Sapiosexual Romance Recommendations
You say, "What a mind," This happens all the time
THUMBNAIL ART BY: Rephirepho
This weekend some friends and I attended a comedy show that was a part of the New York Comedy Festival. One of the comics had a joke that was set up by them recently discovering the term “sapiosexual.” When the crowd was asked if they’d heard this term before, most of the Manhattan comedy show attendees said “yes.”
For those of you not in the know, the Cambridge Dictionary defines sapiosexual as
(noun): a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to intelligent people
(adjective): sexually or romantically attracted to intelligent people
I’m not writing this to discuss sexuality, or the myriad orientations that exist. I’m writing this because I just finished reading Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood and it put me down a rabbit hole of sapiosexual literature.
After this month’s election results, I wouldn’t dare proclaim “we’re all a little bit sapiosexual.”
But I would argue, if you’ve been turning to Andrew Garfield’s Chicken Shop Date for comfort in these uncertain times, you might be a lil sapiosexual.
Especially if this specific back-and-forth makes you giddy! (start at 5:21 if my link fails us)
So if you’re looking for romance novels that feel like this mind-to-mind spark, Ali Hazelwood is the sapiosexual queen!
Most of Ali Hazelwood’s books are set in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) space, and in general she’s done a great job of making the experiences of women in STEM the forefront of her literary work. She herself is a neuroscientist and full-time professor, so she’s more than familiar with the worlds she writes.
What I love about her books is her sense of humor! Her writing is laugh out loud hilarious. At the risk of sounding redundant, her comedy is smart as hell!
Here are my thoughts / reviews / recommendations for the books of hers I’ve read.
Check & Mate
The NA/YA classification is what had me putting off reaching for this book, but it delivers! It’s all “fade to black” but the chemistry (and ear biting) is off the charts. I now have a 20 year old book boyfriend, and idk how to feel about it. I listened to this one in one sitting. He’s the number one chess player in the world, and she’s a nobody who happens to be the first person to beat him. He falls hard, fast, and first! “I came because you did.” (It’s not even a dirty context just so good.) Boy-freaking-obsessed!
The chemistry is off the walls, but what really gets them going is each other’s brains, which is so hot! Ali Hazelwood’s voice and humor JUMPS OFF the page in this UNPUTDOWNABLE book. “Do you and Nolan fall asleep together to scalp massage ASMR like Twitter says?” Ali, I say this with the utmost respect, we do not deserve you.
This is the book that made me realize Ali Hazelwood writes for sapiosexual readers. Like you cannot convince me that Nolan would not have fallen in love with Mallory regardless of what she looked like because he fell in love with how she plays chess!
The Love Hypothesis
9/10 - this book has all of the tropes and is very self-aware: fake dating, grumpy-sunshine, hate everyone but you, touch her and you die, forced proximity, requited unrequited love, workplace romance, age gap (ish), one bed (not really but lol), pining/crush
This is in a STEM academia setting and was originally a Rey-Lo fan fiction? ADAM IS SO HOT BECAUSE HE IS ADAM DRIVER. All intelligence is leaking out of me as I write this "review" but I'm still in such a book hangover. Did you know you can get chapter 16 from Adam's perspective on her website?!
I will say that what I admired most about this book was the pacing. This book relied on a lot of things that usually take me out of romances and frustrate me insanely (fake dating, lies, secrets, total lack of awareness of their own desirability, workplace romance) but the book moved so quickly and didn't linger unnecessarily anywhere so I was ENTHRALLED! Obviously some of the workplace romance stuff would be super cringe/inappropriate/unbelievable but it was done in a way that I could roll my eyes and carry on with a giddy giggle.
I also really liked the handling of her their "lack of experience" as demisexual characters. [Present Day Katrina popping in: VeryWellMind has a great description on the differences between demisexual and sapiosexual (they’re not mutually exclusive).]
I will be rereading this. If I didn't have a painfully slow reading pace, this would have been a one sitting book. As is, I did read it in like 36 hours - probably a record for me. Also worth noting that there is only one saucy scene in the whole book but I still found the entire book hella hot.
Love on the Brain (my favorite of hers, an unpopular opinion)
Part of me wants to say 9/10 like I did with The Love Hypothesis because I loved it so much but some things were off, but the truth of the matter is I can’t stop thinking about The Love Hypothesis 6 months later and this week (when the book was published) I stayed up until 6 am reading, and then woke up and finished it without eating. So yeah. Let’s just lean into the joy like Bee would and give it the full 10/10.
Were some things cringy? Yes.
Was some of Levi’s past behaviors deeply annoying and straight up disrespectful? Yes.
But was this the juiciest Grumpy-Sunshine, he-falls-first, pine forest filled with pining book I’ve ever read? YES! YES! YES!
What really stands out is Ali’s humor. Her prose is just fucking hilarious. Jean Hannity… 😂 ugh. I was laughing. It’s written conversationally like a journal. Like if this were a movie it’d have Bee breaking the fourth wall to tell us what’s what. (Hot priest anyone?)
But the stream of consciousness worked for my little ADHD nerd heart. I think some of the stuff was annoyingly predictable and unnecessarily (and maybe even unbelievably) melodramatic. But here we are.
Alsooooo she’s teeny tiny itty bitty 5’ tall with no muscles or curves and he’s 6’4” (literally too tall to be an astronaut) and all muscle? 🙄 I do like that her beauty isn’t what’s conventionally in romance novels (colored hair, LOTS of piercings 😏, tattoos, and flat chested etc) but big strong man and teeny wheeny damsel is so 🙄🙄🙄. Also I feel like he has to be more than 200 lbs if he’s 6’4 and has all the muscles she describes.
As cool as Marie Curie is… idgaf 🫢
Lots of similarities to TLH but also different in many ways. Most notably no fake dating and lots of hooking up. OHHH and the whole Anon Twitter DM thing… I’ve read a lot of books with the You’ve Got Mail trope if you will (Spoiler Alert, Mr. Wrong Number, My Favorite Half Night Stand, & Well Played?) but this was my favorite use of that BY FAR!
G2G dream about Levi 🫠 Okay but his whole obsession with her was a bit creepy right? Like in a hot way but still. Also girls this books reminds you to always trust your gut and also respect your pleasure 😂 okay now I’m rambling.
Love, Theoretically
7/10 - This book took me forever to read and had lots of ups and downs. I loved it but didn’t love love it. The plot structure was one of a kind, and the storyline ad characters will stay with me for a long time.
Shubangi, don’t hate me! (This is her favorite Ali Hazelwood book), but it’s lower on the list for me. Elsie’s extreme people pleasing tendencies and absurd family relationships just felt so out of touch I was frustrated with the book.
However what I did LOVE about this book was the scenes that revolved around the Go board. Much like Check & Mate, it was significant because it meant Jack had met his match. He fell head over heels for an intellectual equal. The Taylor Swift song for this is Enchanted (Taylor’s Version) because I cannot be convinced that every lyric does not line up with Love, Theoretically (Jack’s Version).
These are the 3 “steminist” novellas that were later published as one collection, Loathe to Love You.
Under One Roof
A late aunt plays match maker and leaves her DC home to a perfect match. Well not really. Mara is an environmental scientist and Liam is a fancy lawyer for big oil. They don’t get along at all… until they do. Enemies to friends to lovers all while being roommates. It’s fun, it’s hot, and Liam brings the asexual representation.
Stuck with You
My least favorite of the trilogy, but still super cute. She was annoying and he was unbelievable. But this novella had surprisingly good examples of consent and communication in a brief story filled with spice and the miscommunication trope. Insta-love which is mleh, but it's a novella so I get it. And the miscommunication trope is strong in this one. They’re both engineers!
Below Zero
So cute & SOOOOOO NERDY!!! Definitely my favorite of the STEMinist novellas! It’s by far the hottest and the cringiest! I loved the pacing and timeline jumping.
Hannah and Ian work for NASA and wind up at a remote research center in the arctic.
Bride
I have this book and it will be my next read. It’s her most “different” novel taking a dip into the paranormal romance realm. It’s a love story between a vampyre bride and an alpha werewolf.
Not in Love
Ali’s most recent novel, and most similar to her original three. I’m excited to read this one because I know Ali Hazelwood always delivers, fast, funny, smart, and sexy romances.
Deep End (the artist formerly known as Whet)
A college romance between student athletes. It seems like it may be her kinkiest novel yet. I cannot wait!
RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2025
Two Can Play
“An enemies-to-lovers spicy romance set in the world of video gaming from the bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis—available only in audio!” It will be available in ebook format late next year.
Cruel Winter with You
“For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightful short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.” (Only on Amazon)
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (A Star Wars Anthology)
“Celebrate the lasting impact of Return of the Jedi with this exciting reimagining of the timeless Star Wars film featuring new perspectives from forty contributors.”
Hyperfixation du jour: Ali Hazelwood
She is so fun to follow on Instagram! I can’t believe she’s a professor!
Also I noticed in all of her books the FMC starts by hating the MMC for some mis-deed he did in the past (likely towards her career/school goals), and the MMCs are always head over heels for the FMC from day dot.
If you want to purchase any of the books mentioned in this article, please consider using my affiliate link with my favorite independent book store, The Ripped Bodice, or using my referral link to libro.fm for an audiobook!