“An Academic Affair” is a fun rom-com with serious underpinnings. I enjoyed it a great deal, both for the romance and for the glimpses of academic life.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have long been competing – first for the same academic scores and honors, and now for the same jobs. They’re each others’ nemesis’ and it shows in the constant sniping, backbiting, and gloating.

But when one of them wins a coveted job, and the loss looks like it will devastate the other’s life, they come up with a plan that might just save them both. The trouble is, they’ll have to act like they like – and even love – each other. Can they do it?

Romance fans will notice some familiar frameworks here, notably forced proximity and enemies to lovers. McAlister is clearly having some fun playing with the tropes of the romantic genre and the sense of fun is shared with the reader.

The dialogue is smart and snappy, and the literary references are either explained or pitched at a level which won’t make readers feel dumb. As a reader and past literary student I got a bit of extra pleasure out of this element, but it’s accessible to casual readers.

McAlister references (see what I did there) the academic world with her use of footnotes. This is a technique that can quickly get annoying, but McAlister uses it heavily for a couple of chapters, then reduces the frequency. The result is that this stays fun and amusing while being a wink to the larger world of the characters.

McAlister’s previous three books were all set in the world of a reality dating show, revisiting the same season from different points of view. I enjoyed that immensely – it was both fun and interesting, and layered a bit more depth on with each novel. It’s pretty clear she could do the same here – the setting is expansive enough to take more stories, and several secondary characters seemed ripe for their own stories. I’m sure I won’t be the only reader to hope she revisits the world of “An Academic Affair”.

This is a mostly light-hearted and enjoyable romantic comedy. It’s easy to read, and the overwhelming feeling is “that was fun!”. Highly recommended for romance readers or those just looking for a bit of fun.

DNF 73% Unfortunately I struggled getting through this. There were aspects I liked - the writing style and the MMC, but I felt the romantic tension was lacking and one sided and I didn’t like the MFC. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Yet when a highly coveted teaching opportunity comes up in Tasmania, they find themselves contemplating the other. 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. So Sadie, who has a ‘soft spot’ for sisters, proposes that she and Jonah marry, as the job offers partner hire. For Sadie, it is a win-win solution, but soon their feelings become transparent. Despite being clever with words, neither of them can convey their feelings for each other until the university throws them into a situation where they must fit to stay together.
I really loved this story, and the character development of Sadie and Jonah as they progressed through the years was so sweet and volatile. When they finally call a truce and agree to marry, Saide mellows and sees Jonah for who he truly is. I thought it was so sweet how Jonah was so in love with her but respected her too much to push the boundaries. My only criticism is that the story ended too quickly, but I wonder if that was tied to the possibility of additional books in a series centering around Sadie’s sister and also Jonah’s two siblings.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you're looking read more Australian romances I got you!

I'm a little late in reviewing this one but thank you to Atria Books Australia, Simon & Schuster Australia, Jodi McAlister and Netgalley for this arc.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals for 15 years, locked in a fierce rivalry that spans assessments degrees and academic positions, most while living in the same share house. When a dream role at a Hobart university opens up, Sadie finally edges out Jonah for the role. But when unexpected family complications arise for him, Sadie proposes they take advantage of the job’s partner hire clause. Cue the fake marriage trope!

I adored this book. The fake marriage trope was perfectly executed and it genuinely made me laugh out loud. But this story also has its beautiful and heartbreaking family moments. Jonah and Sadie's banter is excellent, and their chemistry? Top. Tier. The idyllic hobart setting and academic backdrop made for such an enjoyable read.

The footnotes were very on brand, but I did find them a little clunky to navigate on an e-reader. I imagine in paperback it would feel much smoother.

Bonus points to Jodi for including nods to BK Borison, Talia Hibbert and Hamilton 😍

4.5⭐

Tropes & Setting:
📚 Enemies to lovers
🍷 Workplace rivals
📚 Marriage of convenience
🍷 University/academic setting
📚 Forced proximity
🍷 Slow burn
📚 Dual POV

Might already be thinking about Chessie, Elias and Fiona’s stories

An Academic Affair
Jodi McAlister

‘It's hard to fight a battle when your enemy is amorphous, nameless, faceless. You can't defeat something you can't see.’

This was a fun and charming romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.

‘The lenses in my glasses are about eight feet thick, Sadie, I wanted to say. Do you really think I could copy your homework from this distance?’

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals for almost fifteen years. When a highly coveted teaching opportunity with secure job prospects comes up, their rivalry hits epic proportions.

'This is going to sound insane,' I said, 'but I was wondering if you'd like to marry me.'

The real kicker though is there’s a contractual clause in the employment contract for partner hire. And yes this just got really interesting!

‘The basic governing principle of narrative was causation. It wasn't X happened then Y happened - it was Y happened because X happened.’

I loved reading this and enjoyed all the academic and book lover tropes and stereotypes thrown in. The fact that this book is set in Australia made it even more enjoyable to me and so relatable.

'I thought... I thought ... I've got a fucking PhD in English and I read everything all wrong!'

There’s dual narration and sub plots that are equally as compelling but the real star is always going to be the rivals to lovers storyline. Fun banter thrown in is always appreciated.

(Review posted 10th June).

This book was amazing!
It was a mix of rivals to lovers, marriage of convenience, forced proximity and a long slow burn that pays off!
It had me hooked from the beginning and then when I saw the footnotes I was so sold!

The chemistry that @jodimcalister built between the two main characters Sadie and Jonah was amazing and really built the story.

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonschusterau for access to the ARC!

An Academic Affair is a fun dual-point-of-view rom-com set in the academic world, focussing on Sadie and Jonah - academic rivals.

Set mainly in Tasmania, Australia, it has many themes including the competitiveness of university life, competitiveness within families, fake marriage, relationships with family. As the story progresses we learn more about the relationships Sadie and Jonah have with their families. Sadie with her elder sister Chess and Jonah with his Professor father and his brother and sister. I loved this part of the story. I also loved the rivalry between Jonah and Sadie and their banter and the footnotes added some extra fun to the story. Overall it was a great feel good book.

Cute enemies to lovers in a academic setting, set in Australia which is also lovely. I loved the pace of the book and that the writing was easy to read. I loved jonahs narration on their truces

Charming book full of all my favourite tropes. Love that it was set in Australia, in the world of academia. Great, easy quick read. Main characters were perfect for each other and had fun banter.

Jonah and Sadie have been arguing for years. All the way through undergrad and into their postgraduate degrees and even past their PhD’s - their debates have never ceased. They even begin to centre their lecturing round their combative discussion styles. But when a rare job in their field comes up in Tasmania and Sadie gets it, a provision for partner hire in the contract leads her to invite her nemesis along too.

The clue is in the title, but what you wouldn’t guess about this contemporary romance about academic rivals falling for each other is how much you’re going to learn about the absolutely heinous state of tertiary employment in this country. McAlister - a long-time academic herself - plumbs her own depth of experience in the hellscape of casual jobbing and competitive Thunderdome that permanent University roles inspire. Using this for the foundation of a well-loved trope, that of the marriage of convenience, was not only clever but happily believable.

I loved so much about this book - the MC’s respect for each other’s brilliance, their love of debate and having each other as a sparring partner, Jonah’s slow realisation he’s always been in love with Sadie and her own lightbulb moments along the way. There’s also the fun of forced proximity in temporary motel rooms and later their own apartment as they settle in to keep up the facade for possibly years.

Supporting the main love plot are some lovely relationships, with both Sadie and Jonah navigating challenges and conflict with their siblings, as well as working through strong feelings about their parents. I loved Sadie’s sister and Jonah’s brother and sister as characters and I hope they get their own book if this one is turned into a series.

Lastly: footnotes. In true academic style, McAlister’s inclusion of footnotes to the text made me smile, and I quickly came to learn that these were where Jonah wore his heart on his sleeve. Wonderful stuff!

Thanks so much to the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This book is probably going to be in my top 10 reads of the year.

It was so fun! It’s everything I love about romance.

Sadie and Jonah have known each other since their undergrad days. They’ve argued their way through almost every course they’ve ever taken together and post grad they’ve completed Ph.D’s, competed for jobs in tutoring, marking, lecturing etc and even had to lecture together where they basically framed everything as an argument. Their students ate it up. They have also lived together in a share house in Sydney for the past few years, struggling to get by on meagre and uncertain salaries. Then, a dream job comes up, in Hobart. For Jonah, this would be an opportunity to spend time with his sister, going through a separation and repair their relationship and also remove himself from the toxic influence of his Professor father. For Sadie, this is everything. She’s fought and struggled and always had to make do. Her upbringing was less than privileged and her sister had to sacrifice a lot for Sadie’s success. For Sadie this would be like saying it was all worth it. That she is something now. And her sister can live her own life, without having to support Sadie. They both apply for it, both desperately wanting it and knowing there can be only one winner. Or can there?

This is dual perspective and I loved it! Jonah’s section uses footnotes (his studies are more historically focused, Shakespeare and the early Modern dramas) and they’re amazing. Jonah’s voice is dry and funny and this is definitely a book where He Falls First, if that’s your sort of thing (it’s mine). The pining in this is kind of off the charts but Jonah is also very much of the ‘we’ll just put this away in a box and try not to think about it’ sort of mindset. Sadie and he have butted heads their whole academic lives and she fascinates him. Jonah is quiet – he had quite a privileged and wealthy upbringing and Sadie assumes a lot about him because of this. However Jonah’s not like his family, especially not like his very arrogant father, which it takes Sadie some time to figure out. For a long time, I think she saw Jonah as what she assumed he was, not what he actually was. Especially as she grew up in basically poverty and in entering academia as a profession, it’s a bonus to have some backing behind you. Permanent positions are hard to come by, many positions are underpaid and come with uncertainty, depending on the university and department’s fluctuating funding.

This is really interesting to read as someone who is currently studying a degree majoring in English literature. Sadie and Jonah both have very different focus areas and Sadie is more about pop culture and contemporary studies, which seems so interesting to me. But it comes with a serving of condescension from more ‘serious’ academics who probably think that only the classics continue to be worth studying. Except like, how do you think classics became that? They weren’t created that way. They were once popular, contemporary stories too. Or were looked down upon in their day. Sadie’s classes seem like loads of fun and when she figures out a way for them both to get jobs, they realise that the university is going to milk them for all that they have and basically dumps a bunch of classes on them that they then need to create all the content for. They can’t use lectures and notes from previous years, due to a content protection that won’t exist for them in their own employment (also an interesting point).

I love me a marriage of convenience trope especially when it comes with a serving of having to share the same bed. The tension in this is so good – from Jonah’s point of view is actual perfection. He’s so full of angst and pining over Sadie and he’s so convinced that she doesn’t feel anything for him. He’s always trying to hide things except in the few days they have to share a place before finding a place to rent, the university pays for a hotel room, that obviously has only one bed as they think Sadie and Jonah are married. Well, they are married, but it’s a marriage of convenience for a spousal hire but to the university it must look and seem real. Jonah is just a guy out here doing his best when his fake wife turns out to be a bit of a cuddler!

The thing is, these two are perfect for each other. Even though they know each other and have done for like, 15 years at this point, Jodi McAlister takes care to build the connection of them for the reader in the time they spend together at the university. It helps that they are on the back foot almost immediately, with all the content they need to hurriedly come up with meaning that they are somewhat a united front. And when the university starts shenanigans they are also united there as well. We get to see them getting to know each other on a different level, working together instead of against each other. Sadie is also getting to understand Jonah as a person, rather than just being his father’s son, or from a privileged family.

There’s some external conflict happening in this – Sadie and her sister have a very serious disagreement, possibly the first one in their lives? It creates a sense of instability for Sadie, who is used to having her sister as her confidante, cheerleader, supporter. The peripheral characters in this are excellent and I feel like there has been potential groundwork laid for spin off books from this, with Sadie’s sister and also potentially, Jonah’s siblings as well. We got some hints of Jonah’s brother’s backstory with someone which could make for interesting reading and he’s also a university academic. I’d also like to see Jonah’s sister find someone that isn’t a complete douche as well. We never actually meet her estranged husband in this but we learn enough.

Highly, highly recommend this. It was so funny (again – the footnotes! I love a book with footnotes and this one executed it perfectly), it built a wonderful romance and the university/academic background was done so well. And again, there were great secondary, supporting characters (and some not so great ones who made for being effective antagonists). I read this in eBook format but I’m definitely getting a print copy for my favourites shelf.

9/10

From the moment this book was announced, I wanted to read it. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, and this is set in Australia academia? Yes, please. Naturally, I dropped everything to read it as soon as I got approved for a (last minute arc).

I didn’t expect it to become one of my new comfort reads.

If it weren’t for work, I would have binged this in a single sitting. Which makes it really hard to write anything about it coherently.

There were moments that made me laugh (Jonah’s footnotes! I’m 90% certain some academia jokes that went over my head). Moments that punched me in the feels (especially the sibling relationships). Moments that made me kick my feet in delight (the YEARNING!!!).

I loved this marriage of convenience between rivals. I didn’t want it to end. I can’t wait to reread a physical copy. And I sincerely hope we get some companion novels about Sadie and Jonah’s siblings.

I love a good academic rivals to lovers and this book nails it. Especially with Jonah's little recap of their truces over the years at the very start of the book, it had me hooked! Not to mention the yearning (at least on Jonah's behalf) and slow burn between the two throughout the book. I loved how well this book also dealt with difficult families but also siblings supporting each other no matter what, it was so heartwarming.

This is delightful! Set in academia, this is a classic enemies-to-lovers romance between Jonah and Sadie. Both are talented and desperate for a permanent position in an Australian university. They've studied together, competed for everything, and been flatmates for the last eight years, while sniping and avoiding, but there's obviously some serious chemistry. It's trope-y and clever, with all the pining, especially from Jonah.

It's also a love letter to sisterhood. Both Jonah and Sadie have sisters they are close to, but it's complicated, and the way they navigate those relationships adds so much depth to the plot. It's also a shout-out to Hobart and Tasmania - how I'd love to live there!

Real problems around competitiveness and tenure show the toxicity in academic life, but it's also great fun. Jonah's chapters have footnotes and there's plenty of literary - and romance - references.. If you loved Ali Hazelwood's 'Love Theoretically', this will be a hit!

Thank you Jodi McAlister and Simon & Shuster (Australia) for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Jodi McAlister has nailed academic rivals to lovers. If you love Ali Hazelwood, put this on your TBR. Even better that the academic pathway is in the humanities!! Add in a marriage of convenience that took me completely by surprise and a clash of the classes. There's even footnotes!!! This had everything, it's even set in Australia, so many of the places and customs were familiar.
Strong 5 stars!

I was lucky enough to receive as an ARC 🥰

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been locked in a fierce academic rivalry since their undergraduate days thirteen years ago. Both whip-smart and fiercely competitive, they’ve never seen eye to eye—and they’ve never forgotten a slight. When a coveted full-time teaching position at a prestigious university opens up, it’s game on. Jonah wants to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her kids, while Sadie is desperate for the job security and financial stability that come with the role.

But the university’s partner hire clause throws a wrench in their plans. If they want the job, they need to be part of a two-body academic household. And that’s when Sadie hatches her boldest, most outlandish idea yet: what if they fake a marriage to snag the positions for both of them?

Their arrangement is supposed to be purely transactional, a way to finally get ahead in their careers. But as they navigate their new “relationship” in front of colleagues, old feelings and hidden desires start to emerge. Their constant bickering takes on a new, delicious edge. And the forced proximity of their “marriage” begins to blur the lines between what’s fake and what’s very, very real.

An Academic Affair is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance that balances sizzling chemistry with sharp academic wit. McAlister nails the push-pull tension of two fiercely independent people who can’t resist each other—no matter how hard they try. The story is full of lively banter, a believable academic backdrop, and just enough vulnerability to make you root for Sadie and Jonah as they discover that sometimes, the best partnerships come from the most unexpected places.

I wasn’t sure about this book at the start, but I very quickly fell in love with the two main characters, Jonah and Sadie. I loved the concepts of eucatastrophe - good catastrophe and dyscatastrophe - bad catastrophe and loved their love-hate relationship at the start and their fake marriage. I loved the settings and relationships they each had with their sisters and loved how the book went between each of their points of view.

I knew this was going to be good. I’d heard other readers and writers I respect talking about how fantastic it was. And I’ve followed Jodi for a while. Not only is she an amazing romance writer - but an expert in the genre.

But I had no idea how much this book would captivate me, so much so that I don’t want to pick up another book yet so I can just stay in a little Sadie and Jonah bubble. I loved these characters and their friends and family.

The banter was fabulous and super smart. I want to visit that wine bar.

This is a book I’ll definitely be reading again!

Thank you Jodi! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

This book was honestly so much better than expected! Jodi's writing is so witty and engaging, and the banter between Jonah and Sadie made me laugh out loud. The slow burn romance is done perfectly, with Jonah's secret yearning making me wish there was a Jonah in real life!! There is a bit of spice, the perfect amount in my opinion, so there isn't a whole of gratuitous spicy scenes. I loved that romance novels were a key feature in the book, and that it played on popular romance tropes. Slow burn, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed...loved it!

Being part of the academic space, I loved the whole university storyline, cutting jobs and budget cuts (which has been happening quite a bit), so it was such an immersive experience reading this book. And also the fact that it's Aussie made it just that bit more special.

I highly recommend this book! It's clever and keeps you on your toes. It reminded me a bit of an Emily Henry book, with the witty dialogue. I especially loved the footnotes, it was a unique and fitting touch. Can't wait for it to be officially released!

I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. I really enjoyed the beginning with the the history between Jonah and Sadie while they went through uni and were rivals. However, I think maybe I wouldve enjoyed it with more of their rivalry explored with more tension because I found the rest just too slow a burn for me (even though I normally enjoy slow burn romance). I was 60% through and there were barely any "moments" between the MCs. They had good tension and dialogue, but I didn't really feel the chemistry between them for majority of the book, particularly from Sadie to Jonah. It was clear that Jonah always had a crush on her but not sure I fully bought it. Overall an enjoyable romance, and I did also like the academic setting in Australia, but the romance slightly missed the mark for me to become a favourite.