Love, Theoretically

As soon as I learned that [a:Ali Hazelwood 21098177 Ali Hazelwood https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1611084228p2/21098177.jpg] was “The Queen of STEM romance,” I knew I had to read at least one of her books. Dashing through the library, it was as if [b:Love, Theoretically 61326735 Love, Theoretically Ali Hazelwood https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681476644l/61326735.SY75.jpg 96703712] jumped out at me.I love, love, love the main character, Elsie Hannaway, an overeducated physicist who settles for less, constantly. Why is this so believeable? Any woman who has ever worked in STEM (aks science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knows what a male-dominated field it is and how hard it is for a woman to get anywhere. So Elsie does what a lot of women, in or out of STEM do. She molds and remolds herself constantly to be what she thinks others want. She takes people-pleasing to the next level, to the point where she really doesn't know who she is, what she likes, or what she wants. (How many of us have been there?)What's great about this book is that when she meets the love interest, Jack Smith, he isn't the kind who says, “I love you just the way you are. You're perfect.” No, he loves who he thinks she really is. Then pushes to find out who that is. His honesty policy has Elsie peeling back the layers of personas she's used, wondering if she can ever really be just herself. Does she even know who that is? She finds she's been lying to her roommate (“Yes, I like that movie too”), her mother (“I'd be happy to straighten my brothers out for you”), and even her mentor, a nefarious scientist, who calls her “Elise” (not Elsie) and she doesn't even correct him because she believes she's lucky he even helps her.Elsie's bundle of insecurities only seem heightened when the intricacies of the plot get deeper. Will she find herself? Be herself? Rise to her full potential? Nothing is a given. I'm off to read another Ali Hazelwood book. Did I mention it was steamy in all the right ways? It was.