Reviews with content warning for Grief - Love, Theoretically

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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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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chronicacademia's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced

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

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

This is my first Ali Hazelwood book, and I have very mixed feelings.

First of all, if I had to hear ONE MORE TIME about how gigantic Jack was, I might have screamed. It was so repetitive and unnecessary — I promise that I won’t forget between page 35 and page 40 that he’s built like a refrigerator. Combined with how naïve and oblivious Elsie was, and how overbearing Jack was, I didn’t really enjoy the actual romance much. I found Jack quite creepy to be honest

(he keeps a photo of her in his bedside table when they genuinely barely know each other? He wants her to move in when they've barely been together for one weekend?? He wants to lock her in his room for two weeks??? WHAT).

He also came across as condescending most of the time to me, and like he infantilised the heroine. The sex scenes were so awkward and not in a cute way (although I liked the emphasis on consent). And what kind of Swedish surname is Turner? Then the villain seemed so flat and cartoonish, rather than a fully-fleshed out character, especially during the conflict. Also, this is very petty but I hate cheese and had to suffer through so much talk about cheese in this book. Enough about cheese already!!

On the other hand, there were some things I really liked. I loved Elsie’s character arc about learning how not to be such a people pleaser all the time, and how she ended up going to therapy at the end. I liked the setup for how the MCs meet (she’s fake dating his brother, and he begins to suspect something is off). I enjoyed the very realistic depiction of being a woman in STEM and how very science-y the whole book was. I really liked how much Jack just wanted to take care of Elsie, gave her space when she asked for it, and how he didn’t mess with her career even when he was suspicious of her (look, it's a low bar, but it’s disappointing how often that happens in romance). It was great how he completely respected her academic intellect and was so emotionally open with her as well... even if that openness is completely lost on her lol. I also liked how Elsie actually calls Jack out on how patronising he’s being by acting like she can’t make her own decisions. Plus, all of the major side characters besides the villain were well-drawn and enjoyable to read; I particularly liked Cece and Millicent.

One final thought: the STEMinist appellation promptly needs to die in a fire, thank you.

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