Is there an audiobook of Love, Theoretically?

Yes. Love, Theoretically has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Thérèse Plummer.

How long is the Love, Theoretically audiobook?

The Love, Theoretically audiobook runs 12 hr 33 min.

Is Love, Theoretically on Kindle Unlimited?

No. Love, Theoretically was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on July 23, 2026.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood book cover for the Book of the Day romance book review

Our score

4.3/ 5

Excellent

Listen to Love, Theoretically free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices may vary.

EDITION PUBLISHEDJune 2023

Genres

Fiction Romance Romantic Comedy

Themes

Being underestimated for how you show careWho gets taken seriously in academia and whyPerforming a role versus being truly seenRivalry that curdles into respect

Love, Theoretically

Name: Love, Theoretically
Price: 5.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood puts a broke theoretical physicist moonlighting as a professional fake girlfriend up against the experimental physicist who tanked her mentor's career, and lets the enemies-to-lovers math do exactly what it should.

The Review

Our take

Elsie Hannaway has a system. Adjunct by day, professional fake girlfriend by night, she's built an entire second income out of reading what people need her to be and becoming it, no data required. It's the kind of premise that could tip into gimmick fast, but Hazelwood grounds it in something sharper: Elsie is a theorist who has spent her whole career being told she's too soft, too people-pleasing, not rigorous enough for the discipline she loves, and the fake-girlfriend gig is really just that same skill turned into a side hustle.

Then Jack Smith shows up. Jack is the experimentalist who publicly humiliated Elsie's mentor years ago, the same Jack who now runs the MIT department standing between Elsie and the tenure-track job she needs to survive. He's also, infuriatingly, the older brother of one of her fake-dating clients, which means Elsie can't just avoid him, she has to sit across a dinner table from the man wrecking her professional life while pretending to date someone else's brother. Hazelwood milks that collision for every bit of comic mileage it has, and there's plenty.

What makes the romance land, though, isn't the premise, it's the reversal underneath it: Jack turns out to see Elsie more clearly, and more kindly, than almost anyone in her actual life. Their scenes together have real heat, but the best beat in the book is quieter than that, the moment Jack tells Elsie exactly what he values about her mind, no performance required on either side. That's the payoff the whole fake-dating structure was building toward, and Hazelwood doesn't rush it.

Why you should read

Fans of enemies-to-lovers with real professional stakes
Readers who liked The Love Hypothesis or Love on the Brain
Anyone who wants banter-heavy STEM romance with genuine heart
Readers who like a heroine's career arc to matter as much as the romance

What to expect

Slow-burn enemies-to-lovers with academic rivalry
Heavy banter and comic set pieces around the fake-dating premise
A full-length romcom with a sizable supporting cast
STEM in-jokes that reward familiarity with the genre

This is a full romcom, five-plus chapters of academic sniping, family chaos, and slow-burn tension before the leads get where they're going, and Hazelwood clearly loves the theoretical-versus-experimental-physics conceit enough to lean on it hard. If you're not already fluent in STEM-romance shorthand, a few of the lab jokes will sail past, and the fake-dating side plot occasionally competes for oxygen with the main event. But the chemistry between Elsie and Jack is the real draw, and it holds up scene after scene, right through an ending that lets Elsie's actual work, not just her love life, matter to how the story resolves. For a book built on people performing versions of themselves, it earns the moment when Elsie stops needing to.

Reviewed by Sloane · How our reviews are written

Our verdict

4.3/ 5

Excellent

Listen to Love, Theoretically free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices may vary.

Where to read or listen

Is there an audiobook of Love, Theoretically?: Yes. Love, Theoretically has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Thérèse Plummer.
Listen to Love, Theoretically free with an Audible trial
We earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
How long is the Love, Theoretically audiobook?: The Love, Theoretically audiobook runs 12 hr 33 min.
Is Love, Theoretically on Kindle Unlimited?: No. Love, Theoretically was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on July 23, 2026.
How much does Love, Theoretically cost?: On Amazon: Kindle $5.99, Paperback $9.01, Hardcover $20.11. Prices as of August 25, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT and may change.

Filed underRomance Romantic Comedy Browse the archive →

More by Ali HazelwoodSee every Ali Hazelwood book we've reviewed, with our scores.All Ali Hazelwood books →

Common questions

What is Love, Theoretically about?: Elsie Hannaway has a system. Adjunct by day, professional fake girlfriend by night, she's built an entire second income out of reading what people need her to be and becoming it, no data required. It's the kind of premise that could tip into gimmick fast, but Hazelwood grounds it in something…
Is Love, Theoretically worth reading?: We scored Love, Theoretically 4.3 out of 5. Ali Hazelwood puts a broke theoretical physicist moonlighting as a professional fake girlfriend up against the experimental physicist who tanked her mentor's career, and lets the enemies-to-lovers math do exactly what it should.