Jodi McAlister has officially became an auto-buy author for me! This book was absolutely unputdownable. Jonah and Sadie were perfectly-crafted main characters that absoletly made this book as lovable as it was. The writing was excellent with great pacing and felt almost Emily Henry-esque in the sentence structure and wording. I loved the detail of the footnotes in the Jonah POV, it was definitely something I'm not used to but I throughly enjoyed it. One of my favorites and I am so excited to see what Jodi McAlister writes next!

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

This book was an absolute delight! The premise is nothing groundbreaking — academic rivals who enter a fake relationship and end up falling for each other — but the author nails common tropes of the genre with excellence.

Rom-coms are usually a major hit or miss for me, so I don’t say it lightly that I enjoyed almost every aspect of this book. The banter was witty and sharp, the characters were fully fleshed out, and the romance was well paced and believable. The author is clearly a very talented writer, and excels at creating well thought out plot lines and characters. The story was very entertaining and I didn’t want to put this book down. My one gripe with the book was how rushed the ending was. The conflict resolution seemed quite abrupt and not as smooth as the rest of the book’s pace.

Overall, I adored this book and had a wonderful time reading it!

I loved this book. Enemies to lovers and fake dating are some of my favourite tropes and it was fun to read about the world of Australian academia, something I'm not overly familiar with. It was a fast and engaging read.

This surprised me in all the best ways! Jonah's yearning is top tier. Their rivalry actually made sense and I loved their bickering. What a satisfying romance.

Yes, this is another book filled with tropes: fake marriage, enemies to lovers, slow burn... Since the two MCs are literature professors, they even address these tropes. But they're tropes nonetheless. Set in Australia, there were unfamiliar words/concepts; I wish these were explained for readers in other countries. I didn't realize the weird numbers throughout were footnotes (in my ARC Kindle copy, they weren't formatted properly, which didn't help) until I saw them at the end, so I missed out on that aspect of the book. Though, to be honest, I don't know that they even added anything and probably would have been an annoyance.

The book also provides a glimpse into the difficult world of academia. And it's a love letter to sisters.

A couple of plot points were left dangling. It was obvious who was in love with Fiona, and one would hope she eventually finds out/gets involved with him. But what about Elias and Julia? Makes me wonder if the author is planning sequels.

4.5 stars rounded up

Good things come to those who wait with this slow burn romance. The pining in this book was top tier (he falls first).

If you’re in the mood for an academic romance with witty banter and a marriage of convenience, plus lovable side characters, this book will scratch the itch.

A couple of explicit sex scenes, but otherwise much more focused on the budding emotional connection, this book struck a nice balance.

I found the conflict refreshingly straightforward (no easily solved miscommunication here). Both Sadie and Jonah were fleshed out and balanced characters, plus their relationship with their sisters added depth to the story.

I’m on the fence about Jonah’s annotations. On the one hand, it felt true to his character, and on the other hand, they didn’t feel 100% necessary (but I’m sure others will feel otherwise).

What a fabulous read! This is literally a book about professor of romance books!! The inside view of academia was a great addition to this fake dating, one bed, enemies to lovers world. I thought both Sadie and Jonah were very relatable in their thoughts, actions, and growth and I felt the writing made it so easy to become part of their world. Brainy love stories are some of favorites and this one just moved to the top of my list!!

Thank you to Atria Books via Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review..

An excellent academic romantic fiction! I ate it up, particularly all the academic elements, the stress of finding stable professorships due to a deluge of PhDs in the job market as well as the partner hire scenario. The romantic tension was sufficiently palpable and of the slow burn kind, loved it!

The contrasts between the main protagonists and their relationships with their respective sisters was cleverly woven into the story.. This was a unique premise and the sibling dynamics is something we don't get to see very often in rom-coms. It was well done!

As far as the protagonists are concerned, I felt the story was mostly told in the POV of Jonah which I enjoyed! While we get Sadie's POV it was mostly riddled with internal conflicts, particularly with respect to her relationship with her sister and not as much of her evolving relationship with Jonah. While the plot line was perfectly paced and kept tight up until about 80% of the book, I felt all the conflict resolutions between the various relationships (including the most contentious relationship of all, Jonah and Sadie's sister) took place towards the very end and had a rushed and convenient ending.. For this reason, I felt these resolutions could have started playing out a little earlier.

The book is set in Australia, but that doesn't deter from the main story and one could totally imagine this whole story to happen anywhere in the academic world, so kudos to the author! The book will strongly resonate among many academics as well as anyone interested in fake dating & workplace romance tropes.

Parts of the internal monologues that Sadie had reminded me of books by Mhairi McFarlane, one of my favorites!

All in all an excellent rom-com (with the academic setting much more believable than other popular, contemporary ones) and one that I'd highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley, #AnAcademicAffair

4.5 stars rounded up to 5
I thoroughly enjoyed the arguments and laughter that this book provided. Why wasn't Jodi McAlister on my radar before this ARC?! I'm 100% onboard for her next one, and it would be phenomenal if it is a sequel to An Academic Affair. I fell in love with Jonah and Sadie as the main characters, and I adore Fiona and the winery brothers. All of the characters (even Fiona's sister) have so much more to develop and story out for us. If you enjoy fake relationships and forced proximity romcoms filled with banter, then you need to add this to your tbr for publication day. Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.

A red head with spunk and a man who has adored her since he they were undergrads, they bicker like their lives depend upon it until a teaching job is up for grabs. But it's set in Australian academia, and no one gets called carrots.

This book started out so strong! I loved the bickering, and Jonah’s yearning. But it dragged. The story ended up being as much about sibling relationships, and it was such a sloooow burn with hardly any yearning from Sadie that it barely felt like a romance. Even Jonah's yearning wasn't enough to carry the romance for me. It was sweet, but I wanted it dialed up to eleven!

There were also lots of endnotes in this book. Lots! Which was a cute nod to academia. But I read zero of them because I find it annoying jumping back and forth even on an eReader. Maybe it's smoother on a Kindle but I wasn't going to risk losing my page to read a fiction endnote. I might have been more inclined if they'd been at the end of each chapter.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and my fiancé won a free copy on a giveaway so felt like I had to read it. This book is so cute. I really enjoyed every part of it. The banter is wonderful. It’s an enemies to lovers story but it isn’t done in a cheesy way. I also really love the side stories about relationships with siblings. The ending did feel a bit rushed. We learned so much about the characters of the college, to not really get the story, even short, of how it played out is a bit of a disappointment. Overall, Would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for your next enjoyable rom com.

i had a decent time reading this, thank you netgalley for the arc! it's been awhile since i've read an academic romance and this one is perfect for when you're in a slump. it's easy to read, fast paced, and the characters are easy to root for.

5 stars all around!

If I hadn’t physically needed sleep, I would had gone through this is one sitting. As a fellow English major, though not as astute, I instantly fell in love with Sadie and Jonah. All the literary references were so fun since I knew them all, and it was so refreshing to have “older” main characters who while in a college setting aren’t the students themselves anymore. I also have a soft spot for sisters as I’m one myself. I’m so glad Sadie had such a massive character development and I’m anxious to see where things go with Chess.

Thank you so much to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This is one of the best books I’ve read this year

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Not my favorite but still a cute fun read! Definitively recommend if you are in between books or need a lighthearted cute romantic book.

Emily Henry meets Ali Hazelwood in this witty, smart, and oh so very romantic book that I absolutely devoured. It took all of about 2 sentences for me to know I was going to be obsessed with the yearner that Jonah Fisher is.

An academic marriage of convenience enemies to lovers about two English professors with so much rawness to it and witty banter that can only come from an English professor herself.

An Academic Affair had one of the best executions of enemies/rivals-to-lovers I've ever seen. They argued enough to make the tension real without being so over the top that I couldn't understand why they were together, which many enemies to lovers books fail at. I also thought this was an interesting spin on marriage of convenience - usually you see people marrying for money/an inheritance of some kind, so the concept of getting married so that both people can work the same niche, unforgiving job was novel. I would recommend this to people new to enemies to lovers or to anyone who likes books set in academia.

not my favorite read.... i think i have realized i don't love books with the tropes in the book. i feel like it lacked a bit of romance

This gem of a book pulled me out of a reading slump! I adored Sadie and Jonah - the banter and chemistry were perfect. Jodi McAlister’s writing is smart; this is not a fluffy romance with no substance! I am now dying to read all her other books and I’ll also be seeking out the books she references which Sadie gifted to her sister. Five stars for sure!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital arc of this book! :) Publish date is November 11th, 2025!
This book was super cute! It’s a story about romance and fighting for your job through academia! Jonah and Sadie are nemesis in the beginning, always pushing each other and fighting! Then they interview for a job and Sadie gets it! There was a clause in her contract and she decided to get married to Jonah out of convenience so he can help his sister out. Jonah has always loved her, but it took Sadie a while to figure out that she had always loved him too! Then they fight for their jobs at the university!
Chess is Sadie’s sister and I feel like there was so much more to her story than we got, so it would be super cool if we could get a Chess book!
I also enjoyed the way the author wrote the book! It was easy to follow and it kept me interested! :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE romances where the MCs are feuding teachers. LIKE YESSSS GIVE ME MORE. Plus enemies to lovers with marriage of convenience?! What more could a girl ask for??

Jonah is one of those to die for MMCs who lives to get under the FMC's skin, and let me tell you, HE DELIVERED. The banter? Fantastic. The tension? Off the freaking charts. BUT the best part was how even in the midst of their rivalry, Jonah never once disrespected Sadie. I know that sounds like the bare minimum, but in this generation we don’t get that treatment, unfortunately. The point is, he always lifted her up—talking about how brilliant she was, her heart, her worth—like she was the most extraordinary woman he’d ever met. And he did it so openly, so shamelessly. He loved her completely. WHOLLY. It was so pure! One of my new favorite couples, hands down.

Sadie was a bit more reserved when it came to expressing her love—for good reason—and I just wish we could’ve seen more yearning from her side. Jonah wore his whole entire heart on his sleeve when it came to her, and I wanted to see her heart aching for him just as much.

Still though, the romance was beautiful. Their chemistry was magnetic, and Jonah’s “I don’t care, I just want you” energy? PERFECTION. That’s love.

Beyond the romance, I adored the relationship between Sadie and her sister, Chess. Their bond was so tender and real—it broke me in the best way. Every scene they shared felt so raw; I loved them. That said, Sadie’s emotional spiral when they were at a crossroads felt a bit overwhelming and repetitive sometimes. I understood the heartbreak; I can see where she was coming from, but I wished she let herself have more joyful moments to balance it all out.

Oh, and let’s not forget to mention Fiona, my queen, my girl; SHE DESERVES EVERYTHING. PLEASE let her have her own book. I’m so invested in her getting an HEA of her own.

All in all, this was a wonderful emotional, romantic, swoony, sexy kind of read that delivers all the feels!

4.4 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!