Love, Theoretically
Reviews
I really REALLY enjoyed this book! It’s a funny and satisfying read, or maybe I’m biased because I’m a stem girlie– which is why I understand why some people didn’t like this, but it’s perfectly my type!
The conflict was a bit meh for me, like come on… really? Over that? Not to be invalidating but yeah it was just a bit bland. Resolution was cute!! Honestly I adore Jack more, he’s so diverse and deep, and sensible. For me at least.
It’s quite academic! Jokes and puns or even some proses might be tricky to understand but that’s the charm of it for me. I liked this A LOT!
I love my silly little romance books and giggling over them. What else are we destined for if not enjoying things?
Guilty pleasure
4.75⭐️
this is the type of book that you can read in a day and it's fun to talk shit about, but kind of feels like scrolling on twitter. contemporary romance authors often add this girlboss liberal whitewash over their stories while still adopting problematic tropes. some people may like "insecure virgin girl" meets "guy with notoriously high body count," but it's not really my thing. of course jack, who is big and hot and experienced and big, saves the smart but emotionally incompetent (not to mention tiny) elsie. her emotional incompetence and womanness vastly outweigh her intelligence, so she needs a big strong man, duh. and did we mention that jack is big? his hands are big too, in case the author didn't say that enough times. perhaps marginally better than the love hypothesis, but the jury's still out.
Soooo good !
I’m OBSESSED with them
Actual rating: 4.75
This is such an easy read and made me giggle LOTS of times. On a more serious note, I really appreciate how the author always tackle the politics within academia — particularly, with the experiences of women.
On the other side of the coin, while I greatly enjoyed this book, I cannot overlook how non-STEM characters seem a little too... comical. Like their traits is always impulsive, irrational, and etc. I know that is not the intention of the author but, yeah, just a personal sentiment.
I wish Ali Hazelwood can write my life and give me my own Jack Smith-Turner!
It was a fine read. Got a little bored in the middle and the plot didn’t really intrigue me to keep reading. JACK SO HOT THOUGH. I liked Ali’s other two books better. But overall it was an okay read it just took me a REALLY long time
Cuuuuute.
Please give me a jack.
I deserve him.
This was a cute read.
But what was up with the random constant tentacle references, and her obsession with Alice and Bella? Also, weird mention of Woody and Buzz homoerotic energy (Girly, Woody and Buzz are part of a children cartoon series, there was no erotic anything)?! Someone needs to search the authors search history (lol). I'm fine with a little of this, because everyone has their interests, but it was literally every few pages. I honestly would've fled the scene if I was Jack. But I guess since she was attractive, he was fine with it.
Nonetheless, I liked this couple. I weirdly wanted there to be more arguing? I think I take enemies to lovers too seriously. Like, I was 60% through the book and didn't want her to give in? Make it make sense.
Anyways, cute read!
I have to confess, Ali Hazelwood is my secret obsession. Her women in STEM just manage to capture me every time. Even if her stories are somewhat very predictable, I eat it up again and again. The topics of this book were especially captivating (I tried to understand the chemical talk but I obviously failed lol). It was also interesting to read about academical politics and how they benefit and harm the people involved.
In comparison to her other main novels, there is nothing spicy happening for a very long time, but when they finally got started towards the end, the couldn‘t seem to be able to stop themselves, which I think, kind of wrecked the story for me, as the fmc main focus got pushed too much to the background.
But in the end i really liked this book. It’s a fun story with mildly deep and important scenes and banter and attraction, which imo anyone needs to read from time to time <3
god if you love me take all elsie hannaway and jack smith's suffers and give them to their families (no greg) + they are probably the cutest couple i've ever read about
firstly, the poor characterization of having T1D pissed me off. people with t1d can eat whatever they want?? there’s also no way she could have afforded insulin w/ no health insurance and was just rationing her insulin and only passed out twice in two years. just no. AND IF YOU WERE TO PASS OUT, IT WOULDNT BE FROM ONE SINGULAR SLICE OF CAKE. IT WOULD BE BECAUSE YOU ARE LOW MOST LIKELY, NOT HIGH FROMFIVE BITES OF CAKE. secondly, i do not believe that a stressed out overworked, underpayed, chronically single 28 year old woman has never masturbated. when that is a free, fun, relaxing solo activity. thirdly, just no. i hated her so much. she’s 28 years old and acts like a 15 year old child. and i hate that shit. like so much. she wants a father figure, and he wants a child to take care of. it’s so nasty. however i did respect her love for twilight because me too.
I DIDN’T WANT THIS BOOK TO END 😭 It was soooo good. The characters were amazing, the story was so compelling. I was a bit worried the scientific jargon would be too much (I was a poliSCI major, I don’t know shit about actual science), but it definitely wasn’t. Such a great story. This was my first Ali Hazelwood book, and I think I’m going to need to read her others now.
This book could've been PERFECTION ! I loved Elsie this time around (unlike Olive), and Jack had dimensions (again, unlike Adam), which was a great discovery but it didn’t last long much like anything good ever does. Elsie’s inner dialogue was relatable and self-deprecating, which I love, and the banter between her and Jack is just chef's kiss so good. His stubbornness and immovable will were refreshing, but unfortunately, it didn't last. The setup, the side characters, and Elsie's backstory of why she is the way she is were great. EVERYTHING till the 60% mark was great. But then... It turns out Ali just loves making her men simps and stripping them of their own personality. Much like every other Ali Hazelwood love interest, Jack became an obsessed, uncharacteristically subdued version of himself when he was with Elsie. Every part of him that made him well... HIM went straight out the window. His need to please Elsie in every way possible was somewhat unattractive and made his character look desperate and unauthentic. He's a renowned physics experimentalist ffs. Oh, and don't let me get started on the third act breakup. That conflict was bs. It could've been resolved in one page, but Ali had to drag it out and make it as dramatic as possible. The third act really took 2 stars away (especially with Jack's new found pliable personality) -⭐️⭐️. Don't get me wrong, I love myself a respectful, muscled simp but not when it goes against their personality. At the end of the book, I felt cheated. I was promised another version of Jack and got a yes-man who was both unrealistic about his feelings and obsessed. Side-note: I'm a woman in STEM, a chemistry and physics student who's about to apply for a masters degree in crystallisation, and that's exactly the subject Elsie and Jack research which was a happy coincidence. So bonus star for that alone +⭐️. So in conclusion I,sadly, want to give this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
So cute!! Loved the story and characters so much!! Perfect blend of academia and romance!! Learned some new big words as well which was a plus lol I’ll probably forget them tomorrow!! Ali is always an automatic buy for me her books never disappoint!!
Great book very well written, there are alot of scientific words throughout the book which didn't make sense to me 🙈 but I still enjoyed the read, very easy to get stuck into proper page turner. Warning very raunchy in places 🤣🤣
3.5 stars Ali Hazelwood makes the perfect romance books to just relax into but also makes me want to rip my hair out bc I know no man will ever treat me this right 🥲
4.5⭐️
So good! Ali hazelwood never fails to deliver fun and light reads!
Divorced from its context, this is actually a pretty decent romance novel. Again, compulsively readable and Elsie felt like a much more complete person outside of the romance. In fact, it felt like there was a much better distinction between the romantic plot and the academic one (which also felt a lot more realised).
Of couse, Hazelwood again falls into some of her beloved clichés and tropes that feel a little too corny (overabundant millennial speak, the LI being gone for the MC for months and wanting very bad to have sex with her, size kink, the heroine who thinks she's mousy and undersells herself, the LI being rich while the MC is poor - though at least this time he was not the solution to her financial problems). But at least I did not have to hear about how massive the LI was all the time (so I guess less of a size kink).
LOVED this book! Super cute romance with a lot of built up anticipation. Love the strong FMC and even more so that they highlighted her having diabetes and the struggles that come with that. I love that it was part of who she was and not just an added detail.
Highlights
His tattoos are beautiful. The Dirac equation. The electron cloud. Beta decay. The Fibonacci spiral. Kinematic models, astral planes, Drake's formula, the molecular structure of MBBA. Black strokes of faded ink interlocked together in a beautiful painting. The entire foundation of modern physics is on his broad shoulder, wrapped around his large biceps.
This reminds me of when we were giving each other fake tattoos of Maxwell's equations. We thought we were so cool.
I’ve always been so guarded. So careful-footed. And when I stumbled, I didn’t just skin a knee. I fell facedown and knocked out all my teeth.
felt.
I feel like a sparkly drink.
"For what?" I ask against his throat. He's warm and smells nice. Like sleep. Like clean. Like he could easily change my sink, save kittens stuck in a tree, extinguish a fire. "For being dicks?"
I wonder if it'll ever end. I wonder if all these beautiful, momentous things I feel for him will ever settle into something ordinary. I can't imagine they will.
But that night he hugs me from behind while I brush my teeth and whispers, "You are the most magnificent thing that ever happened to me," and I know it to be true.
Maybe I'm not stumbling through someone else's life. Maybe I'm just living mine for the first time.
"She is if she wants to be. She can be my damn wife if she wants to be."
But this man, who was going to be the absolute worst part of my dream job, might still turn out to be the thing I want the most.
"You could be my entire world," he whispers in my ear before moving to my collarbone. "If you let me."
I stroke his hair. "I think I will."
He sighs. "Somewhere along the way your wires got crossed. Your brain decided that you're not worth people's time and effort, and that if you ask for anything, they won't just say no, they'll also leave you." He says it matter-of-factly, like he's Archimedes of Syracuse repeating his findings about upward buoyant forces to the acropolis for the tenth time. "That's not how love works, Elsie. But don't worry for now. I'll show you."
He talks like his Saturday nights belong to me, even though this thing with us only just started, and my heart skips too many beats.
"I'm at my most comfortable around you," I say. And then, because honesty: "And also at my least. But that's because you're an asshole, and unlikely ever to change."
"You mean you want to... murder me."
He winces. "Once again, what happened to you?"
"You asked to take me out--"
"For a date."
"Oh." I blush. "Oh." I scratch the side of my nose. "Um..."
Jack's eyebrow lifts. "You seem more alarmed by dinner than murder."
"Are you giving me permission to rummage around you bedroom? Like you have nothing to hide?"
He lifts one eyebrow. "What would I hide?"
"I don't know." I shrug. "A giant tentacle dildo. Viagra. A diary with a pink locket."
"None of that would be worth hiding." he says, the most quietly confident man in the entire world.
"I like to see you. When you're not trying to be someone else."
"Have you ever considered that maybe you're already the way I want you to be? That maybe there are no signals because nothing needs to be changed?"
With Jack, I don't need to be someone else, because I can't be someone else. It's unsettling, and disturbingly baring, and also... relaxing.
"Not everyone wants you to be someone else, Elsie." He's wrong about that, but I can smell his skin. It's good in a way that's primeval. Almost evolutionary. I hate it. "And I definitely wouldn't want you to be George."
"And why is that?"
He presses his lips together. He's even closer now. Surprisingly earnest. "It would be a waste."
"A waste of what?"
"Of you."
"The real girl who wished to be a puppet," he murmurs, low and rumbly.
"What?"
"I can actually watch you do it."
"Do what?"
"Analyze people. Turn yourself on and off."