I was in love with Sadie by the end of the prologue. With Jonah by the second footnote. What an utterly unputdownable treasure of a novel!

With characters you instantly love and root for, a location I’ve a particular fondness for thanks to a certain podcast, all set in the gruelling world of academia and you have a recipe for success.

From Shakespeare to contemporary romance, readers will delight in references and shout outs. I absolutely cannot wait to see what’s next from Jodi McAlister, and I hope she brings us back to Hobart!

I love rom-coms with an academic setting and this one was no exception. There’s a lot of tension even from the beginning. Sadie and Jonah have been rivals for 15 years. Then comes the mariage of convenience trope, which was very well done. I loved the pacing of this book, it did take a lot of time before they revealed their feelings, but that just made it better. Lots of build up, not third act breakup. The characters were well fleshed out. I was rooting for them so hard. I definitely recommend this book !

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.

This book is everything a rivals to lovers story should be. Full of angst, longing, misunderstandings, spurring each other toward greatness, meddling families, and forced proximity.

Sadie Shaw grew up with one parent who left and another who passed away when she was young. It was only her and her big sister Chess, facing life together. But now she’s a woman with a PhD and a lot to prove in the world of academia.

Jonah Fisher grew up as the son of academia superstar Christian Fisher. But rather than the fiercely loving sister Sadie had, he only knew competition and being told he was lacking. He went to university because it was expected of him. What he didn’t expect was Sadie Shaw.

In the world of Literary Studies, Sadie and Jonah are born rivals. Both thrive academically, but they love different aspects of the genre. Throughout their years of study, they constantly find themselves in disagreements. But once they finally, finally decide on a truce, a permanent job is posted that wants someone in either of their specialties.

After Sadie gets the job and learns there is a partner hire option in her contract, the two get married so Jonah can have a job closer to his sister. What ensues is the perfect journey from sworn enemies, to friends, to lovers. Full of so much longing, laughter, sweet family moments, and love, this was an absolutely delightful journey into love and academia!

This book is a terrific dual POV story about 2 accomplished PhD’s trying to make it in the cutthroat world of academia. Sadie and Jonah are both literature academics but from 2 very different areas of study. She’s an expert of modern, popular fiction (e.g. romance) and he’s a 16th century British literary scholar (e.g. Shakespeare). She’s from a poor background and fought her way into the elite, male-dominated field of literary studies and he’s the son of a well-to-do, highly respected literary professor who is also a cold, snobby misogynist. They met as 18 year old under grades and publicly disagreed with each other’s literary opinions for the next 15 years…to getting their PhD’s. Now, they are competing for a highly coveted full-time professor job and their old rivalry kicks into high gear. But, Jonah’s sister lives in Tasmania where the job posting is and she needs support. Her terrible husband has revealed that he has another family who loves more and abandons Jonah’s sister and their 3 kids without chid support. Jonah is desperate to move near his sister to help her and make up for lost time in their broken relationship. Sadie gets the job but feels guilty that Jonah won’t be able to help his sister. She spontaneously proposes (literally) that they marry, in name only, to get his a job in Tasmania too. As part of her employment contract, her partner will also get a job. Of course, even the best plan have complications….especially if the 2 people involved may have a love/hate 15 year history.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of An Academic Affair in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I was not interested in the novel but will still recommend it to some of my friends who might enjoy it.

Out November 11th, 2025
Oh, academia—where the coffee is strong, the egos are stronger, and apparently, the romantic tension is off the charts. This story dives headfirst into the world of university life, but instead of dusty lectures and overdue papers, we get sizzling chemistry, snarky banter, and a whole lot of “will-they-won’t-they” energy. It’s like someone took a campus rom-com, sprinkled in some sharp wit, and said, “Let’s make this deliciously messy.”

The characters? Think emotionally intelligent chaos gremlins with PhDs. They’re smart, flawed, and just self-aware enough to make their own lives complicated. The dialogue snaps like a chalkboard cracking under pressure, and the pacing keeps you flipping pages faster than a student trying to finish a term paper at 11:59 p.m. There’s drama, there’s heart, and there’s just enough academic jargon to make you feel clever without needing a dictionary.

If you’ve ever had a crush on someone who corrected your grammar mid-flirt, this one’s for you. It’s clever without being pretentious, romantic without being syrupy, and just messy enough to feel real. Basically, it’s the kind of book that makes you want to enroll in grad school just for the drama—and then immediately drop out because, well, feelings are hard.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

As an English teacher and lover of literature, this book resonated with me on every level. I loved how the two academics had to learn not only to teach a course together but also to live together. Their style of co-teaching sounds like an amazing course to take, and I loved how they decided to publish it in an academic journal. I also loved how this book took place in Australia - a country I have always wanted to visit! This was a super fun read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good rom-com! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Jonah and Sadie have been academic rivals since their undergrad days. They are always trying to one up the other and providing counterpoints to each other’s opinions. It isn’t until a certain job application becomes open that their lives change forever.

I loved that this book had dual POVs, because I loved seeing Jonah’s additional footnotes and thoughts. The whole theme of eucatastrophes and heavy hitting decisions based off of life changing decisions was so interesting to watch play out. Their relationship developed in an atypical manner, but it was so enjoyable to see the different key points that switched their paths even more towards each other.

This book had me drawn in within the first chapter, and it was hard to put down. I ended up rating this book a 4.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC.

This was such a fun, and self-aware, novel. Told in dual POVs from both Jonah and Sadie’s POV, and Jonah’s in true academic fashion is full of footnotes.

Jonah Fisher and Sadie Shaw have been academic rivals for thirteen years (and slightly unwilling housemates in a flat share for the last eight), and since they have the same PhD, they’re now competing for all the same jobs. When a full-time position opens at a university in their specialties, they both have reasons to want it, other than to win. It’s in the same town as Jonah’s sister, who is suddenly a single mom to three going through a messy divorce and could use her brother nearby. Sadie has been financially and emotionally reliant on her older sister as long as she can remember and sees the financial security of this job as necessary to proving she can handle life. So, when the contract comes with a clause about partner hires, a marriage could solve the problem for both of them… or cause a whole lot more.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the following tropes: one bed, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, fake dating, long-term pining, he falls first (& harder).

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

Reviewer Two approves! In An Academic Affair, Sadie and Jonah manage to game the broken academic hiring system, but can they mend their longstanding intellectual rivalry? It's worth coming along for the ride to find out.

I'll confess that I had my doubts about a romance novel getting academia right, but this was spot on. The plot is light and fun and perhaps a bit predictable, but Sadie would agree, I think, that that predictability is part of what good romance relies on. What really pulled me in was the delightful depiction of academic tropes (and truths) that anyone who has worked at a university can easily relate to (yes, I'm looking at you tweed bros and reviewer two and "cost saving" administrators). The balance of romance with critique of academia is just right. Also, the references to lit and theory throughout are a treasure trove that had me alternately laughing out loud and sighing. (Though I do question using a quote from King Lear's Goneril as a genuine expression of affection - but that's a debate for another day.)

If I did have a complaint about this book, it would be the endnotes. I get the purpose of them in a) giving an academic tone to Jonah's chapters and b) showing just how much of a "tweed bro" he is, but they were hard to navigate and caused me a bit of frustration (I'm looking to escape endnotes in my light reading!). This might be mitigated in a print copy, though, versus the eARC.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who complains rivals-to-lovers is an under appreciated trope, this was a fun, cozy read.

There were several things I enjoyed, including:
- The writing and especially the dialog. Their banter was believable and fun, and watching them challenge each other while also falling in love was a different type of love than regularly shown (the intellectual attraction) which I appreciated.
- The characters were well built out. Their motives made sense, I actually bought into a marriage of convenience, and their actions were consistent while also having personal growth.
- The turn the book took when I thought it was marching towards an obvious third act miscommunication. I’m being intentionally vague to not have spoilers, but I was prepared to be annoyed and instead was oh so pleasantly surprised.
- Last but not least, all the small details. The entire story was based around literature academia, all the little elements like footnotes, obscure references, and not commonly known literary terms helped make the story both come together and pop.

I did have a few issues that ultimately lowered my score. First was Sadie’s always fighting personality, especially targeting her rage at those she saw as more privileged than her. I understand why she was that way, but putting my personal dislike aside, I don’t understand that even when she started to see Jonah as a person beyond his father, why didn’t change her behavior and sentiments towards him accordingly. Secondly, the pacing seemed a bit off, especially the end (rushed). Third, the entire Chess storyline. I’m sure we will learn more in a future book (Chess and Isamu seem almost guaranteed) but it was just so unnecessary to hurt Sadie like that for so long.

Thank you to Jodie McAlister, Atria, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet, academic romance. I don't typically love the fake-marriage trope but this one worked for me. I related a lot to Sadie and her feelings about love and being loved and found it was explained in a way that felt real. Jonah was just endearing. However, I wanted more of from the story, particularly at the end. To me, it felt a bit rushed. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

I give it 2.5 stars rounded up.

It didn't give me what I was looking for. It felt boring and predictable, YES, rivals-to-lovers is often a familiar setup, but here it lacked chemistry. I didn’t get the romcom vibe I was hoping for and found myself struggling to finish. I was not a fan of the writing style and maybe because I am not an English major.

Tropes:
Dual POV
Marriage of Convenience
Rivals to Lovers

“If you want to walk away from me, I’ll let you go. But I need you to hear me when I tell you that I’m not going to walk away from you.”

It was a nice cute romance story. I liked the flow of the story and how a common book trope was utilized in the story. I am sucker for a marriage of Convenience, and it’s between two academics. Double hearts for me. However when authors put booktok references in the book it dates the book in a way that's not helpful for the future. Like I understand that booktok is a current trend but it’s one that makes me rolls my eyes instantly when I read it. Overall it was a nice cute simple read . A great pallet cleanser after reading something heavy.

Fantastic. The authors own experience in academia shines through in this book and I loved the world she created and the stories she set up if she continues to go in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this Arc.

I absolutely loved this book! I thought the characters were so real, and I love a marriage of convenience trope!

An absolute delight of a read-academics, sisterhoods, frenemies, and love. The perfect blend of it all. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read

Loved the yearning, the slow burn, no third-act break up, and their emotional growth together! Do not understand the Chess stuff though and it didn’t feel resolved but I’m curious if there will be another book with Julia? Would read!

3.5⭐️

This book had some highs and lows for me personally. I really loved Jonah I think his character was written so well and he was so so down bad for Sadie even when he didn’t know it. Especially in the end though once they finally accepted they loved each other and were staying married that man was on his knees for that woman and so protective it was so hot!!! I liked Sadie’s character but there were some moments of annoyance just the constant doubting but I do know that is because of her past and then with everything that happened with her sister it was valid but still. I think the ending fell a little flat in my opinion it was built up for this big investigation for it to not really go anywhere and we didn’t get too much of an explanation of everything. Overall a cute fun read and I’m glad to have gotten this ARC!

Sadie and Jonah are classmates turned rivals turned roommates who turn around and marry for job security!

I enjoyed how their marriage of convenience was truly believable because of how long they had known each other and how they acted towards one another. Jonah was so down bad for Sadie and I loved how it seemed like a lightbulb went off when she suddenly realized she felt the same.

I did not enjoy the dynamic between Sadie and her sister and their miscommunication was blown way out of proportion. Sadie seemed truly remorseful and her sister was so distant to her. I also did not realize that there were footnotes until I was almost half way thru but they definitely added to the story and was a nice nod to the characters professions.

Overall I enjoyed the academia setting and leaning about Australia and their higher education system! The romance was also a highlight but I did wish the family dynamics were a bit more fleshed out, especially with the sisters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this eARC in exchange for a honest review.