An Academic Affair

This cute contemporary from McAlister (Here for the Right Reasons) follows Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher, who have been academic rivals for 15 years. Multiple attempts to reach a truce have failed, despite Jonah’s one-sided crush. After graduating with their PhDs in literature, both struggle to find stable employment. So their latest “ceasefire” goes out the window when a professorship opens up that seems perfect for both of them. It would enable Sadie to use her academic specialty in popular fiction, and Jonah to be closer to his sister, who recently became a single mom. After a hard-fought battle, Sadie gets the job. She’s proud, but she also feels bad for Jonah. Then she notices a partner-hire clause in her contract that offers any employee’s “suitably qualified” partner a position at the same university. So the pair hatch a plan to get married. Though this scheme puts strain on Sadie’s relationship with her lawyer sister, Chess, who has always hated the fake dating trope in fiction, the couple tie the knot and move across the country to start their new positions. Living and working in close proximity reignites Jonah’s crush and has Sadie wondering if she has deeper feelings for her rival. Though the romance is slow to develop, the couple’s chemistry is well worth the wait. Readers will be pleased. (Nov.)