ARC Review: An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

 

From the “masterly” (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, and Kayla Olson, An Academic Affair brings Jodi McAlister’s “smart, scorching, and emotionally resonant” (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing to the forefront and demonstrates her talent as one of today’s best rom-com authors.

Title: An Academic Affair

Author: Jodi McAlister

Publisher: Atria

Expected Publication Date: November 11, 2025

Review:

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love a books that compiles a bunch of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake marriage.  When I read the blurb after the widget was sent to me, I knew for sure I was going to love the story. And I did! It was fun and intriguing and a joy to watch things bloom between these two rivals.

I'm not very familiar with the British university system. I don't really know how things work there as I'm American. I can see a lot of similarities to the American system in how things operate academically. The author did a nice job setting up how things are structured for the most part. I did find myself a bit lost at times, but it didn't really take away from the story for me. I enjoyed how the author worked in the misogyny of the system and how unfair it can be as a woman in academia. Yes, the story was about position and what that means but it's also about the rapport between the two characters and how they've grown their friendship over the last 15 years. 

Jonah and Sadie truly lean into the rivals thing. I love their banter and how they bounce ideas off one another. I also loved the pining on Jonah's part, which gets more intense as the story progresses. I will say, I needed a bit more of the chemistry on Sadie's end. While I understand how she can realize she has feelings for Jonah, it wasn't as believable as I would have liked it to be. I need a bit more introspection from her character. A deeper dive into parsing out how the friendship she has held in a certain light throughout the years has actually been more than she thought it was. But overall, it was a slow, cozy burn to the end and their HEA.

Sadie's sister, Chess, made me super angry. Even once they reconciled, I was mad at her. She tried so hard to make things about Sadie but they weren't and this just made me so mad. I was glad to see Johan stand up for Sadie and for Sadie to ultimately stand up for herself. But I still saw Sadie giving in to some things I don't think she should have.

The ending was a bit abrupt for me. I needed more out of that last chapter. Or an epilogue? I felt like it wasn't wrapped up as well as it could have been. Overall I enjoyed the writing, my first time reading this author. I'm definitely going to look into her other books.

Author:

By day, Jodi McAlister writes romance novels. By other time of day, Dr Jodi McAlister studies them. She's written romantic comedies for adults, romantasy and contemporary romance for young adults, and several academic books.

For adults
If you're a reality TV lover, the Marry Me, Juliet series are the books for you. Even if you're not a reality TV lover, they might be the books for you - several reality TV haters have enjoyed them.

The trilogy all take place at the same time on the same season of a reality dating show called Marry Me, Juliet (which bears a very strong resemblance to The Bachelor). While they all stand alone and can be read in any order, they work best when read in order.

Start with Here For The Right Reasons (he's the series lead, she's the contestant he eliminates on the first night), move on to Can I Steal You For A Second? (she's a contestant, she's... also a contestant), and finish with the book the New York Times called a "full-on villain romance", Not Here To Make Friends (she's the villain, he's the producer who's pining for her).

For young adults
If you're a romantasy reader, you'll like the Valentine series, a young adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy series about smart girls, small towns, and scary fairies. There are three books: Valentine, Ironheart, and Misrule. If Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Holly Black sounds like something you’d be into, these are the books for you.

And if you're a theatre kid, Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending is the book for you. It's my love letter to theatre kids as someone who used to be one.

Academic books
No one really cares much about these on Goodreads, do they? More info on my website if you're interested.

About Jodi
Jodi is originally from Kiama, a seaside holiday town on the south coast of New South Wales, and has lived in a bunch of different cities: Canberra (where she did her undergrad degrees), Wollongong (where she lived while she did her PhD in Sydney), and Hobart (where she held her first academic job) among them. Currently, she lives in Melbourne, where she works as a Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University.

When she’s not writing about romance, Jodi is an academic studying romance. Her research focuses on representations of love in popular culture and fiction. It means that reading romance novels and watching (and let’s be real, writing huge amounts about) The Bachelor/ette is technically work for her.

**Want to dip your toes into the Valentine universe? Try the free short story Galentine, set a year and a bit before the events of Valentine. http://jodimcalister.com.au/galentine/ **

**Want to read a bonus epilogue to Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending? Check it out here: https://jodimcalister.com.au/libby-la... **