Prompt 6 – Women in STEM

What’s it about?

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

What I think?

If you have read any of Ali Hazelwood’s Steminist novels then you know what you are getting. Enemies to lovers, gorgeous and geekily witty characters all the while highlighting issues within the academic world and women in science.

Elsie is hardworking and capable. She has a PhD but earns a pittance doing academic jobs that she hates. To make ends meet she works for a fake-dating app as a  fake girlfriend when people need a date.

She finally gets a chance to interview for her dream job which should be perfect, except her professional nemesis Jack Smith is on the interview panel, and it turns out her is the brother of one of her fake-dating clients. And he’s gorgeous.

Sparks fly, there’s mistakes and misunderstandings as Elsie works to get the jobs and the man of her dreams.

The characters are likeable and you will be rooting for them from the very first page. There’s lots of witty dialogue and even cameo appearances from Adam and Olive.

This is a fun read, perfect for the summer holidays.