rating & ranking ali hazelwood's books
spicy, STEM-inist stories
The alliteration in my blog summary 🙂↕️
Anyway, I had to read (and re-read) almost all of Ali Hazelwood's books for this post, so if this flops… 🧍🏻♀️
If you’re in the book community or reading Reylo fanfics on AO3, you’d probably know who Ali Hazelwood is by now. She’s a romance author, a former neuroscientist professor (um, holy shit?), and honestly, one of my go-to authors right now.
Oh, and apparently, she’s also an author who writes and finishes books before I can even blink.
Since her debut, I’ve read almost all of her books. An Ali Hazelwood book is usually spicy, sweet, with a lot of lighthearted moments, and overall, a good time. Her stories also incorporate a lot of aspects of STEM and academia, so we get to read about brilliant, intelligent scientists and their more vulnerable sides.
My rankings of Ali Hazelwood’s books
Disclaimer: Some of these books have been reviewed before on Nat’s Bookshelf so I won’t be repeating my reviews lol
9. Bride
Look, I’ve consumed books and movies with vampires and werewolves before… Think Twilight Saga, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, The Shadowhunter Chronicles, From Blood and Ash yadda yadda yadda….
Plus, seeing that some people in the book community liked Bride, I thought I’d enjoy it.
But I didn’t. I put it down after the first chapter.
8. Love on the Brain
This was the second Ali Hazelwood book that I DNF-ed in June. I tried giving the book a chance, but I didn’t bother sticking around after the 15% mark.
7. Deep End
From what I know, Deep End was a well-loved book. I’ve seen people praising it online, and I remember the author saying that it was her personal favourite out of all the books she’s written.
Unfortunately, I’m part of the 20% of readers who didn’t like the book. In my Feb 2025 wrap-up, I said that I found it boring and didn’t resonate with the characters.
6. The Love Hypothesis
On the other hand, while a lot of people hated this book and found it cringey, I thought The Love Hypothesis was cute. I have a small soft spot for Adam and Olive, who were awkwardly cute with one another.
But I do admit it’s not my favourite; I think Ali’s other books are better.
5. Loathe to Love You
Loathe to Love You is three novellas compiled into one book. A 3-in-1 situation for those who want to complete their reading goal faster.
I enjoyed the first two stories (Under One Roof and Stuck With You) but I wasn’t a fan of the third novella, Below Zero.
4. Problematic Summer Romance
Problematic Summer Romance is a great travel read because it’s a steamy summer romance set in Italy. I liked it, and I could see myself reading it on the plane or during a vacation. It also made me want to travel to Italy, tbh.
Oh, and Conor Harkness is hot.
3. Love, Theoretically
I reread this book in May, and it was like reading it for the first time because I literally forgot everything that happened in this book. Oops.
In short, I adored Love, Theoretically. I think it’s underrated, and you’ll probably fall in love with Jack Smith like I did.
The only thing I didn’t like was how much science was in this book.
2. Not in Love
I reread this in July and two words: Eli. Killgore.
The level of obsessed he was for her? Holy shit. I fell in love with this book all over again.
1. Check & Mate
When I first read it in 2024, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. Almost a year later, I still feel the same. Nolan and Mallory were so good as chess rivals, and I liked reading about chess as a non-player. It was refreshing compared to the science and numbers of Ali’s other books.
Final ratings
Bride - 🚫📚 DNF
Love on the Brain - 🚫📚 DNF
Deep End - 3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Love Hypothesis - 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loathe to Love You - 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Problematic Summer Romance - 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love, Theoretically - 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not in Love - 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Check & Mate - 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Psst! If you like romance books with C-drama vibes, check out my rankings on Ann Liang’s books ;)
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