The Story
LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
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.
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.
Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?
My Thoughts: Love, Theoretically
Ali Hazelwood had done it again book friends! She is the queen of STEM Romance and I am here for it.
What I absolutely love about this one is how Hazelwood takes a scalpel to academia and brings to light the much needed attention to the treatment of women in academia. How adjunct professors are worked to the point of burnout. As well as the predominantly white cis men in academia think and prioritize what they feel is best for their department and silence those who think otherwise.
It’s no wonder our MC Elsie Hannaway is an excessive people pleaser, a vicious cycle of chronic stress and unhealthy behaviors, which Elsie displays through most of the novel until she’s up for a chance at her dream job at MIT. But finds out, Jack, the older brother of the guy she was fake dating is on the hiring committee *gasp.*
A Few More Thoughts
The romance (friend this is Hazelwood’s spiciest romance yet), Hannaway’s love interest (Jack is my new favorite book boyfriend), Hazelwood fills her novel with brilliant women, a male MC who supports our female MC to find her own voice, helping her to speak her mind, set needed boundaries, and encouraging her to say no. Plus, there’s an Olive and Adam cameo (I KNOW!!!).
With a grand gesture that will make any romance reader (and those in academia) swoon, Love, Theoretically is a summer read you won’t want to miss!
Happy Reading ~ Cece
RATING: 
– Exceptionally Inked
Instagram Post
Play “Lover” by Taylor Swift while watching the video
publication details
| Pub Date | ISBN | Page Count | Publisher | Age Group | Source & Format | Review Posted Online |
| 13-Jun-23 | 978-0593336861 | 400 | Berkley | Adult | NetGalley, Digital ARC | May 21, 2023 |
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Welcome Reader!
I’m Cecelia and I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find honest reviews, book recommendations, along with other bookish essentials. So happy you stopped by!
– C
ABOUT THE CREATOR
CECE BECKMAN
Cece holds a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from California State University, Long Beach. She lives in California with her husband and children. When she’s not reading or writing reviews she can be found wandering book aisles at local bookshops, drinking iced cold lattes with cold cream foam, or passing the time with her cat.
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