Book of The Month discussion

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?

5 chapters
(view spoiler)[ I though Jack might be the other candidate! I had no idea he'd be the one deciding if she gets hired!
I can't even imagine paying for diabetes out of pocket! Yikes!!

I like her and her roomie!

Greg is cute but Jack is much more interesting! interested to see how this turns around! (hide spoiler)]

10 chapters

(view spoiler)[ wow, she really nailed all the interviews and the teaching
and she's even helping Jack with being stuck

I can't believe she might miss this chance because Jack thinks she's lying to his brother. Ugh! AND that kid. what a jerk!

I really like Jack, when he isn't being an asshat

and oh no, I wonder what happened to Greg that he needed emergency dental surgery. Yikes (hide spoiler)]

15 chapters

very cute
(view spoiler)[ I like Jack much more. I agree, it's much easier to understand why he doesn't like liars. But he's very observant. I love that he watches her.

Elsie is so cute. I wonder where she goes from here? She can't possibly keep working 15 hour days OR go without medical insurance. I wonder if her mentor will retire or if the girl she was interviewing with will get funding and make a spot for her. She just has to get something different!!

I love the best friend too! and yes, it was such an awful trick to play with Georgina and putting Elsie through that (hide spoiler)]

and I'm done

this one was cute (view spoiler)[ I agree with the author's note, it got a little in the weeds about the drama of science academia and it slowe down but I still enjoyed it (hide spoiler)]