This was a wonderful enemy-lover romance book! The depth of the characters and their struggles kept me engaged and wanting to read more. There is a little spice to it, but it’s easy to skip over if you need to and it doesn’t cause you to miss any of the storyline.

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this title.

I had fun reading this book. It had spots where I would giggle and kick my feet. The author really got me to connect with the characters. The whole premise of this book was intriguing to me. Reminded me of Ali Hazelwood’s STEM books, but with Lit Majors. Overall I did enjoy this book. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 5

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.

This was an intellectually written contemporary romance with lots of heart, humour and literary and pop culture references. I really liked Jodi's sometimes academic-feeling writing style which fit the author and the subject matter. Lots of your favourite romance tropes present: enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, one bed, he falls first. I did find it a little slow paced and then the ending was very rushed. Our main characters don't even get together until almost 85% in and then a lot happens all at once. I also didn't love Sadie's conflict with her sister Chess, it just felt over manufactured to me. My one other complaint is the footnotes, every time I had to click one on my e-reader it just took me out of the store and overall they felt unnecessary. Criticisms aside this was a thoughtful and smart romance story that in ways reminded me of Ali Hazelwood and Talia Hibbert and I would read more from this author. 1.5🌶️ 4⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic nemeses for the entirety of their higher education careers. And now, as graduated PhDs, they continue to battle for college teaching jobs. When a permanent lecturer position is posted, looking for candidates in both of their areas of study, it's a given that both will apply and become finalists for the position. Sadie comes out victorious in getting the job, but when she reads that there's a partner hiring clause in her contract, she decides to propose a marriage of convenience to Jonah (after overhearing a conversation with sister, who he wants to support, but only can if he gets the job). Once the two are working and living together, they find that perhaps their intellectual battles were actually the things that made them love academia--and perhaps that can lead to a love that makes their marriage real.

I love, love, love campus novels, so I was primed to love Sadie and Jonah's story. The trope of a marriage of convenience worked fairly well here, since they were already in the same industry and getting a full time college teaching position is notoriously difficult. What didn't work for me was that both Jonah and Sadie felt flat as characters. While they each have some family issue playing out in the background, their characters felt almost entirely made up of the fact that they fought with each other all throughout college and graduate school, which made rooting for them difficult because I didn't feel connected to them. I also don't love when one character has ben in love with the other character the entirety of the book, but just never told them, making this another thing that didn't work for me. I'd be willing to give this author another shot when their next book comes out because I thought their writing about setting (both Australia as a location but also the apartment and the wine bar that the characters frequent) was particularly strong.

An Academic Affair comes out November 11, 2025

I love a good rivals to lovers book and this one hit the spot.
This author did a wonderful job showing these complex characters. I particularly loved the chapters from the MMC's pov which is rare in a romance book. His chapters included little footnotes that had me giggling. It almost felt like we were getting little asides from his personal story. The way these characters saw each other and their family was wonderful.
Everything felt so kind and endearing while also having them bicker over things and deal with tough family dynamics. I will be keeping my eye out hoping to snag a physical copy of this when it comes out so I can reread in years to come!

“An Academic Affair” is a brilliantly witty, intelligent, heart-warming romance. There wasn’t one part of this book that upset me. Not one part made me pause.

Jodi McAlister has written a smart and chuckle-inducing romantic comedy full of heart, depth, and good feelings.

I thought about Jonah and Sadie constantly when I wasn’t reading; almost dreading getting to the end and having to say goodbye to them. My goodness what a slow burn, but I wasn’t mad about it.

Also, I have now discovered my new favorite trope: marriage of convenience. Oh my goodness, so fun! And massive props to Jodi for no third-act breakup.

This book is a treat you will not want to put down. I suggest you get it ASAP.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are always my own.

*Instagram post/review to come on US pub date *

I really loved this premise. A good solid slow burn can be delicious. The level of pining this hero experienced was chefs kiss. However, this book got boring about half way through. I lost interest in both characters and it was a chore to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

An Academic Affair is a cure enemies to lovers set in Australian academia. Sadie and Jonah are academic rivals who meet early in their educational
Careers. As they progress through uni and graduate school, they keep each other on their toes and have plenty of verbal altercations along the way. There’s lots of fun banter and family drama. Definitely enjoyed the HEA. It was well done without being too cheesy. Maybe just enough cheese?
Solid 4 stars!⭐️

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

An Academic Affair follows Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher, academic rivals whose relationship spans from their undergrad years, through grad school, and into the messy world of job hunting. When Sadie is offered a coveted full-timing teaching role in the same city as Jonah's recently divorced sister, she comes up with a plan to get him hired too: a marriage of convenience.

Generally I am not a fan of tropes like marriage of convenience taking place in contemporary novels as I find that the reasons to do so often feel unrealistic or unconvincing. However this is how to do it! Sure, in the real world this probably wouldn't fly for a partner hire situation but the rational for their decision was believable, the circumstances made sense, and I loved it! I thought that both of the characters were well written and well developed, the plot was compelling and believable, and the relationship evolved in a way that felt natural and made sense. I also appreciate that this book wasn't marketed as 'enemies to lovers' despite the two main characters being academic rivals as this is a pet peeve of mine.

As someone in academia, I also felt that it was very refreshing to have an academic romance where there wasn't a power differential between the two main characters. Ali Hazelwood, for example, constantly writes characters where the MMC has some form of power over the FMC whether that be a professor or a more senior researcher. Having Sadie and Jonah be on the same level allowed her to explore different dynamics and struggles in academia, but also meant that I didn't feel icky about a romance with power dynamics at play.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to readers when it comes out in November.

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister is a cute rom com filled with passionate arguing, witty banter, and great tension - rounding up to 4.5 ⭐️!

Sadie and Jonah are academic rivals from the moment they cross paths in their undergrad literature program. Eventually they are competing against the same job, and when it’s discovered that the university offers a partner hire program, they team up in a marriage of convenience so they can both have permanent work. Sparks begin to fly and the two realize maybe they are more than just rivals.

This was such a fun read and I loved the added academic themed touch of the footnotes. Sadie and Jonah are perfect for each other and it was enjoyable to be along for the ride as their relationship developed.

This book is filled with wine talk and in her acknowledgments, McAlister mentions wine is very important to this book and even more important for what is coming next. Please let this mean we are getting Francesca’s story with a certain someone as her love interest!! 🤞🏻🤞🏻Either way, I’ll be reading more of Jodi McAlister very soon!

Thank you to Net Galley, Atria Books, and Jodi McAlister for the opportunity to read and review an ARC. Publishing on November 11th, you won’t want to miss this one!

The characters have depth and the side characters are vivid. Great chemistry. Enemies to lovers and fake dating! Every page is fascinating. Well written.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publishing Date- November 11, 2025

An Academic Affair is a romance with depth! Meet Jonah and Sadie, two professors who have quite literally pushed each other throughout their entire academic careers. They have fought each other on everything and have battled for every achievement when the job they are both yearning for finally becomes available. There is a lot at stake in both of their lives but obviously only one person can get the job…..but there is a clause. Que a fake marriage and all the troubles and conflicts this entails.

This romance is very real, it was refreshing to have a story with real feelings, emotions and understanding between the two characters. Jodie McAlister did an incredible job creating a world that was real and one you can fully immerse yourself in. I was laughing at Jonah and Sadie’s banter from the beginning! I liked the way she intertwined characters and made you fall in love with not only the main characters but the side characters too.

This is a slow build, get ready but when it happens, it’s good! There was a lot of yearning but once the enemies figured out that they are indeed lovers it was worth the wait! This book covers a lot of good tropes, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Marriage and Forced Proximity to name a few!

Overall 4 stars for me! I loved the story, I loved the characters, it felt long at times for me but overall a really good read!

I LOVED this one. Jonah’s yearning, Sadie’s downright denial until she hits an apex? McAlister clearly spent a great deal of time flushing out these characters, their history, and just how to make them fall in love so naturally it felt perfectly real and normal.

I clearly adore Sadie and Jonah, but what I think I loved most about this book is the emphasis is placed on community and family ties in such a wild world. Fiona and Chess were key figures that added SO much to the story without being there 100% of the time. Jonah’s desire to be better for his sister and Sadie standing up for herself to Chess were absolutely necessary and beautiful parts of this story. I think that without these familal dicotomies presented for Jonah and Sadie, their story would not have felt as enduring, real, and beautiful as it did.

I will be thinking about Sadie and Jonah for quite some time, and I wholeheartedly think anyone who loves yearning, one sided enemies to lovers, and grumpy FMC and sunshine MMC will ADORE this story as much as I did. Thank you to NetGalley & Atria for early access in return for an honest review!

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister is a smart, compelling romance that blends academic intrigue with emotional depth. Jonah was the perfect book boyfriend—kind, intelligent, and deeply supportive in all the right ways. The slow burn between the characters built tension beautifully, making every moment of connection feel earned. With high stakes both professionally and personally, the story kept me fully invested from start to finish. McAlister delivers a nuanced, heartfelt read that’s equal parts swoon-worthy and thought-provoking.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Jodi McAlister for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An Academic Affair follows two rivals in the literary academia who have had an ongoing competition with one another for the last fifteen years. Unbeknownst to Sadie, Jonah has been smitten with her for all of that time. Based on their wildly different upbringings and family situations, Sadie writes Jonah off as the epitome of male privilege. It’s not until she gets the job he is desperate for in order to help support his sister that Sadie starts to see there’s more to Jonah than she initially thought.

I devoured this book in the span of an afternoon, so that should shed some light on my feelings on it. McAlister does a good job of discussing the cutthroat nature of academia, as well as the sexism that exists in the workplace. There were also side characters that I adored (Fiona and her kids, the brother of Bibliophile) and I hope she writes more surrounding them.

There were times with the romance that it felt like Sadie only liked Jonah because he was the only one around, and her desire to not be alone drove her relationship with him. While this isn’t the case by the end of the novel when we see their relationship evoke and grow, it was a bit rough for the first 2/3 of the book. However, the way that Jonah supported Sadie throughout the story was so heartwarming to see, especially when the reader finally got his declaration.

I also felt that some of the other character’s stories were left hanging (what happened between Julia and Elias? What happened when Matt showed up? Did Sadie and Chessie repair more of their relationship? Does Fiona find someone to treat her like a queen?) I suppose all of those questions shouldn’t be answered in a book centered around another couple, but answers to some of them eventually would be lovely!

Overall, this is a fun read that will tug on your heartstrings. I would recommend to readers who like an academy setting, rivals to lovers, and a deeper look at complex family dynamics.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

4 1/2 ⭐️

There are books that when you read them it’s like finding an old friend. An Academic Affair took me right back to that first time I read about Anne and Gilbert, and their “rivals to lovers, but secretly he yearns for her” in the Anne of Green Gables series. This was my first book by Jodi McAlister, and it’s obvious she has experienced the world of cutthroat academics. Sadie and Jonah are two very relatable characters, both having complicated family history which has led to trust issues, self doubt and that feeling that you’re never quite enough just as you are. The growth of their relationship was beautiful, and almost poetic, in the way McAlister writes not only the pining, but their realizations that they not only trust each other, but love each other for exactly who they are, fists and teeth, and flaws. The ending feels a little rushed, but also left me with hope that there will be more stories in this world, Fi’s, Chess’s and Elias’s.

Any book where the mmc has been yearning for a woman for years is an automatic must read for me. Add bantering and bickering to it then I need a front row seat! This book was so fun and an absolute delight to read!

This was a sweet and engaging book. A great, easy beach read.
Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! Jonah and Sadie won me over completely! He was the sweetest MMC, and she had such great character growth. Their banter was perfect, the footnotes from Jonah’s POV were such a clever touch, and the academic rivals-to-lovers setup was executed so well. Honestly, the tropes in this story were done so well. It gave me everything I love in romance without falling into the traps I usually dread.

One thing that didn’t totally land for me was the fight between Sadie and her sister, it just felt way more blown out of proportion than it needed to be. But the Jonah bits made up for it and I LOVED that we didn’t get the dreaded third-act breakup. I hate when books throw in unnecessary problems at the end for no reason. The romance just unfolded so naturally, and the love confession was perfection.

The pacing toward the end was a bit rushed, and I wish the conflict with their college had more room to breathe, and that we got more of a fleshed out ending, but overall, this was such a fun and satisfying read. The family dynamics, the banter, the rivalry, the slow-burn tension, literally everything came together so beautifully. Also I hope we get a Fiona story because she deserves a happy ending! 4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for fans of an academic setting with rivals to lovers, marriage of convenience, a little spice and lots of heart and feeling. I thoroughly enjoyed this academic rivals to lovers look into the world of academia where two rivals want to same advancement but what they get is a live story instead.