Loved the romance, loved how the main character’s people pleasing nature was handled because I relate to that a lot and it gave me a lot to think about, love the academia because it’s so far removed from my work and it gives such an interesting inside view into things. And I just love supportive men who want the best for their women - is it weird that that’s my kink???? Anything Ali Hazelwood touches is magic and this might be my favourite book from her thus far.

This is by far my favorite of Ali Hazelwood's novels. I found the main characters sweet and funny and heartbreakingly real, and their relationship was wonderful. I liked how she edged close to a lot of the romance troupes used in her other books but then cleverly reimagined them. It wasn't frustrating to read through until they fell in love, but rather I found my self rooting for them the entire time. 10/10. 

May contain very minor spoilers.

This is the first Ali Hazelwood I haven't given a 5 star and its super hard not to but in the name of honesty I have to give this one somewhere between a 4 and a 4.5. This book was hilarious at times and I really enjoyed watching Elsie grow. However the academia got a bit too much at times.  I loved getting to see the politics and the interview process but when physics itself was being discussed it was in a way that made it hard for me to read and understand. My other criticism lies in how long the middle portion if this book felt. The beginning flew by and the ending was so good but the middle was hard to get through. I know Hazelwood is famous for slow build up in the middle of her books but this one was too much for me mostly because I felt very little spark from our heroine's perspective in regards to the obviously budding attraction. I needed a bit more from that because it was obvious Jack was totally gone for her. 

I am a firm believer that Ali Hazelwood's novels get better and better each time. And while this one in particular didn't surpass Love on the Brain for me (my favorite of hers, unpopular opinion I know), it was arguably her best.
There are so many amazing aspects of Hazelwood's authorship that it's hard to chose a select favorite. That being said, for me, I will always marvel at her protagonists. The strong, intelligent women that Hazelwood creates are easy to root for, and even easier to find as role models. I loved how they tackled the problematic status quo of Academia, without the help of their male love interests. Elsie has resonated more than her others, however, because of the anxiety representation and her people pleasing tendencies.
 Another thing, this book is funny. I actually caught myself laughing out loud, which is rare for me in media.
Whatever perceptions about Love, Theoretically you have prior to reading, get rid of them. This is a fun, refreshing read, that I will always recommend.
*Not sure when I developed such a strong love for Ali Hazelwood books, but now she is an auto-read author for me!

I would've rated this 5 stars if it weren't for t1d being portrayed somewhat inaccurately. As someone who has had type 1 diabetes for almost 17 years, there were just somethings that I couldn't forget about in this book. One that when Elsie passed out that she just *magically* woke up and was "fine" afterward, and the, of course, over-dramatization of it (aka falling into Jack's arms when she was low and "about to pass out" (when her blood sugar was barely 70 something). From a young age, I was taught that if i passed out due to a low blood sugar, that I would have to go to the hospital. This didn't happen. minor spoilers: There was a scene in which Jack asks Elsie if her could help her with her pump site change; i REALLY wish we had been able to read that scene instead the story just skipping over it. It's something that, from my experience, is very stigmatized and not fully understood by people who don't understand type 1. So, if it had been in the story, i think it could have shed some light on it and helped the stigmatization of it.

Spoilers over

Aside from that, I loved this book and definitely feel that this is Hazelwood's best book so far. I appreciate that type 1 diabetes was featured in this and that the MC had it (I've never read a book where the MC has it. It's always a background character). I appreciated the scientific references and both Jack and Elsie's character development.

Adorable romance with surprisingly hot love scenes. I enjoyed the trope of “he falls first” and all the little things Jack remembers about his love. Very swoony

SHE CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!! Okay, I really, really enjoyed this book. I laughed, I cried, I felt all the feels. But ultimately, I wonder how many times Ali Hazelwood can write about a little tiny white woman who hates a big tall white man and thinks he hates her too but he doesn’t, he’s been in love with her since Day 1. This is her most academic work yet, and really fun. Elsie is both so likable and also a master manipulator and chronic liar, which makes for fun reading. She meets Jack when fake dating his brother, but has no idea Jack is on the hiring board for a tenure track position she’s interviewing for. And she also doesn’t know that he wrote an article that denigrated her choice of career some years ago. It’s sexy, it’s fun, and it’s the exact same book the author has written two other times already, just with her best characters yet. 

Theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway's many lives have finally caught up with her. She meets Jack Smith, the attractive, annoying older brother of her favourite client who ruined her mentors career and undermined the work she loves. Ali Hazelwood has a knack for writing romance books that allow the characters to have depth outside the relationship, and i will never stop loving the women in STEM aspect. I loved how both Olive (The Love Hypothesis) and Bee (Love on the Brain) showed up or were mentioned in the book. The only reason it drops a star is because i passionately think that Ali Hazelwood does not know how to give characters good names, and the sex scenes are always a bit too much for me. I love that the characters' faults are presented and no one is "perfect" like you get in other romance books. I recommend this book to romance lovers, but i do recommend reading The Love Hypothesis and Love On The Brain first.