A review by madanxiety
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Overall a fine read. Funny premise--both with the fake dating and the scientific community feud. Ali Hazelwood certainly has her types 😂 STEM academia petite woman + STEM academia large, marginally older man. I like how she makes a point to write adult characters who are inexperienced sexually and/or demisexual-coded. However, her portrayals are perhaps a bit too idealic; obviously romance is an idealic genre, but I like to see depictions of sex thats awkward, that doesn't lead to orgasms right away, etc.
My biggest gripe with their first sexual exchange, however, was that Elsie went in for a kiss, and Jack's response was "we're not gonna fuck." It made me think of that Leith Ross lyric, "oh you kissed me, just to kiss me, not to take me home." Like why could they not just kiss? Why would going in for a kiss = let's fuck right now immediately. It could've still led to sex, I just didn't like the implication that initiating a first kiss signals an initiate for sex. Something I liked about the scene was how it finally touched on how Jack's quasi-mind-reading/expecting her not to voice her wants wasn't always in her best interest i.e. he attempted to make her own decision for her, removing her agency.
All in all, it was exactly the romance fix I was craving. Though (well, idk if this is a caveat or not 😏), I had the thought while reading that these might be the most explicit sex scenes I've ever read in a book. So like, be forewarned lol. 

As an aside, I'd like to see a romance novel that inverts this traditional hetero dynamic (inexperienced anxious woman narrator + learned, self-assured male love interest). I'm sure this traditional route appeals to many readers, but doesn't it get tired for anyone else?
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