Ali Hazelwood hits it out of the park again with her novel “Love, Theoretically. “The novel was released in June of 2023 and its popularity since then hasn’t faltered. Hazelwood has released many books including “The Love Hypothesis,” “Love on the Brain,” “Check & Mate” and “Loathe to Love You.” She’s a staple romance writer whose books have been a big hit among the book lovers community, and “Love, Theoretically” is no exception to her book successes.
“Love, Theoretically” follows Elsie Hannaway, a theoretical physicist, and her many lives. She’s an adjunct professor by day, spending her time grading papers, reading silly emails from students asking for extensions on their papers, teaching thermodynamics. hoping for a better job and landing tenure. Being an adjunct professor brings in a minuscule amount of money each paycheck, so she balances the scales by leading many other lives as a faux girlfriend.
Elsie has spent her whole life being whatever version of herself that people like best. She has mastered the art of pleasing people and contorting her personality to fit the molds people want of her. She used those skills in her fake dating world to be whoever her clients need her to be. It’s the perfect plan, until it’s not.
Annoyingly handsome and arrogant Jack Smith, the older brother of her favorite client, sees through Elsie’s performances. He also turns out to be the experimental physicist who single-handedly brought Elsie’s mentor’s career to shambles and undermined the reputation of every theoretical physicist out there. The cherry on top is that Jack is also the man standing between Elsie and her dream job at MIT.
Elsie is prepared to bring her people pleasing to a maximum and secure her dream job, despite Jack’s apparent attempts to keep her from doing so. Jack is the only person who sees through Elsie’s many personalities, so she can be herself around him, but what impact will that have on their relationship? Will Elsie be able to secure her dream job at MIT?
“Love, Theoretically” is a wonderful book that encompasses the sappy, giddy and blush-worthy aspects of falling in love, filled with clever science puns and carefully crafted twists. If you enjoy characters that are easy to love, screaming “just kiss already!” at your book, an intellectual battle of wits and a heroine learning how to be comfortable as her true self, then this is the perfect book for you.
Brooklynn Jolley can be reached at [email protected]