Ali Hazelwood rocketed onto bestseller lists (and countless TBR piles) with her STEM-focused debut, THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS. With LOVE ON THE BRAIN, Hazelwood (a pseudonym for a research scientist and professor) continued her brand of blending science and engineering with steamy love stories. Now, in LOATHE TO LOVE YOU, she collects three loosely related novellas about three good friends, all scientists, who find themselves falling for the most unlikely romantic partners.

In “Under One Roof,” Mara, an idealistic environmental scientist about to start her dream job at the Environmental Protection Agency, is grateful that her recently deceased mentor has left her a house so she can actually afford to live in Washington, DC. But there’s a catch: Helena has only left Mara half the house. Her co-owner, Liam, who already lives there, is Helena’s nephew. He’s a corporate lawyer, working for one of the big evil petroleum companies that represent everything Mara is trying to combat. How can they possibly become roommates without killing one another?

"The novellas in LOATHE TO LOVE YOU were released as separate audiobooks in 2022. They lend themselves well to the audio format, but listeners to those earlier releases will want to pick up this new collection."

In “Stuck with You,” Sadie, a civil engineer working for a struggling female-owned sustainable building firm, finds herself stuck in an elevator in an office building during a power outage. To make matters worse, she’s there with Erik, her nemesis, who committed an act of corporate espionage that may have jeopardized not only her professional future but also the survival of her company. And to make matters even worse, she still remembers the incredible date she had with Erik before everything went south. Can Sadie escape this situation with her pride intact --- and the two of them still standing?

Finally, “Below Zero” introduces readers to Hannah, an aerospace engineer at NASA. She has a new instrument to test --- one that her professional reputation depends on --- and the frozen Arctic tundra makes for the best test case here on Earth. But something has gone horribly wrong, and now Hannah is in danger. She is left to relive the circumstances that brought her to this point and focuses largely on Ian Floyd, a fellow NASA researcher who was once her unforgettable one-night stand --- until he sabotaged her research for reasons she can’t even begin to understand.

Mara, Sadie and Hannah became friends in graduate school. Their friendship is one of the ties holding these novellas together, as they meet up for occasional video chats to update one another on their professional and (very) personal lives. Some secondary characters cross over among the stories as well. But the biggest thing they have in common is an exploration of how three brilliant young women, on the cusp of starting remarkable careers in STEM fields, find themselves navigating romantic relationships that are tied up with their work in all kinds of challenging ways. This overarching theme (which Hazelwood also explores in her full-length novels) can give this trio of novellas a sort of sameness. Fortunately, though, the narrators are sufficiently differentiated, and their professional dilemmas sufficiently interesting, to prevent tedium.

The novellas in LOATHE TO LOVE YOU were released as separate audiobooks in 2022. They lend themselves well to the audio format, but listeners to those earlier releases will want to pick up this new collection. It includes a bonus epilogue that ties all three stories together and reveals what’s next for these STEMinists and their significant others.