Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Love, Theoretically

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

211 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book was largely what I expected. It wasn’t amazing and felt very much like a Hallmark movie (not that that’s a bad thing).

I think the book had strong aspects. Despite getting off on the wrong foot with the love interest, Jack, it did a good job endearing the reader to him. I was skeptical to have him as the love interest, but it didn’t take long for me to warm up to him. Which surprised me, especially considering how he came across early on. Overall I think the book did a good job of making you like the characters you were supposed to like and making you wary or skeptical of the characters you were meant to distrust, even if it could be a bit heavy handed at times. This skill at warming you up to characters also leant to a lot of likeable side characters and made it easy to care about them and their dynamics with the main characters.

Elise herself, as the main character, actually felt fleshed out and complex. I especially found her relatable as she filled the roll of the eldest daughter (though it felt unclear to me if she was older or younger than her brothers.) It was nice watching her grow and do things for herself instead of being a people pleaser all the time. Even if in some areas it felt a bit rushed and weak, especially why she was so set on being a people pleaser in some situations.

Outside of that, the book did actually get some laughs from me and felt actually funny. Which was a nice change in books in a more modern setting where it feels like they try to be funny and fall flat. OR try too hard to seem modern and date themselves.

However the book had several flaws that led to my lower rating. Jack himself felt rather flat as a character. His motivations and interest in Elise felt weak and I didn’t get some of his choices. It was like he was just supposed to be this perfect love interest who rarely made mistakes. It just left him feeling a bit bland. It also led to the chemistry between Jack and Elise feeling a bit bland or lacking. It was there, but it just didn’t wow me or feel particularly strong.

Finally, the writing style felt very juvenile and had a very strong fanfic feel. The two aren’t necessarily synonymous, there’s just a certain style to some fan fiction that this book had. Which wasn’t aided by the juvenile feeling of the writing. This, paired with the rushed feeling of the ending, didn’t give the book a feeling of quality. It’s not the worst book I’ve ever read, but the feeling of a lack of quality doesn’t make me likely to recommend the book.

Overall, it was just okay. If you’re looking for a simple romance that doesn’t require a lot of brain power to enjoy than this is the book for you.

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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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mzgeee53's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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2busyreading's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.75

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bookedandbusy's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was delightfully cute and swoon worthy. It was slow burn, but it was done so well, and I feel like it made me love the couple more! As always, Ali Hazelwood is a romance mastermind.

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chi__'s review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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devilbunny6's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

10/10. This book was great. I devoured it and also stayed up late into the night reading it. It made me laugh, cry, and horny. My only small slight against the book is that it includes a lot of physics jargon - but not enough that the characters, plot, and romance are not entirely enjoyable. Also, as someone who hates physics (sorry physics lovers), I didn't mind the physics talk as much since the romance and writing was so good. I still love The Love Hypothesis better (no surprise) and it was so fun to have Olive and Adam cameo! Overall, I highly recommend it.

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hannalizzy's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I love Ali Hazelwood, but this one was just…cringe. In my opinion, the characterization of the main character was much too heavy handed. It felt like Hazelwood had a madlibs-style formula to come up with Elsie’s personality traits, since her main personality traits outside of physics are Twilight and Cheese. Yes, I said cheese. The cheese jokes were so weird, I could not stop getting tripped up over them. How is cheese a personality trait? And I love Twilight, but saying “#Bellice4evah” within the first three pages was a serious crime. The word “Smexy” also made an unfortunate appearance later on.

Also all the student emails peppered in throughout the book were so whack and unbelievable (a student asking their physics professor to check a pimple for them? Come on.) I think she was really going for the “com” in romcom and the overwhelming amount of cringe quips made me lower the star rating bit by bit as I inched my way to the ending.

Overall, the main character was wayyy too self aware to believably be so misguided about herself and the way she viewed the world. I also wish that Hazelwood wouldn’t lean so far into the misunderstanding trope for almost every conflict, it gets so exhausting and makes me want to dnf when the problem could be solved in a single sentence that everyone’s refusing to say for the weakest reasons.

All that being said, Jack is hot asf. And if you have a size kink, know that Hazelwood’s got your back. Did appreciate the aro/ace rep and the main character being diabetic (plus him being all caring about her levels was adorable)

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emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I honestly don't know if I have much other to say than that Ali Hazelwood has done it again. She's left my jaw on the floor and my heart in the hands of a handsome scientist man.

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