An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister
on November 11, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover
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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.
15 years of rivalry, 8 years of cohabitation, a marriage of convenience, and enough literary musings on love to fill a small library, yet Jonah Fisher and Sadie Shaw still wouldn’t recognize love if it hit them in the face. I don’t even know where to start with this review because at some point while reading, I got full-on déjà vu. The beginning of this novel did not exactly make me an enthusiastic reader. I found it quite boring until Sadie proposes a marriage of convenience. I only wish that Sadie wasn’t incredibly self-sabotaging and impulsive. She doesn’t know when to stop hurting herself and take constructive steps forward.
Not sure if it was just the mood I was in when I read this but I rated this novel 2.5 stars. At the very least, I thought it would be cozy and sweet, but the romance felt…stale and so unsatisfying.
English (US) · 