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?
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood is a heartfelt and fun enemies-to-lovers romance that is quirky, a little nerdy, and full of physics fun, and my hat is off to any author that can actually make physics sound fun to me.
My Reading Experience:
I found myself instantly immersed in the story. It begins with a scene where the main character, Elsie, is pressed against the brother of a man she has been fake dating for the last six months in a BATHROOM STALL, and she ponders how exactly she found herself in this position. Everything about it made me wonder what led to her being in that position too. I don’t know what intrigued me more – being stuck in a bathroom stall with a man or the fact that she had been fake-dating the man’s brother. I couldn’t have been more intrigued.
I loved the romance so full of snarky dialogue, witty comebacks, and starts and stops. I don’t know if I ever fully bought into the two characters together, but it was a fleeting concern, as the story was just too good to care. And for those of you who are concerned about open and closed-door scenes – well, just know there is a large section of door-wide-open scenes after the halfway point. I prefer closed-door myself, but the story without the steamy scenes was so good I didn’t feel like I missed out by fast-forwarding through the scenes.
The plotline about how Elsie struggled to find a spot in the academic world and all she had to do to make ends meet was so relatable. Professionally speaking, finding your place in the world is often challenging, so I can see many readers commiserating with Elsie as I did. I became so invested I cheered for her success and shed a tear for her dealing with one setback after another. And to see her passion for physics and her determination to stay in that world was beyond inspiring and admirable.
Also, I think the plotline regarding Elsie’s type 1 diabetes was very well handled. It was informative and sympathetic and made me aware of issues I didn’t know about. This storyline also made the overall story much more important and added a layer that took it beyond the typical romantic comedy.
Characters:
Elsie is the main character. She reminded me of a female Sheldon in that she knew she wanted to be a theoretical physicist from a very young age. At this age, I personally hadn’t even heard of physics beyond the basic apple falling story. She is quirky and holds a lot of guilt for how much work her type 1 diabetes was to her family as she grew up. All the guilt she holds and how that made her a people pleaser to an extreme created so many emotions in me as the story unfolded.
Narration & Pacing:
Elsie tells her story in first-person narration, and this technique is just perfect for the story. It keeps the pace quick and allows the reader to experience the world as Elsie is experiencing, taking the relatability factor to unusual heights.
Setting:
Love Theoretically is set in Massachusetts near the MIT campus and other colleges of note. I can’t imagine any better setting for a story set in the academic world.
Mood/Read If You Like:
- A medium to a fast pace
- A funny, lighthearted, emotional read
- A character-driven story led by a relatable and flawed character
- Strong character development
- Enemies to lovers trope
Overall Rating: 5 stars
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
| Originality | 8 |
| Writing Quality | 10 |
| Pace | 6 |
| Character Development | 8 |
| ‘Couldn’t Put It Down’-ness | 6 |
| Setting | 10 |
19 responses to “Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood #BookReview #RomCom #5starRead”
I really like the sound of this one, great review 💜
It’s very good!
So far I have read all ebooks I received through NetGalley but I didn’t request this as I want it in paperback and I’m definitely buying this after reading your review. physics isn’t my favorite subject and if the author made it fun, it adds more reason to get it. fantastic review!
Right? Same with me. You are going to love this one!
Great review and you reminded me she was diabetic in this one too so it really is similar to her new one x
I think it’s great to bring awareness to chronic conditions. I love it when authors do that and handle it as well as it is in this book 💕
Wow, this sounds great and I’m loving that start! I can’t wait to get to this. Excellent review, Tessa💜
It’s really good. I think you’d like it!
Wow! I’m not sure I’ve seen you give a book all 10s in every area before. I’ll have to check it out.
My only critique was concerning the romance and I don’t have a category for that so it was definitely all stars for me. It is so good. Much more than the ordinary light and fluffy romcom.
I had this one pre-ordered even though I’ve never read her because my entire belief system stems around theoretical physics and I love seeing authors weave it into their stories. Fantastic review!
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did! I bet you will!
Great review, Tessa! So glad to hear you enjoyed this one too. 🙂
It’s such a great story!
Great review. I loved it too.
It was so good! 💕
Great review, Tessa. I was not a fan of physics in school, so if she can make me enjoy it, I’m all in. I’m looking forward to getting to this one eventually. I have enjoyed her other books.
I know, right? Anyone that can make physics seem fun has a special place in my world.
I still haven’t read any Ali Hazelwood books, but I’m glad you enjoyed Love, Theoretically! Great review!