Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Love, Theoretically

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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bibliomania_express's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-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

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood follows Elsie, a chronically people-pleasing theoretical physicist with a fake-girlfriend side hustle, and Jack, an experimental physicist who sparked a field-wide feud with theoretical physicists and the brother of Elsie's current fake date.

This book was fun and remarkably touching. Like all of Hazelwood's romances, it's a science-filled romance between a nerdy science girl up-and-coming in her career and a behemothly tall man well-established in his career. But this book is really about overcoming a people-pleasing mentality, drawing healthy boundaries, recognizing abuse and control in people you trust, and calling out well-meaning people when they cross the line.

I related a lot to Elsie. It's often hard to say no to people, especially when you think saying no will make them lose respect or liking for you. Elsie has to find herself and stand up for herself - even to Jack. And I enjoyed her friendship with CeCe, particularly the touching scene between them near the end.

I loved Jack's determination to break through Elsie's people pleasing and find out what she truly likes, but I did get annoyed with him a couple of times. I'm glad Elsie called him out, especially when he went too far into the patronizing/overprotective side of things.

I do wish there had been a bit more of Jack and Greg's brother relationship since it's so important to the first half of the book. I also think there wasn't enough exploration of how everything went down with the job interview process.

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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my first Ali Hazelwood book yay! And I can wholeheartedly say that after listening to everyone’s reviews on it, it has definitely met my expectations. I love Elsie and Jack’s characters and all the STEM talk even though ik nothing about physics bc it was actually entertaining to listen to for the time being. Their relationship was so wholesome and I love that he always saw through her lies and recognized that she was a die hard people pleaser and knew she had to learn to be comfortable in her own skin, forfeiting the lies and “other Elsie’s”. I’m glad they were able to get their HEA bc these babies definitely deserve each other 🫶

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notamouse's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

🌶️🌶️

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meggiemeggie52's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

This was so cute, but not a love for me. I loved Jack, the development of Elise and Jack's relationship, and how he helped her open up and be more honest with people... but Elsie not even knowing who *she* is or being able to tell her best friend she doesn't like the movies they watch together frustrated me on multiple occasions. It also annoyed me that Elsie refused to believe that Jack didn't actually hate her, even when he told her this (multiple times) to her face.

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