Summary:
Elsie is barely staying afloat. Her adjunt professor job barely pays enough to cover rent for her bug-infested apartment, and fielding hundreds of poorly written emails from her students is draining away her will to live. She finally has the chance to interview for the job of her dreams, until she realizes that her arch-nemesis, Jack, is on the board for her employment. Hatred turns to understanding to something more, and Elsie realizes that Jack isnot the rigorous and cruel academic she thought he was.
Review (spoiler-free):
The short answer: I loved this book.
The long answer: I would argue that this is my favorite Steminist novel Hazelwood has written. Elsie was by far my favorite protagonist of all Hazelwood’s novels. Her character felt so layered and complex, and her character development was satisfying.
I loved Jack and Elsie’s witty banter and back-and-forth convos. I love enemies to lovers, and this one was the most enemy-to-lover-est (is this a word?) one yet. Their relationship never felt forced or unlikely; Hazelwood took her time developing their relationship.
Hazelwood books follow the same format almost to a T: quirky main protagonist, tall and strapping love interest described as a tree or mountain, struggles with sexist coworkers, and a mentor-turned-villain that is not revealed until the end. But I fall for it every time, hook, line, and sinker!
What I loved most about this installment compared to her past two novels was how well-rounded the story was. It touched upon Elsie and Jack’s relationship and the romance, but also the struggles of working in academia and the politics of academic hiring and mentorship. Hazelwood did a great job highlighting the struggles in academia, especially for adjunct professors, who are expected to work demanding hours with hundreds of students with little pay. Obviously, I loved the romance, but I was also interested in the politics of the world.
Love, Theoretically and Hazelwood’s other works are so fun to read, mainly because it is such escapism in a world where happy endings are not always possible. The main characters in Hazelwood’s world get the loving and supportive guy, get the job, defeat the sexist men in their field, and live happily ever after. But in academia and STEM fields, this is usually far from the case. Hazelwood’s books highlight the struggles of women in STEM, especially for those of us with no scientific background and no understanding of the often complex politics of academia.
I always tear through Hazelwood’s books quickly, but this one I could not put down.
Conclusion
Another adorable and page-turning romance from the queen Hazelwood herself. This has been my favorite of the Steminist novels so far, and I can see myself reading this again in the future when I need to get out of a reading slump or just need a feel-good read.
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