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The third time’s the charm! While I have absolutely LOVED both of Hazelwood’s previous novels, this one hooked me in INSTANTLY with the banter, electric chemistry, and the tense, forbidden aspect. It feels like her other work, but the vibe is also all its own – it progresses a little differently, the storyline is unpredictable, and the characters themselves are so rich and interesting. I loved that our heroine is strong and intelligent, yet also grapples with trying to find herself. And I adored that our hero genuinely loves the aspects of her that she is most insecure about. I loved that they push each other to be better, and it was EASY to see all of the ways they’re perfect together. The forbidden aspect – our heroine is (fake) dating the hero’s brother – adds a whole new layer of complexity to the relationship development, and it really ratcheted up the tension. I devoured this so quickly, and I was completely hooked the entire time.
The story follows Elsie, a struggling theoretical physicist who has been fake dating guys for years to pay the bills. Elsie is good at fake dating, because she’s been molding herself into whoever other people want her to be her entire life, and it’s as natural as breathing at this point. Except… there’s one guy who can’t seem to stand her, the older brother of her favorite client. They’ve only interacted a few times over the last six months, but it’s easy to see that Jack is skeptical of Elsie. So when he discovers that Elsie isn’t the sweet and demure librarian she claimed to be – she’s actually a highly-regarded physicist who is interviewing for a job she desperately needs – it complicates their already-strained relationship. And when Elsie realizes that Jack might be the one who determines whether or not she gets the job? Well, she knows she has a rocky road ahead.
There’s something about Hazelwood’s writing style that I find immensely bingeable, and this was no exception. I didn’t read the blurb before diving in, I just started reading – and I was gripped by the premise right away. The unique concept and unpredictability, plus the vibrant academic environment, added such a fresh feel to this. Yes, it still felt like Hazelwood’s other work – with a heroine who works in STEM, a single perspective, an overwhelmingly large and intriguing hero, and enemies to lovers vibes – but I could also see the differences immediately. I loved that I wasn’t quite sure how things would progress, and I really loved both Jack and Elsie. Elsie’s personality-shifting was really interesting to read, and it was great that Jack could read her like a book. We get that fantastic friction of an enemies-ish to lovers romance, the forbidden element, the rivalry, and the sheer connection of two people who are perfect for each other. It kept me on my toes as much as they kept each other on theirs, and the whole book was one incredibly engaging ride to HEA. I absolutely loved it, possibly even more than the other two.
Releases on June 13th, preorder today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3w2xfrR
Blurb:
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
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 otherday, 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 arrogant 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 he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing 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?
Releases on June 13th, preorder today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3w2xfrR
While you wait!
Love on the Brain made my Top 20 of 2022 list – it’s a standalone with a similar feel.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.
Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project—a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia—Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.
Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school—archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.
Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3a4oYfe
About the Author:
Ali Hazelwood is the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, as well as a writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).
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