The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I have mixed feelings. Although I enjoy the fake-to-real relationship troupe, this one was rough to get into. It wasn't until I was about 1/5 into the book that I discovered it was a Kylo/Rey fanfic. Honestly, leaning into that made it MUCH easier to read. Don't get me wrong, I still had full body cringe sometimes and had to skip past a couple of purposely obtuse conversations and inner dialog. For someone so smart, Olive was pretty dumb. I hated that the author made her SO clueless about sex just because she's ace. Asexuals can have the same kinks and turn ons as others. They're not naive or all "what do I do with my hands?!" like it was implied in the book. I have ace friends who have kids, are married, etc. Anyway, I know the character questions if she's Ace, but ... MoreI have mixed feelings. Although I enjoy the fake-to-real relationship troupe, this one was rough to get into. It wasn't until I was about 1/5 into the book that I discovered it was a Kylo/Rey fanfic. Honestly, leaning into that made it MUCH easier to read. Don't get me wrong, I still had full body cringe sometimes and had to skip past a couple of purposely obtuse conversations and inner dialog. For someone so smart, Olive was pretty dumb. I hated that the author made her SO clueless about sex just because she's ace. Asexuals can have the same kinks and turn ons as others. They're not naive or all "what do I do with my hands?!" like it was implied in the book. I have ace friends who have kids, are married, etc. Anyway, I know the character questions if she's Ace, but how her sexuality is more fear based (fear of loss), it would be reasonable to say she has more of a sexual aversion, dysfunction, or repression. She could also have low libido. So many other possibilities. I digress. The characters were a challenge to like. I'd rather read about the gay couple because, despite the few scenes they were in, it seemed like they had much more interesting personalities. Anh was a busy body. If you know your best friend is slow to warm up to others and an introvert, maybe don't put them in awkward positions that make them the center of attention for your amusement or to make yourself feel better for dating their ex. Just my opinion. Another thing! Anh and Olive acted so much like undergrads, it was annoying. Especially for being 3rd year grad students, you'd swear they were Freshmen just getting used to living away from home for the first time. As for Jeremy...he is Irish or Scottish and that is the whole basis of his personality. There had to be something about him that made Olive want to date him in the first place and make Anh cause ripples in their friendship, right? The world may never know.

- "𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯" *Screaming* Olive and Adam are my new favorite rom-com couple! 😍 I don't even know where to start. - "𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦." Look, even if rom-coms or romance books in general aren't your thing... Please, give this book a try. If they are your thing, and you haven't picked it up yet. GO DO IT. NOW. I love the representation in this book! The characters are funny, and well written. The story was funny, I couldn't stop smiling the entire ... More- "𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯" *Screaming* Olive and Adam are my new favorite rom-com couple! 😍 I don't even know where to start. - "𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦." Look, even if rom-coms or romance books in general aren't your thing... Please, give this book a try. If they are your thing, and you haven't picked it up yet. GO DO IT. NOW. I love the representation in this book! The characters are funny, and well written. The story was funny, I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I was reading, but it also tugged at my heart. It was a refreshing, fun, funny, smart and sexy read. Fake Dating ✔️ Grumpy meets Sunshine ✔️ Women in STEM ✔️ LGBT representation ✔️ I think this is my new favorite romance book of the year, actually it might even be my new favorite book of the year. Period. I'd have to sit on that one. - "𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶" - 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮"

A fun book

A good romance novel - fake-dating scientists which manifests into a real relationship after their true feelings develop or are disclosed.The book is uncomplicated and the couple pair well. I’d say the book was pretty predictable and nothing out of the ordinary occurred but it was still an enjoyable read.I’d love to read the book from Adam’s perspective, since his feelings for Olive have been around for years. Olive’s feelings for Adam grow stronger after establishing their fake-dating.The perils of academia, and being a woman in STEM are also explored, since the author herself is a successful neuroscientist.

Funny. Snarky. Intelligent. Real.

I devoured this in one day (in-between family gatherings and kids). I couldn't put it down. Olive is the best kind of mess. She's frazzled from her PhD. She's grieving the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer (which is fueling her research into easier/cheaper screening methods). She adores her friends and will do anything for them... which is how she ends up kissing Dr Adam Carlson. Adam is the resident grump/beast - instilling fear into graduate students (but all in the name of scientific excellence, of course). He agrees to a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship with Olive after the whole kissing-incident. Both Olive and Adam are navigating the challenges and obstacles of academia in their own unique ways - research, funding deficits, grants... i.e. ... MoreI devoured this in one day (in-between family gatherings and kids). I couldn't put it down. Olive is the best kind of mess. She's frazzled from her PhD. She's grieving the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer (which is fueling her research into easier/cheaper screening methods). She adores her friends and will do anything for them... which is how she ends up kissing Dr Adam Carlson. Adam is the resident grump/beast - instilling fear into graduate students (but all in the name of scientific excellence, of course). He agrees to a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship with Olive after the whole kissing-incident. Both Olive and Adam are navigating the challenges and obstacles of academia in their own unique ways - research, funding deficits, grants... i.e. lots of work, questionable returns. But science! Meanwhile juggling their fake-relationship and not at all (!!!) catching feelings. Cancer is a near and dear topic to me (my mum died of cancer and i am currently fighting cancer) so I was gut punched during several scenes that this was discussed. The banter and incredible one-liners in this story are perfection. Funny. Snarky. Intelligent. Real. The relationship between each character and their individual friends is beautiful. The development of their relationship together feels *just so good*. Read if: you're traumatized from academia and/or a STEM nerd, if you love Mariana Zapata & Helen Hoang, if you love sharp and funny banter, if you like a delicious slow burn with a fun twist on some classic tropes, if you're wild for sunshine/grumpy books. I'm so so excited to see this book climb the bestseller list. I know its going to be (frankly it already is) a total hit.

GREATEST BOOK EVER!!!

I loved this book!! If you like the book To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before this is the next book for you. It’s starts off soft and then it gets deep and cute. The main characters have so much chemistry in the beginning that continues to show throughout the story. Olive is a strong and smart woman that I just adored and I really liked how she was written. Adam is a jerk at first but you can start to see him fall in love with her because he was always in love with her since the bathroom scene. The whole book is captivating and beautifully written. So glad I got this book. I hope everyone else loves it.

Hilarious, self-aware, and steamy - Must-read!

Ali Hazelwood's debut novel, 'The Love Hypothesis', was incredible! From the very first page I was hooked, and I couldn't put it down.The book follows Olive, a third-year Ph.D. candidate, who ends up kissing the first man she sees, which ends up being professor, Adam Carlsen. From there, we see the fake relationship unfold. It's hilarious, self-aware and steamy!If you're a fan of reylo you're gonna love this! But if you're not (or have no idea what that is!) don't be put off! It's a must-read for any contemporary romance fanatic!

Light-hearted read.

I absolutely loved this book. A real light-hearted read. If you prefer more complicated plot lines with unpredictable endings, then this book probably isn't for you. If you're looking for a light hearted read with a growing romance and a happy ending then you will really enjoy this. I first heard of this Author through Tiktok and was dubious ordering it as I was worried it was over-hyped. But I really did enjoy in, and was left thinking about the characters days after I had finished the book.

Nope. Nope. Nope

It’s a no for me... I bought this book based on good reviews and it was soooo slow! And way too predictable. I tried to fall in love with the characters but olive was slightly annoying and immature for her to be 26.... and an undergrad at Stanford. As for Adam.. I wish there was more to him than just “dark hair and big muscles”. I really tried to give it the benefit of the doubt I made it half way through and I couldn’t make myself want to even finish the book. The whole book reminded me of a early 2000’s Disney channel movie starring Lizzy McGuire... I’m 27 maybe I’m too old for this book. After reading Colleen Hoover and sally Thorne, this book was simply boring. I will be returning this ASAP.

This book is a disaster and it was so fun to read

There are two things you must know about this book: 1) the depiction of academic culture is, at best, deeply over-exaggerated, and at its worst, normalizes a very toxic culture, but I have to respect that the author handled the complicated grad student/professor relationship as well as it could have. And 2) this is essentially converted Kylo Ren/Rey star wars fanfiction and is delightful because of it! Adam's a bit of a manic pixie dream boy, and Olive made me and my friend throw pillows at the wall for how obtuse she could be, but we loved every second we spent reading this out loud to each other dramatically. The chemistry is delightful and steamy, and the plot moves very quickly. You will devour this book in a few days, and then wonder why you keep thinking about ... MoreThere are two things you must know about this book: 1) the depiction of academic culture is, at best, deeply over-exaggerated, and at its worst, normalizes a very toxic culture, but I have to respect that the author handled the complicated grad student/professor relationship as well as it could have. And 2) this is essentially converted Kylo Ren/Rey star wars fanfiction and is delightful because of it! Adam's a bit of a manic pixie dream boy, and Olive made me and my friend throw pillows at the wall for how obtuse she could be, but we loved every second we spent reading this out loud to each other dramatically. The chemistry is delightful and steamy, and the plot moves very quickly. You will devour this book in a few days, and then wonder why you keep thinking about random plot holes and sweet little moments in it.

Very hyped but so worth it!

I’d put off reading this book because of all the hype surrounding it - it was a little intimidating. However, I needn’t have worried - I loved it! I love fake dating stories because it’s just a ridiculous premise, but it just works so well. I loved Olive & Adam - she’s got a heart of gold but has self-confidence issues and he’s a formidable grump but a secret softie for her. The situations they found themselves in made me laugh, and I loved their nerdy banter, especially as they grew more comfortable with each other. Even through the typical fake dating drama, I had a smile on my face, knowing that it would somehow work out. This was such a joy to read & I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to read more by Ali Hazelwood.