“An Academic Affair” by Jodi McAlister sat on the shelf like many other modern romances. Unassuming, promising sweet smiles, simple laughs, the occasional tear and maybe a bit of spice. However, what I instead found upon reading the early release for this novel were compelling characters, an interesting and well done plot about the intricacies of academic life and the competition and gender norms within.
I am an absolute sucker for academic romance and this book is no exception. I laughed loud at this book and cried hard, and had the occasional moment where I peered over my shoulder to make sure no one could see the page. I had never read a McAlister novel before and as my first venture into her works I was surprised by how much I fell in love with the book.
The story of “An Academic Affair” revolves around two main characters. Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since the first fateful day they crossed paths in the literature department of their undergraduate program, and swore death upon each other for 13 years.
When an unexpected job opportunity for a university position opens up and both characters are aiming for it, stars align to bring the two together as a team. The chemistry and years of rivalry between the two come head to head as they are forced to work together in the often unforgiving world of academia.
This book works for me on so many levels. While I am undoubtedly a fan of romances, I have found myself as of late much more cynical toward the overly saturated stories that are often over told. It has become rarer for me to find a story let alone characters that really jump out to me as unique.
First and foremost, the plot makes sense. Every book of this genre, in order to cultivate a romance between its main characters, has to come up with valid reasons to keep them interacting with each other. And in a well written enemy-to-lovers situation, that’s even harder to do. The concept of “partner hire” is used masterfully here to force the characters to work together for practical (and very comedic) reasons.
Beyond the plot and perhaps the most important aspect of a well written romance, is characters that are done well. Sadie and Jonah are entirely too loveable. They are unique in their own rights, Sadie struggling from an underprivileged and poorer background, fighting tooth and nail to pull herself to the top. Jonah, born into a prestigious academic family, fighting to separate himself from the privilege and leave a mark on the world that is entirely his own.
The motivations for the two main characters blend beautifully and often offer chances for interesting dynamics between the two.
When the two characters, each who are masters in two different literary fields, finally discover their true feelings for each other, the author uses this to her advantage in some of the most surprisingly beautiful dialogue and prose I have ever heard from a romcom novel.
“I had a doctorate in literary
studies, but I did not have the words to explain what it felt like to be looked at
to be perceived – by Sadie Shaw”
This is my favorite quote from Jonah and showcases exactly the feelings I had throughout the book inside the minds of two brilliant characters. I am also a sucker for any academic romance. Whether it’s written by the queen of the genre Ali Hazlewood, or this surprising new take from McAlister, I am all for it and this fresh take was delivered perfectly.
We also got to see the research side of things and expertise from both characters, and it was fun to geek out a bit, even in a romance. Their struggle to survive in the cutthroat world of academia made me love them even more than just two compelling characters falling in love.
That said, as much as this novel impressed me, it was not without its frustrations. One element that did not really work for me was the handling of Sadie’s sister. While her inclusion adds a lot of importance and context to Sadie’s background, the relationship at times feels not only underexplored compared to Sadie’s academic troubles, but also roughly handled. Given how thoughtfully the book handled very real issues of class, gender and professional insecurity, I found myself wanting more emotional weight and resolution here.
I think another factor that played into that was the use of miscommunication tropes. At times the romance relies on miscommunication and characters jumping to conclusions, which became frustrating. While this is a common trope, it felt less convincing given that Sadie and Jonah are portrayed very differently. These moments briefly slowed the story and felt slightly at odds with otherwise strong characterization. Realistically communication is hard in everyday life, but the situations here often lent themselves to the unrealistic.
Despite these minor frustrations, they did very little to diminish the impact of the novel, and my pure enjoyment of it. In fact, much of what makes “An Academic Affair” so successful lies in how it embraces classic romance tropes and executes them with care and originality.
If you are a fan of romance, and the ideas of “enemies to lovers” and “marriages of convenience” this really is the book for you. These tropes are not merely present for familiarity’s sake; they are woven into the academic setting and character motivations in a way that feels fresh, intentional, and deeply satisfying. For those of you who wish to know, I would also give this a spice rating of 3 out of 5, the book definitely has its moments however most are toward the end and you know they’re coming.
Overall I would give this a rating of 4.7 stars, rounded to 5 for simplicity’s sake. It was witty, endearing and definitely a book I will cherish on my shelves and will recommend for years to come.