Like thousands of others, I lost my home in the Eaton Canyon Fire. And like many of us, I am horrified by the state of the world and news full of despair. So when a friend recently asked how I was doing, the answer was not great. But outside of therapy and time spent with loved ones, I do have an escape: romance novels. For anyone who might need an escape for any reason, I’d like to recommend three of my favorite romances written by the venerable Ali Hazelwood.
I first discovered Hazelwood during the 2020 lockdown. I was overwhelmed with a newborn and in the throes of baby blues. Then I read The Love Hypothesis, Hazelwood’s debut romance, originally published online as Kylo Ren/Rey fanfic, that uses popular romance tropes (fake relationship, grumpy/sunshine, only one bed) to comment on sexism in STEM. Through a series of misunderstandings, the heroine, third-year biologist and Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith, ends up in a “fake relationship” with Stanford professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen, a well-known jerk.
Full of fun, familiar quips such as “carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man” and swoon-worthy statements such as, “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” The Love Hypothesis is the perfect feel-good, feminist romance. Adam is an ally for women scientists, especially Hazel, and also practices consent. He communicates frequently about physically romantic acts, from kissing to more, and is a role model for heterosexual men. He learns from his mistakes (like Rochester in Jane Eyre), apologizes, and grows from them.
I re-read The Love Hypothesis once a year, and use the first few chapters in a high-school senior elective I teach on romance novels and the zeitgeist. In my class, we study the introduction of Adam Carlsen as a Byronic Hero in the vein of Edward from Twilight. What makes this rude-to-others, nice-to-the-girl man so damn sexy?
Ali Hazelwood is one of my “immediate buy” authors. Since the popularity of The Love Hypothesis, Hazelwood has let her romance flag fly, introducing readers to the world of BDSM in Deep End, hookup culture through Not In Love, and the anatomy lessons of vampire/werewolf sex in her paranormal romance Bride. I thought I’d recommend a few more of her lesser-known works:
Check & Mate is Hazelwood’s take on the YA romance novel, with all of the yearning and witty repartee but no descriptions of sex. Novice chess player Mallory Greenleaf, a teenager struggling with family issues and depression, competes against notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer–the “current world champion and reigning bad boy of chess”– and wins! Rather than hating Mallory for beating him, Nolan wants to work with her and support her as she moves up the ranks. Mallory is afraid of commitment, but Nolan helps to rebuild her confidence in both chess-playing and, of course, love. Don’t think that because this is a YA novel Hazelwood skimps on the swoon: “Galaxies pass through his black eyes, and I wonder whether this second could last a century. Whether the universe could be just me and him, understanding each other on a forever loop” and “Because when I’m with you, Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win.” This might be my second-favorite romance of Hazelwood’s.
In Love, Theoretically Hazelwood continues to explore the sexism in STEM that she originally investigated in The Love Hypothesis. Theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway toils away as an adjunct professor, grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hope of landing tenure. She ends up with an opportunity to interview for a tenured position at MIT but has a negative run-in with cold-hearted experimental physicist Jack Turner-Smith, who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. Of course, Jack is not the monster Elsie believes him to be. And, like most of Hazelwood’s Byronic Heroes, he falls first. Take this scene when they’re in the midst of lovemaking: “‘You could be my entire world,’ [Jack] whispers in my ear before moving to my collarbone. ‘If you let me.’” Swoon. What Elsie first mistakes as sexism is actually Jack trying to help her because he loves her and respects her. As he explains: “I want you, Elsie. All the time. I think of you. All. The. Fucking. Time. I’m distracted. I’m shit at work. And my first instinct, the very first time I saw you, was to run away. Because I knew that if we’d start doing this, we would never stop. And that’s exactly how it is. There is no universe in which I’m going to let you go. I want to be with you, on you, every second of every day. I think – I dream of crazy things. I want you to marry me tomorrow so you can go on my health insurance. I want to lock you in my room for a couple of weeks. I want to buy groceries based on what you like. I want to play it cool, like I’m attracted to you and not obsessed out of my mind, but that’s not where I’m at. Not at all. And I need you to keep us in check. I need you to pace us, because wherever it is that we’re going…I’m here. I’m already right here.” Does the average dude on the street talk like this? No, but it’s nice to imagine someone speaking so openly and honestly and passionately to the woman he loves. It’s a much-needed escape in a world still ruled by men who talk so disparagingly of feelings, of women.
In many of Hazelwood’s romances, the heroine is afraid to trust. She has been oppressed by the patriarchy and not sure if this ally is really as good as he seems. While we live in a world full of men abusing their power, in Hazelwood’s novels, men use their privilege to help women. A comforting fantasy that, maybe one day, won’t be a fantasy at all.
