A dynamic rivals-to-lovers romance.
Two physicists get off on the wrong foot, but they learn to give each other second chances—in both work and love.
Elsie Hannaway is a people-pleaser. When she meets anyone, her first instinct is to give them the answer she knows they want to hear so as not to make waves. This trait has allowed her to model herself into the perfect fake girlfriend, working a part-time gig for an app where she gets paid to accompany single guys to excruciating family events. It’s easy money, and Elsie has managed to separate her fake dating world from her stressful (and badly paid) life as an adjunct professor of theoretical physics at three Boston universities...until now. When she comes face to face with Jack Smith, her current fake boyfriend’s older brother, she realizes that he’s also her professional nemesis, the experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and turned theoretical physics into the laughingstock of the science community. Naturally, he’s also standing in the way of what could very well be her dream job at MIT, since he’s on the hiring committee. Elsie’s first instinct is to battle Jack for the spot she wants, no matter the cost. What she's less prepared for are the lingering looks he gives her or the way he always sees right through the facades she slips on to make herself appear more likable. Fighting in increasingly close quarters, however, only helps Elsie see all of Jack’s hidden angles. Letting Jack, her enemy, get to know her might be the biggest test of Elsie’s willingness to let down her walls, too. Hazelwood’s latest STEM-set novel may be her best yet, addressing not only discrimination among different realms of physics, but the unconscious bias Elsie has to continually fight as a woman in her field. Elsie and Jack’s banter is electric and hilarious from the start, and Jack earns the mantle of a swoonworthy hero who keenly discerns the heart of his love interest even when Elsie doesn’t always represent herself genuinely. Their happily-ever-after is a standout, too—these two are content to take things at their own pace, a refreshing narrative choice that doesn’t conform to every assumption of the genre.
A dynamic rivals-to-lovers romance.Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780593336861
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK TO SCREEN
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Reads like an easy Saturday morning.
A gruff musician and a lively puppeteer join forces to revive a beloved children’s show.
Beverly Lark is a 1970s-style entertainer. With Farrah Fawcett hair and a penchant for bell-bottoms, you might think she’d stepped right out of an old TV show—and in a way, she has. Beverly carries on her grandfather’s legacy by lending her voice to TV’s beloved fuzzy blue puppet, Bernie Bird. But with budget cuts to her nonprofit variety show, Beverly desperately needs to find a way to revive her career and Bernie’s popularity. Rock star Griffin Harvey is Beverly’s complete opposite—where she brings laughter to a room, his music is often overshadowed by his brusque, brooding personality. Since Griffin secretly received custody of his 2-year-old daughter, Ava, he wants nothing more than to stay out of the spotlight, but his management is pushing for a new album and an international tour. Yet the only songs Griffin can eke out are songs for Ava...songs for kids who like Bernie Bird. Then, when Beverly and Bernie appear on a late-night talk show with Grammy nominee Griffin Harvey, everyone’s talking about their chemistry. Hoping to cure his writer’s block and help revitalize her career, Griffin and Beverly agree to work together to create new Bernie content. Holed away in Beverly’s cozy Elk Grove, North Carolina, hometown, it’s easy for them to forget they come from completely different worlds. Will the magic between them stay long after the song is over? Olivia’s latest romance is a testament to the friendly, pleasant worlds she creates, including a quirky cast of characters from Beverly’s family and a sweet single-father storyline. Fans of grumpy/sunshine tropes will devour Griffin and Beverly’s slow-burn relationship like Elk Grove’s famous pancakes, and will feel that every longing glance or touch is well earned.
Reads like an easy Saturday morning.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798217187102
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
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