Elsie has a rubbish job in physics which barely pays her bills so she ‘fake girlfriends’ on the side. Typically, the two worlds have never collided, until she is interviewing for potentially her dream job, and the brother of one of her clients recognises her.

I loved The Love Hypothesis, but then the Novellas didn’t hit the mark for me and I actually haven’t gotten round to Love on the Brain yet, so I wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy this one. However, I loved it. It was the perfect Enemies to Lovers trope. And Elsie was a great main character!

Elsie meets Jack as the older brother of the man she is fake dating, then meets him again as the person with the power over her career. With everything seemingly stacked against them do they have a chance at being together or will the past ruin their future?
A great read, looking forward to the other books in this series.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group, for letting me read Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, the following review is my own opinion.

Delving into romances for the first time, I had high expectations for the works of Ali Hazelwood, as she is recommended by so many fans of the genre. And honestly, Love Theoretically did not disappoint.

Not only was this story filled with fake-dating and adversaries to lovers tropes, and diabetes and LGBTQ+ representation. But it was also packed full of STEM jokes and facts that I loved and appreciated as a woman in STEM myself.

I connected with the main character Elsie, who we discover, has a habit of moulding her personality to what she believe people want her to be. It's not until she meets her adversary, or the enemy of her career, does she start to feel like she can be honest with how she feels.

As the reader, not only do you feel for Elsie, in her struggles to conform to the social norms set by those around her, you also feel for the determination and goals she sets at the beginning of the story, and the trials she has to undertake.

Ali Hazelwood really created a beautiful, yet informative, tale on the struggles of fitting in, accepting yourself, job and financial security, and unexpectedly, health insurance. Whilst also details the academic rivalries and struggles that occur on a day to day basis in STEM, especially to women.

I will definitely be following up with the rest of Ali Hazelwoods works.

If you read one Ali Hazelwood book you've read them all, and this was extremely formulaic. But I enjoyed the smut here a lot more than Love on the Brain, or The Love Hypothesis.

I also enjoyed that there wasn't really a third act breakup to speak of here.

This might be my favourite Ali Hazelwood book. I get why a lot of people say that her books are basically all the same but with different flavours, but by all means, give me more of them. I'm not sure what she hides in between those words, but these women in STEM stories just hit different. Elsie is great and clever and whitty and Jack is a hunk of a man (you'll be glad to know that, even though it is mentioned that Jack is big, it's definitely not as many times as Adam is, in The Love Hypothesis). Speaking of Adam, loved his and Olive's cameo in this book. In case you haven't figured it out, I really REALLY enjoyed this book and I think everyone should read it and I want more of them. Please and Thank you!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of STEM-themed romances – it’s about time us science geeks had our time! And this is the best I’ve read so far. Loved all the physics references, and all the trials and tribulations of academia – almost felt like sitting in a university common room listening to all the gossip at times. As usual, despite the obvious tropes running through the book, underlying it all is a real sense of compassion for the characters and their struggles, both in their personal life and careers, and for how difficult it can be to find peace and happiness in both.

Firstly I want to say a HUGE thank you to @berkleyromance , @netgalley & @alihazelwood for all trusting me with a copy of this arc! I was brand new to Netgalley when I got this approval and I squealed SO hard!

I'll be completely honest - I haven't read the first two (The Love Hypothesis & Love on the Brain) so I really was going in blind to this. I'd seen such amazing reviews for the previous two that I just knew I was gonna love this.

And LOVE it I did! It was funny, entertaining, heartwarming and pantie-tingling (sorry Mum if you read this!)

Elsie Hannaway, theoretical physicist is our female main character - she's smart as hell, witty and downright adorable. It broke my heart watching her mould herself into whoever she felt she needed to be to be accepted by those around her. She was a chameleon. Although she didn't realise how much it bothered her until she met James..

James, the experimental physicist, is the teddy bear we all love. After accidentally causing a major rift between experimental & theoretical physicists, Elsie despises him for making her profession a laughing stock. What she doesn't expect is for him to see right through her facade - she doesn't know who or how to be around him.

And he doesn't want Elsie to be anyone but herself.

Honestly, it was a wonderful read and I will certainly pick up the other 2 books now. I loved Ali's writing style, it flowed so well. It was maybe a little bit too smart for me in some places, I didn't get the jokes - and the ones I did understand I'm crediting to The Big Bang Theory 😂 but apart from that bloody brilliant.

Definitely read if you enjoy -

• Enemies to lovers
• Work place romance
• Golden retriever energy
• Found family
• Spicy spice
• Millionaire (sorta/kinda)

Once again, thank you so much for the arc of this book, I really do feel honoured 💕

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for this ARC.

The shriek of pure joy that I let out when I saw the ARC approval e-mail in my inbox for Love, Theoretically was something truly embarrassing. Since devouring The Love Hypothesis in one sitting last year (I've read it a second time since then) and getting my greedy little paws on anything written by Ali Hazelwood since then, I have been desperate to read her latest offering... so I think you can kind of understand the shriek.

I think Love, Theoretically may possibly be my favourite of Hazelwood's books so far. I thought nobody could beat Adam for that place in my heart but Jack has stolen his crown! I don't know how she does it but she manages to not only make me understand Science (not an easy feat) but also makes it sexy...without it being cringe.

Elsie is an absolute people pleaser, to the detriment of her own needs and identity, something I wish I could say I couldn't relate to but sadly I'm all too familiar. It was empowering to watch Elsie learn to say no and to advocate for herself, and don't we all wish we had a Jack to help us do that!

Did I know what was going to happen before I went into this book? Mostly. But did that stop me from wanting to read this book? Absolutely not. I knew exactly what I wanted and Ali Hazelwood absolutely delivered! Another 5 star read and I cant wait to read more!

I feel this book has the successful parts of both her previous books but turned it up a notch in this book. And the result is delightful. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are so likeable and feel Elsie definately goes on a journey of self discovery and there's something so relatable about her. It's a fab read. I can't wait for it to join the other Ali Hazlewood books on my shelf. Also loved all the twilight references. Was so nostalgic.

I will forever have a love/ hate relationship with Ali Hazelwood. This is probably her best book yet in my opinion. Not only did she get the dyanamic between Elsie and Jack spot on, but the narrative, and the story was well paced and just the perfect fun, summer read. Loved it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for this ARC! I feel like I’m in the minority here because everyone seems to love this one!

This is a contemporary romance following Elsie, a theoretical physicist who is stuck being a adjunct professor by day and a fake girlfriend by night. She prides herself on being a people pleaser and being able to whittle herself down to whatever people want her to be. When she interviews for a job at MIT it turns out that the person standing between her and her dream job is her arch-nemesis (and also the brother of her favourite fake dating client) Jack Smith who wrote an article seventeen years before that ruined her mentors career and undermined the reputation of theorists. She’s prepared to go to war for her dream job but then she finds herself having feelings for him and things get complicated.

I really appreciate what Ali Hazelwood is doing with her novels. She’s bringing attention to women in STEM and the discrimination and trials and tribulations women who want to pursue a career in STEM face. This book mainly focused on the academic side of this and I appreciate that a lot of women will feel seen when reading this. I personally related to the people pleaser part of Elsie’s character and that need to be the person everyone wants you to be so that everyone likes you and God forbid someone doesn’t.

My problem is that this was the ONLY character trait Elsie’s character has apart from loving cheese. Also I really hate that this book is being called “feminist” when Elsie only learns to be honest and be who she wants to be because a man prompts her to and not because she’s realised this on her own. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between her and Jack at all and the pacing was all off. I honestly felt bored for most of this and missed a lot of the science and academic aspects of the other books. The third act conflict was so ridiculous and manufactured and made NO SENSE.

So yeah this was kind of a disappointing one for me although I did enjoy the cameos of characters from the previous two books. I still recommend this, especially if you are an Ali Hazelwood fan and the community in general seems to be LOVING this but I just couldn’t. Release date: 13th June 2023

I love all of Ali's books, this is probably my least fave but still an easy 5 star read and appreciate that the characters in this one are completely different! It still follows a similar plot but if it isn't broken...why change? Elsie and Jack are a great - I related a lot to Elsie's chameleon personality where she adapts to please the people around her. The physics politics was interesting as well. I think I'll be here picking up Ali's science romances for as long as she writes them, they bring me so much happiness.

First off, this isn't a standard "fake dating" book. Elsie fake dates people as part of a service as she's broke and needs the income to make ends meet. At no point does she fake-date Jack and the "twist" that's not really a twist is that Jack's brother is one of her fake dating clients... That's why I dislike calling this book fake-dating as it's really not.

Apart from the "fake dating" marketing, this book is another Ali Hazelwood winner for me! She seriously doesn't seem capable of writing a book that doesn't chime with me.
The characters are well written, the relationship is awesome, the humour throughout the book is spot on and the drama is pretty minimal.
They are the perfect brain-soothing, soul hugging, novel a gal needs when the world is kicking her in the face.

A criticism I often see levelled at the author is that everything in her books is too "samey" and while I can see where people are coming from, I don't care. Not one little bit.
However, with Love, Theoretically I don't think the characters/plot is "samey" at all. It focuses on the more political aspects of STEM academia and that's quite different to her other books.
Elsie is different from Bee (Love on the Brain) and Olive (The Love Hypothesis) with the only similarity being her obliviousness to the guy right in front of her! And even on that point, she's nowhere near as clueless as Olive and Bee were.
Jack is a big, bulky, well rounded guy much like Levi (Love on the Brain) and Adam (The Love Hypothesis) but that's where his similarities end. He's more argumentative, his past is sluttier, he goes after what he wants (aka Elsie) and doesn't hide it. (Oh, and he has tattoos which... Yeah. They tick my boxes!)
It was a new dynamic that still held all the magic and tension of the other books.

All that's left to say is I really hope the next book from Hazelwood (after her NA entry later this year) focuses on Elsie's roommate Cece and the mysterious Kirk! I mean... He's STEM. It would fit the theme... But he's also rich from science (new) and Cece isn't STEM but a Lit PhD! (Also new...)
C'mon, Hazelwood... Make it happen!

This book reminds me of the anime Rent a Girlfriend. This is my fave of all of her books. She's brought us a book about Enemies-to-Lovers. It was nonetheless an entertaining narrative. It was simple to read, and the characters were endearing. It was clearly more science-heavy, but not in the wrong way. Actually, I found it extremely interesting. The main character was also incredibly relatable. It has your normal Ali style but with more polish. This was such a fast-paced story! It featured one of my favourite tropes but with a really entertaining twist, which I won't spoil, but you'll find out after reading the first few chapters. There were far more detailed explanations and conversations concerning physics and the politics of academia.I had a great time getting to know the people in this one, and I wanted to hug Elsie. Jack was unlike the other love interests we'd encountered so far. I adored Elsie and Jack's banter and chemistry, especially with the added fake dating element thrown into the mix. Olive and Adam from The Love Hypothesis also made a brief appearance, which I found amusing.. I'll devour whatever Ali Hazelwood releases next, hehe, and I'm extremely thrilled for her debut YA novel, Check Mate, which is due out shortly!

#BookReview #STEMromance

5⭐️ Ali Hazelwood has done it again with her tried and true formula for writing sweet, spicy and hilarious romances that I DEVOUR in one sitting

Ok this book had me screaming from the dedication page (I’m an A03 Girly🙋🏼‍♀️) and I continued to scream, laugh and swoon right until the end.

This was another brilliant Steminist Romance with tropes galore-I love Hazelwood’s writing style or ‘niche’ and this was, as always, a pleasure to read. I don’t think I will ever tire of reading about her hilarious, headstrong heroines and the hot, brooding, grumpy rival/enemy/co-worker that they can’t help but be attracted to.

Just read it- you won’t be disappointed!!

This book is definitely my favourite of Ali Hazelwood's collection so far.

The more detailed look at the politics in academia was both entertaining and gave movement to the plot. As a person who knows nothing about science, reading about it in certain books can be difficult and over complicated, but with Ali Hazelwoods writing style and referencing it makes it not only easy to read and understand but fun and gripping.

As always the characters are unique and have their own quirks and growth. The added plot of Elsie's mental health and her progression is extremely well done and makes her highly relatable and human.

The references she uses to TV shows and events that have occurred in the world just makes you believe that these people truly exist in our world and I could fly over the MIT and they'd be there.

I would definitely recommend this book 100 times over.

I enjoyed it but it definitely wasn't good. It was very frustrating to read because it didn't feel like it should be published. It's literally just bad fanfic. Either way, I loved it. Ali hazelwood is one of those authors that either you love her work or you really don't and there's no in between

Love, Theoretically is another fantastic STEM romance whose protagonist is Elsie, a theoretical physicist (which I am already familiar with thanks to my endless rewatching of the Big Bang Theory), who works as an adjunct professor at several Boston universities that don’t pay much and she shares a crappy apartment with her best friend Cece and her hedgehog. She’s turned to fake-dating to pay off her student loans and, beside a few idiots who tried to ask for more, so far, she can’t complain. Except when it comes to her current fake boyfriend, or better yet, his arrogant and handsome brother, Jack, who seems to see right through her. Things turn more complicated when Jack turns out to be an experimental physicist on the committee for a tenure position at MIT she’s interviewing for and also the same man who ruined the career of her mentor. Elsie is determined to get the job and fight against the man who is her enemy even though she finds him very attractive. How can she fall for the very same man she should despise?

Elsie is a brilliant character. Her weakness is – beside cheese – that she can’t never say no to people. She can’t say no to her mother when she wants her to play negotiator between her two brothers; she can’t say no to her mentor when he wants her to keep doing multiple jobs instead of trying to get the tenure position; she can’t say no to the many students who ask her for an extension with the most absurd excuses. She has the unique skill to read people and adapt to them so that she can win them over. However, Jack is the exception. She can’t understand him, can’t figure out what he is going to do next. Elsie is funny, smart, and determined, while Jack is probably my favorite of Ali Hazelwood’s men: behind that tough and grumpy exterior there is an adorable, honest, and reliable man.

Ali Hazelwood never disappoints: the enemies-to-lovers trope, the witty banter and the sexy chemistry between Elsie and Jack, the women in STEM theme who have to deal with sexism in the workplace, nerdy and fantastic characters, and the rivalry between experimental and theoretical physicists… witty, immersive, and romantic, I read Love, Theoretically in one day!

“Jack sees me- a puppet who maybe, just maybe, is a real girl after all.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book: Love, Theoretically
Author: Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is such a comfort author for me, I know exactly what i’m going to get from her books, and this was exactly what I needed at the time I read it: a cute, fun, quirky romance with adorable characters and so much chemistry.

The only way that theoretical physicist Elsie can make any good money post PhD is by fake dating using an app called “Faux”. Struggling through life with teaching commitments and grading assignments in the hope of landing tenure, her free time is occupied with her fake boyfriend jobs. That is until her favourite client’s older brother enters the picture… her physics rival who ruined her mentors life. What could go wrong?

I identified with Elsie so much that at times it hurt, the way that Jack wanted to help her start saying “no” and change her people pleasing ways warmed my heart so much. Jack is definitely my favourite Ali Hazelwood guy so far. The way that he sat through all of the Twilight movies for her… My heart 🥹

(There’s also an Olive and Adam cameo for everyone that adored The Love Hypothesis! I absolutely loved reading about them again, it made me want to do a reread!)

(Can somebody send me a hedgie please? I think I need one.)

Read if you love:
💙Workplace rivals
💙An academic setting
💙Smart women/Women in STEM
💙Fake dating
💙”What happened to you”
💙Well written spice

(Thank you so much Little Brown Book Group UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🫶🏻)

💙

I'm calling all my people pleaser here 🤣💗

Ali Hazlwood the one and only, once again.
"Happening outside my head.
Me, taking a shot at being myself."
As my friends know, for most of my life I've been the archetypal people-pleaser. The person who wanted so much to please others and was so afraid of rejection that she lost her way. But fortunately they were there to hit me when I made the wrong decisions.
This book was for me. Even if I wasn't like Elsie, I identified with her so much. Elsie is a young doctor (we love women in stem) who is an adjunct profesor waiting to be able to find a position that would allow her to continue her research. To make ends meet and repay her student loan, she joins FAKE, a fake-dating platform. Thanks to her talents as a people-pleaser, she shapes and molds herself to perfection from fake boyfriend to fake biyfriend. Until one day... things don't quite go to plan. And this. We love. That's when our male protagonist enters armed with his "what happenned to you" (yes, this line works very well with me): Jack. And what a character. He clearly enters the pantheon of my book boyfriends with class and delicacy.
The evolution of their relationship, the tension, the dose of enemy: the recipe was really perfect, I didn't see the pages go by. Now I'm left with nothing but tears in my eyes, waiting for the next Ali Hazelwood, because when the tears have dried, what's left?