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.

Start with Here For The Right Reasons (he's the series lead, she's the contestant he eliminates on the first night), move on to Can I Steal You For A Second? (she's a contestant, she's... also a contestant), and finish with the book the New York Times called a "full-on villain romance", Not Here To Make Friends (she's the villain, he's the producer who's pining for her).

For young adults
If you're a romantasy reader, you'll like the Valentine series, a young adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy series about smart girls, small towns, and scary fairies. There are three books: Valentine, Ironheart, and Misrule. If Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Holly Black sounds like something you’d be into, these are the books for you.

And if you're a theatre kid, Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending is the book for you. It's my love letter to theatre kids as someone who used to be one.

Academic books
No one really cares much about these on Goodreads, do they? More info on my website if you're interested.

About Jodi
Jodi is originally from Kiama, a seaside holiday town on the south coast of New South Wales, and has lived in a bunch of different cities: Canberra (where she did her undergrad degrees), Wollongong (where she lived while she did her PhD in Sydney), and Hobart (where she held her first academic job) among them. Currently, she lives in Melbourne, where she works as a Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University.

When she’s not writing about romance, Jodi is an academic studying romance. Her research focuses on representations of love in popular culture and fiction. It means that reading romance novels and watching (and let’s be real, writing huge amounts about) The Bachelor/ette is technically work for her.

**Want to dip your toes into the Valentine universe? Try the free short story Galentine, set a year and a bit before the events of Valentine. http://jodimcalister.com.au/galentine/ **

**Want to read a bonus epilogue to Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending? Check it out here: https://jodimcalister.com.au/libby-la... **