A review by bookishmillennial
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. Thus, no stars doesn’t indicate that the book wasn’t worthy of any starred system. It just means I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Happy reading! Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

premise:
  • contemporary romance set in Boston
  • first-person POV of Elsie
  • Elsie is an adjunct professor who hates teaching but her mentor (old white straight dude) insists on it
  • Elsie moonlights as a professional fake girlfriend for hire
  • When she interviews for a tenure-track position in the physics department at MIT, she runs into Jack, (otherwise known as Dr. Jonathan Smith-Taylor or the other way around hahaha) the older brother of her most recent client, Greg, and immediately panics because she had an entirely different persona on when she met Greg's family just LAST NIGHT 
  • Elsie's ability to mask often and to perpetually people-please is what makes her fake girlfriend job perfect for her, but this is where her arc comes in
  • As Elsie and Jack get to know each other, they begin to become less of academic rivals (he wrote an article years ago that roasted the fuck out of her specialty: she is a theorist, he is an experimentalist (I am a romancereader-ist so I have no idea what the fuck they were talking about BUT I found a way to relate this back to my romance reader honeys. This debate reads very adjacent to what booktokers debate over when Bad Take Beckys say "romance isn't real reading!" or "romance shouldn't count towards your reading goals!" or "audiobooks aren't real reading!" lmao) 
  • steam: 2/5 -- I appreciate the way Ali writes intimacy (especially for the demisexual bbs) because she hones in on the importance of consent step-by-step, and has the characters talk to each other to confirm that it feels okay and/or whether or not they want to continue.  

thoughts:
Not too many coherent or eloquent thoughts, just vibes so thanks for reading this absolute fever-dream mess hahaha.

First of all, I do not have diabetes so I cannot speak to the diabetes representation in here. I'll leave that to people who have that lived experience, and I believe *them*! I'd love to hear from booktokers or bookstagrammers who do have diabetes to confirm this was done with care and was represented respectfully.

Standouts for me character wise besides the leads: I think Greg & Jack's grandma (I'm forgetting her name, forgive me!) was the shining MVP of this entire book; she was hilarious and had zero time nor energy for bullshit. This meant she could see right through Elsie's fake girlfriend act immediately, and I lived for that moment. The Olive & Adam cameo gave everything it needed to give. I was delighted and so happy to see our OG babies.

The romance between Elsie & Jack was fun because I love academic rivals -- it's hilarious because both people think they are just way better & smarter than the other when in reality, they're probably both great and they just need to work on their competitive issues and stop projecting? HAHA. Idk I thought their banter was goofy and the romance was sweet.

As far as Elsie's arc -- whew, this was rough for me. I am also a recovering people pleaser (hi hello, I grew up first-generation Chinese Filipino & those dynamics could be *tough*, so I'm constantly unlearning to make myself palatable/smaller/more likeable so that people can be comfortable and/or like me more) so that's why this was so triggering for me. I don't want anyone to feel like Elsie did, like once she is fully open/vulnerable/wholly herself, that it won't be good enough for the people she loves, and that she is just not worthy of love. It's just not true and I hate that I felt this deep in my core !!! It felt so realistic (so much that it hurt lmao) and I think the scary part is that sometimes, people *will* leave you and say they don't like the real you. The bravery and self-love in us needs to stand strong in accepting that reality. It can hurt, and it's valid to miss people, but if they only want a certain version of you, is it worth it? I don't think so. I'd rather have much less people in my life who fully accept me, let me be my goofy self, but also lovingly and compassionately challenge me to be better when I inevitably fuck up. I don't want dozens of people who wanted me in my "yes man" era. 

I wished there were less Twilight references because the way Stephanie Meyer wrote the werewolves felt so racist / problematic to me, but I appreciate the sapphic shipping of Alice and Bella that Elsie wanted lol. 
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