Notes from the Shelf

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An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister – Literary & Sweet
Genre: Romance
Pages: 366
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Buy: Bookshop.org

This post contains spoilers.

Book Blurb

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.

My Thoughts

I absolutely loved An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister. The story has that wonderful “one has been in love with the other forever and the other doesn’t know it” dynamic, which I’m always a sucker for. Jonah’s sections, complete with footnotes, were especially cute and added a fun layer to his perspective. Each POV is very distinct, which makes the alternating narratives feel natural and engaging.

One thing that intrigued me was the discussion around the “partner hire.” Initially, I thought for a contract like that you’d have to already be married; otherwise, wouldn’t other people just commit the same kind of fraud? The book does a good job explaining how it’s not really fraud, though it kind of is. It’s not necessarily illegal, since they are truthful that they’re married and that they’ve lived together for eight years. Plus, they disclosed their engagement to the academic panel when questioned, which satisfied my concerns about it being obviously fraudulent.

That said, I did find the text formatting a bit difficult to follow, especially in the e-book. Sections that indicated “he typed” or “she typed” for text messages were in the same font as the dialogue, and responses weren’t broken into new paragraphs consistently. I had to re-read some sections to understand who was speaking. It wasn’t as big of an issue in the physical book, but in the e-book, it could be distracting.

As for the characters, Sadie’s repeated focus on Chess’s letter (where Chess says she needs to figure out her life without revolving around Sadie) was a little frustrating. Sadie keeps interpreting it as a complete cutoff, even though it clearly isn’t. She mentions having a therapist but doesn’t seem to actually use one during this period. It would have been great to see her show the letter to a therapist for some reality-check guidance. I also felt that, at 32, Sadie jumping to these conclusions was a bit overblown. And honestly, I couldn’t believe that Chess goes months without speaking to Sadie, just sending the one letter and a box of wine for her birthday. It felt way too drawn out and a little unrealistic.

Sadie even admits to misreading Chess’s letter, which I appreciated. At least she recognized how ridiculous she was being. But Chess was also being unreasonable for not attempting any communication after deciding to write that letter. I’m grateful Jonah calls out just how absurd it was that Chess didn’t communicate beyond the letter and the birthday wine. Jonah is the voice of reason we needed!

Finally, while I adored the romance, I wish the book had gone into more detail on the legal battle with the university and Jonah’s conversation with his dad. The story jumps from the start of the legal drama and social media campaign straight to everything being mostly resolved, which felt a little rushed. Still, the ending was very cute, and I loved that they’re going to have a real wedding.

Final Thoughts

Overall, An Academic Affair is fun, romantic, and heartfelt, with quirky footnotes and engaging POVs that really make it stand out. It has its small flaws, mostly in pacing and formatting, but the romance and character moments more than make up for them. If you enjoy slow-burn love, quirky academic settings, and a story that keeps you rooting for the couple, this one is definitely worth reading.

If you want to check out ‘An Academic Affair’ by Jodi McAlister, consider purchasing it through Bookshop.org. Supporting this link helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog thriving.

Read Other Romance Reviews:
Improbably Yours by Kerry Ann King
The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

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