Sticking to the scientific theme of her first project, Hazelwood’s new book follows neuroscientist Bee Königswasser and her nemesis engineer Levi Ward as they team up on a dream project working for NASA. The author-slash-professor has since released an audiobook-first trilogy titled The STEMinist Novellas and is gearing up for the release of her second novel, Love on the Brain. The book’s hashtag on the platform currently has more than 300 million views. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a quick hit, debuting on The New York Times bestseller lists, placing second in the Romance category for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards, and becoming a viral trend on TikTok. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig-until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down.

By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding… six-pack abs. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation.

Ali hazelwood