MY REVIEW OF 'LOVE, THEORETICALLY' BY ALI HAZELWOOD | WHIMSICAL SOUL

⭐3.5 stars

“You could be my entire world,” he whispers in my ear before moving to my collarbone. “If you let me.”

Honest. I liked this book just fine. I wanted to like it more, but if anything, this book taught me how important honesty is. It wasn't so good that I'll be singing its praises for all to hear and not so bad that I'll be whacking it with a proverbial stick. I've gotten used to the predictability I expect with all of Ali Hazelwood's works, but this was 4 times too many.

So let me compile a list of everything standard in all her works:

1. A love interest who falls in love with the heroine at first sight.
2. A heroine with low self-esteem and a critical inner voice bordering on self-loathing.
3. A very apparent size difference between the MCs. (half of their interactions are to reinforce the said difference in size further to leave no room for doubt)
4. The hero takes care of the fumbling, awkward, and bewildered heroine when she finds herself in the abysmal pit of despair she dug herself.
5. The hero always knows what's up and how future events will unfold and waits patiently for the heroine, who is always blissfully ignorant, to catch up to him. He sees through everything, is omniscient, understands everything, and sees far ahead.
6. A best friend who's the only person who understands the heroine apart from the hero.
7. A former love interest who crushed her will to find everlasting happiness again.
8. Obstacles in her career brought upon by strange coincidences that only the hero comprehends.
9. A villain with some connection to the hero and whose intentions are obvious to everyone but the heroine.
10. The third act breakup, which always involves lots of crying and confessions of undying love.
11. Finally, a demystified heroine who sees everything clearly by the final chapter is ready to move past her misgivings and take the plunge.

Returning to this book, I liked many things about it too. Number one is the Adam and Olive cameo. It was nice to see my favorite romance couple back; lo and behold, they are just as adorkable as they were the first time.

This book was hilarious too. There were several instances where I laughed out loud and filed away the physics puns in my head for later. Idk why but for some reason, Michael Douglas was Volkov in my head.

Elsie was a hard-working person juggling jobs, lacking health insurance, and encountering a soul-crushing rejection from her potential future employment, all of which made me feel sorry for her. Her struggles for acceptance and showing people who you really are for fear of rejection were palpable. The fake-dating plot felt unnecessary, except that it's how Jack and Elsie first enter each other's orbit. I would've liked to see more of Greg too.

Jack was such a green flag. Brooding, silent, and tortured initially but gradually progresses to being confident, cocky, and intensely horny. He was brilliant at his job, saw Elsie for who she was, and respected her boundaries. He was the perfect book boyfriend and checked all my boxes. But most of their interactions felt more like unsolicited therapy sessions and less romantic interactions with your potential significant other. It just nagged at my mind that Elsie was portrayed as this robot who mirrors people and adjusts her reactions based on their feelings and is set right when Jack modifies her brain wiring with his constant psychoanalysis.

Elsie's growth was phenomenal. She goes from being unsure about everything in her life, mirroring people and giving them what she thinks they want, to accepting herself for who she is and being more honest with herself.

This was my reaction when the sexy chapters finally came around. But it did not land as it usually does. AH writes some of the best smut known to romance readers. But it fell flat and didn't evoke any visceral reaction in me, no giddy warmth and no butterflies. I probably jinxed it, but it was perhaps all the talking, which was great, but it was also kinda distracting.

Also, this book began in a bathroom stall, just like The Love Hypothesis, which is not vital from a review point of view but just an observation I made.

I would recommend it, though, because I'm a simple girl with simple needs and will read everything this author puts out, even if it's just a grocery store receipt.

“In my fantasies, you allow me to keep an eye on you.” I feel his lips at my temple. “And when I really let go, I imagine that you let me take care of you, too.”