Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Love, theoretically

This is a great, fun romance read that says a ton about character and careers. I love when romances are also plot-driven, and with the excess (in a good way!) amount of physics concepts, university politics, and familial issues, this absolutely fits the bill. The main characters have electric chemistry, and the side characters are also all fully fleshed out and interesting. I liked the date-for-hire idea for a struggling student who's supposed to be above all of that as an academic. And the brother storyline! Good representation. The fact that they stayed friends was so nice. And I actually teared up two or three times while reading this, even though it's not that dramatic of a plot, because I could just feel the emotion of the characters/ where they were coming from so much. I feel like I could relate to and learn a lot from Elsie.

A few low points for me personally were some of the wording that won't age well & cheesy moments that seemed to lean a bit too much into the classic tropes of the genre instead of modern takes, which is typicsl of Hazelwood, and the epilogue. I'm not really into the trope of adding prologues and epilogues to romance novels, I'm not really sure where that came from and why it's so popular. But this prologue didn't add anything to the plot, and the epilogue was mildly confusing. I felt like maybe it was a callback to something within the book, but if it was, I had completely forgotten about the reference by the time I reached the epilogue. Also, what happened to Kyle?? And, I got annoyed by the idea that Elsie's brothers were fully grown adults acting like children, and the mother is okay with that, AND Elsie entertains it? Moments talking about her brothers fighting over some chick were just not convincing to me at all.

I don't factor audiobook performance into my overall review of a book, but I would give Thérèse Plummer 4/5⭐️. She did a fine performance, although her male voices came across as a bit odd, unlike some other female narrators I've heard.

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mzgeee53's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted relaxing 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

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barocap001's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

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kelliereadsabit's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am fuzzy on the details of the live hypothesis, but I do distinctly remember scenes I found less appealing and more problematic when reading it. With this one though I felt much more in line with the characters and their motivations even when they were experiencing problems or doing wrong things. Both characters were fun to learn about and spend time with, though I do think this book really would’ve gone to the next level if it were duel perspective.

This book was fun and funny and a great read for some solid relaxing crochet time. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys flawed main characters who actually recognize their problems and work on them. If you enjoyed other books by this author I’m confident this one will be close to the top of your list.

The main conflict and resolution was particularly refreshing. There was no miscommunication, more a reconciliation of old conflicts. The two characters both worked on their end of things and came together as adults who wanted the relationship to work. Very refreshing!!

This book as some spice, but I would say it’s pretty tame. The characters face misogyny and other concerning behaviors from outside characters, but it’s not the center of the story, and both characters work together to address it (also refreshing).

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manaledi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I've loved all of her stem romances. There's something about the physics puns that really get me. I mean also the characters with their real life anxieties and growth.

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skeptic_hecate's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It is mid, I don't like the virgin/virginal adjacent trope, but it was an okay read.

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beesin03's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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