Book Review: An Academic Affair
Have you ever felt like a book was written just for you? There were so many moments like that for me in An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister.
I loved this book so much that I RAN To choose it as my Book of the Month choice, even though I already read the ARC. I cannot wait to reread and share with friends. Anyone who likes a romance with intellectual sparring and a heart of gold, and tropes like rivals to lovers and fake relationship/marriage of convenience will love this book! Overall, the book is funny, sexy, smart, and spicy with a slightly slow burn romance that is worth the wait. And I loved the characters, full stop.
First of all, Sadie and Jonah, I love you. The book begins as Sadie and Jonah are rivals at university. They love to argue about poetry and books and literary theory. Who has not dreamed of arguing with a man about a poem by William Blake (if I remember correctly)? *Raises hand.* Sadie and Jonah spend years, side by side, even accidentally renting rooms in the same houseshare (a wee bit of forced proximity, love to see it).
Will You Be My Partner Hire?
After graduate school, they are both working as adjunct instructors and piecing together enough money to almost live on, when full-time, tenure track position comes up asking for scholars in their specialty areas. Their rivalry ramps up as they both go to the job interview. Only one person gets the job, but they have spent so much time together over the years and respect each other so much (sexual tension was simmering, let me tell ya), that the victory feels strange without the other person at their side… ENTER the partner hire and marriage of convenience trope.
Sibling Relationships
Sadie’s sister is a lawyer who also helped to raise her. Sadie is worried she is too codependent on her sister and needs to spread her wings. The whole partner hire idea becomes more complicated when Sadie is afraid to share the news with her sister, up until SO close to the wedding day.
I loved how the two MCs felt more fully realized because there were strong secondary conflicts within the plot about each of their families, which added depth to the book and made it feel more rewarding and relatable to read.
True Love and Academic Banter
While I might be a niche target audience, I think any romance readers will love An Academic Affair. I am a bookish girl who majored English literature and Creative Writing and later studied education and became a professor. As a current professor of education, I know that finding a job in academia is only possible through talent, preparation, personality, and a lot of luck.
And yes, partner hire is a real thing, but it is rarer now than it used to be. And yes, in case anyone is asking, I would marry my academic rival for a partner hire, especially if he was hot, had a crush on me, and loved his sister as much as Jonah! The family relationships and academic stakes felt so realistic, and I loved how Sadie built friendships with Jonah’s family.
My Thoughts
I actually finished reading this book weeks ago, yet it was hard for me to review, because I loved it so much and felt so recognized that at first, I did not even know what to say. I do not even usually like fake dating or marriage of convenience, so it takes extra convincing and good character development for me to genuinely like, let alone love, a book with these tropes. In all honesty, I fully believed that their marriage of convenience was a good idea in this case, because there were compelling reasons AND I know how hard it is to get hired in academia in this day and age.
Thank you to Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on Nov 11 in the United States, so please do not hesitate to preorder! If you preorder or order on Bookshop.org, you can choose to support your favorite indie bookshop, even when ordering online.
