jack.

Loved their weird, beautiful story.

A soft 3.5.

This one had the potential to be better than TLH but the conflict felt so manufactured. A rational conversation between the two characters would have easily resolved the issue but instead it was amplified to the extent that it didn’t make sense.

That being said, there were enjoyable parts to this story. I liked Elsie and I also quite liked Jack. I liked that the fact Elsie was also diabetic. As someone who has a close family member who is diabetic, I valued the representation. I enjoyed the general pacing too. The start and ending were pretty poor but the middle part of the book is what made me like it.

Overall, some hits and misses. Better than the second book, not as good as the first one.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc. Review to come on my channel.

I have read Love on the Brain, The Love Hypothesis and the STEM novellas by Ali Hazelwood, so I was sure I knew what I was going to get with Love, Theoretically. However, I was wrong.

Sure, this had the classic and very Hazelwood 'enemies to lovers' trope that has been used in her previous works, but I found on this occasion that the back story had more to it than I expected.

Elsie lacks confidence in her abilities, but that's not because she lacks them, it's because the person she is meant to trust to build her up and have faith in her abilities seems to revel in the power he has over her. Of course, she can't see this, but it's apparent from the first interaction they have that he loves to be in control and will do anything to ensure that's the way it stays.

Then of course there's Jack. From the moment we're introduced it's obvious there is something there, but initially, it feels as though it's a case of 100% dislike on both sides. Elsie has a secret to hide from the Smith family, that she's not exactly who she says she is. Of course, she's not the only one who's sort of hiding their identity, though in the case of Jack Smith it's due to a misunderstanding and an incomplete sentence!

This was by far my favourite of Hazelwood's three novels. Does it depend on the enemies-to-lovers trope? Yes. Is there a misunderstanding that leads to more moments where the main characters need their heads banged together? Yes. However, it feels as though there is no longer the need to depend entirely on the tried and true. Readers who are expecting a Love Hypothesis 3 will get it to a degree, but they will be pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns that give both characters a little more depth, thus making them more interesting and definitely different.

I read this book in less than an afternoon and enjoyed it. I liked the characters of Jack and Elsie, I enjoyed the side characters, George, CeCe and Greg (Jack's younger brother). The introduction of Elsie's twin older brothers and her mother as side characters who are voices on the end of a phone showed us that the characteristics that led people to walk all over her were bred into her by parents who seemed to thrive on making her feel as though she owed them because her pancreas had decided to fail at an early age. Yes, our leading lady is a Type-1 Diabetic!

Communication between Jack and Elsie is something that I love. There are misunderstandings, to begin with, there is no denying that, but the moment he starts to make an effort and she lets him, their communication is great. The misunderstandings have to happen in order for them to reach this moment of pure light (as it were).

As I have said before, my favourite of Ali Hazelwood's STEM novels, because, despite being the whole enemies-to-lovers story that she has made her name with, it doesn't rely on that for the whole story.

(Thanks NetGalley for the ARC Copy in exchange for a review)

Woow.. Ali, you did it again girl! At this point I know I'll read anything that has your name in it, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G

She just creates magic, that's it, that's the word: Magic, the complicity between the characters and the love story is chef kiss but we already knew that it would be.

What surprised me was the issues that where treated. I felt so connected to Elsie, and I know that lots of people will once the novel is published. This book literally enlighten me, and made me want to be just me, the real ME, with all my flaws and stop trying to be the me version that the rest of the world wanted me to be.

Is a beautiful story, but the message behind it is even more beautiful and powerful.

So for that I just can thank you enough Ali.

Thank you

Full review to be posted on Goodreads & Storygraph on

I think Love, Theoretically might have beaten The Love Hypothesis to top spot of Ali’s books!

I was somewhat skeptical going into this as I found myself very disappointed with Love on the Brain & Loathe to Love You, but LT is OG Ali in the best way. The fun sparkly prose is back, the academic rivalry is not overdone, the banter is lovely & you can’t go wrong with a nerdy pun, this book made me fall back in love with Ali & instantly made me want to go back & read TLH again.

Jack is probably my favourite of Ali’s leading men, like no flaws, he is a beautiful specimen of a (fictional) man. Elsie is the usual tiny quirky manic pixie girl you get from Ali, but I saw a lot of myself in her this time with the people pleasing aspects of her personality.

I enjoyed the rivalry between Jack & Elsie, it felt somewhat natural & the communication between the 2 characters was stellar. No terrible miscommunication trope at the 80% mark (my biggest pet peeve in romance) which I thought there might be & then a wonderful resolution to the story.

So why 4-4.5 stars instead of 5? Because I just want more from Ali! This is the 6th story that is enemies to lovers (which is my favourite trope) involving a giant of a man & a teeny-tiny woman (at one point his hands can circle her whole waist…). I would love to see a tall girl or a short king or a curvy girl or just something else! Love, Theoretically proves that Ali isn’t a one trick pony & with that I hope she branches out in the near future to explore!

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK/Sphere and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

As a big fan of the Love Hypothesis, I was let down by Love on the Brain and the trilogy of novellas. It felt like I was reading the same book over and over and the stereotypes were getting more and more laughable.

I have to tip my hat to the author who obviously had a skim through the critical reviews of her previous releases because Love Theoretically felt like a big step up from the last four stories we've gotten from Hazelwood.

Elsie is a lovely character and I enjoy that, unlike its predecessors, she isn't marinated in nuance. She isn't "quirky" "not like the other girls" "tiny waist and big boobs and bum" scientist-cum-girlnextdoor. In fact the only time I remember reading anything about Elsie's appearance in this book was that she was "average, average, average". But it makes it more relatable when Jack tells her she's gorgeous. People don't have to be textbook magazine-cover beautiful for someone else to find them so. And this book alluded to that a lot more.
I also enjoyed the plot a lot. Hazelwood herself says in her authors note/acknowledgements that this book is a lot more academically minded than her previous publications. I found this book was moreso about Elsie's trials and tribulations in academia and finding a tenure-track position in a world that is prejudiced against you. The romantic plot was more of a secondary story arc. But it was endearing, it was interesting and it actually fed into the relationship between the two.
The enemies-to-lovers is obviously Hazelwood's chosen trope, but this time round the relationship had a lot more context and felt more natural and free-flowing.

I'm going to be honest, when I started this book I went into it with my expectations on the floor but what I got was a charming and interesting novel about academia with an endearing love story that comes full circle.

This is STEM romance at it's very finest. I would happily thrust this book into the hands of anyone wanting an escapist romance read with strong female characters, swoon worthy heros & a delightful plot. Ali Hazelwood is an auto-buy author for us now.

This book is everything! Ali’s quirky, funny style, a chaotic heroine you can’t help but fall for, a brooding, stoic, closed-off hero of utter gorgeousness who is tender and secretly pining. I loved the setup and scenario, the banter and sexual tension is off the charts, and it’s just unendingly, unputdownably joyful. Do you get the impression I loved it? I did. A lot. Ali’s best book yet in my opinion. I adore Elsie and Jack. .