Hi friends! It’s been a minute, but I’m back with a review for Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood. I had low expectations for this one, but ended up really loving it. Let’s hop in!
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Quick Synopsis
A theoretical physicist meets her match with the hot older brother of the person she’s currently fake dating.
Perfect for readers who want:
- Lots of pining
- Work rivals
- Forced proximity and only one bed
About Love Theoretically
Title: Love Theoretically
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Romance
Pages: 389
Age Range: 18+
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Date Published: 13 June 2023
Goodreads Description: 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 broody 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 that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, 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?
I received a review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
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Love Theoretically Review
After reading the disaster that was Love on The Brain, I was hesitant to go into Love, Theoretically. It seemed like Hazelwood only had one type: quirky, tiny girl, and brooding, mountain-sized man. And honestly, this book is no different. Elsie is smol and Jack is built like a fridge. Hazelwood actually writes that it’s uncomfortable for him to look down at her.
And I almost took off a star for this. I find the smol girl, massive guy skates dangerously close to wanting women to be children or childlike (see all the references to Lucy from The Hating Game being a toddler and Joshua being a tree. Gross). There is an actual line that Elsie needs TWO hands to handle Jack’s business. TWO. Mathematically and biologically that just doesn’t make sense. And I came so close to giving this four stars.
But. BUT. I had an absolute blast listening to the audiobook. Hazelwood’s writing has improved, and I loved both Jack’s and Elsie’s personalities. They are distinct and different from the other characters Hazelwood has written. Especially Jack. He’s not the dark, broody asshole. He’s charming and confident and I loved him.
And the emotional beats. THE EMOTIONAL BEATS. I was actually sobbing at one point. I felt everything the characters felt and at one point I really felt for Elsie. After the 30% mark I could not put this down, and I sped through the audiobook.
Also, Elsie unabashedly loves the Twilight movies, and that makes her alright in my book. Especially considering she ships Alice and Bella.
While this story is similar to The Love Hypothesis and Love on The Brain (and I am honestly holding my breath for Hazelwood to write something different), I’m not too mad about it. We also got the cutest Adam and Olive cameo and I am so happy about that.
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I will truly never understand this author’s obsession with small girl, giant man. It doesn’t make sense to me. It’s so repetitive too! I was annoyed by it in The Love Hypothesis and then found out she uses it in literally all her books. WHY?! Haha! I’m glad you enjoyed this one. I’ve yet to read another book by her because they’ve all sounded like the same concept, copy-paste. But maybe I’ll pick this one up because I do love an emotional story!
It’s really starting to annoy me too, and I absolutely loved The Love Hypothesis. I was surprised by the emotional story in this one, so I’d say give it a go (but keep your expectations low lol)