An Academic Affair

Love Notes #1

by Jodi McAlister, David Berry (Narrator), Marny Kennedy (Narrator)

Listening Length: 9 hours and 37 minutes

A charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Marriage Of Convenience

Audible Audio

First published November 11, 2025

About the author

By day, Jodi McAlister writes romance novels. By other time of day, Dr Jodi McAlister studies them. She's written romantic comedies for adults, romantasy and contemporary romance for young adults, and several academic books.

For adults
If you're a reality TV lover, the Marry Me, Juliet series are the books for you. Even if you're not a reality TV lover, they might be the books for you - several reality TV haters have enjoyed them.

The trilogy all take place at the same time on the same season of a reality dating show called Marry Me, Juliet (which bears a very strong resemblance to The Bachelor). While they all stand alone and can be read in any order, they work best when read in order.

Start with Here For The Right Reasons (he's the series lead, she's the contestant he eliminates on the first night), move on to Can I Steal You For A Second? (she's a contestant, she's... also a contestant), and finish with the book the New York Times called a "full-on villain romance", Not Here To Make Friends (she's the villain, he's the producer who's pining for her).

For young adults
If you're a romantasy reader, you'll like the Valentine series, a young adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy series about smart girls, small towns, and scary fairies. There are three books: Valentine, Ironheart, and Misrule. If Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Holly Black sounds like something you’d be into, these are the books for you.

And if you're a theatre kid, Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending is the book for you. It's my love letter to theatre kids as someone who used to be one.

Academic books
No one really cares much about these on Goodreads, do they? More info on my website if you're interested.

About Jodi
Jodi is originally from Kiama, a seaside holiday town on the south coast of New South Wales, and has lived in a bunch of different cities: Canberra (where she did her undergrad degrees), Wollongong (where she lived while she did her PhD in Sydney), and Hobart (where she held her first academic job) among them. Currently, she lives in Melbourne, where she works as a Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University.

When she’s not writing about romance, Jodi is an academic studying romance. Her research focuses on representations of love in popular culture and fiction. It means that reading romance novels and watching (and let’s be real, writing huge amounts about) The Bachelor/ette is technically work for her.

**Want to dip your toes into the Valentine universe? Try the free short story Galentine, set a year and a bit before the events of Valentine. http://jodimcalister.com.au/galentine/ **

**Want to read a bonus epilogue to Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending? Check it out here: https://jodimcalister.com.au/libby-la... **

Reviews

[Yun · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to vibes, romances can run the gamut. Some are funny, some are steamy. An Academic Affair felt like one big cerebral hug, and I adored every moment of it.

These days, I'm always a little surprised when I enjoy a romcom. Long gone are the days where every single one I pick up is a winner. Now I feel more like a cynic, snarling in my head about the silly characters, unrealistic situations, and forced tropes that make reading a romance more cringey than swoony. So when I find one I actually enjoy, I get pretty excited.

This story works for me on almost every single level. First and most importantly, the premise makes sense. Every book of this genre, in order to cultivate a romance between its main characters, has to come up with valid reasons to keep them interacting with each other. And the one used in here—partner hire—is such an interesting and underutilized method, I have to marvel at its cleverness.

What follows is the sweetest of slow burns, turning academic rivals Sadie and Jonah first into friends, then into lovers. Because their rivalry underpins a lot of their interactions, we also get to participate in a bunch of fun arguments between the two of them, both on the personal front as well as the academic one.

Speaking of academics, I absolutely adored the setting. I have a soft spot for studious, hardworking, smart people who fall in love, and this delivered in spades. We also got to see a lot of Sadie and Jonah's areas of expertise and research, and it was fun to geek out a bit, even in a romance. Their struggle to survive in the cutthroat world of academia made me love them even more.

And maybe all of this hits upon the crux of why I enjoyed this story so much. At a time when other books of the genre seem to come up with ever more over the top schemes in order to force their ridiculous characters together, it's a breath of fresh air to read about genuinely sweet people falling in love under sane circumstances.

By the way, is it me or does it seem like Jodi McAlister is setting up for Chessie and Elias to each have their own stories? If so, I can't wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up An Academic Affair because, honestly, who can resist fake marriage plus enemies-to-lovers in a university setting? The setup had me immediately hooked: Sadie and Jonah have been academic rivals for years, but suddenly they need to fake being married to land the jobs they're both desperate for. It's basically catnip for romance readers like me, and I went in with pretty high expectations.

The best part? These two have history. You can feel all those years of sparring and tension simmering under the surface, especially from Jonah's perspective (his chapters even have little footnotes, which is both adorable and perfectly fits his character). He's been quietly pining while she's been too focused on her career to notice. Sadie's this brilliant, ambitious woman who's terrified of being left behind professionally, and watching her slowly realize what's been right in front of her was really satisfying. Their banter felt authentic—like people who've been circling each other for years and know exactly which buttons to push.

But I'll be honest—the middle got a bit slow for me. There's a lot of domestic scenes about cooking dinner, morning coffee routines, and figuring out shared living spaces, which I get is supposed to show them getting comfortable with each other. The author clearly wanted to build that intimacy through small moments, and I can appreciate that approach. But I kept wanting more of that academic rivalry spark, more moments where their intellectual connection really crackled on the page. I wanted heated debates about literature that turned into something more, you know? I wanted to feel that pull between them beyond just "we're living together now and you're actually pretty great."

The fake marriage element had potential that I don't think was fully explored either. There were opportunities for more tension around maintaining their cover, more moments where the line between fake and real got blurry in ways that mattered to the plot. Instead, it sometimes felt like the marriage was just a convenient excuse to get them under the same roof.

The ending worked for me though. No ridiculous third-act breakup (thank god—I'm so tired of those), and their resolution felt like they'd actually grown as characters rather than just realizing they were attracted to each other. What stuck with me most was how Jonah's quiet, steady love finally got through to someone who'd spent years thinking she had to choose between love and ambition. That felt real and earned.

It's definitely a smart, well-written romance with a fun academic setting that actually feels authentic rather than just window dressing. The author clearly knows this world and these characters feel like real academics—complete with all the neuroses, imposter syndrome, and competitive dynamics that come with that territory. Did it completely blow me away? Not quite—I wanted more emotional intensity and less daily routine. But I still found myself smiling a lot and genuinely caring about whether these two would figure their stuff out.

The writing itself is solid, and both main characters felt fully developed rather than just romance novel archetypes. Sadie's fear of vulnerability rang true, and Jonah's patient devotion never felt like he was just waiting around to be picked—he had his own goals and agency throughout.
I'd give it a solid 4 stars. If you're into enemies-to-lovers with actual substance, characters who feel like real people with real careers, and romance that doesn't require anyone to give up their dreams, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's not perfect, but it's thoughtful and genuinely sweet in ways that made me want to recommend it to friends.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC! Always appreciate getting to read romances early, especially when they're this thoughtful and well-crafted.

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[Mai ༊*·˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ★— An unsatisfying slow burn can really take the shine off an otherwise solid book, and this one ended up proving that for me.

An Academic Affair checks a lot of my boxes: it’s academic rivals to lovers, has a pining MMC, and I was promised a slow burn of all slow burns, which I, as a Mariana Zapata disciple, always love and enjoy. The book does a lot of things right. I liked the buildup, the history of Sadie and Jonah, their academic chase of each other, the intense rivalry that spans a decade and a half, and then their elopement as they both try to get their lives together.

However, the book lost me after that. Once they got married, I quickly felt a little let down. Not for any major reason (nothing terrible happens), but the slow slice of life tension that usually makes the living together part of a marriage of convenience so fun just wasn’t used to its full potential. The story started to meander and didn’t give me enough chemistry post-marriage. All that buildup, filled with years of resentment, complicated feelings, and rich history — all of that! — didn’t end up being used to its fullest, and I kept waiting for the book to give me something that never really arrived.

There’s also a whole plot point involving the FMC’s sister that I didn’t enjoy and that ended up feeling very over the top. Sadie reacts to extremely harmless words from her sister with an intensity that, in my opinion, didn’t make sense, and the repercussions from that drag on for about a quarter of the book, which I hated. The drama wasn’t executed well and mostly just ate up a lot of her mental space in a way that frustrated me.

Where the book does shine is Jonah’s pining. Yes, he absolutely pines! And a down-bad MMC can save a lot of a book for me, which it did here. Jonah is the nerdy, glasses-wearing yearner I was promised. I just wish we’d gotten more scenes that really showcased this side of him and played up more of their tension.

The spicier scenes take a while to show up, with it being a slow burn and all, but once they did, they were solid. I especially liked the use of Jonah's glasses in those moments. Truly, some representation for us glasses-wearers, lmao.

One last thing to mention, which might not even register to most readers but did for me: the constant name-dropping of real, current romance books. Yes, the FMC has an English PhD and specializes in the field, but seeing those book titles felt like the author was shouting out friends and colleagues and repeatedly pulled me out of the story. It ruined my immersion, and even though it wasn’t out of nowhere, it was too gimmicky for me, and I’m just not someone who enjoys that in romance.

But, all in all, lovely buildup and some satisfying pining, just not ultimately as strong as I hoped it would be.

[aira · Rating 3 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 3.25/5

I don't need books to tell me that the job market is cooked. I read to get away from reality lmao. It's ok, because if fictional people are also going through it, then it must mean we're reaching a point where it's becoming super real (as if the economy isn't an indicator already).

I did not like Sadie for a big part of this book. The one scene that I keep thinking back to was the one after they get introduced at the University and they have a fight about it after they get "home". Jonah talked about how hard it was for him to basically live in the shadow of his father. He felt like people look at who he's related to rather than his individual accomplishments. I think his opinion is valid because his father is pretty much a Grade A asshole in all (or maybe just most) of his appearances. Sadie goes completely bonkers on him, not willing to understand his perspective and calls it rich people problems essentially. I'm not against that opinion because we all judge rich people, but when you are in a close relationship with someone, I think understanding where they are coming from is important. If only she had just said "I understand" or something else along the lines of comforting...I mean it wouldn't have killed her. I'm not trying to say it in a way where I'm promoting internalized misogyny, but she had absolutely not empathy for the man even after seeing how atrocious his father is. After she had a conversation with Fiona, she did apologize to him, but her constant reaction is to be on defense. I truly did understand where she was coming from, but her actions were kind of all over the place.

And then we have the fact that Sadie's sister is super abrasive. I'm an older sister myself, but the way she was acting was a little C-R-A-Z-Y if you know what I mean. On one hand, I completely understand her because she was trying to see what Sadie was saying about her in her own way, but on the other hand, her way of showing care is very aloof sometimes.

I guess it was a clear distinction in my head because we had Jonah's sister, Fiona, who behaved completely opposite to how Sadie's sister did. Of course, their relationships are different, but it showed a course of action that kind of reflected the kinds of relationships they had. I would chalk it up to the fact that the relationships are vastly different because no two sibling relationships are going to be the same. Also, I think when it came to Jonah and his siblings vs Sadie and her older sister, there's also the role of parents to consider as well as finances. That's something that could also contribute to the big difference in their relationships with their siblings.

"But you have ridden her coattails into a job you do not deserve...if you do one single thing to drag her down—if you hold her back, even a little—I will ruin you."

So like this is what I meant. This is Sadie's sister by the way. Honestly, the reason Sadie behaving the way she did made a lot of sense when I got the full picture of how her sister was.

"I was in love with my wife."

This happened at 45% and I think given the point of where we were in the storyline, it was too soon. He had a lingering crush, they were basically academic rivals for a long time, they were housemates for 8 years, but most of their interactions were just back and forth. I don't think there's a basis to consider it love yet, but I digress.

Honestly, their fight like right around after this just cemented my feeling. They aren't at a place where I can believe that either one of them truly love each other already.

Aside from all that, personally I couldn't connect much to the story.

I think the first like 25-30% was really good hence giving it a higher rating than I originally intended to. I read some of the footnotes which I thought were cute and it't something new for sure, right on the theme of the book.

I also don't think I have ever read a book with the marriage of convenience trope in an academic setting so I was very intrigued. It wasn't bad and it did have me fairly interested for a long time, but after it got a little too long. The last 30% went by faster because I glazed over their sex scene and a little bit more after that

------

3.25 (for now)/5 + rtc.

------

so marriage of convenience, sign me tf up 🤭

[꧁ ༺Minne༻ ꧂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

15 years of rivalry, 8 years of cohabitation, a marriage of convenience, and enough literary musings on love to fill a small library, yet Jonah Fisher and Sadie Shaw still wouldn’t recognise love if it hit them in the face.

I don't know why romance novels haven't been working for me lately, but I have so much to say. But then again, when do I ever not?



Jonah and Sadie have known each other since undergrad school. They are academic rivals who have argued and competed their way to PhD. So when a dream job opens up in Hobart, they both apply for it. Jonah’s sister is going through a separation from her husband and Jonah wants to be there for her in Hobart. For Sadie, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime.

I don’t even know where to start with this review because at some point while reading, I got full-on déjà vu.

The story is told in alternating POVs and structured by months. In her POV, Sadie internally admits her attraction to Jonah first, but in Jonah’s POV we quickly learn that he fell first. And this time, tragically, he fell harder.

The beginning of this novel did not exactly make me an enthusiastic reader. I found it quite boring until Sadie proposes a marriage of convenience.
My feelings for the first part of this book can be summarised like this:
Me: “Sadie, give Jonah to me. You deserve better.” (but in reality? It's more like give Jonah to me. He deserves better.)

By the end of the novel, it was more like:
Me: “You know what? Keep him. You deserve each other.”

To understand Jonah and Sadie’s relationship dynamics, I’ll highlight one scene:

Jonah comes from an academic family. He doesn’t get along with them because they are intellectual snobs. He is there for Sadie when she is heartbroken over her fallout with her sister. He listens, comforts, and supports her. When Jonah finally opens up about being unhappy living in his father’s shadow after receiving a welcome greeting from faculty in Hobart where he is recognized only as his father’s son, Sadie absolutely goes off on him, telling him to stop his pity party. And I’m sitting here thinking, Girl… this is not the moment.
Console the man. You can mock his pity party later. But no. This is the scene where we truly understand who Sadie is as a person. I thought, naturally, she would be more understanding, especially since she knows about Jonah’s strained relationship with his dad and dislikes him too.

Despite Sadie’s faults, I liked her. She is sweet and sour. She proposes partly because she does not want to lose their comfortable housing arrangement and bill-splitting convenience. Eight years of stability is hard to walk away from. But also because, on some subconscious level, she is attached to him. She needs him more than he needs her so she frames it as doing something noble for Jonah so he does not have to leave academia, so he can be there for his sister.

Eventually, Sadie has an epiphany and realises she has, in fact, been kind of a terrible person. I actually appreciated this. It was humanizing. There is something endearing about a main character who acknowledges their limitations and shortcomings, who does not stay content in their faults, but instead agonizes over them and genuinely wants to do better. In this way, she earns him. It made me glad she had Jonah, glad he was there in this difficult time of her life to support her.

I only wish that Sadie wasn’t incredibly self-sabotaging and impulsive. She doesn’t know when to stop hurting herself and take constructive steps forward.

Then there’s Jonah…
I would be lying if I said the attraction wasn’t mutual between him and Sadie, but his reverence for Sadie borders on mythological. Fifteen years of loving her secretly and doing nothing about it. I genuinely do not know what to make of that.

I don’t usually enjoy these kinds of stories. If you do, you might enjoy every moment of this. But when I think about it… Fifteen years?? Do we fully grasp how long fifteen years is?



In fifteen years you could finish undergrad, a master’s, and a PhD (which, hilariously, these characters somehow did!).
In fifteen years you could build a career, change it twice, and reinvent your entire personality.

In fifteen years you could get married, divorced, remarried, and acquire at least three questionable tattoos.

In fifteen years you could have a small football team of children.
And Jonah spent it… pining. I admire the devotion. I question the life choices.

And yet, I did understand Jonah’s hesitation to confess his feelings. With Sadie’s temperament, you genuinely never know what reaction you will get. And it wasn’t the right time? But when is the right time? Sometimes you just have to make it. Jonah is written as someone who is forever trying to give people what he thinks they need. Support, patience, silence, caretaking, emotional labor. The more I think about it, the less flattering it becomes.

On a good day, he sounds like Gandhi.
On a bad day, a doormat

When I say I want a swoon-worthy hero, I want the kind that yearns, that burns quietly with desire, fights for his love, feels it fiercely, and if he cannot fight, at least makes you believe every beat of the romance.

I suspect the author intended Jonah to be genuinely selfless, but it didn’t fully land because I just wanted him to take the bull by the horns. I think the challenge with writing a character like Jonah is making sure his selflessness and eagerness to serve do not get exploited. Paired with someone like Sadie, the relationship has the tendency to straddle the line of toxic because his emotional needs are rarely met. The tragedy is that he’s willing to take crumbs, as long as it’s from Sadie. For me, this isn’t romantic. If this were a dark romance, maybe it would work. But this is not that genre.

That said, I have to thank Jonah for defending Sadie every time and from saving us from a third act break up before the romance even began! I 👏🏽 kid 👏🏽 you 👏🏽 not 👏🏽people👏🏽 , we were in the third act and the “romance” hadn’t even begun yet.



And, this leads me to my main problem with this book.

The MCs take their sweet time warming up to each other as something other than housemates and the book never actually drags, but here’s the kicker. After all that brick-and-foundation laying, all that slow burn… the romance never takes off for me. Instead it burned me out. And when Jonah finally confessed his love for Sadie, I was just like



At the very least, I thought it would be cozy and sweet, but the romance felt…stale and so unsatisfying. Which, I suppose, is fitting. Because how passionate can An Academic Affair really be?

The conclusion is this did not quite feel like a romance novel. Not really. But then again, maybe that’s the point. In romance novels about people in academia, half the time they are either too oblivious to realise they are in love or too clever not to overthink it and just act.

Updates while reading ༄˖°.☕️.ೃ࿔📚*:･

I wasn't too excited at the beginning, but things are starting to pick up now!

💘 Valentine’s reading list 💘
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
𑣲 Tourist Season
𑣲 A Portrait of a Scotsman
𑣲 An Academic Affair
𑣲 This Book Made Me Think of You
𑣲 Bull Moon Rising
𑣲 Gloves Off

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

For thirteen years, Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals in literature for as long as they’ve known each other as undergrad students. Several times they have tried to put aside their differences and enforce a ceasefire in their fighting, but to no avail until recently. So when an opportunity to teach at a university comes their way, Sadie and Jonah jump at the chance to make the jobs theirs. For Jonah, the job means he gets to be close to his sister, where he can not only help her out but mend their relationship. For Sadie, the job provides financial security and a chance to use her doctorate in a full-time job.

When the emails are sent out and Sadie is offered the job, her conscience gets the better of her, and she feels sorry that Jonah is left in the dust. But then she sees that the job offers a partner hire, she comes up with a crazy idea and presents it to her rival: to legally marry her to get a job at the university. It seems like a simple solution at first, but when sparks begin to fly, Sadie and Jonah start to realize that, although they are bright, educated individuals, they didn’t think this plan all the way through.

Marriage of convenience, ey? You know, I don’t recall ever reading a book with this trope. Maybe a western or something, but that was common back then. This is now, and I always thought that the whole “marry me so we can solve both our problems” was dumb and not very logical, in my “humble” opinion, so I’m with Chess on this one. But, per usual, I was proven wrong because I really enjoyed this book. (Are we surprised? Not in the slightest. 😏)

I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t know what this book was about. 😅 I read the blurb months ago when I requested it, and when I finally got around to reading this, I skimmed the blurb again and began reading. But once Sadie presented the whole marriage plan to Jonah, my eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped. “Wh-what the heck is this?” I blubbered like a fool, scrolling for the information icon. But once I actually read the blurb, it dawned on me that 1) I am an idiot and 2) I should really start paying attention to what I’m reading. Once the shock wore off, I completely missed the marriage of convenience plot, and I continued on my merry way and flew through this like my life depended on it.

I liked Jonah and Sadie. 😍 He was sweet, and she was funny. They balanced each other out, and I happily watched them act like a married couple while trying not to act like a married couple. 😂 Was it predictable? Yeah, it was, but there were still some nice little surprises and cute moments sprinkled here and there to keep a smile on my face. ☺

But I loved how scholarly they were. It made me want to read all the great works of then and now and just study them and write a paper on the themes, the history, and the characters. What I also loved was how natural their relationship blossomed into something more. First, they were rivals, then they became friends, and then they became lovers, like Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. They realized that they needed each other–not in a co-dependent way, but in a “we're meant for each other, so let’s do life together” kind of way. It was sweet, and I really appreciated it because most books just jump right into the romance, and it doesn’t feel like the love was even deserved or worth it.

And do you want to know what the best part is? THERE WAS NO THIRD-ACT BREAKUP! No running away, no miscommunication to make someone run away, nothing! I was cringing as I got to the last part of the book, waiting for the inevitable “I can’t do this, so let me break things off or run off and break your heart” to happen, but it didn’t. They talked it out like adults, and I was so freaking happy! 😭👏🏼 Heck, I should give this an award or something because that alone deserves one. 🏆

The only thing that I didn’t like about the book was the swearing. There was literally so much of it! Look, I don’t really mind swearing, but if this were a movie, it’d be rated R just for the amount of f-bombs being thrown around. 😅 But it’s not really that big of a deal, especially since I really, really enjoyed the ending. 😭❤

Overall, this was a cute romance book, and I totally recommend this! 🥰

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own.

❗Content Warnings❗
Mentions loss of a parent & misogyny.
Swearing: Yes.
Spice: Yes (🌶🌶🌶/5)

[el · Rating 3 out of 5]

we have yet another case of "love interests positioned as either rivals or enemies—not because they're ever truly at odds, not because the author is interested in (or able to explore) the interpersonal chafing that initially prevents two people from establishing trust or intimacy, not because they know the phase that comes before WE'RE ATTRACTED TO EACH OTHER :D is integral to tension and pacing—but because the author needed a thin excuse to throw in some quippy banter to simulate struggle/movement/will-they-won't-they?"

i am not a fan. when your characters are adults, we need to see some actual scene-writing to justify the occasional "you're dumb!" "no, you!"-level back-and-forth that ""rivals"' call for. otherwise the banter that i'm reading is just Shady AF Comebacks repackaged. no one is laughing. you two are in college. grow up.

the book TELLS US that these two characters have been competing academically for years, but rarely do we see actual glimpses of that competition or early dislike. mostly, we see the aftermath, or we get it neatly packaged up in the form of summary (with a nice little ribbon and everything).

in general, i found jonah to be a pretty one-note mmc. when done well, i love a "he fell harder" love disparity, but from beginning to end, jonah is just kind of always obsessed with sadie. the academic """rivalry""" is a vehicle for that obsession. he plays into it to be near her. the obsession doesn't bloom in spite of the rivalry (which is the more difficult writing choice, and therefore more rewarding to read about). there's never an interior shift or change for him. his emotional journey is a straight shot towards the eventual get-together.

and yet, when his professor father berates sadie to her face, jonah kind of just stands by and lets it happen? i would NOT object to this kind of character choice if it was treated as an actual flaw by the book (passivity is an excellent option for character weakness!), but when this eventually comes up in conversation, jonah defends his passivity by arguing that if he'd rushed to sadie's defense at the time, it would have seemed like he was white knighting for her.

GIRL, WHAT???? if your flesh and blood is coming to campus to give a random classmate a verbal lashing for no reason other than her academic success, you DAMN WELL better take some fucking responsibility and intervene. this pissed me off so much. and the fact that sadie heard jonah say this and was like omg 🫣 he trusts that i can handle myself/fight my own battles! 🥰

MAN SDFLJSDFLKJSDFLKG.

i felt like i was watching that old jay versace vine where he's like, "GET YOUR FUCKIN' DOG!" and the other character in the skit is like, "it don't bite :)" while the dog is snarling and lunging.

get your FUCKASS DAD OUT OF HER FACE. i can't believe this. i can't believe this was brushed over. if my academic rival brought a parent to our campus events and that parent insulted my research in front of my family/faculty/peers, while my rival just sat there like 😁.....nah, you're getting a voodoo doll and i'm sticking it full of pins. i am not forgiving you. i am CERTAINLY NOT moving in with you for nearly a decade????

so they live in a sharehouse for like 8 years (with some other background characters/cardboard cutouts that come up once or twice, then never again)—WHILE the rivalry is still ongoing. and we don't even get any forced proximity a la "omg, seeing my academic rival in a domestic context is so strange and confusing?!?!?"

so many wasted opportunities in this book.

eventually, we get a marriage of convenience. and yet...very little forced proximity a la "damn, we have to act married in front of other people now.....but WAIT, we don't like each other....but we HAVE TO SELL OUR LOVE STORY BY KISSING....but it's so gross having to touch each other.... unless....?"

everything about this book was lukewarm. the greatest writing choice jodi mcalister made was positioning the University/institutions of higher learning as the true enemy (based). there is some excellent commentary woven into this novel as pertains to labor, unions, and worker exploitation. it's true that people offered positions of power in these institutions often become tyrants because of systems like capitalism. i enjoyed this aspect of the book, and i can even get behind the choice to completely remove (or rethink) the third-act break-up.

i will say, however, that an academic affair suffers from the kind of unsubtle, in-your-face character writing that most contemporary romance novels exhibit today. from beginning to end, jonah's professor dad is a mustache-twirling, let-me-tie-you-to-the-railroad-tracks-level villain. there is a literal anecdote involving a teddy bear that jonah's dad takes from him and will not give back until jonah (who is, mind you, 7 YEARS OLD?) can construct "a persuasive enough argument as to why" he needs it back. it's so laughably absurd, i was rolling my eyes.

like my god. do romance writers know that their characters can be morally grey? that their villains can also display positive behavior/traits? that they can act normal every once in a while without us getting confused? that they don't have to be constant, unremitting emotional terrorists for readers to understand them as a source of tension and turmoil?

some other unforgivable writing choices committed by this book:
• text speak outside of texting, specifically in a character's interior monologue. if your book does this, it's an immediate docked star. i'm not fucking around anymore. there is no reason why a book this interested in the literary canon + intertextuality needs to be using the *cough* *cough* meme for humorous effect. not funny. didn't laugh. to the cringe timeout corner you go.
• this line of dialogue: "I've read all those books by all those pale, male, stale scholars [...]." this should've never made it past an editor's desk.
• "We were both wearing our own variety of armour. [...] I applied eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man." it just now occurs to me that this was in fact a direct reference to taylor swift. if i were a crueler person, i would bring my 3 star rating down to a 2 for that. notice i am exercising incredible restraint here. taylor swift is also on my romcom red flags list, right beside lin manuel miranda.
• speaking of. the hamilton reference. if you're gonna do all that, do it where we can't see.
• jonah not wanting to kiss sadie (who quite literally asks to be kissed) because she's crying a little and he "doesn't want to take advantage" of her gsodfijkgdfs i'm sorry. this one really made laugh. i know a lot of you dream of book boyfriends written with this much tact (and for good reason, given our sociopolitical reality), but a man treating a minor emotional fluctuation like it's a psychoactive substance altering a woman's mental faculties is so fucdsljkgsdfkj bitch KISS HER. she is OF SOUND MIND, i promise. the fuck is this? a sexual harassment training video played by someone's boss? she WANTS YOU CARNALLY. OPEN YOUR DAMN MOUTH.
• this leads me into my next point, which is that i wish romance writers would find a middle ground between mmcs whose chapters are littered with nonstop objectification of the fmc and mmcs who are so tentative and so prone to overcorrection, they might as well be wearing a t-shirt that reads WRITTEN BY A WOMAN (*Alexa, play Harry Styles!*) 😇😋😍😏. i can't take any more of this. i just want to read about some guy. i don't want him to see the fmc and go, "hummina hummina hummina AWOOOGAAA! HER TITS! WOW! INSTA-BONER!" i also don't want him to see the fmc in a tank-top and go, "omg 😔👉👈 her b-b-b-boobs...i mean...breasts.....i can't look at them or i'll be taken out back and shot for my crimes." I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. I CAN'T.

the other positive this book has going for it is that it's written by an australian person (granted, she's also an academic), so it is immediately and undeniably more literate than almost anything our american writers have going on over in the commercial romance category. you don't often pick up american romcoms and see a writer other than shakespeare referenced (or, like, fucking sarah j. maas). our education system is ass. we are woefully under-read, particularly when it comes to books written over 10 years ago. so it was nice to read a romance book this cultured.

other than that, i can't say i enjoyed this much. 2.7/5. this book had heart. it did not, however, have any real chemistry.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 / 5 Stars
Ughhh, I loved this book so much. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Dare I say, my favorite book? It was just perfect to me. Okay, quick synopsis before I gush for a while. Ever since they got into their first literary argument freshman year 15 years ago, Sadie and Jonah have been academic nemeses. They have tried to call many truces but they just can’t seem to not poke each other’s buttons. When a faculty teaching position opens up, and they don’t come up often, Sadie and Jonah both need it desperately – Jonah needs to move closer to his sister and her kids and Sadie needs it because it is one of the only positions in her field of literary study that has come up in forever. When one gets it and the other doesn’t, they decide to use the partner hire clause in the contract. They just have to get married, no big. But Sadie and Jonah find out that it is hard to stay rivals when you live, work, are legally married to each other, and start to develop feelings for each other.

You will probably like this book if you like:
📘 Intellectual sparring as foreplay
📓 Rivals to friends to lovers
📘 Marriage of convenience
📓 He falls first and harder
📘 Slow burn
📓 Forced proximity (with a dash of “oops, there is only one bed”)
📘 Complex sibling relationships

I love the relationship between these two. I find that the rivals to lovers trope can feel forced but it felt so natural here. Jonah loves having spirited debates with Sadie, loves having her push him, and has a big old crush on her so when she doesn’t reciprocate, it is easier to just keep arguing with her than trying to figure out why she doesn’t feel the same way. Sadie has been so focused on work and so focused on how Jonah is the epitome of the establishment and privilege that she just can’t see him in that way. But he also pushes her to be better. Hence the 15 years of rivalry. All of that tension and all of those years of familiarity make it easy to believe that they would fall in love because at the end of the day, their arguments are based in mutual respect and valuing each other’s intelligence. Jonah and Sadie feel like true equals. Also, how perfect is the name Jonah for an academic who loves tweed jackets? So perfect.

I loved how layered they were without feeling overwritten. Jonah and Sadie were flawed and had complex histories but everything felt rooted in reality. They have complicated family dynamics. They have had to work hard for different reasons but with the same results. They are rooted in their dynamic in many ways, but one sentence could perfectly sum up why they changed their attitude or belief in a believable way, which is just really good writing. And all of their harshest personality traits had softened edges. Stubbornness, brashness, grudge holding – they all felt real but they come from gooey centers, so any “bad” behavior didn’t last long, because Jonah and Sadie saw the humanity in each other.

I loved how this book was quiet in its power. We mostly got to see Jonah and Sadie living together and working together. All very domestic with nothing audacious, big, or glamorous. It reminded me of “Promise Me Sunshine” in a way – just two people living real lives. But that is what made the romance feel real. For characters to go from rivals to friends, it would take a lot of small intimate moments based in real experiences. For characters to go from friends to lovers, it would take a lot of small intimate moments based in real experiences. That’s why it works. And this one is a sloooooowww burn, folks. And Jonah is such a simp (complimentary). It was so perfect in that way.

Honestly, I just wish it was longer! I could have used another chapter before the epilogue. I probably could have read another book about them. And there were some really nice touches in the writing. Chapters from Jonah’s POV had footnotes which was a cute touch. Sadie and Jonah also both talked about literary theory and how it applied to their lives and quoted literature in ways that were relevant to the story and I mostly followed along (proud of myself here).

Prepare to be sick of me when it comes to this book. Highly, highly recommend!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for providing this eARC.
Publication Date: November 11, 2025

______________________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I’m actually super excited to read this ARC. You get a lot of intellectual sparring as foreplay which I love because you can guarantee that they like something other than each others’ looks. Gosh, I love academic nerds.

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay now where are all the other stories about chess and that wine guy clearly and also fiona and that other wine guy obviously and Elias and that other history girl i mean come onnnnn. ???? need those romances in my hands STAT. and also I’m just SO HAPPY for them how dare they be so in love I’m going back on hinge wtf

[Fernanda (ivyfer_isreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up.
Almost a perfect romance.
In An Academic Affair we follow two PhD professors who decide to get married to get a job they both want but only one got. They are also always at each other's throats for one reason or the other, and that made their dynamic só fucking fun.
I love how in this book it's totally believable that these two are adults, they don't act like teenagers and you might think this is the bare minimum but the number of times I've read adults behaving like 12 year olds is crazy. I've also waited so long for an author to be brave enough to not use the same resolution to a fake dating arrangement( no third act break up here either).
The talks they have about literature are so interesting, and the way life as an academic is portrayed is pretty accurate from what I know of it. I believe the author has a PhD herself, so that's probably why.
I like everything about this: the slow burn(we're talking SLOW), the banter, the side characters are great(I would read an entire book about them, please Jodi do it for me), the writing, the pace. The only thing I didn't like, the reason for the missing .5 star is that I don't like the conflict at the end and how rushed the resolution is. But that's totally a preference, it didn't affect my reading experience I'm just trying to be more critical nowadays.
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes romance.

Thank you Edelweiss and Atria for the ARC!

[Grace Quan · Rating 3 out of 5]

💙˗ˏˋ ꒰ 📚 ꒱ ˎˊ˗ 3 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 ✰

📖 |𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕: e-copy 📱
📝 |𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: romance
📄 |𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 368
📆 |𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 : 3/14-3/15
📌 |𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆: Rivals to lover in academia setting
💬 |𝒇𝒂𝒗 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆: ❝I had a doctorate in literary studies, but I did not have the words to explain what it felt like to be looked at – to be perceived – by Sadie Shaw. ❞

💌 |𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔:
•Rivals-to-lovers
•Marriage of Convenience
•Academia setting
•literature professors

ᯓ★ 𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺:

This was a solid rivals to lovers book. Or now that I think about it, the rivals portion was really put on the back burner in favor of the marriage of convenience. Although I thought that worked well, I would have liked a little more background on the two characters' rivalry. This could have worked amazingly well as a duel timeline story; switching between the present and during the height of their rivalry. This could have added so much more context to the characters' dynamics and it would have made the moment they got together much more powerful. I just needed a bigger peak into their rivalry in the beginning when they first met.

The yearning in this book was good, but it could have been better. Since this book is duel perspective, there was a missed opportunity for the guy's perspective to have so much yearning.

In term of how much tension this book had, it's definitely on the sweeter side as opposed to something more steamy with more chemistry and heated glances/touches. I thought that was appropriate for the atmosphere of this book. Definitely more on the light academia side. I also appreciated that this book explored the English lit side of academia instead of the STEM side that I usually read about.

ᯓ★𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺:

Overall, the characters were really enjoyable to read about.

Sadie: I've always been drawn to the competitive academically driven type. So it was no surprise that I adore her character. I mean, her Phd is in popular fiction and that's like all I read. So I loved all her nerdy little literature references. Her dissertation was on a word that has fascinated me for a while: Eucatastrophe. I've written English lit papers on that word so it was so relatable to me that she was fascinated by it.

Jonah: I was surprised by the depth of this character. Although I don't agree with everything that he did throughout the book, I think all of his actions inspired such a deep character.

ᯓ★𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑫𝑰𝑪𝑻:

Yes! If you like light academia and marriage of convenience, I think would love this book a lot.

[Liana Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️ I’ll make it short and sweet: A cute, soft and sweet, academic rivalry that turned into marriage of convenience followed by a growing, slow burn romance that had all the romance tropes—one bed, fake dating, forced proximity resulting in a HEA! Perfect for anyone that loves cute, feel-good contemporary romance with bickering/meddling family members and nerdy characters. This is perfect for Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren or Katherine Center fans.

This book carried heart and joy and you can really feel the academic vibes with all the literary references. The importance of family and strong sister ties gave it such “homey” feel even with the family conflict that presented in the book. It’s literally what I would call a “fluffy” book at the end of the day.

What didn’t work for me was the slow pacing, the drama/conflict between Sadie (our FMC) and her sister Chess that I thought was a tad overextended and character development was lacking. We know all about their family members but not much about the main characters. And not a lot was really going on (aside from the sister conflict and development of feelings). I think I needed a little more comedic relief in this one to make it more appealing.

The backdrop of academia was different, made a good setting for the book. The little bickering added a little charm. It was real cute. I think most contemporary romances usually have a lot of repetition or a looming presence of some kind of conflict/drama that is used as a “filler”. Authors just need to get creative with their fillers to add more depth and tell.

My first book my Jodi McAlister and I’ll be reading more of her work!

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books Publisher and the author, Jodi McAlister for sending me this eARC!

Publication date: November 11, 2025

[DianaRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

a favorite read of 2025🩵

happy pub day to my new all time favorite romance novel!

some minor spoilers below, but nothing absolutely major, so be warned!

i absolutely devoured an academic affair; and i just have to emphasize how much I loved that Jonah yearned for Sadie for 15 years! “Men who Yearn” needs to be a social revival movement - every single woman deserves a man who completely and utterly yearns for her.

Not to mention, there was a moment between Jonah and Sadie that heavily reminded me of the scene with Robin Williams and Matt Damon from Good Will Hunting, when Jonah tells Sadie that Chessie’s behavior and their father leaving them is “not her fault”. Tears, when I read that!!
--

full rtc closer to pub day but all you need to know about this book is that it’s now one of my new all time favorite reads, jonah brought back yearning, and there was a good will hunting-esque moment 🥲💗

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 52%

I want to like this book SoooOooOo bad and continue reading but I’ll be honest..it’s very boring and the characters are so flat 😭 the characters are boring, the story pacing is so slow and I just do not feel any romantic connection between either of them. For an academic “rivals to lovers” I’m just not feeling that these two are actually going to fall in love. The yearning is meh to pretty much none.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a full spoiler version of this review, please check out my blog, spoiledbooks.blogspot.com (link fixed!)

This book was just… so sweet. The kind of romance that quietly sneaks up on you and softens even the most jaded reader. 🥲

An Academic Affair follows longtime academic rivals Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher, who find themselves tangled in an enemies-to-lovers, fake marriage situation thanks to the brutal realities of academia. What starts as a purely practical arrangement (very academic of them) slowly turns into something far more real.

The chemistry between Sadie and Jonah is palpable — everyone can see it except them, which somehow makes it even better. Their awkwardness, overthinking, and intellectual sparring feel incredibly authentic and often laugh-out-loud funny.

Smart, charming, and heartfelt, this is a cozy romance with bite — and I was fully invested. 📚💙

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will concede that you said a pretty mean thing to your sister. But you've spent fifteen years saying mean things to me and I have loved you every second of them anyway."

4.5 stars

This was SO CLOSE to being a full 5 stars for me.

This book completely snuck up on me honestly. I went into it thinking it was going to be an average, enjoyable read. But this sucked me in immediately and I loved their dynamic, and that only got better and better as the story progressed, and both characters were great on their own, but they were a powerhouse together.

My only issue was the whole storyline with her sister. I just think it was BS (on her sister's side) and the resolution of it was quick and unbelievable. I also wish something more would have been done with his father because telling his father to shove it would have been so hot.

But I absolutely recommend this. And I MUST get myself a physical copy because there are footnotes that weren't listed until the end of the egalley I read and I'm sure they're gonna hit so good in the printed version 🥰

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Dayle (the literary llama) · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the many many many slow pages of build, there’s finally some momentum and drama, and it cuts to a quick resolution in the epilogue?!!! I’m mad.

*Spongebob-style screen slide*
3 Weeks Later…

I’m calm now. Here’s the rest of my review…

It started well enough, with a great premise and a compelling rivalry. Recounting various truces and confidences along the way but ultimately being at academic loggerheads and stuck in differences of disposition. Very promising.

Then it became a slog. The benchmark moments in the marriage of convenience trope took forever to set up and then to actually get to. And, while Sadie and Jonah had a charming dynamic, their story and relationship became secondary to Sadie’s with her sister. A storyline that provided anxiety throughout and is just left hanging there until the very end, bringing the whole book down.

And then it was the end. Which just made me mad.

Overall, I feel like I wasted my time.

* I received a free early copy from the publisher

[Catherine (alternativelytitledbooks) - still catching up! · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Many thanks to Edelweiss, Atria, and Jodie McAlister for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

It might take two to tango, but it ALSO takes two to argue...and nobody knows that better than Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher. Well, when they're presenting opposing ACADEMIC arguments, that is. See, though their specialties vary slightly, Sadie and Jonah both love literature and will defend their POVs within an inch of their lives. Their sparring has become sort of a constant over the years as they came up through undergrad together and are now venturing out into the professional world, hoping to get one of the rare and coveted open roles in their specialty.

But naturally this lends itself to a very obvious problem: to stay in Australia and end up in their desired locale, these two rivals end up forced to compete for their dream job. It also just so happens the job is located where Jonah's sister and child lives, and if there was ever a time she needed her brother nearby...it's now. Wracked with guilt (and maybe a few other feelings she isn't ready to name JUST yet) she decides to go out on a limb and make a proposal of her own...to Jonah. If he agrees to a marriage of convenience, she might be able to get him a job at the same university as a spousal hire.

Unbeknownst to Sadie, this proposition sounds incredible to Jonah for a couple of reasons...and the thought of getting to continue his tête-à-têtes with Sadie is enough to give him a flutter in his stomach that he can't quite name. But when they arrive, office politics and budget cuts end up putting BOTH of their careers in jeopardy. On top of THAT, Sadie's sister and bestie Chess won't even speak to her after her fly-by-night wedding...and it's just about broken Sadie's heart. Will the world and the troubles surrounding them cause this faux marriage to crumble before it has a chance to stand? Or will these two frenemies discover the heat between their arguments was a strange sort of latent passion...and that maybe they can't live with OR without one another?

I'm always a bit wary of fake DATING, much less a fake marriage trope in my romances. With a fake dating trope, you can get away with a YA/NA feel to the book (even if it falls outside of those genres) because well, younger adults can act a bit like mischievous teens without anyone really batting an eye. But when it comes to MARRIAGE? Well, now you're requiring your characters to be of a certain age...and therefore ACT a certain age, with (hopefully!) enough maturity not to make me roll my eyes.

It is a huge relief, then, to report that both Sadie and Jonah were MC's that ACTED LIKE ADULTS...and that their faux marriage not only made sense, but was driven by economic and job security!

Holy practicality, Batman! 🦸

(Woo! Okay, so this is a weird thing to cheer for in a way. But you know what I mean! 😉)

Grounding this out-there premise in reality was only one essential piece of the puzzle, though. McAlister leads off the book a la One Day with a series of chapters leading up to present day that touch on Jonah and Sadie's relationship at several important moments throughout their lives, giving us JUST enough backstory to feel like we know these characters fairly well BEFORE they tie the knot. This may seem obvious, but I think so many authors try to insert a sort of insta-love feel in these types of books to make them work, and nothing reads authentic in a situation where everything ALREADY was a show. Jonah was even allowed to PINE for Sadie throughout and it was just so refreshing to see true YEARNING that was driven by deep, thoughtful care that had blossomed over many years.

And you'll get to take a turn yearning too, dear reader...this is a SLOOOW burn with no real 'action' until 75%. That being said? Much like true yearning, once you actually GET what you want?

COMPLETELY worth the wait.

My only other quibble with this one is with Sadie's sister Chess, a character so infuriating you will be almost as anxious for Sadie to cut ties with her as you are for Jonah and Sadie to declare their feelings. Not only is the Sadie and Chess conflict dragged on FOREVER, you'll come to find out why I find her reaction and behavior so frustrating if you read this one. To sum it up without spoilers, one could say that perhaps if Chess accepted a mother like role in Sadie's life for her...oh, I don't know...ENTIRE life...that Sadie would then be incredibly broken when her 'mom' chose to abandon her, especially when she ALREADY HAD abandonment issues?

(Yes, I also wish Sadie had more of a spine at times...but I still felt for her!)

In a cute nod to academia, this book also has footnotes throughout. I would note that at least in the early copy I reviewed, however, that this would work better in print, as I at first thought this was an issue with formatting rather than footnotes. Also very curious how they handle this in audiobooks...are the footnotes just sort of muttered under the narrator's breath?

(Sidenote- apparently I need to start listening to more audiobooks to get to the bottom of these and other unsolved mysteries! 🕵️😁)

And while the jury's still out on who had the better 'argument' or who got the last word, I'd posit one theory of my own: if this is just the beginning for McAlister, she'll be a truly Distinguished Author in no time! 🧑‍🏫

4 stars

[Kelsey reviews•books · Rating 4 out of 5]

▹TL;DR Review: I love an academic rivals-to-lovers story, and this was a fun read that also taught me what eucatastrophe meant. Learning while falling in love is fun! The conflict resolution left a little to be desired, imo, but I overall would recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jodi McAlister for the eARC!! This book comes out November 11, 2025.

▹My ⭐ Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5
▹Format: 📱 eReader
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○★○ What to Expect from This Book: ○★○

– About: Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since undergrad, competing in the literature/English field. When Sadie lands a coveted full-time teaching job that offers a partner-hire clause, she proposes a marriage of convenience to Jonah so they can both secure positions—only to discover the rivalry has deeper personal undercurrents and the fake-relationship may become real.
– FMC: Sadie Shaw (aka “darling”). ~32-year-old who specializes in Popular Literature. Ambitious, assertive, and driven by the desire for stability and recognition. Sometimes blinded by self-doubt. Knows a thing or two about contemporary romance books. Loves gardening. Is not a good cook.
– MMC: Jonah Fisher. ~32-year-old who loves Shakespeare. Knows he’s privileged but also wants to make a name for himself only on his own merits. Yearns painfully for a sharp-tongued red-head he’s known for 15+ years. Loves cooking.
– Location: Australia (partially in Sydney, partially in Hobart, Tasmania)
– POV: Dual first-person including footnotes in Jonah’s chapters
– Spice: 1 open-door spicy scene
– Tropes: rivals to lovers, marriage of convenience, literary MCs, slow burn, academic setting/workplace romance, forced proximity, only one bed, complex family relationships (specifically between siblings), miscommunication (but not between the main characters), he falls first
– Content warning: misogyny in the workplace, divorce/cheating (secondary character), parental abandonment, parental strained relationship, grief (mention of death of parent due to cancer), workplace politics
– Representation: non-binary character (minor character)

─────────────────────────

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:00 ──ㅇ────── 4:12

Now Playing: You’re On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift

╰┈➤ ❝’Cause there were pages turned, with the bridges burned; everything you lose is a step you take…❞

─────────────────────────

★○ If You Like the Following, You Might Like This Book ○★

➼ Books about book lovers/literary academics, like Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams, You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon, Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady, and Book Lovers by Emily Henry (honorable mention: most any Ali Hazelwood book, but instead of literary academic, Ali’s characters are more maths/science academics)
➼ Putting on your glasses, sitting on the sofa with a chilled glass of local Riesling, and eating pizza while watching reality love shows with your fake spouse
➼ Cute literary references to back up cute banter (by way of footnotes)

─────────────────────────

⍟»This or That«⍟

Character Driven———✧————————Plot Driven
Fast Burn—————————✧——Slow Burn
Sweet————✧———————Spicy
Light/Fluffy——————✧—————Heavy/Emotional

─────────────────────────

🎯 My Thoughts:

I overall really liked this book! It had such strong tension between the characters, and the prose felt a little more elevated than your typical contemporary romance—which fits perfectly with the theme of literary academia. The writing has that smart, slightly higher-brow edge that makes it feel like you’re reading a romance written for people who love books.

One of my favorite stylistic choices was the inclusion of footnotes in Jonah’s chapters. They gave insight into his personality and thought process in such a clever way. (That said, if you’re using a screen reader, flipping back and forth might be tricky since the eBook’s footnotes are placed at the end.)

What Worked for Me
The Romance. Even though marriage of convenience isn’t usually one of my favorite tropes, I really enjoyed how it was handled here. It felt believable—grounded in the characters’ circumstances and their shared history rather than just being a convenient plot device. Jonah’s yearning was both delightful and, at times, a little frustrating, but it made the slow burn incredibly satisfying. There were moments I honestly doubted whether Sadie even liked him, but that uncertainty made the payoff all the more rewarding. It never veered into insta-love territory; instead, it was subtle, patient, and earned.

Family & Emotional Themes. What really stood out to me is that this isn’t just a romance—it’s a family love and healing story in a broader sense.

Jonah’s family dynamic, especially his relationship with Fi, was one of my favorite parts. I loved watching him unlearn the competitive patterns his parents instilled in him and instead choose connection. His bond with Fi felt so genuine and heartwarming, though I did wish Elias had more presence—by the end, I almost forgot he existed!

Sadie’s relationship with her sister, Chess, was also beautifully written in the first part of the book. You can feel the deep loyalty and dependence between them, which makes their conflict even more impactful.

What Didn’t Work for Me
Interestingly, the big miscommunication in this book isn’t between the romantic leads (thankfully!), but between Sadie and Chess. I actually liked that this was the central emotional conflict—it gave the story more depth. However, I didn’t fully agree with how it was handled. I understood why Chess was hurt and needed boundaries, but the silent treatment dragged on longer than felt reasonable.

Similarly, the workplace politics—which had been building tension in the background—wrapped up too quickly for my taste. Both of the book’s main conflicts kind of fizzled at the end, which left me wanting just a bit more resolution.

Despite those hang-ups, this book was a genuinely enjoyable and smartly written romance. The slow-burn connection between Sadie and Jonah felt realistic and emotionally rich, and the family themes added depth beyond the typical love story.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Especially to readers who love literary settings, academic rivals, and romances that prioritize character growth over cliché. It’s witty, introspective, and quietly tender—a love story that lingers.

_________________
Pre-read thoughts: another rec by bestie Lina! Verrrry excited for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jodi McAlister for the eARC!! This book comes out November 11, 2025.

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ initial thoughts: it’s okay. Cute and charming and I love to see two academic nerds at the center of a love story. The tropes aren’t my favorite (I’m not a big fan of marriage of convenience especially among “rivals”) and I think that prevented me from loving it. I also wish I had eyeball read it versus reading via audio, although then I’d miss the beautiful Australian accents.

Thank you Atria Books and Simon Audio for the gifted copies.

[jasmine ☆₊⁺🦢🪽₊⁺★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
╰► 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!

❰ 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰! ❱

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒓𝒔. 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒉 𝑭𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒓. 𝑺𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒘.”

₊˚ʚ ➼➻❥ 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨 📋
╰┈➤ sadie shaw and jonah fisher have been fierce academic rivals for over a decade, but when a prestigious full-time teaching position arises—with a partner-hire option attached—they form an unexpected plan. to secure the jobs they both need, these rivals agree to enter a legal marriage of convenience. what begins as a strategic academic arrangement quickly becomes complicated as genuine chemistry surfaces and long-buried feelings emerge. soon, sadie and jonah must decide whether their marriage is just a brilliant academic scheme—or the start of something real neither of them planned for.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨💭
╰┈➤ this book was such a cute and bingeable read. i really enjoyed these characters and their 13 year rivalry. when i applied for this book on netgalley, i was so intrigued by both the cover and description, so i was really glad that i got accepted for it. i would recommend this book to people who love: marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and academic rivals to lovers.

₊˚ʚ ➼➻❥ 𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙬 📖
✶࿐”𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎.”✶࿐
╰┈➤ in all honesty, there were times in this book where sadie was a little bit insufferable. i didn’t like the way she treated her sister in the beginning because it was just so rude. but, her character slowly became more interesting and i slow,h started to like her. i feel like there’s not a lot of information i can say about sadie because she did feel a little bit dense at times. but, i did eventually enjoy her role in this story.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝙟𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙝 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧📝
✶࿐“𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏?”✶࿐
╰┈➤ hehe… jonah was lowkey submissive af… and i loved it. he was my favorite part of the whole book because he was actually yearning for sadie so bad. for 13 (15) years, he loved arguing with her and literally just the way he spoke so highly of her had me smiling so much. his reassurance towards sadie too… man where can i find myself a jonah? like fr. and he wears glasses 🤭 #needthat no but actually, he feels so authentic with the way he carries himself and his feelings and i loved that.

₊˚ʚ ➼➻❥𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣🔒
╰┈➤ this book is getting published on november 11, and i would recommend it if you want a quick and easy read. it’s pretty fast paced (sometimes it feels like there are things missing from the story) but interesting nonetheless.

°•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•
₊˚ʚ ➼➻❥𝙦𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙✨

𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉. 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 " 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅, 𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒃𝒔. "𝑰𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘."
"𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕, 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒘." 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆. "𝑻𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕. 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰'𝒎 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑻𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆."

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒛𝒛𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓: 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓-𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓-𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒍'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕, 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒘.”
˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

"𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒔, 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖," 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. "𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒐-𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖."

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑺𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖."

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊��⁺˖✮✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

"𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆!" 𝑮𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑼𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈."

°•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•° °•. ★ .•
❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･pre-read ʚɞ
two english professors who have been academic rivals for 13 years??? yes. please.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite rom-com read this year, featuring long-term academic rivals Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher, set amongst Australian university politics and academia.

‘Here’s a piece of advice about academia: if you’re interested in secure and stable employment with career progression that pays you a living wage, don’t go into it.’

This story had me laughing loud, tearing up at times and appreciating the eucatastrophe - the euphoric moment of joyous relief.

I really enjoyed the fabulous footnotes, the many literary references, the intellectual sparring and the romantic Tasmanian setting. It all worked so well in this charming academic story.

"I am listening to you. I always listen to you. I'm just not agreeing with you."

Tropes -
💞Academic rivals-to-lovers
💞 Marriage-of-convenience
💞One bed
💞He falls first
💞Forced proximity

I need more Jodi McAlister stories in my life!

[Sherwood Smith]

She had me at eucatastrophe.

Well, that and the ML being a total cinnamon roll beneath the snark honed by an utterly toxic family dynamic.

Enemies to lovers is kind of a knife edge for me. I really enjoy this trope if the conflict is banter that makes me chuckle, rather than bickering in which the two tear at each other at max volume over and over and over again. I want to feel the attraction slowly eroding the snark.

This book carries it off in a style that appealed to me, and did not disappoint. I was dreading the Third Act "big misunderstanding" but guess what! The climaxing run of action arose straight out of the story and watching the two deal was actually a real pleasure.

If you like "academics against the soulless system" stories, banter, and intense family dynamics, here's your romance.

[Marie]

I’ve decided to abandon my quest for a good holiday romance because it’s just not happening for me, I hate them all 😂

Back to business as usual 🤩

[Anna (annareadit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes:
— academic rivals to friends to lovers
— marriage of convenience
— forced proximity
— slow burn
— he falls first

It was a cozy rivals-to-lovers story that made me giggle out loud more than once. I started reading it without knowing anything about the plot, except that the characters began as academic rivals and later became coworkers. They were ridiculously cute!

I finished the book thinking that I definitely want to read more from this author.

P.S. Universe, if you can hear me, please send me my own Jonah.

My sincere recommendation for everyone who loves books with deeply and masterfully crafted characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

[hamna · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was under no delusion that this would be a good book, i fear i’ve gotten a knack of sorts for these kind of situations. that said, i did want to read it, purely for, let’s say, explorative purposes. and my god, even for my lesser than nothing expectations, this was a disappointment. it’s lackluster, you cannot begin to care for either the characters or the plot, the writing itself is fast-paced, yes, but honestly embarrassing at points—why is a full, out-of-place, on-the-nose taylor swift lyric being obstinately used in contemporary fiction a norm now? why are booktok nods so prevalent? have you all lost your minds? watching the fmc, who is a phd in popular fiction, recommend books any reader worth their salt would toss in the bin was definitely. something. (and it felt like a very, very cheap trick to me.) i feel like everyone is having a mass hysteria moment and all i can do is watch. i found the characters really boring, one dimensional, and almost unnervingly mediocre. i refuse to believe people can actually be this bland? half the work for this narrative is already done for you—academia background, fmc who loves fiction, the many trials and tribulations over and pinings after a mmc who wears tweed and has glasses and just so happens to be a professor—this is not a hard concept to pull off. and still, somehow, it fails. the only glimpse of any true connection i can find in the book is between the fmc and her sister, and even that is so stupidly, immaturely done that i just. i have no idea why this is a published novel, actually. why are the characters behaving all of five years old and also have no linear, coherent thought process, and everything sucks but it’s also incredibly wishy-washy and very shallow? i just feel so tired by the whole prospect of this stodgy, flat, and uninspired book. whatever. contemporary romance has declined so much in quality in the last few years and i know i keep talking about this, but it never fails to shock me to see for far and low we’ve fallen. anyway, i’m just bitter and disappointed, i guess.
thank you to atria books for the arc. 1/5 stars

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in a cringe position entire time. Discovered that I physically recoil at pet name darling.

The chapters alternate between Sadie and Jonah, but the imbalance is wild. The author poured everything into Jonah’s obsession with Sadie and forgot to give Sadie any feelings. Jonah’s footnotes were more irritating than charming, and I don’t think I had a single heart-squeeze moment the entire time. Sadie spends the whole book writing letters to her sister and moaning about she misses her, yet never asks her a single question about her life. It made her feel self-absorbed and flat, and I never found much to like about her character at all.

The hate-to-love turn felt like the author picked a random page and just declared, “Okay, now they’re in love.” I don't think there was any build or tension that helped us get there.

With two main characters that are literary professors, there's a lot of talk about other books and quoting of great lines. This made the author's absolutely terrible lines stand out even more. One that is sadly burned in my mind was "PhD in pussy eating."

I gave two stars just because I liked the set up for fake marriage - one of the more believable ones I've read.

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[ReneeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this author and all I can say is WOW. I absolutely adored this book. The way that Jonah and Sadie's relationship changes and builds over time was so real and heartfelt. I love how Jonah supports Sadie and remembers all the little things that she loves and works them into their lives. He listens, he acts, he loves. What a man.

I also want to touch base on the relationship between Chess and Sadie because this was also well done. Sisters often have complicated relationships and I can relate to the conflict they had. I love how they were able to come to a new way of communicating and loving one another without completely falling out. Their love for one another is so strong and I loved that.

This was a wonderful read and I'll definitely want to read more books by this author in the future. 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 11/11/25

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title infers, this is about two academics, PhDs, both working in the same field - literature.
In this changing world and job markets, finding a stable, permanent job is quite difficult. Australia is undergoing a transition period, universities are struggling, the poor employees even more. I get very heated up about the state of universities, the AI BS and the fact that an university degree doesn't mean that much anymore - which would be less infuriating if most people didn't end up with huge debts.

This novel greatly uses these unsavoury realities to put the two protagonists together, first as rivals, then collaborators.

I enjoyed spending time reading this novel, I didn't roll my eyes once! :-)

I'm all down for smart romance - whatever that may be.

[Keri Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Academic Affair is a fun enemies to friends romance set in academia. Jonah and Sadie have been in classes together from undergrad through graduate school, both focusing on different aspects of English literature. There’s always been rivalry between them for top honors, but now they are competing for the same job, in a field that is difficult to obtain a full time professorship. There are reasons for each of them that make this position important, both professionally and personally.

When Sadie secure the job offer, she discovers a way that could also provide Jonah with a job. Though they’ve been rivals, her heart tugs at her because Jonah wants to be nearer his sister, who is recently divorced. But will the plan work? And will they spend their time arguing… or will their relationship take a new turn?

I thought the characters in this were appealing and entertaining. It’s a fun romance, but there is more to it. They both are navigating new relationships with their siblings, which I think is handled well and those relationships are equally heart warming. The setting in academia is not common and I really enjoyed it; it is a tough and competitive environment!

4-1/2 stars from me because I thoroughly enjoyed it! Rounded down to 4, just because it’s not a 5 to me. Please Goodreads, add 1/2 stars 😊