Series: None
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Published June 13th 2023 by Berkley/Little Brown Books
Goodreads Synopsis
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 other day, 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 broody 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 that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, 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?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Trying to get onto the tenure path is more of a struggle than theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway expected it to be. Working as an adjunct professor at three different Boston universities, she is spread too thin, and has no time for research. So getting the interview at MIT is a dream, and nothing can go wrong, right? Well, the fact that one of the interview panellists happens to be Jack Smith - or Jonathan Turner-Smith in scientific circles. Jack is both the man who ruined the career of Elsie's mentor, and the brother of the guy she is 'fake-dating'. Jack knows she is lying, and seems to hate theoretical physicists on principle, so why is she so attracted to him. And why can he see the real Elsie, like no one ever has done before?
Wow, just wow! I don't actually know why I'm surprised with how much I loved this book, but it was phenomenal! Elsie's character was someone who had always been a people pleaser, who changed herself and her actions in order to please the person she is with. She managed to use it to her benefit by working for 'Faux', a fake dating app, turning herself into the perfect date, which is allowing her to survive because adjuncting does not pay well. Her favourite 'client' is Greg, who she has had a number of dates with, and that's where she meets Jack. Jack seems to hate her from the beginning, always staring at her, and asking her leading questions about her 'boyfriend'. So when she realises that Jack, who thinks she is a librarian, will be on the interview panel, and hates theoretical physicists, she needs to put her best game face on. But it doesn't work with Jack - she can't read him like she can other people, and she is always her true self, even when it gets her into trouble.
The chemistry between the pair was unreal, and they embodied a fantastic enemies-to-lovers trope perfectly. I liked how he didn't sugarcoat the negatives, and always spoke truthfully to Elsie, encouraging her to do the same. It was hard for her, especially after her past with JJ and her mother's controlling nature, but it was so worth it. Jack really cared about Elsie, even when it was hard, and he poured his heart out to her - in public, as well as in private. A beautiful STEMinist love story, though I wouldn't expect anything less from Ali!
Dates Read:
August 27-28, 2023
Rating
5 Stars
Dates Read:
August 27-28, 2023
Rating
5 Stars
