Ali Hazelwood - Love, Theoretically

 

Ali Hazelwood - Love, Theoretically 

4⭐

Genre: Contemporary Romance,Romance, Fiction,STEM,Academia

Pages: 389

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Sphere

Date Published: 13th June 2023

Book Blurb: 

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

My Review: 

I love Ali Hazelwood’s writing and romances. There is no doubt about it. Yet, Love, Theoretically for me just wasn’t as good as her first two full-length books. Although I still loved the academic setting, the drama and the light that Hazelwood shines on misogyny and sexism in STEM when it comes to females, the romance itself for me was a real letdown.

The story follows theoretical physicist Elsie who is living two lives. She is an adjunct professor in two different universities, teaching graduates and hoping one day she can land a tenure. She also offers her services as a fake girlfriend on the online platform, just so she can pay her rent and bills. However, her best client’s older brother Jack Smith ruins her perfect double life when Elsie meets him during an interview at MIT, where she is hoping to get her dream job. Elsie’s hate for Jack doesn’t end there, he is an experimental physicist who ruined her supervisor's career and now is on a path to ruin Elsie's career too. Or so Elsie thought…

I didn’t like Elsie at all. She is not likeable. She pretends to be a version of herself that people want to see, thus it was hard to figure out who she really is. For someone who is also a Dr and theoretical physicist, she is also very naïve. I liked Jack as a character, he was more open than the male love interest in the other two Hazelwood books, so that was very interesting to read.

Romance-wise, I just didn’t buy it. She and Jack’s chemistry for me felt really forced and very instant. I didn’t believe their romantic story one bit, and honestly, I didn’t care that much about them both. I didn’t root for her like I did with Olive or Bee.

I enjoyed the Olive and Adam cameo, as well as the cheeky appearance of Bee’s name…It was so wholesome. Also, I really enjoyed the nature of academia being discussed during the book and all the drama that comes with it.

Overall: Not my favourite Ali’s book but still a very enjoyable read, academia and STEM wise mostly, instead of romance. However, I can’t wait to read Check & Mate, her first YA book and see what it’s like. 

About the Author:

Ali Hazelwood is the pseudonym for an Italian neuroscientist and writer of romance novels. Her main characters are women in a variety of different STEM fields and in academia. Her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a New York Times best seller. In 2022 she has published three novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Her second novel Love on the Brain was published on August 23, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood - Below Zero

 

Ali Hazelwood - Below Zero  

4⭐

Genre: Contemporary Romance,Romance, Fiction,STEM,Academia, Novella

Pages: 139

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Sphere

Date Published: 3rd January 2023

Book Blurb: 

It will take the frosty terrain of the Arctic to show these rival scientists that their chemistry burns hot.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

Hannah’s got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams…but he’s never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm?

My Review: 

I have to say that Below Zero was my favourite STEMinist novella by Ali Hazelwood. I really loved both Hannah and Ian, but especially Hannah, as she is so authentic and nerdy, yet true to herself. I just really wished this novella was longer, as I needed more of Ian and Hannah.

The novella follows Hannah who is a NASA aerospace engineer currently working in a very cold and remote part of Norway in a research station, conducting her ground-breaking research. Unfortunately, she gets herself injured and is unable to get back to safety, however, the person she least expects comes and rescues her. That person is no other than her long-time rival and arch nemesis Ian. However, being stranded in the cold and brutal wilderness, Hannah thinks about the past and Ian, especially the reasons why their rivalry started in the first place. Are being below zero will make Hannah’s heart colder or being faced with a life-threatening challenge will make her heart finally melt for Ian?

I loved how many character development Hazelwood put in this short story. It was amazing to see Hannah grow as a character between her memories and being stuck in a remote part of Norway. She is so likeable, authentic and cool. Loved her so much! It was really interesting to see the instant connection and the shared interests between them both, which is why their attraction and romance were so believable.

Overall: Fluffy, cute and brilliantly written novella. I loved the flashback scenes and how each added to the story, as well as covered all the blanks and helped to piece the story altogether. It just worked so well.  I actually wish this was a full-length book as I need more of Hannah and Ian since they are amazingly developed and interesting characters. 

About the Author:

Ali Hazelwood is the pseudonym for an Italian neuroscientist and writer of romance novels. Her main characters are women in a variety of different STEM fields and in academia. Her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a New York Times best seller. In 2022 she has published three novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Her second novel Love on the Brain was published on August 23, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood - Stuck With You

Ali Hazelwood - Stuck With You   

3.5⭐

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, STEM, Academia, Novella

Pages: 127

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Sphere 

Date Published: 3rd January 2023 

Book Blurb: 

Nothing like a little rivalry between scientists to take love to the next level.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

Logically, Sadie knows that civil engineers are supposed to build bridges. However, as a woman of STEM she also understands that variables can change, and when you are stuck for hours in a tiny New York elevator with the man who broke your heart, you earn the right to burn that brawny, blond bridge to the ground. Erik can apologize all he wants, but to quote her rebel leader—she’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.

Not even the most sophisticated of Sadie’s superstitious rituals could have predicted such a disastrous reunion. But while she refuses to acknowledge the siren call of Erik’s steely forearms or the way his voice softens when he offers her his sweater, Sadie can’t help but wonder if there might be more layers to her cold-hearted nemesis than meet the eye. Maybe, possibly, even burned bridges can still be crossed….

My Review: 

Stuck With You was definitely my least favourite of Ali Hazelwood's novellas. Firstly, there was no chemistry between Erik and Sadie nowhere in this story. Secondly, the instant love just seemed super unrealistic, especially the way they met. Very disappointing, especially as I heard so many good things about this one on Bookstagram.

This novella follows Sadie who is a civil engineer for a small company and who is very superstitious. Due to this superstition of hers, she meets a gorgeous Erik and she straight away is smitten by him. Erik seems to like her too. 24 hours and one spicy fling later, Sadie suddenly hates Erik. Why might you ask? Well…all of the details are revealed when both of them get stuck in an elevator and have to face each other once and for all…

I think if this wasn’t a novella but a full-length book, I think I would have liked it more. In this format, I didn’t get the whole instant love and then instant hate idea. Also, the story itself felt a bit unrealistic to me. Also, Erik’s character was very underdeveloped and oh don’t get me started on them talking about football. That just ruined the story for me. I liked Sadie but there wasn’t much of her true character or personality there, and at times she just felt a tad childish. I really felt that the trope took the front and the characters with their personalities took the back seat in this novella.

However, unlike in Under One Roof, at least the smutty scene here kept me interested, since the story and characters didn’t. Also, I was glad it wasn’t a long story, as I couldn’t face more of Erik and more of their silly miscommunication/ hate, which was sorted within an hour whilst stuck in the elevator…

Overall: Very disappointing story, with very underdeveloped characters and a miscommunication trope, which had so much potential but felt very short. I think this would have worked in a longer story but not in a novella format. 

About the Author:

Ali Hazelwood is the pseudonym for an Italian neuroscientist and writer of romance novels. Her main characters are women in a variety of different STEM fields and in academia. Her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a New York Times best seller. In 2022 she has published three novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Her second novel Love on the Brain was published on August 23, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood - Under One Roof

 

Ali Hazelwood - Under One Roof    

4⭐

Genre: Contemporary Romance,Romance, Fiction,STEM,Academia, Novella

Pages: 112

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Sphere 

Date Published: 3rd January 2023

Book Blurb: 

A scientist should never cohabitate with her annoyingly hot nemesis – it leads to combustion.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn….

As an environmental engineer, Mara knows all about the delicate nature of ecosystems. They require balance. And leaving the thermostat alone. And not stealing someone else’s food. And other rules Liam, her detestable big-oil lawyer of a roommate, knows nothing about. Okay, sure, technically she’s the interloper. Liam was already entrenched in his aunt’s house like some glowering grumpy giant when Mara moved in, with his big muscles and kissable mouth just sitting there on the couch tempting respectable scientists to the dark side…but Helena was her mentor and Mara’s not about to move out and give up her inheritance without a fight.

The problem is, living with someone means getting to know them. And the more Mara finds out about Liam, the harder it is to loathe him…and the easier it is to love him.

My Review: 

Although it doesn’t compare to how amazing were The Love Hypothesis and Love On the Brain, it was still a very cute, fun and feel-good novella. Excellent pallet cleanser in between heavier books.

The novella follows an environmental engineer Mara, who after graduation moves to DC to start her graduate position. However, she has a big problem, and that problem is living with Liam, who she hates from the minute their meet each other. Why is she cohabiting with him? Well, her PhD mentor left half of her house to Mara and half to her nephew Liam. Mara also can’t afford to leave…Plus she loves the place…Well, apart from Liam. However, as much as she hates him, she also starts getting to know him and that might turn her whole world upside down….

I liked the fact that it wasn’t instant love between Liam and Mara, and there was a bit of a slow burn (as much of a slow burn as you can have in a novella). However, I think the issue with novellas is that you can’t get to know the characters that in-depth, which for me affects how much I like and care about the story. I need to be invested in the characters to enjoy actually reading the story. As far as the novella’s length both Liam and Mara were very likeable characters, even though I wished I got to know them better. Also, I felt that there were so many things that both characters talked about that could have been explored in more depth and would have added to the plot of the story. This is especially if the smutty scene, which in my opinion was just awkward and unnecessary, was removed.

Overall: Likeable characters, feel-good story with hints of enemies to lovers and proximity tropes. Definitely a great pallet cleanser. I wished it was a bit longer and gave more actual romance between the two characters, not just a few scenes and a smutty chapter, especially after a quite slow start. Still, however, an enjoyable read if you want something easy and quick to read.

 

About the Author:

Ali Hazelwood is the pseudonym for an Italian neuroscientist and writer of romance novels. Her main characters are women in a variety of different STEM fields and in academia. Her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a New York Times best seller. In 2022 she has published three novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Her second novel Love on the Brain was published on August 23, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood - Love on the Brain

Ali Hazelwood - Love on the Brain  

5⭐

Genre: Romance, STEM, Academia, Contemporary Romance 

Pages: 362

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Sphere  

Date Published: 23rd August 2022

 

Book Blurb: 

From the New York Times, bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis-with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project-a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia-Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school-archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it's her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas...devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

My Review: 

Unpopular opinion but I loved Love on the Brain more than I loved The Love Hypothesis. Oops! Yes, there were some similarities between the two books but I felt that most of the book was different. Adam and Olive were fake dating, whereas Bee and Levi were more enemies to lovers/ second chance romance. Also, the book setting was completely different, which for me made a huge difference.

This story follows Bee Königswasser, a neuroscientist who is invited to work on an exciting new project called BLINK at NASA in Houston. The success of this project will mean Bee can have an amazing career in research but if she fails then all those years put into becoming an academic will be wasted. However, she soon realises that she will have to work with her archnemesis from her graduate school years, Levi Ward. Levi Ward is a tall and brainy engineer who for years worked at NASA. Once the project starts Bee notices that the equipment she was promised is missing, other people on the project refuse to listen to her and Levi after all these years still cannot even look at her or even be in the same room as her. Bee now needs to either confront her enemy or lose her dream job and subsequently her career….Or maybe after all Levi might become an ally to Bee in search of who is messing around with the success of BLINK.

I really liked the fact that Bee is quirky and geeky, as well as completely in love with cats. She also fangirls after Marie Currie and runs an undercover Twitter account What Would Marie Currie Do?, where she discusses all the challenges and barriers in the academic environment with other academics. It just felt that Bee was a more developed character than Olive in The Love Hypothesis, as Bee actually has a life and hobbies outside her research, whereas Olive didn’t really.

I also loved that Hazelwood discusses misogyny in STEM and how even though you are an intelligent female who achieved a lot in their respective academic field, you are less likely to be listened to or given authority in comparison to a white male academic. It is sad but it's true and I love that Hazelwood shines the light on these problems through her novels.

All the scientific aspects of this book made me so geeky and nerdy. I loved it! There was so much more science in this book and I am all here for it!

I also think that this story was more authentic than The Love Hypothesis. The premise of how Bee and Levi knew each other and how they became ‘enemies’ is more real than the one of how Olive started fake dating Adam. The characters in this book were also more relatable, especially the fact that before romance there was a genuine friendship that took time to develop happened between them at first and only then the romance followed.  

Overall: Honestly, this book had everything that I love, STEM, Academia, Romance and Spice. What else could I want? It made me smile, made me geek out, filled me with joy and was just a feel-good book to read. You should definitely read this if you want an easy, quirky romance with a bit of spice and science. I, however, can’t wait until Loathe to Love You in January 2023 and Love, Theoretically in June 2023! So excited! 

About the Author:

Ali Hazelwood is the pseudonym for an Italian neuroscientist and writer of romance novels. Her main characters are women in a variety of different STEM fields and in academia. Her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, was a New York Times best seller. In 2022 she has published three novellas: Under One Roof, Stuck with You, and Below Zero. Her second novel Love on the Brain was published on August 23, 2022.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_Hazelwood

Christina Lauren - The Soulmate Equation

Christina Lauren - The Soulmate Equation 

4⭐

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Pages:  355

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Piatkus Books 

Date Published: 18th May 2021

Book Blurb: 

The New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners returns with a hilariously witty and feel-good romcom about your perfect match being the last person you’d expect . . .

Jess is a numbers genius, but when it comes to love she’s had to accept there is no magic formula. Juggling a career with raising her daughter, it’s not surprising that her love life is. . . non-existent. When yet another date ends in disaster, she’s prepared to give up on love for good.

But then she hears about a buzzy new matchmaking company that claims to find you the One using a DNA equation. Suddenly, love doesn’t seem quite so far out of reach . . .

Until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with the company’s founder, Dr River Pena. Jess already knows Dr Pena, and this man is 100%, not her soulmate. Yet as the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the ultimate ‘Diamond’ pairing, Jess begins to realise that there might be more to the scientist – and to the science behind a soulmate – than she thought.

My Review: 

This is my first Christina Lauren book and it was just adorable! I was so attracted by the scientific premise of this book, that I had to read it, especially as it reminded me so much of The Love Hypothesis. I mean, they both have fake dating tropes and features science…That means I will love it!

The story follows a single mum Jess, who just gave up dating because she is not only busy raising her young daughter but is also working hard to make sure both of them don’t struggle with money. One day her best friend suggests that they both should try this new dating app that is created by one of the regulars in the café, Americano, who Jess always sees getting coffee in the morning. The app is not your regular dating app, it analyses your DNA and pairs you with your perfect biological match- your soulmate. Jess reluctantly agrees to sign up, whilst not expecting much from it. To her surprise, she gets matched with Americano, better known as Dr River Pena. Although Jess doesn’t know him well, apart from a few encounters in the café, she instantly dislikes him and he is not particularly fond of her either…However, the app says that they are 98% biologically compatible. Jess doesn’t believe that River is her soulmate, however, River’s company offers Jess money if she agrees to date River for marketing and publicity reasons to make the app even more popular before its launch, which is just a few months away. Jess agrees but doesn’t realise that she might start believing in those numbers…

It is such a cute idea for a romance and of course, it featured my favourite trope, fake dating, which was a bonus. I liked how Jess was reluctant at first but once she got to know River then she realised that he is not that bad of a person. It just shows that sometimes we shouldn’t judge the book by its cover. The only thing that I felt was missing, was more of River’s personality and growth in this book. All of the chapters were from Jess’s POV and I felt that the story of how River felt about Jess and how his feelings changed for the most part just wasn’t featured as much. I wished there was also more about him so that I was able to learn about him and get to know him as a character.

I really liked Jess as she is such a hardworking parent, who wants the best for her daughter. She always puts herself first and she always puts the people she loves first before herself. I was rooting for her to get her happily ever after. Her daughter is so adorable too, as well as all the other side characters like Jess's grandparents and her best friend. They all were written so well into the story and added so much to the plotline, making this book such a cosy, funny and adorable read.

Overall: It is such a cute and adorable romance, that is just filled fully with good vibes. I felt that it was a quite slow burn when it came to the main characters' romance but it was interesting to read as other things that were happening in both character's life made the story more real. I liked how both River and Jess are nerds and scientists, as I love characters who are in STEM, especially in romances. Also, the concept and premise of this book are just perfect for me who loves science and STEM. I really hope there is going to be a sequel but from River’s POV as that would be so interesting to read. 

About the Author:

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction and together has produced eighteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

Lauren Billings has a PhD in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is a silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.

Christina Hobbs used to spend her days in a junior high counselling office surrounded by teenagers. These days you can find her at her desk, writing, or watching BTS videos. She lives in Utah with her husband and daughter, thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world to write books with her best friend and is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter.

https://christinalaurenbooks.com/bio/

Adam Kay - This is Going to Hurt

Adam Kay - This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor 

4.5⭐

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Autobiography, Medical, STEM, Humor.

Pages:  285

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Picador 

Date Published: 7th September 2017 

Book Blurb: 

Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you.

Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn't – about life on and off the hospital ward.

My Review: 

I finished this book in like 3 hours and honestly, it made me chuckle and be grossed out and sad…basically the whole spectrum of emotions and more. I also wished it was longer. Nevertheless, it was such an interesting and important book, full of sometimes very dark yet funny British Humour. 

This is Going to Hurt follows Adam Kay’s career as a junior doctor in the National Health Service from when he finishes his medical studies to when he quit the profession years later. The book is written as diary entries and each entry is from his real diaries, which he kept throughout his career as a junior doctor. Through these diary entries, we get a great glimpse and insight into his experiences as an obstetrician-gynaecologist, day-to-day emergencies, personal relationships, and hard and long hours. Most importantly his book doesn’t shy in displaying what is wrong with our National Health Services but at the same time shows that NHS are the ones that keep the country and people going, thus should be valued, cared for and protected at all costs.

I just wish I read it before watching the TV show, as I loved the TV show so much and although the book was brilliant it didn’t live up to the same expectation as the TV show did. Also, there were a few times during the book when Kay’s writing just didn’t work for me but I do believe it is because the book is written in this diary format. I still very much enjoyed the content of the book and the important messages that Adam Kay sends with this book. I also really enjoyed the fact that although Kay has seen in all, whilst being a doctor, he looks at it all with humour too, which was very refreshing to see and read. I would love to listen to the audiobook of this book as I believe I would definitely enjoy it more since it is narrated by the author.

Overall: Very interesting and important book, showing the realities of the NHS in sometimes a bit comedic and humorous way. Yet, this book sends so many important messages about how important the NHS is and how we need to take care of it and take care of people working in it. In this very rare case, I did prefer the TV adaptation of this book but I am glad I read the book too as it gave me a different perspective on what I have seen in the show. I would be reading Kay’s other books, especially if it's humour involved. 

About the Author:

Adam Kay is an award-winning comedian and writer. He previously worked for many years as a junior doctor. His first book "This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor" was a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year and has sold over two million copies. It has been translated into 37 languages and is a winner of four National Book Awards, including Book of the Year, and will be a major new comedy drama for the BBC.

His second book "Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas" was an instant Sunday Times number one bestseller and sold over 500,000 copies in its first few weeks.

"Dear NHS", edited by Adam Kay, was an instant Sunday Times number one with all profits donated to charity. 

https://www.adamkay.co.uk/

Eric Archambeau - Costing the Earth

Eric Archambeau - Costing the Earth (How to Fix Finance to Save the Planet) 

5⭐

Genre: Non-Fiction, Climate Change, Environmental Studies, Geography, Academia, Education, Politics, STEM, Society

Pages:  224

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Whitefox Publishing

Date Published: 1st August 2022

Huge thank you to The Book Publicist for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

In Costing the Earth, leading impact investor Eric Archambeau argues that rather than making media-friendly pledges and grasping low-hanging fruit (such as aviation taxes), world leaders must radically overhaul finance instead.

Only by aligning investment decisions with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and ensuring that industrial and services companies measure and incorporate in their P&L statements the full environmental and social costs of their operations - costs that are currently passed on to taxpayers or absorbed by Nature - will we stand a chance of achieving the breakthroughs we need.

Zeroing in on the agri-food sector, one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and biodiversity loss, Archambeau dissects the many hidden problems caused by our current financial system.

As the stakes continue to rise and the window for action narrows, Costing the Earth makes the case that the only viable and sustainable way to achieve net-zero is to adopt the model pioneered by impact investors, which takes the three Ps - profit, people and the planet - into account when valuing a company or tracking its performance. Only then will business leaders all over the world be incentivized to place sustainability and the regeneration of the planet's resources at the heart of their operations and decision-making.

My Review: 

I was so excited about this book! Mainly because I love reading about the environment, especially climate change and ways to tackle it, and the fact that as a geographer I can’t stay away from books about the environment. This book, however, met all of my expectations and more! 

In each chapter, Archambeau presented cases on what is wrong in our current ways of production, consumption and environmental degradation/protection. Then he explained how we can change that if we looked at the environment, production, economy and consumption in a more holistic way, especially how we can change business and our day-to-day economic processes, such as financial statements, cost calculations, life cycle assessments, etc, to move towards more sustainable future. He also presents tools which companies can use to calculate the true cost of our products, including the real environmental cost that is usually left out from our product cost and the company’s financial statements. Lastly, in each chapter, Archambeau presents companies or start-up initiatives that are working towards changing the status quo of how businesses operate and finance themselves, as well as displays how those companies take strong steps towards tackling issues associated with climate change, such as poverty, hunger, agricultural processes, deforestation, greenhouse gases, to name a few. 

I learned so much from this book, especially about some of the start-up companies in the environmental sector and technology that I haven’t heard about before, that are doing amazing innovative work towards sustainability and tackling climate change. I also learned so much about the financial processes of the past that we as a society are very reluctant to change to protect our environment. 

The author’s arguments are very well researched and backed up, displaying that we need a very radical change in investing, running of companies, financing and economy to be able to work towards saving our Earth. 

I liked how the author talks about the importance of technology and machine learning, especially working together and not against technology to come up with innovative ideas and projects to save our environment and its resources for future generations. 

This is one of the few books that I have read about this topic that takes this holistic view of our environment, anthropogenic processes and economy and explores how they are all interconnected. This book shows that we need to do much more to tackle climate change and that what we are doing now is not enough. It is never going to be enough unless we are changing our old ways of doing things, such as production, investing, and financing. 

Overall: This book is a must-read for everyone interested in protecting our environment, who want to make a change, who cares about sustainability and the future of our environment and of course those who are interested in finding real solutions to tackle climate change and associated issues. This book is such an important read looking at all of the issues that we as a society are facing from a very holistic viewpoint. 

About the Author:

Eric Archambeau is an engineer, former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, venture capitalist and the co-founder of Astanor Ventures, an impact-led venture capital firm focusing on technology-enabled start-up companies in the regenerative agriculture and sustainable food sectors, with investments in companies such as Apeel Sciences, Empirical Spirit, Infarm, Modern Meadow, Monarch Tractors, Plantible, Smallhold and Ynsect.

Before Astanor, Eric was a business angel, venture capital investor, member of the board of directors and mentor to many founders of disruptive technology companies across the US, the UK and the EU, including, among others, eGroups (Yahoo groups), Flutter Entertainment PLC, PriceMinister (now Rakuten), XING, Spotify, Threads Styling, Freenow, Onfido, Peakon and Pirate Studios.

Over the past two decades, he has also worked as an investor and mentor with social entrepreneurs, addressing key social and environmental challenges, including Maven Clinic, a digital health clinic for women, in New York, and DASRA-Social Impact, a social impact accelerator in Mumbai. Eric was an early supporter of the social entrepreneurship network Ashoka in Europe, and a founding member of the Ashoka Support Network. Eric has also lectured at INSEAD, where he founded the social entrepreneurship programme, and served as Global Chairman of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, providing food education for children across the world.

Tahmima Anam - The Startup Wife

Tahmima Anam - The Startup Wife    

4 ⭐

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Science, Technology, Feminism 

Pages: 296

Format: Paperback  

Publisher: Canongate Books

Date Published: 3rd June 2021

Massive thanks to Canongate Books for a copy of the book and for the invitation to join Canongate's June 2022 Readalong! 

Book Blurb: 

A quirky, funny, deeply intelligent story of love, big dreams, starting up and feminist geekdom

Halfway through her PhD and already dreaming of running her own lab, computer scientist Asha has her future all mapped out. Then a chance meeting and whirlwind romance with her old high-school crush, Cyrus, changes everything.

Dreaming big, together with their friend Jules they come up with a revolutionary idea: to build a social networking app that could bring meaning to millions of lives. While Asha creates an ingenious algorithm, Cyrus' charismatic appeal throws him into the spotlight.

When the app explodes into the next big thing, Asha should be happy, shouldn't she? But why does she feel invisible in the boardroom of her own company? Why are decisions being made without her? Gripping, witty and razor-sharp, The Startup Wife is a blistering novel about big ambitions, speaking out and standing up for what you believe in.

My Review: 

The book begins with Asha Ray who meets her high school crush Cyrus Jones later in life whilst completing her PhD. They fall in love instantly and get married within a couple of months of reuniting. Whilst they start their married life, Asha notices that Cyrus has this aura, this book of knowledge about religions and can bring a sense of community and belonging to anyone he speaks to. People from different kinds of life love him and accept him. This gives her an idea to use the knowledge that Cyrus has and create a social media platform where people can build their communities based on what they believe in so they can feel like they belong somewhere. On this social media app, they can request rituals based on different religions and people’s lifestyles, which then connect them to like-minded people all over the world. All with the power of AI and the knowledge that Cyrus poses. That’s how WAI is born. Book then follows both, the creation of WAI and Asha’s relationship with Cyrus, whilst covering how everything starts to crumble after Cyrus wants more and more power and is branded as The Messiah by millions of people.

My favourite part of this book was the power relationship between Cyrus and Asha. She believes that nothing will come in between their love and marriage, because they are soulmates. However, once Cyrus tasted the power and fame, he starts to completely ignore Asha and her input for the platform. He wants to do it his way, thus when Asha stands up to him, as a CEO he just fires her from the board and replaces her. For me, that was so interesting as Asha didn’t see that as a big issue, since she loves Cyrus so much. She then thinks that maybe she was wrong to stand up to him and challenge him, even though she is the brains of the WAI. She is the one who created the platform, she was the one who encouraged Cyrus (who didn’t want to) to become a CEO and she was the one who came up with the idea in the first place. Yet, she is the one who doesn’t get any credit, although is usually right about things.

I also liked how gender and race are explored in this book. How Asha with her idea of WAI didn’t get any funding from big corporations but once Cyrus stepped in as CEO, he straight away got people interested in funding WAI. There are many other examples in the book, where female tech start-ups are less favoured than start-ups created by males.

Some bits of the book was too slow for me, especially how they got the WAI going. I think it was way too long spent on that when Asha’s and Cyrus' relationship could’ve been explored in more depth. I felt that some bits of their relationship was covered too quickly so as well as, so all of the things that happened at the end of this book were so abrupt.

I couldn’t connect with Cyrus' character at all and at times his character just plainly annoyed me, whereas I loved Asha’s character. I have to admit, her character did annoy me a few times but only because she kept putting herself down thinking that because she loves Cyrus, whatever he does is ok. Up until the very end of the book, she does not challenge him. At times it was so hard to read as she is such a smart and intelligent woman who created a platform out of nowhere but doesn’t get any credit at all, whilst her husband waltzes into fame. Asha’s character grew so much over the book, whereas Cyrus’s character became more selfish and egocentric. She became stronger and realised that she is just as worthy as her husband.

Overall: It was a really interesting and great read. It wasn’t my favourite but only because at parts it was too slow for me and also there was so much tech/nerdiness going on instead of character exploration, which is something that I wanted to see more in this book. However, this book is very well written and covers very important topics, such as the power of AI, the power of religion and faith, feminism, race and gender, the power of relationships, etc. I recommend reading it if you are interested in technology, start-ups, gender and race as well as feminism. 

About the Author: 

Tahmima Anam is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, and anthropologist. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Granta Best Young British Novelist, and winner of a Commonwealth Writers Prize. Her work has been published in Granta, The New York Times, and The Guardian. She was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and lives in London, where she is on the board of ROLI, a music technology startup founded by her husband.

https://www.thestartupwife.com/

https://twitter.com/tahmima

Ali Hazelwood - The Love Hypothesis

 

Ali Hazelwood - The Love Hypothesis 

 5 ⭐

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance, Academia/ STEM 

Pages: 384 

Format:  Paperback 

Favourite Quote: ''Carry Yourself with the Confidence of a Mediocre White Man'' (Page 198).

Book Blurb: 

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion.

Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

My Review: 

This book! It is the cutest rom-com I have read in a while! I absolutely love this book and not because of BokTok but because it is actually an amazingly written book! 

Firstly, of course, I loved the STEM/ Academic representation in a fictional romance book. It is so rare to see STEM and academia represented in fiction, especially in romance books. Also, it is so fresh to see a romance book set in a different and not conventional environment. For someone who is passionate about STEM and academia and who was a graduate student in a STEM subject and who knows academia, it is amazing to see that it is represented in this book.

This book displayed so many everyday realities of STEM and academia: long hours working alone, long hours doing research and experiments, competition for funding and research, challenges when applying for grants/funding, stresses of publishing and conferences, to name a few. All that whilst barely having any social life and barely surviving from the smallest possible student loans and scholarships...and of course constantly doubting your ability and research. This book covered all of this perfectly! I loved how I could relate to Olive so much because of all that! 

Olive is so bright, determined and ambitious to achieve what she wants even in a very male-dominated field of STEM. Her navigating the world of STEM and academia really shows how hard is to be a female in the STEM and academia. I also liked the fact that at times Olive was portrayed as socially awkward, introverted, especially when it comes to socialising with friends and having a relationship or even not having a life outside a lab. She always has her work and research on her mind, as well as, most of the time she is doubting herself and her abilities. That imposter syndrome is not uncommon with graduate researchers and thus made Olive even more relatable.

I was really happy that this book didn't jump straight into lovey-dovey romance but allowed Olive's and Adam's fake relationship to grow slowly into a friendship and then into strong feelings towards each other. They got to know each other, then they also started to show each other their true personalities, which made this such a brilliant and more realistic read. 

I think what would make this book even better is chapters from Adams's POV. Mainly because I wished there was more background on Adam so that I could've gotten to know his character better since in this book I only got to know his character as how Olive saw him and how his students stereotyped him. I haven't seen the true Adam Carlsen. Although, there were a couple of places in the book where some of his true personality was presented, but not as much as I would’ve liked. 

To be perfectly honest I just wish there was a second book as I want more Olive and Adam and their adventures in academia.

Overall: It is definitely my favourite romance book! Apart from the cliche kiss and fake dating, this story was just an amazing portrayal of two people becoming friends and falling in love, struggles in academia and challenges in STEM research. 

Any romance lovers should add this book to their TBR list (if you haven't already read this) - you will not be left disappointed. 

 

Now I am just going to eagerly await more Ali Hazelwood books...👀👀👀