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Love, Academically
FALLING IN LOVE WASN’T ON THE CURRICULUM
Lila Cartwright is thriving after dumping her toxic ex – well, mostly. That is, until she bumps into him and his new girlfriend, forcing her to grab the nearest man and introduce him as her boyfriend. Unfortunately, that man is her infuriatingly moody (yet undeniably attractive) colleague, Rhys Aubrey.
Rhys isn’t Lila’s biggest fan either, but when he needs to convince his family that he’s excelling in both work and love, striking a deal with her suddenly makes sense.
As their fake relationship unfolds, the lines between pretence and reality blur. Can they keep up the act, or is there something real beneath the rivalry?
Lila Cartwright is thriving after dumping her toxic ex – well, mostly. That is, until she bumps into him and his new girlfriend, forcing her to grab the nearest man and introduce him as her boyfriend. Unfortunately, that man is her infuriatingly moody (yet undeniably attractive) colleague, Rhys Aubrey.
Rhys isn’t Lila’s biggest fan either, but when he needs to convince his family that he’s excelling in both work and love, striking a deal with her suddenly makes sense.
As their fake relationship unfolds, the lines between pretence and reality blur. Can they keep up the act, or is there something real beneath the rivalry?
- GenresRomance
304 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2025
3 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 10, 2025
4.5 tehehe review to come
September 22, 2025
Love, Academically is the second book by Jen Smith in the contemporary romance genre, and such a wonderful book to follow on from the success of Carbon Dating.
Rhys Aubrey knows what he enjoys, and the lists doesn't seem to be all that long: Henry II, Kickboxing, going for a pint with his friend Dan, and NOT having to deal with the family business. Unfortunately for Rhys his application to the Royal Historical Society Fellowship is looking a little thin, and his five year break from his Father and the Dallimore Company is almost up.
Lila Cartwright is the university History Department Coordinator; she enjoys blankets, Rom-Coms, home-made biscuits, and her absolute idol is Judy Dench. Ideally Lila would be working towards a Masters Degree in Lexicography, and fulfil her lifelong passion in becoming a professional Lexicographer. However, life has not gone as planned, and having broken up with her toxic cheating boyfriend, Jason, Lila has been left repaying his Medical School debt alone, along with trying to navigate the pressures of University politics, including one rather frustrating lecturer: Mr Rhys Aubrey.
Although Rhys is quite obsessed with all things Henry II he is not a natural teacher; this does not pair well with leading a course on his favourite subjects with students he finds far too naïve and gullible to grasp even the most obvious deductions about his favourite Monarch. Due to this lack of patience Rhys is quite literally forced to share space with the “overly bubbly” Lila Cartwright or face possible repercussions that may jeopardise his Fellowship application.
Of course Rhys and Lila rub one-another the wrong way, they are the epitome of grumpy versus sunshine characters with Rhys needing everything to be done just so and in a logical manner (he struggles to understand how and why others behave the way that they do and societal constructs in general) whereas Lila is full of smiles no matter the occasion or who she is to face (though this outward appearance and people pleasing characteristic seems to be chipping away at her own mental health).
It is delightful to watch the “fake dating” trope play out in more than one occasion and for two very different reasons.
I loved seeing the characters develop and grow not only in their own lives but with their jobs, friendships, wants, and general interactions with the world. Both Rhys and Lila have lives outside of the University; there are close friendships and family relationships to deal with and navigate both singularly and together once their deceptions become more entangled and possibly start to form something more real.
This book had me root for both characters to start understanding what they want and to actually go for it! I loved feeling the emotions change and morph between the characters, and trying to guess how things would be resolved in a way that I most wanted.
Another beautiful stand-alone Romance! I look forward to the next one!!
Rhys Aubrey knows what he enjoys, and the lists doesn't seem to be all that long: Henry II, Kickboxing, going for a pint with his friend Dan, and NOT having to deal with the family business. Unfortunately for Rhys his application to the Royal Historical Society Fellowship is looking a little thin, and his five year break from his Father and the Dallimore Company is almost up.
Lila Cartwright is the university History Department Coordinator; she enjoys blankets, Rom-Coms, home-made biscuits, and her absolute idol is Judy Dench. Ideally Lila would be working towards a Masters Degree in Lexicography, and fulfil her lifelong passion in becoming a professional Lexicographer. However, life has not gone as planned, and having broken up with her toxic cheating boyfriend, Jason, Lila has been left repaying his Medical School debt alone, along with trying to navigate the pressures of University politics, including one rather frustrating lecturer: Mr Rhys Aubrey.
Although Rhys is quite obsessed with all things Henry II he is not a natural teacher; this does not pair well with leading a course on his favourite subjects with students he finds far too naïve and gullible to grasp even the most obvious deductions about his favourite Monarch. Due to this lack of patience Rhys is quite literally forced to share space with the “overly bubbly” Lila Cartwright or face possible repercussions that may jeopardise his Fellowship application.
Of course Rhys and Lila rub one-another the wrong way, they are the epitome of grumpy versus sunshine characters with Rhys needing everything to be done just so and in a logical manner (he struggles to understand how and why others behave the way that they do and societal constructs in general) whereas Lila is full of smiles no matter the occasion or who she is to face (though this outward appearance and people pleasing characteristic seems to be chipping away at her own mental health).
It is delightful to watch the “fake dating” trope play out in more than one occasion and for two very different reasons.
I loved seeing the characters develop and grow not only in their own lives but with their jobs, friendships, wants, and general interactions with the world. Both Rhys and Lila have lives outside of the University; there are close friendships and family relationships to deal with and navigate both singularly and together once their deceptions become more entangled and possibly start to form something more real.
This book had me root for both characters to start understanding what they want and to actually go for it! I loved feeling the emotions change and morph between the characters, and trying to guess how things would be resolved in a way that I most wanted.
Another beautiful stand-alone Romance! I look forward to the next one!!
September 12, 2025
I really enjoyed Jen Smith's first novel, Carbon Dating, so I was incredibly eager to read her newest novel Love, Academically, which I absolutely loved! I ended up reading this in one sitting as I could not put it down and was truly addicted to this story and its characters.
I am an absolute sucker for the fake-dating trope alongside the grumpy x sunshine trope, and it was just done so well in this one! The chemistry between our two main characters was just perfect. I love that we got to read both Lila and Rhys' POVs as it just made me love them even more. They are both incredibly realistic and relatable characters who I really enjoyed watching grow throughout.
I absolutely recommend picking Love, Academically up, as well as Jen's debut novel. Her writing is just amazing, and her books are so heart-warming, spicy, and just so much fun! I can't wait to read whatever she writes next!
I am an absolute sucker for the fake-dating trope alongside the grumpy x sunshine trope, and it was just done so well in this one! The chemistry between our two main characters was just perfect. I love that we got to read both Lila and Rhys' POVs as it just made me love them even more. They are both incredibly realistic and relatable characters who I really enjoyed watching grow throughout.
I absolutely recommend picking Love, Academically up, as well as Jen's debut novel. Her writing is just amazing, and her books are so heart-warming, spicy, and just so much fun! I can't wait to read whatever she writes next!
September 7, 2025
Jen has done it again! Another 5 ⭐️ read for me. Really loved Lyla and Rhys. Slightly biased as I’m Welsh but it’s lovely to see my home country and language getting some much deserved representation ❤️🏴 I loved the way Lyla’s character grew throughout the book and how Rhys just wanted to help in his own way. So lush! Da iawn 👏🏻
November 6, 2025
I'm obsessed!
I love that the mmc was so flawed and had a personality that you kind of had to work to connect with. It made him so real 🥰
I also loved the realistic element of life getting in the way of friendship but being able to come together anyways.
It was so heart warming and satisfying.
No quick forgiveness, I'll make you work for it! Yes girl 😁
Fantastic book
I love that the mmc was so flawed and had a personality that you kind of had to work to connect with. It made him so real 🥰
I also loved the realistic element of life getting in the way of friendship but being able to come together anyways.
It was so heart warming and satisfying.
No quick forgiveness, I'll make you work for it! Yes girl 😁
Fantastic book
September 10, 2025
If you're wanting an easy read with academic vibes, fake dating between a stoic Welsh academic and a cheery administrator, then this is the read for you.
I breezed through this book in one sitting. Lila is recovering financially and emotionally from her toxic ex, while Rhys is needs to make his academic career a success or his billionaire father expects him to return to the family business. I liked the way they supported each other, especially when Rhys stood up to Lila's horrible colleague who dumped work on her.
However I felt the romance was lacking depth. It went very quickly from dislike to lust without any real development. I also thought Rhys was a bit of a poor rich boy instead of standing up to his dad. I was also frustrated by Lila telling her ex he repaid too much (WTF? she was in huge debt thanks to supporting him, take the damn money, hell demand interest!). Especially after she started to grow a spine. Also, there is no way in hell a university would ever allow a lowly administrator to supervise an academic's tutorials (as an ex uni worker I cannot suspend my disbelief).
That said it was a sweet with a touch of spicy read. I will check out 'Carbon Dating' and any future books by this author.
Thanks to the publisher Serendipity for the ARC. Views my own.
I breezed through this book in one sitting. Lila is recovering financially and emotionally from her toxic ex, while Rhys is needs to make his academic career a success or his billionaire father expects him to return to the family business. I liked the way they supported each other, especially when Rhys stood up to Lila's horrible colleague who dumped work on her.
However I felt the romance was lacking depth. It went very quickly from dislike to lust without any real development. I also thought Rhys was a bit of a poor rich boy instead of standing up to his dad. I was also frustrated by Lila telling her ex he repaid too much (WTF? she was in huge debt thanks to supporting him, take the damn money, hell demand interest!). Especially after she started to grow a spine. Also, there is no way in hell a university would ever allow a lowly administrator to supervise an academic's tutorials (as an ex uni worker I cannot suspend my disbelief).
That said it was a sweet with a touch of spicy read. I will check out 'Carbon Dating' and any future books by this author.
Thanks to the publisher Serendipity for the ARC. Views my own.
September 6, 2025
Absolutely loved this second book from Jen Smith....how could I not?! She has a way of completely immersing you in the characters' lives, such a fantastic read!
November 6, 2025
it must be a representation for autism, because if it's not, the MMC was just a douchebag from the start.
*and if it is, this book is just not for me :/
*and if it is, this book is just not for me :/
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews