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mattiedancer's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.5
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
**SPOILERS**
Writing: 3.75⭐️/5
I do like Ali Hazelwood’s writing. I appreciate that this one – while keeping with the funny, quirky, academically driven voice she’s known for – did venture away from feeling like a copy-paste of her other stories. I like how she brings a sense of humour to her writing without diminishing the story or the characters.
Characters: 3.5⭐️/5
Alright, so while, yes, these are very similar characters to her other novels, I appreciated the attempts to move away from her favourite tropes. Our MC is less self-assured than other protagonists in their personality. I loved how Elsie was a self-proclaimed people-pleaser (perhaps just because I definitely related to that). That being said, there are still a lot of similarities to her other protagonists, and I do wish she had stepped even further out of her own shadow with the characters.
Plot: 3.25⭐️/5
I do think Hazelwood tried to venture past her regular tropes here and, while I think that worked well in many sections, there were several portions of this novel that simply seemed to drag. The crux of the conflict in the novel felt slightly forced, and Elsie’s switch from avoiding Jack to running after him felt sudden and out of character. That being said, there are several wonderful sections of this novel’s plot that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Who Should Read This Book?
Fans of Ali Hazelwood; nerdy romance fans; fans of Twilight (trust me); someone looking for a quick, mostly lighthearted read.
Content Warnings?
Gaslighting, misogyny, sexism, mentorship abuse, toxic relationship, death of parent, grief, medical trauma
Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5
Awww. I had fun. I also really loved her tongue-in-cheek reference (and avoidance) of her fave trope: fake dating.
Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5 (3.56)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
noellegrace8's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
4.5
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Gaslighting
cozynreading's review against another edition
0.25
Not a helpful informed picture of type one diabetes without health insurance. As a type one diabetic I appreciate that there have been more efforts at representation but to show an uninsured diabetic with access to things like a CGM and an insulin pump is dangerous and irresponsible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical trauma
antidietleah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, and Outing
black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma
comradeghost's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
As a physicist, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters are so well written and relatable, especially being a non-man in physics. I also finished this in less than 48 hours so…..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Grief and Outing
gabriellelow's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
<light spoilers>
I definitely had mixed feelings about this book, during reading it, immediately after finishing, and 12 hours later. There were things that I liked: the main character not being "fixed" at the end, the empowerment of women in STEM, the cameo of Olive and Adam being used as offering a new perspective of a character who's mind the readers couldn't see, and overall the enemies to lovers arc.
However, I did think that the book was too long and even though, it wrapped up nicely, there were many moments where I was waiting a hundred pages for the resolution I knew was coming.
I definitely had mixed feelings about this book, during reading it, immediately after finishing, and 12 hours later. There were things that I liked: the main character not being "fixed" at the end, the empowerment of women in STEM, the cameo of Olive and Adam being used as offering a new perspective of a character who's mind the readers couldn't see, and overall the enemies to lovers arc.
However, I did think that the book was too long and even though, it wrapped up nicely, there were many moments where I was waiting a hundred pages for the resolution I knew was coming.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting