Summary
In the last few years, authorAli Hazelwoodhas become a significant name in the romance book genre, and though her novels are all quite popular, they can easily be ranked from worst to best. Since her debut in 2021, Hazelwood has written a total of seven books. Though these projects have varied a bit in terms of setting and audience, they are all firmly planted in the romance genre. At the start, Hazelwood wrote novels starring female characters in STEM, but more recently, she has branched out into young adult andfantasy book series.
Ali Hazelwood’sbooks are best ranked by Goodreads scores, critical reaction, and reader reviews. Of the seven novels she has written, each has a star ranking out of five on Goodreads and a multitude of reviews, both good and bad, from professionals and regular readers. One important idea to note when ranking Hazelwood’s books is that they are not all built the same. While Hazelwood’s first books follow similar trajectories, her more recent installments have moved in new directions. The amount of risk and creativity Hazelwood has injected into each story will also affect its place on this list.
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2024
15 Most Anticipated Romance Books Coming Out The Rest Of 2024
There are many exciting romance books coming out throughout 2024, and some of the most-anticipated new releases haven’t even hit shelves yet.
7Check & Mate
Teenagers Fall In Love Over Chess
Check & Mateis the fifth book published by Ali Hazelwood. Released at the end of 2023, it is Hazelwood’s first and only young adult novel. It followsMallory, a former chess prodigy who has given up the gameuntil she unexpectedly beats the world champion. The champion himself, Nolan, seems to have a growing fondness for Mallory. Their relationship heats up as Mallory rediscovers her love for the game that once destroyed her family.
This book showcases Hazelwood’s skill at crafting romance, but reframed for a younger audience.
Despite being at the bottom of this list,Check & Mateis far from bad. It holds a 3.99 rating on Goodreads with 58,000 five-star reviews. This book showcases Hazelwood’s skill at crafting romance, but reframed for a younger audience. The novel isn’t just for teenagers, either.Check & Mateis a heartwarming and sweet read that is perfect for any age. Plus, in classic Ali Hazelwood fashion,readers will come away from this story having learned something.
Of course,Check & Mateisn’t perfect. This isn’t Ali Hazelwood’s worst-rated book, but it certainly isn’t her most popular. Despite being released in 2023, it has fewer reviews than most of her other novels, largely due toCheck & Mate’s shift in age demographic. There are many reasons why readers pick up an Ali Hazelwood book, and one of them is the intimate content she writes. BecauseCheck & Mateis YA,it may not be what audiences usually expect from Hazelwood. Therefore, it ranks lower among her published works.
6Loathe To Love You
Three STEM-Centered Novellas
Loathe to Love Youis Ali Hazelwood’s third book, released in 2023. This book is a collection of three novellas that Hazelwood has titled,The STEMinist Novellas.Within,three love stories revolve around different female scientistsand their love interests. The novel includesUnder One Roof, Stuck With You, and Below Zero.This is Hazelwood’s only novella collection.
Overall,Loathe to Love Youhas a strong Goodreads score: 3.87 stars.43% of its reviews are four stars, while 25% are five stars. Those who enjoyed this set of novellas noted that, althoughLoathe to Love Youfeels very similar to Hazelwood’s previous works, it is just as entertaining to read. The writing is funny, witty, and capable of making any reader swoon. Though many have their own personal favorite novella, altogether the collection is a worthwhile read.
Loathe to Love Youis not Ali Hazelwood’s strongest work, though.The three novellas can feel repetitive, especially for those who have read Hazelwood’s other STEM-based romance novels. Furthermore, because these are novellas, many readers felt that they lacked strong endings or feelings of completeness. WhileLoathe to Love Youis not bad, it simply does not live up to Hazelwood’s other books.
5Not In Love
Business Rivals Turned Lovers
The most recent addition to Ali Hazelwood’s resume isNot in Love.This 2024 novel tells the story of Rue and Eli. Rue loves her job as a food scientist, but it is put into jeopardy when a rival company arrives to try and take over. Even worse, the company’s figurehead, Eli, is incredibly attractive.Rue and Eli begin a casual affair, but it soon becomes more serious, and therefore, more dangerous.
BecauseNot in Lovehas been out for less than a month, it’s hard to say how it ranks among Ali Hazelwood’s other works. However, based on its early reviews, it’s on an optimistic track. With only 16,000 ratings,Not in Lovehas garnered a 3.87 on Goodreads. The majority of its reviews fall in the four-star or five-star category.Not in Lovesurpasses Hazelwood’s other booksin thatit puts the science aspect of the story in the backseat, and encourages the romance and emotions to shine through.
Ali Hazelwood’s next book is titledWhet,and will follow two college swimmers.
Unfortunately,Not in Lovealsohas its fair share of disappointing reviews.Not in Loveputs its romance before its STEM background, but manyreaders still feel that the main couple’s connection is overshadowedby more intimate scenes. At times, the story falls flat because the book’s emotional relationship is given less time than the physical one. Plus, the novel suffers from some disliked tropes, including insta-love. ThoughNot in Love’sreputation may change over time, for now, it ranks below its predecessors.
4Love On The Brain
Scientist Gains Support From Her Enemy
Ali Hazelwood’s second novel isLove on the Brain.Published in 2022, this book follows Bee, a scientist who takes a new and exciting job at NASA, only to discover thather college enemy, Levi, will be her co-lead. Immediately, the two face insurmountable tension, but Bee soon realizes it may not be hate that Levi is feeling.
Love on the Brainhas a solid 3.92 on Goodreads, but what is even more impressive is the number of ratings it has accumulated.The novel has over 465,000 ratings, with 187,000 of those being four stars. WhatLove on the Braindoes best is utilize tropes. With its enemies-to-lovers romance and forced proximity set-up, romance lovers flew through the book easily.Love on the Brainwas also a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Best Romance in 2022.
However,Love on the Brainsuffers from one of Ali Hazelwood’s biggest criticisms: it’s too similar to her other works. As Hazelwood’s second novel,readers easily noticed this book’s commonalities to her debut. Both books were workplace romances with a scientific background. Both books put the protagonist’s career at stake. Both books had a very tall male love interest and a tiny female main character. Ultimately, some readers could look past these similarities, but others were put off completely.
3Bride
A Vampire & Werewolf Romance
The other book Ali Hazelwood published in 2024 was her fantasy debut,Bride.This isthe first romantasy book that Hazelwood has written. It is avampire romance bookthat tells the story of Misery, a vampyre who is chosen to enter an arranged marriage to create peace between her people and their enemies, the Weres. Though Misery has her own hidden agenda, her connection with her soon-to-be-husband changes everything.
A big strength ofBrideis its ability to surprise.
Though it can be a risk for an author to change up her storytelling, it ultimately paid off for Ali Hazelwood.Bridewas a complete switch-up from Hazelwood’s previous work, and readers enjoyed every minute of it. The book has a 4.06 rating on Goodreads, with more than half being four and five-star reviews. A big strength ofBrideis its ability to surprise. Hazelwood fans went in with low expectations, and were pleasantly surprised when Hazelwood delivered yet another entertaining and spicy romance.
For the most part,Bride’spoor reviews generally come from those who simply disliked the book’s concept and execution. Disappointed readers argued thatBridewas bland or that the love interest was unlikable. However, unlike other Ali Hazelwood books,Bridehas no defining bad features. It is simplya book that readers will either absolutely hate or completely love.
2Love, Theoretically
Fake Dating & Enemies-To-Lovers
Ali Hazelwood’s fourth romance novel is 2023’sLove, Theoretically.The book follows Elsie,a young woman who is a science professor by day and a fake girlfriend by night. However, her double life goes awry when her favorite client’s older brother turns out to be the scientist who ruined her mentor’s career and stands in the way of her dream job.
Love, Theoreticallyhas the second-highest rating of Ali Hazelwood’s seven books. Currently, it holds a 4.12-star rating on Goodreads. LikeLove on the Brain,it was also nominated as the Best Romance of 2023 via the Goodreads Choice Awards. Though Ali Hazelwood’s romance novels often follow a familiar narrative,it seems thatLove, Theoreticallyis one of the best iterations. Readers love the male love interest and find the female main character to be one of her best. Overall,Love, Theoreticallystands at the top of Ali Hazelwood’s most funny and angsty romance novels.
Ali Hazelwood was a neuroscience professor before she was a romance author.
Once again,Love, Theoretically’sbiggest complaint is that it is too akin to Hazelwood’s previous books. Another issue Hazelwood often runs into is having characters that are too “quirky” or who reference pop culture too much. Ultimately, this comes down to reader preference more than the quality of the book.Love, Theoreticallymay not be everyone’s taste, but it has certainly stood out among Hazelwood’s writings.
1The Love Hypothesis
The Classic Fake Dating Trope
Last but not least, there isThe Love Hypothesis.This is Ali Hazelwood’s first and best book. The 2021 novel followsOlive, a Ph.D. candidate who kisses her co-worker Adamto convince her friend that she’s dating someone. Despite Adam’s uptight reputation, he goes along with her fake dating scheme, and ultimately, true feelings grow.
The Love Hypothesisblows Ali Hazelwood’s other books out of the water when it comes to popularity and success. The book has a grand total of 1,431,000 ratings on Goodreads, and a 4.14-star rating. Furthermore, it is one of Hazelwood’s only books to have more five-star reviews than any other star rating.The Love Hypothesisput Ali Hazelwood on the mapby impressing readers with its quick writing, funny characters, and steamy romance. It is no surprise that Hazelwood’s other books feel too similar toThe Love Hypothesis,because this is the blueprint that led to Hazelwood’s incredible success.
As always, there are readers who don’t likeThe Love Hypothesis.They believe that Hazelwood’s characters are too strange or aren’t interested in the scientific aspects of the book. However, any popular book will have its detractors. In the end,Ali Hazelwoodhas written a number of great romance books, but for now,The Love Hypothesiswill remain on top.
