Book Title: The Love Hypothesis
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Publish Date: September 14, 2021
Description from Goodreads:

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

This book was majorly hyped across bookblr, bookstagram, and the blogging nation—and for good reason! The Love Hypothesis delivers a steamy romance with humor and fun takes on well-loved tropes. It induces stomach butterflies and goofy grins and subconscious toe-curling. It’s also the first book in a long time that caused me to stay up past my bedtime on a week night (for a woman who prizes her eight hours of sleep, this is a big deal!). 

Olive is a kick-ass biology graduate student at Stanford who proposes a fake-dating arrangement to (genius) Professor Adam Carlson, PhD so Olive can convince her best friend Anh that Olive has moved on from ex-boyfriend Jeremy. See, Anh is totally into Jeremy but would never betray Olive by dating her ex. The thing is, Olive never really cared for Jeremy that deeply and cares about Anh’s happiness so much more, so she has no problem with the two of them dating. But just try convincing Anh of that truth. And so, hijinks ensue.

Olive and co. frequently break the fourth wall by referring to the fake-dating trope often seen in rom-coms. I’m all for breaking the fourth wall, but this self-awareness falls a little flat because it doesn’t address all aspects of the trope, but only the convenient ones. The biggest letdown here is that Olive never admits that the number one demise of all fake-dating rom-com relationships is nonsensical miscommunication…leaving her free to fall victim to this same blunder with zero self-awareness. 

This is super frustrating to me and ultimately why I can’t give this book five stars. The miscommunication feels so manufactured, especially given that Olive is twenty-six and Adam is thirty-four years old. Miscommunication or lies of omission seem more believable to me when dealing with younger characters, but I do expect a bit more transparency from adults. Luckily, these faux pas are resolved fairly quickly after Olive finally comes clean to her friends, who have a little more sense than she does in this situation.

Miscommunication aside, the characters are fantastic. I love seeing successful women of color in STEM, and the backdrop of academia is a fresh setting that I don’t often see in rom-coms. The more I came to know Olive, the more invested I became in her academic success, cheering her on as she faced fears like public speaking and the ongoing challenge of rampant sexism. I also really appreciated learning about Olive’s struggles with her sexuality, including her consideration that she may be asexual because she’s so rarely attracted to anyone. I have known many people who’ve felt similarly and it’s amazing to see this topic openly discussed.

The romance is quite well done, with a slow-burn buildup during which time both characters really get to know each other. I love seeing Adam’s soft side come out around Olive, as well as the way they both challenge and learn from each other. Adam has to be one of my fave love interests—absurdly tall, prickly on the outside and gooey on the inside, supportive, and adheres to a stringent moral code. His purchase of pumpkin spice frappuccinos for Olive despite his obvious disgust is my favorite thing.

If you’re looking for a delightful romance to bring a smile to your face and touch on some topics not otherwise seen in rom-coms, this is the book for you. It has it all:

✅Hilarious fake-dating schemes
✅Steamy sex scene
✅Women succeeding in STEM
✅POC rep
✅Queer rep (and one of my fave ancillary couples!)

And, of course, a perfect happy ending. Definitely a fave read of 2021 and well worth the hype—I’d recommend The Love Hypothesis to everyone!