Title: An Academic AffairAuthor: Jodi McAlister
Pages: 384
Publication Date: Nov. 11, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Synopsis:
From the “masterly” (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.
Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.
When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.
This blog uses affiliate links for some book recommendations, and if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. Thanks for supporting this little bookish corner of the internet!
An Academic Affair is a great contemporary romance about academic rivals who enter into a fake relationship to further their careers. Sadie and Jonah have amazing banter and chemistry, and I adored their fake relationship, forced proximity romance. They’ve known each other for years, live in the same house (with other roommates), and often vie for the same job, so saying their paths cross often is a bit of an understatement. It’s interesting to see how their relationship evolves as they move to a new city, enter into a marriage of convenience, and work together.
Both Sadie and Jonah are layered characters, and I like that the story is from a dual POV because you really get to understand each of them and their motivations. Sadie is compassionate and intelligent and bold, and I loved her from the start. Jonah is a teddy bear wrapped up in a cinnamon roll, and I’d like to order one of him, please. lol He’s so earnest and sincere, and his feelings toward Sadie are absolutely swoon-worthy. His footnotes are fantastic, too. I like how both characters open up to each other and support each other. It’s funny because they love to verbally spar and challenge each other, but there’s so much respect and admiration under the snarky surfaces.
I also love that the story includes tons of literary references, from The Importance of Being Earnest to Wordsworth to contemporary romances. And though it’s a fun contemporary romance, the novel also delves into some more difficult topics like sexism in the workplace, the cutthroat world of academia, and difficult family dynamics. Both Sadie and Jonah had traumatic childhood experiences, which definitely affect them as adults. Both MCs also have struggles with their siblings. It’s interesting to see one sibling relationship slowly repairing while the other one quickly falls apart, and even though I didn’t love Sadie’s sister, I would love to get more of her story. I felt the same way Jonah did about her, and felt Sadie deserved better.
I really enjoyed An Academic Affair. Sadie and Jonah were compelling characters, and they had a great love story filled with many of my favorite tropes. Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Sadie Shaw was a torrent of thought and intellect and confidence, a bonfire of a woman, gleefully torching whoever—me, usually—was in her path.
The English language currently has about 170,000 words in common use. It is an embarrassment of words, more than most of us will ever use in our lives. “Oh,” was the only one I could find.
And now here she was, insisting on looking after my sister when her relationship with her own was in tatters, and all I could do was fantasize about burying my face in her hair and my fingers in the lush curves of her skin and removing my heart from my chest and laying it at her feet.
- Rivals to friends to lovers
- Fake relationship
- Marriage of convenience- or in name only, as they argue about this exact thing lol
- World of academia
- Forced proximity
- Only one bed
- He falls first
By day, Jodi McAlister writes romance novels. By other time of day, Dr Jodi McAlister studies them. She’s written romantic comedies for adults, romantasy and contemporary romance for young adults, and several academic books.
For adults
If you’re a reality TV lover, the Marry Me, Juliet series are the books for you. Even if you’re not a reality TV lover, they might be the books for you – several reality TV haters have enjoyed them.
The trilogy all take place at the same time on the same season of a reality dating show called Marry Me, Juliet (which bears a very strong resemblance to The Bachelor). While they all stand alone and can be read in any order, they work best when read in order.
