Ali Hazelwood Author Spotlight

We all have our favorites Authors and this is possibly my favorite of all time. Leading the the STEM romance genre this author means so much to me and has really opened my eyes to something I didn’t know I needed in my life. So much so that I HAD to meet her in person!

Ali Hazelwood is a romance writer with novels with a wide range of characters but always portraying strong women and their romances ranging from STEM, Sports, Paranormal and even cute little vacation romances. All of Hazelwoods characters are complex, quirky, lively and mostly women in male dominated fields and I just love how she portrays this each and every time.

She is one of the first authors I read as an adult and just became obsessed with her characters and how she writes about these women handle or deal with their own struggles. I always end up finding a way to connect with her characters even when I don’t think I will. There’s always one thing and it hooks me every time. Like I mentioned at the beginning I love her so much so that I had to meet her at Texas Book Fest in Austin a couple years ago and took my stack of books for her to sign.

In this author spotlight I will highlight majority of her books with some thoughts of my own and reasons why her other books are on my TBR.

Love Hypothesis is the debut novel from Ali Hazelwood that follows Olive a PHD candidate and her fake relationship with despised Professor Adam Carlsen. While trying to convince her best friend she is dating, Olive kisses the first man she can find in a crowded hallway and just so happens to be the difficult Professor Carlsen. Adam agrees to start a fake relationship with Olive for her sake, as well as his to keep his grant money coming in for research from the school.

Tropes/ Themes

Fake Dating
STEM Romance
Grumpy Sunshine
He falls first

First off the STEM setting at the time was new and different from other books I read and I loved seeing a smart woman that was comfortable in herself and didn’t let jealousy cloud or change her friendships.Olive is quirky but also very lovable which makes it easy to root for her and although Adam is hated by students Olive brings out a side to him that makes him just as lovable. The spice in the book is open door but at a tame level it does get tense and steamy but there’s one truly spicy scene which it great if you’re looking for a little something not a lot. My favorite part about this book is that Adam falls for Olive first. This was one of the first adult romance books I read and I had never read anything like that. I think it gave me a different understanding of what romance and love looks like with so many stories particularly in film of women falling first then the men seeing a man so for lack of a better phrase DOWN BAD for a woman it was refreshing to see.

Weird thing to say if you don’t know the lore but this book is great for Star Wars fans specifically Kylo Ren and Rey shippers. This novel started as a Kylo Ren and Rey fan fiction on A03 so the characteristics and physical features of the two main characters Adam and Olive are the same as Ren and Rey. That was also a plus for me when I picked this book up.

Love on the Brain is a STEMinist romance that follows Bee a neuroscientist who takes her dream NASA project and discovers she is co-leading with her grad school nemesis Levi Ward. Struggling through workplace sabotage and misconceptions Bee learns that Levi is her ally that leads to a slow burn and forced proximity romance.

Tropes/ Themes

Enemies to Lovers
Secret Admirer
Workplace Romance
Forced Proximity
Academic Rivalry
Open door

This was a quick light romance read the science in the book isn’t too overwhelming but just enough to understand how its part of the characters live. Bee is also very quirky this is common with all of the characters from Ali Hazelwood and that makes them so unique. The spice is a level up from Love Hypothesis in that there is more spicy scenes but not too much that makes it feel lusty.

I personally really liked the dynamic between Levi and Bee this being academic rivals to friends with the secret admire trope help to really lean into the fact that they didn’t realize they actually liked each other.

Love Theoretically is a STEMinist Romance following theoretical physicist Elsie who works as a fake girlfriend for hire to supplement her low professor salary and experimental physicist Jack who is her rival and brother to her favorite client. Starting with their academic feud the tension rises when Jack stands between Elsie and her dream job at MIT.

Tropes/ Themes

Enemies to Lovers
Fake Dating (the brother)
People pleasing
Financial struggles
Academic Rivalry
Open Door

What I found most interesting about this novel is that our characters are really familiar with each other and in so many different ways but it shows how attraction and romance and really unlock and show you different parts of a person you might’ve never known. It was also kind of funny in an ironic way the weird ways our characters were connected outside of their rivaly really did help to build conflict but also tension between the two.

Problematic Summer Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Problematic Summer Romance is a Vacation romance following 23 year old grad student Maya and her brothers’ 38 year old best friend Conor who get stuck together at her brothers’ destination wedding in Sicily. Maya tries to pursue a summer fling with Conor who pushes her away due to their age gap and power imbalance. Not being able to avoid each other the two fall into an unexpected romance. This is a spin off from Not In Love by Hazelwood that follows the brothers’ romance.

Tropes/ Themes

Age Gap
Brothers Best friend
Forced Proximity
Vacation Romance
Open Door Spice

First and foremost I binged this book. I took it with me everywhere on my vacation. So much so that I practically ruined it and had to get a new copy because I loved it so much. At first I was really nervous about the age gap because it was so good but to be honest Conor won me over mainly because he was so against the romance with Maya. Which is so weird to actually say but it showed more of his character. I loved Maya but I understood her she is just the girl trying to really understand her feelings and what she wants from her life and what that looks like. I really enjoyed her finding herself and also accepting with by sharing and being venerable with her brother.

Bride is a Paranormal Romance following Misery Lark, a Vampyre councilmans’ daughter who enters an arranged marriage to form a truce with Alpha of Werewolf Lowe Moreland. The alliance aims to bridge a war but Misery uses it to find her missing best friend Serena.

Tropes/ Themes

Arranged Marriage
Paranormal Romance
Forbidden Attraction
Fated Mates
Open Door

This was a strong paranormal romance that offered both vampire and werewolf that also played into the rivals and interspecies dynamics. The dynamics of the two councils vampyre and were coming together and making an agreement was interesting and with the subplot of Misery looking for her best friend made it interesting. It kept me entertained the whole time and I couldn’t put it down.

This was a first for me! IYKYK…but anyways! There is specific things that happen during the spicy scenes that are interesting. It was unexpected for me but I didn’t mind it with that being said knotting isn’t for everyone.

Stuck With You is a STEMinist novella following civil engineer Sadie and Erik who are forced to confront each other and their past and present feelings after getting stuck in an elevator together. Part of the Loathe To Love You collection this is the second book in the series of Novellas.

Tropes/ Theme

Opposites attract
Rivals to Lovers
Miscommunication
Forced Proximity

Since the book is set with our characters stuck in an elevator with flashbacks to their relationship it was an interesting way to show their conflict but keep our characters in one place and keep it short for a novella. The miscommunication trope was not something I liked all too much because it just seems like something that could be fixed quick and easy but it turned into something different but I did enjoy the writing style.

Check and Mate is the first YA romance from Hazelwood following Mallory, a chess prodigy who quits after it breaks her family. She reluctantly enters a tournament and surprises everyone when she beats champion Nolan Sawyer. This sends her back to competitive and high stakes professional chess. Although they are rivals, Nolan becomes obsessed with rematching her and the two develop a romance along the way.

Tropes/ Theme

Competitive Rivals
YA Romance
Open door spice

I connected to Mallory quick because she had faced similar things I had at a younger age and it was refreshing to see in a YA novel but because it was YA I had moments I truly felt disconnected and it was probably the last YA novel I was able to enjoy. I also appreciated that Mallory was sexually active and most YA novels with characters in the age range of 16-17 have this as part of their arc but don’t dive into the ins and outs of it. That’s also something not everyone is going to appreciate but it was something that felt realistic to mention and have the characters discuss.

Mate is a Paranormal Romance following after Bride that centers on hybrid werewolf (were) Serena after she’s been kept in the custody and protection of Alpha were Koen. Hiding from both werewolf and Vampyres because she has become a target for being a human werewolf hybrid. Now Serena and Koen are forced together against enemies and political factions.

Tropes/ Theme

Paranormal Romance
Gumpy Sunshine
Fates Mates
Interspecies conflict
Open Door Spice

I really enjoyed Bride which is from the same universe as Mate and follows Serenas best friends romance so continuing in the world I already know is nice and easy because there’s not much world building that would need to be done to understand the dynamics and politics of this world.

I’ve heard this one is just as spicy as Bride and that book has specific paranormal spice that isn’t for everyone so just fair warning. Although it’s from the same universe as Bride you don’t have to read it before diving into this one it is a standalone novel as well. I love fated mate tropes so I’m most excited for that but overall I know that Serena is not as connected to her werewolf side so I want to see her explore that more and how it makes her become more herself by fully being able to accept and embrace parts of herself she’s had to keep secret.

Deep End is a College Romance following competitive diver Scarlett and swim captain Lukas who enter a mutually beneficial arrangement that starts to get complicated as they both train for the Olympics.

Tropes/ Themes

Sports romance
Forbidden Romance
Fake relationship
Mental health
Explicit Open door spice

This book is mainly on my list because I love the olympics. There’s not many books that revolve around olympic athletes and both parts of the couple trying to be in the olympics mostly if its mentioned its one party not both so I thought that was interesting.This is possibly Hazelwoods spiciest book. Opening with the fact that both characters an intro kinky things especially because the book was supposed to be titled Whet which is pronounce like wet. Since our main character Scarlett is healing from injury I’m excited to see how she heals from it mentally and how this relationship maybe affects that in some ways. Also seeing two competitive people be competitive but not with each other is refreshing so I want to see how this plays into how they handle the different parts of their “relationship” or agreement.

Not In Love is a STEM romance following biotech engineer Rue and Eli who is partner at the firm trying to acquire her company. This is an enemies to lover romance with a no strings attached relationship that gets complicated when their professional conflict rises.

Tropes/ Themes

workplace romance
Rivals to lovers
Forbidden Love
Trama bonding

The start of this book does have a warning that is is heavier emotionally than her previous books but it is also known for having intense spice compared to other novels. Having read Problematic Summer Romance I have seen glimpses of Rue and Eli that I loved the bits and pieces I got of them together and I want to see how their relationship plays out.

Two Can Play is a Romance Novella following rival video game designers Viola and Jesse who are forced to work on a project together and end up at a retreat leading to unexpected chemistry. Started as an audible original and released to print 2026.

Tropes/ Themes

Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Video Game industry
Pining
Enemies to Lovers

This would be the first book on my TBR that has anything to do with the video game industry and I really love that. It does give more insight to industries I don’t know but also this is something new that isn’t a common occupation for characters and its refreshing to see that portrayed in a novel.

Under One Roof is a STEMinist novella following environmental engineer Mara and big oil lawyer Liam who are forced to live together and overcome their animosity to each other. This is the first in the series of novellas in the Loathe To Love You series. Following the three scientist friends Mara, Sadie (Stuck with You) and Hanna (Below Zero).

Tropes/ Themes

Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers
Opposites attract
Open Door romance

This book is on my TBR mainly because I just want to read all of Hazelwoods work and mark it off the list. Since it’s a novella it’s always good to have added to the list incase I want something short to read that is romance but not going to take me too long to get through. I hear that the male main character is supposed to be similar to Tony Stark in terms of attributes and character traits.

Below Zero

Contemporary Romance Novella and final installment in Loathe To Love You series following NASA aerospace engineer Hanna while she is stranded in an Arctic research station and must rely on her rival Ivan as they navigate a dangerous situation.

Tropes/ Themes

Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers
Opposites attract
Open Door romance

Kind of similar to Under one Roof I want to read this book mainly because it is by Ali Hazelwood and also its a novella and I can pick this up when I want to read something quick and possibly in one sitting and get the romance fill I need without having to commit to something big. I hear that the male main character is supposed to be similar to Steve Rodgers in terms of attributes and character traits.

My favorite books are Love Hypothesis and Problematic Summer Romance. Love Hypothesis has a good pace and and nice entry romance for any one. Problematic Summer Romance is similar in being a quick romance to read but more specific to a season like the summer but the messiness that comes with having a romance with your brother best friend and also an age gap was the right amount of chaos for a romance and I ate it up.

Ranked list

Love Hypothesis
Problematic Summer Romance
Bride
Love Theoretically
Love On the Brain
Stuck with You
Check and Mate

Ali Hazelwood does great at writing women who aren’t afraid to express their wants and needs and overall that’s the most empowering thing I think any woman can read. Specifically in relationships and it has helped me to become more expressive in my relationships overall and not be afraid to say thoughts or ideas even when it’s scary or I fear I might face a sort of rejection. Overall the vibes of the books are a little nerdy, usually spicy and overall fun and lighthearted which makes them great romance reads for spring and summer.

Have you read any books by Ali Hazelwood? If so comment some of your favorites.

Ali Hazelwood Author Spotlight

Taylor Jenkins Reid |Author Spotlight