Liam and Mara, from the first novella, were my favorite couple in this book. Under One Roof made this a 5 star read for me. ( )

I’ve been a bit lazy recently catching up on my Ali Hazelwood book reading. I read and adored The Love Hypothesis and I had her next two books on the shelf and I mean to read them…but life just gets in the way sometimes. However, a collection of three novellas? Perfect to read during the working week. These are all based on the same romance trope (enemies to lovers) so do be aware if you like to mix things up.

Termed ‘STEMinist’, each female main character in the novella is a scientist with a PhD and all are strong enough to hold their own. First up is Mara’s story, who has moved to Washington DC to start her career with the EPA. The best thing is that she owns half a house, inherited from her PhD supervisor. The worst thing is that the other half is currently owned by Liam who is a lawyer working for the most environmentally unfriendly company on the planet. This is a fun and quirky read, involving lots of Cheez-Its (which are some sort of cracker…maybe like Cheddar Shapes in Australia), gaming and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Next up is Sadie, who is an engineer focusing on sustainability. A misunderstanding with Erik (after bad croissants and an amazing night) goes glacial, but all is revealed in a stuck lift late at night. Finally, Hannah has always wanted to work for NASA and finally achieves her dream, only to fall down a crevasse in wintry Norway. The only person willing to help happens to be her almost-fling and denier of research funding, Ian.

I did like how the friendship between the three women was maintained across the three stories. This was strongest in the last story, or perhaps I noticed it more because I didn’t feel the reason for the dislike between Hannah and Ian was as strong. It was quite one sided from Hannah (Liam gave as good as he got, and Erik neglected to tell the full truth but not in a bad way). Hannah is quite feisty and less conventional than her friends, which was refreshing but it took some more time to understand her character. Why the love for space and switch to academia for a former wild child? Why did she stick to her principles so strictly on meeting Ian (there’s not even a hint of ‘this could be good/bad for my future career’). Each of the women and their male partners are quite alike though – all the girls are tiny height and chest wise and the men are tall and broad shouldered. I would have liked to have seen it mixed up a little (although Hazelwood notes that the stories originated from fan fiction, so maybe this is a remnant? I’m not sure which fandoms she wrote in). You can be a tall or C-cup female engineer and still star in a romance!

Saying that, the stories are all enjoyable and are fun to read. You will find yourself reaching for the book and double checking that you’ve got time for one more chapter. I am looking forward to catching up with her other two novels to read more about the science and the friendship and just something with more plotlines. However, these novellas are great bite sized reads for when there’s no time to be stuck in a big book!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

I largely enjoyed this collection of romance novellas from Hazelwood. While ostensibly they're all supposed to be enemies to lovers stories (one of tropes I enjoy least, really), only the first story really follows that line. The other two stories are more just big misunderstandings that lead to conflict. I enjoyed the work details that Hazelwood fits into each of the stories. While I'd heard complaints that the stories all felt a bit the same read back to back, I didn't have that problem. My issues is that the characters are all the same physical type - petite, thin women and tall, muscular... ahem well-endowed men. I'd really like to see Hazelwood shake it up a bit on that front in her other novels. Otherwise, a perfectly enjoyable set of stories that should satisfy Hazelwood fans. ( )

A collection of three novellas (The STEMinist Novellas) with loosely interconnected plots. Each features a woman in a STEM career and a man she hates for one reason or another. For those of you who have read Hazelwood's novels, this formula will sound familiar -- even more so when I mention that the heroines are all petite women, pretty but self-conscious about some aspect of their body, and the men are all massive, muscular, and *ahem* well-endowed. This makes for a pretty repetitive reading experience. Hazelwood only writes one plot, but she writes it well. I would have enjoyed these more if I had spaced them out, I think. As it was, they all started to sound the same, and by the third one I had lost patience with the book. If you really enjoy Hazelwood's writing, I'd recommend this collection, especially if you can read the novellas interspersed with other books in order to avoid burnout. ( )

Under One Roof: Upon her death, Helena who was Mara's friend and Liam's aunt, left her house to Mara, but Liam already lived there. Now they are stuck living there...together.
Stuck with You: After a one night stand, misunderstandings cause Erik and Sadie not to see one another until they are stuck together on a stalled elevator during a power outage.
Below Zero: Ian is the only one who can save Hannah from the icy crevasse she fell into in Norway, but after the way they parted, Hannah isn't sure why Ian would come after her.

Loathe to Love You is a fun collection of three novellas featuring women in STEM. While all three are very similar, there are enough differences between the stories to make them enjoyable. The characters are all quirky and likable, while the settings are beautifully idealized versions of real world locations. I usually don't enjoy novellas, but these are quick enough with plots simple enough to fit the structure. Overall, Loathe to Love You sets the right tone, creating three entertaining reads. ( )