Love, Theoretically

Ali Hazelwood

Elsie Hannaway is a theoretical physicist scraping by as an adjunct professor while secretly moonlighting as a professional fake girlfriend. Her carefully separated worlds collide when she discovers that Jack Smith, the intimidating experimental physicist competing for the same tenure-track job at MIT, is also the older brother of one of her regular fake-dating clients. What starts as academic rivalry and mutual suspicion slowly gives way to real chemistry as Elsie is forced to be more authentically herself around Jack than with anyone else. It's a witty, STEM-flavored rom-com about identity, ambition, and learning to let someone see the real you.