Have I seen Love Hypothesis all over Bookstagram, and I have to admit I completely understand why!
This book is ADORABLE!! Olive and Adam were just so cute I couldn’t even contain my joy! I loved how this book started, and I love every single interaction they had. Adam gives off some serious Mr. Darcy vibes. He is broody and unapproachable, and of course, I loved him. Olive was cute and quirky, and I liked her. She was brilliant and incredibly insecure. Since she was in a fake relationship with Adam, I did enjoy that her insecurities didn’t get in the way. She was able to be herself, so she and Adam could get to know each other without the pressure. Also, their banter was adorable, and I loved every minute of it.
At one point, I do have to admit that this book fell into a romance cliche that I don’t enjoy. While I understand why this happened, I just wished Olive would have trusted Adam a little more. But, again, I get it, and luckily it didn’t last long, so it was easy to forgive. I also loved the side characters, especially Holden. He was hilarious and such a scene-stealer.
If you haven’t read Love Hypothesis yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up now!

4.5 stars. I think I really needed this book. It was cute, funny, and sweet. Everything you want in a romantic comedy. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was I felt like Adam was a little too much of a unicorn. Yes, he is known to be a jerk but more as a teacher than a jerk of a human being. It’s more of a misunderstanding. And I hate conflict based on misunderstanding. Once they started their fake relationship he was just so perfect! I just wanted him to mess up a little. And what kind of grown man who is brilliant and handsome doesn’t have the guts to talk to or interact with a girl he has a crush on? I don’t think he ever even talks to her before the kiss incident. Once Olive knows he was the bathroom guy and he admits he’s liked her all along, there is no explanation as to why he didn’t approach her, ever!

All this annoyance still left me liking the book enough for 4.5 stars though, which says enough. I have to say though I’m not sure I would’ve rated it as high if I hadn’t really needed a sweet book like this.

"The Love Hypothesis" was such a fun read! I really enjoyed the academic setting in a graduate school science program -- the author did a great job capturing the high-pressure world of academics -- Olive's voice was a perfect combination of humor and heart and nerdiness.

The Love Hypothesis is my favorite romance novel this year! It contains my favorite romance tropes and it is so well written!

Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis is one of this year's hottest and most talked about romance novels and that is for good reason. Hazelwood has created a fun, fresh and steamy romance for readers of all stripes and has succeeded in making a story that is not only sexy but keeps you laughing all the while.

**4.5-stars**

The prologue to our action is an adorable Meet Cute in a bathroom in the research wing of a University. Unfortunately, our smart and quirky protagonist, Olive, is having major issues with her contact lenses at the time and never gets a good look at the guy she's talking with.

Regardless of her optical challenges, the interaction made an impact. In fact, it sort of helped her decide the course of her life. Her decision to pursue a Ph.D. was in a way spurred along by that encounter. Three years later, Olive is now a Ph.D. candidate at that very University, living a perfectly normal single student lifestyle.

That is until her best friend, Ahn, falls for the guy Olive went on like two dates with. Olive seriously doesn't care if Ahn goes for it. She doesn't have feelings for that guy, but Ahn isn't buying it. Therefore, Olive does what any good friend would do and creates a fake dating relationship with the first man she can literally grab. The man in question happens to be Adam Carlson, a young hotshot Professor with a surly reputation. What could go wrong?

Pursuing motivations of his own, Adam agrees to go along with Olive's scheme. Logically, it is a win-win for both of them, but can they keep to the boundaries set-up at the beginning of their agreement?

I really had fun with this story. Olive was such a great main character. I grew quite attached to her over the course of the story and was rooting for her to achieve all her goals. Additionally, I felt that the incorporation of a female main in STEM was such a refreshing set-up for a Contemporary Romance. The University setting, the research issues and politics, the hot professors, it was all so engaging!

The fake dating was actually quasi-plausible and I enjoyed watching the evolution of Olive and Adam's relationship as they got themselves in deeper and deeper. Adam is definitely a swoon-worthy male lead!

Overall, this is a memorable, science-is-sexy story and I want more from Ali Hazelwood; definitely one of my favorite Romance stories of the year, if not my very favorite. Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Highly recommend!

I had a blast reading this book. I enjoyed the characters and I love a fun sexy read. I’ve also been enjoying the fake dating trope lately and it was refreshing to see STEM representation .
I like to see how a fake dating relationship unfolds into a true relationship. I liked how the topic of breaking into a male dominated field was handled and I’m always down for some steam. I love quirky characters so this was just a fun book all around with great banter and laugh out loud moments.

The Love Hypothesis gets every star in the world as far as I am concerned. In fact, it should get extra stars just for the amount of time I have spent obsessing over it since I read it. Then a few more extra stars for how much I have strongly recommended that every reader I know read it to the point of annoyance. And then we can sprinkle a few more stars on top for all the times I have just opened it to reread certain scenes.

It has been a really long time since I have read my favorite kind of teacher/student romance. where the characters are over 21 and it doesn't feel like power exchange. The awkwardness of the h, Olive, was so very relatable and charming I could see why the people around her love her so much. And Adam. oh, Adam- my love for your grumpy knows zero bounds. I would pay all the pennies in the world to know your side of this story. The banter between the two characters as they navigate their fake relationship is delightful, and the chemistry... sigh. Don't let the slow burn scare you. The tension is worth it- words I never thought would come out of my mouth.

Aside from the made me feel gooey inside, physical swoons this story caused for me, I was a HUGE fan of the women in STEM element and the other social issues it tackles. It's not every day you get so many favorite things in a single book. I could not put it down.

Read this book.

New favorite alert.
•
I’m not sure what I can add to the hundreds, thousands, millions, of people telling you The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood is amazing, but I like adding my two cents. Did I read this on Netgalley and then love it so much I immediately bought my own copy? Yes. Do I tell everyone I talk to, including my parents who brought up Stanford in a harmless conversation and then were submitted to a plot breakdown of this book, that I love it? Yes, again. Are my kids talking about why six-pack abs are a selling point after reading this back cover? Another uncomfortable, yes.
•
Oh The Love Hypothesis, how much do I love you? Let me count the ways:
- women working in stem
- witty, mixed with awkward, banter (and it’s a perfect blend)
- fake dating
- grump/sunshine
- a delicious, tension building, slow burn
- fun side characters
- the end of the slow burn in a little forced proximity
- the most supportive and swooniest science guy
- a plot climax that didn’t rely on miscommunication
•
I’m going to run out of room, but hopefully you get the idea. I especially appreciate the last point because romance likes to use miscommunication A LOT, and it is my least favorite theme. If you are one of the 12 people who still needed convincing, I hope I convinced you.
•

PERFECTION! I loved this book so much. I honestly couldn't say one bad thing about it. The writing was amazing, it's fake-dating which is the superior trope and it was honestly such a funny and feel good book.

You all NEED to read it!!!

This book is everything I needed to get out of a reading slump. I love how quirky Olive and Adam are such that they are perfect for each other. To see their love story play out was the cutest and the steam was 🔥 I got attached to this couple and definitely had quite the book hangover!

Highly recommend this book!

Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel The Love Hypothesis was flat out fantastic. The age gap romance between a Ph.D. candidate and a professor (not one she works under) was nerdy, sexy, funny, impossible to put down, and is going on my favorites of 2021 list.

Olive Smith wants nothing more than to prove there’s a faster and better way to diagnose pancreatic cancer. It’s something near and dear to her heart and all she needs is to find a lab with better funding she can work out of for a year before returning to Stanford and finishing up her dissertation. Things get complicated when late one night she kisses Dr. Adam Carlsen in an attempt to prove to her best friend Anh, that she is over a guy she dated that Ahn is very interested in but won’t date because she’s worried about Olive’s feelings. And while she did plan a well timed kiss so Anh would see it on a night she told her she had a date, she had no idea when it happened that it was Dr. Carlsen she kissed and she’s not quite sure what to do with it as that kiss made her feel things she’d never felt before.

Adam didn’t mind when Olive kissed him, she’s been on his mind every since a chance meeting before she enrolled in the doctoral program. When she explains her reasoning, he can’t help but agree to help her as it will put them in close proximity giving him time to learn more about the woman he’s found hard to forget.

I absolutely adored these two characters. Olive was smart, funny, and a bit impulsive at times but with a good heart. Adam is well renowned in his field and well feared by his students something he doesn’t worry about as he truly believes he’s there to make them better scientists, not hold their hands. They were a bit opposites attract, yet they fit so well together. It was obvious they were both dedicated to their jobs, yet somehow the interactions between them became a bright spot and a bit of levity in their busy lives.

Well crafted with intelligent dialog and an intriguing plot, The Love Hypothesis stands out in this year’s romance book releases.

This book was incredible. I don't even have words for how much I loved it. I couldn't help but love all of the characters.

Top 3 of 2020 for sure. I Highly Recommend it, especially if you love rom coms and science. Ive already purchased multiple copies to give as gifts.
4.5 Stars Rounded Up.

Completely unexpected. I could not put it down!

I love how Ali Hazelwood took the basic fake dating trope and made it so much more by exploring the challenges of being a woman in science and the complicated dynamics we have with the friends we love most (and ourselves!). I often found Olive's choices and doubts frustrating, which I think reflects just how powerfully insightful and real "The Love Hypothesis" is.

The one thing I would have loved to have seen more of is Adam's perspective. His feelings were clear at the end, but reading only from Olive's perspective limits our understanding of his motivations. Of course, this story would not have had the absolute forward pull it did if it offered his perspective.

I cannot wait to see what Ali Hazelwood writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The best, most fun book I have read in quite a while. Loved the smart, strong, and flawed (otherwise known as real) women in this story. Also loved the moody fake boyfriend, the friendships, the snark, the science, the everything. What I do not like is that now I will have to wait for this author to undoubtedly finish several lengthy science articles before she gets back to the important work of writing another romance novel. As if waiting for Ted Lasso season 3 was not enough… Six stars for this one!!!

Everyone loves this book for a reason! Who doesn't love the fake dating trope? This book is so good you'll want to save it to read again one day. That's all. Go get it and start reading it right now.

I am a few weeks from my final deadline for grad school. When I tell you I’ve been distracted and unfocused on reading, it’s an understatement. But The Love Hypothesis completely captured my attention and made my heart swoon hard. I read this in one day. I was distracted at work, turned my back on my mountain of schoolwork, and simply devoured this sweet, adorable romance! I love Adam and Olive with all my heart. Their relationship was just too cute. From the bathroom scene, to fake dating, and seeing their friendship turn to love was just super heartwarming.

I’m such a sucker for a school setting. I loved the university setting and all the politics that goes on in academia. Plus, I’m a fan of the mentor/mentee trope and this was kind of like that. So really, I knew I would likely enjoy this but it was even better than my expectations. This was peak grump/sunshine so if you like that trope, I think you’ll love this.

One minor annoyance I did have was the constant reminders to how tall and broad Adam was and how tiny and slender Olive was. It got annoying real quick but everything else was just great so I got over it eventually. But really can authors stop doing this? Especially in romance books. Please, and thank you.

I received an ARC copy through Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a light read with lots of funny bits. The prologue was a wonderful beginning and really highlighted the chemistry between Olive and Adam. I found the book to drag a bit in the middle. I think the book would have benefited from dual perspectives rather than the entire book from Olive's perspective, but that's just my opinion. Adam is described as grumpy and an ass, but I found him to be really a sweetheart, especially to Olive.

This is a fake relationship story between two scientists. The book starts with Olive kissing Adam (just like the cover!). She is doing this to convince her friend she is over her ex-boyfriend. Grumpy Adam needs to convinced the university that he is putting down roots by having a serious relationship, so they can invest in his research. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan in their little experiment and soon things start to get a bit hot and steamy!
.
At first glance, I didn’t like Adam all that much, but he grew on me, and completely loved him by the end. This is definitely more of a slow burn, although there are some steamy moments in the book. The banter is witty and fun and Olive always seemed a bit flustered, but not in a bad way. I binged on this book, which is always a sign that I enjoyed it!

Hypothesis: If I read this book, then I will love it.

That was my hypothesis, and boy was I right! This sweet, smart, and funny rom-com will have you SWOONING.

You know when you start a book and you immediately know you’re going to love it? This book was that for me. In my top 5 romances of all time and a new fav!

Let me tell you why you should read this book: STEM women rep, slow-burn romance, fake dating trope & sunshine/grumpy tropes, the dynamics between Adam & Olive, the banter, the ridiculous scenarios that unfold, and their friends 🥺. Just the best, the whole dang thing.

I knew I was going to love it, so I got the BOTM version but thank you to @netgalley and @berkleyromance for EARC in exchange for an honest review! ✨