The perfect romantic comedy. Loved the science setting and it was definitely hot. 100% recommend. I flew through this one in one sitting, and contemplated a second read through already.

This was amazing! I opened this book at 9 p.m. and finished at 2 a.m. - stopping only twice to use the bathroom. I loved everything about this book. The best use of "fake girlfriend/boyfriend" trope ever!

Hypothesis: Any book that involves fake dating and a guy who wears henleys and plaid shirts will make me incredibly happy in result in a 5-star rating.

I absolutely enjoyed this read. The characters were so cute and relatable. I liked that Olive was quirky but not in an over-the-top way. She still had some social anxieties and shyness that were relatable. I loved all her inner thoughts. Basically, I feel like she acted her age, which doesn't always happen in these rom-com fiction books.
Adam melted my heart every time he shows up. He's literally the perfect guy without being too good to be true somehow.
Literally, from start to finish I was nothing but happy while reading this.

Heard many great things about The Love Hypothesis from my friends and they weren’t wrong! A spontaneous kiss that led a grumpy guy and sunshine girl to fake date. The banters between Adam and Olive were so fun and the situations created by the Olive’s best friend were so kilig for me. I wished there were more moments at the beginning of the book! I also like how self aware the characters were of the tropes used because that added more hilarity. The hype around this book is real and I get it. Looking forward to the future works of this author!

I honestly find it so rude that an author could have the nerve to write this book and not have an entire backlist for me to immediately purchase. If this is what a debut novel from Ali Hazelwood looks like, then I have resigned myself to being a forever fangirl and will likely shove this book into the hands of every person I know. I can't say enough positive things about this book.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun read about two people who pretend to date each other (one of my favorite tropes) and what ensues as their feelings grow and their relationship begins to become real. The characters were well-drawn out and the story moved along at a believable pace. Olive and Adam were each compelling and relatable and it was easy to root for them. I enjoyed the academic setting, and it was clear that the author knew what she was talking about as she described the situations that arose in a post-grad science department. I also liked how everything moved along in a realistic fashion. It was more interesting and more realistic to see things unfold slowly than watch "insta-love" happen. And I was never quite sure how everything was going to end up; and I liked it that way! I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, the "fake-relationship" trope, or just a good romance novel!

I can't get over how much I thoroughly enjoyed this academia romcom. It had heart, humor and heat and it's one I know I will go back to.

4.5 Stars

‘Maybe her life was nothing but a little sob story, but it was her little sob story. Her heart may be broken, but her brain was doing just fine.’

What a fantastic debut! A swoony, slow-burn fake boyfriend romance chock full of fun banter, a seriously gorgeous, nerdy hero with a touch of alpha, set in the world of Academia at Stanford University, and didn’t we just love it!! The banter between Olive and Adam gave us a good giggle, and the back and forth between Adam’s childhood friend, and fellow Professor, Holden really tickled our funny bones.

Fake relationships are a little hit and miss for us, and although it did take us a little while to settle into the third-person prose, once we did…we never wanted it to end! And thirty-four-year-old scrumptious nerdy genius Dr. Adam Carlsen played a big part in why we felt that way. There’s something about a genius, alpha-type, grumpy hero that makes our hearts leap, and Adam’s good looks were matched by his incredible brain – what a combination!

‘There was only fresh breeze between them, and whatever distance Adam had seen fit to keep. Her stubborn, mercurial fake boyfriend. Wonderfully, perfectly unique. Delightfully one of a kind. Olive felt her heart overflow.’

When an unexpected kiss from Ph.D. student Olive Smith takes Adam by surprise and results in an arrangement between the two to fake a relationship – each for their own reasons, little did they know how their fake relationship would flourish and how hard it would be to part ways amicably when the 29 September expiration date of their agreement approached?

‘You just had to go and make me fall for you, she thought. You absolute ass.’

Talk about swoony moments! Oh, and…let’s not forget the chemistry and the sizzling hot sex between these two! WOW! We had expected the sex to be fade to black. How wrong we were! Bloody hell, it was hot! Adam and Olive would cause a Bunsen Burner to ignite! Along with the rom-com fun, there were also moments of angst and heartbreak and some wonderful surprises. The way in which Ali Hazelwood wove the ending together was pure joy for romance junkies like us!

‘A good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while.’

A hilarious and smart romance-- I loved it! Olive's internal dialogue is fabulous and carries the whole book. It was a little strange that we didn't get Adam's POV, I guess I am more used to that in romantic comedies today, but it keeps the mystery of what was going on with him until the reveal. The lap scene, the first kiss that was theirs scene, and the hotel room scene were all so sigh-worthy! I've found a new go-to author- yay!

I LOVED this book. So much. I enjoy reading romance stories where the setting and the side stories hold their own alongside the main couples' story. Ali Hazelwood did a phenomenal job exploring Olive's experience as a woman in stem, addressing the pressure and stresses Olive faced in her career, as well as unique struggles with sexism faced by many women in academia.

I adored the fake-dating relationship between Olive and Dr. Adam Carlsen. It was crafted beautifully and watching their "relationship" progress made me smile while I was reading. I will definitely reread this book.

I have been hearing about The Love Hypothesis so much on social media that I had to check out the hype for myself. The Love Hypothesis was a super cute romance that I read all in one sitting! While I didn't *love* it as much as everyone else, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and am excited to check out Ali Hazelwood's future books!

The thing I loved the most about this book is the focus on women in STEM. I loved that our main character is an intelligent scientist who doesn't apologize for her smarts. It's something we need to see more of and I love that this romance was based in an academic setting. Just so fun!

I enjoyed the main characters and I think their romance was adorable. From their first meeting to their fake dating relationship, it all brought a smile to my face.

Overall, The Love Hypothesis is a super sweet and cute novel. It's full of steamy moments, an adorable fake dating relationship, and charming characters. I'm looking forward to future books by Ali!

Women in STEM and enemies to lovers? The two seem incongruous, but Ali Hazelwood has created a wonderful romance featuring a woman in STEM. The characters' imperfections were perfect.

Here's my review: I loved this book, go read it right now.

I could literally leave it at that. I know I hand out 5 stars like a grandma with candy on Halloween, but if I was SUPER stingy with them, this one would get more than 5 stars. This book had everything. The characters were flawless - in the sense that their flaws were open and raw and vulnerable and dealt with in such an amazing way. The supporting characters were equally perfect. Women in STEM is so beautifully represented in this book, it was so refreshing to read about and learn more about. I just adored the chemistry between Adam and Olive, I loved the banter and I loved how their relationship formed. I could seriously continue ALL DAY talking about how much I loved this book, but stop wasting your time reading my useless words and GO READ THIS BOOK while I impatiently wait for Ali Hazelwood to bring me another masterpiece.

I usually don’t like the fake-dating tropes because they are so predictable at the end, but I loved everything about this one! I did really enjoy all of the STEM and academia talk throughout the book. The steam in this book is hot, and I loved it. I did find the part where Olive initially met Adam was a little corny and unreal, but hey that’s romcom fiction! I still loved the book. The hype is real!
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Thanks @berkleyromance @berkleypub @NetGalley for the digital ARC of this! I meant to read it 2 months ago, but you all know how it goes… 😆⠀

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House.

I must confess that, given all the talk and hype surrounding it, I had decided to not read this book, despite having the digital ARC available. My mood changes often though, and since I felt like reading a romantic comedy, I caved in. After reading it, I think I understand why so many people like it.

Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel makes science accessible, even when you understand very little about it (like me), and flows effortlessly, so much so that I finished it in two days. I just couldn’t put it down, which doesn’t happen to me very often.

Her writing is lively, fun and engaging for most of the story.
I found — especially compared to other books of the genre I’ve had the chance to read lately — that the secondary characters are well enough characterized, instead of just being stereotyped figures, present only very briefly and only when it’s convenient.
The protagonists, and future couple, belong to the category Grumpy+Sunshine, where character A is grumpy and reserved but has a soft spot for character B, their exact opposite. The two don’t have the most amazing chemistry I’ve ever read and I think both should’ve been a bit more fleshed out; on the whole, though, they work well together and you can feel the attraction and sincere affection blossoming during their fake-dating period.

The writer’s biggest merit probably resides in her ability to successfully include many romantic comedy tropes and cliches in the story without making them insufferably cringey, she even laughs at them a bit through her characters.
In the second half of the book, this aspect has not always worked as well as in the first, dragging the story a bit too much and causing some frustration, especially towards the female lead.

One more flaw, which I acknowledge is probably a matter of personal tastes, is the sex scene: as much as I thought it more realistic in some respects than other scenes of the kind read in the past, I found it too explicit, too detailed and unnecessarily long. I don’t desdain scenes that go beyond the “fade to black”, but in this case the author went a bit too far.

Despite some imperfections, Ali Hazelwood has successfully given life to her first novel.

⭐4/5

Be still my #Reylotrash heart. 💕

Okay, so, if you didn't already know this, The Love Hypothesis started its life as Reylo (Rey + Kylo Ren, Star Wars) fanfiction. Do you need to know anything about Star Wars to fully appreciate this book? No. Is it SUPER EXTRA LEVELS OF AWESOME if you do? Very much yes.

I'm not even sure where to start with my love of this book. It's got tropes on tropes on tropes - a little mistaken identities, a little enemies to lovers (or at least slight animosity to lovers?), a heaping dollop of fake relationship, mutual pining... I just can't. It's too good, can I just read it again please? I finished reading a physical copy of this book and then immediately went and bought the audiobook version, because I knew it would be a multiple re-reads type of book.

The chemistry between Olive and Adam is explosive. Their banter is great, and also I kept picturing Adam Driver as Adam and, well, DROOL. In addition to being really funny and steamy and comfy, it also touches on some real issues with being a woman in STEM.

I am just STUNNED that this is Ali Hazelwood's debut novel. You'd better believe I'll be autobuying whatever she releases next.

While reading this book I laughed out loud, cried, started yelling at loved ones about how good it was, messaged a friend because I needed someone to talk to about it, gave it to my sister and made her promise not to give it back until I finished my work for the day, and finished it....all in one day.

I HAVE THE BIGGEST BOOK HANGOVER. I know this book is getting a lot of hype but it's so well deserved. It's so good. It's so smart. It's so steamy. Its. So. Good.

I know I've said it before but I am incredibly excited about the diversity we are seeing in the romance genre recently. Having this book set in academia and learning about the struggles women in STEM face was enlightening!

This book deserves all of the hype and more.

Thank you to Berkley & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In order to convince her friend that she has gotten over a boy she was seeing, Olive kisses the first man she sees. Only this man just so happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, who is known to be a total ass. Surprisingly, he goes with it and they pretend to date. ❤️🧪🥽

I absolutely loved this book! It was very cute. Lots of laughs, but also way more than just a love story. It is easy to see why there is so much hype with this book, and it is very well deserved. This book was easily one of my favorites of the year. I cannot recommend this book enough. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Such a fun book – I didn't realize this was Star War fanfiction, but I appreciate how much it leans into all that. The banter was great, the side characters were lovely, and I am looking forward to whatever Ali Hazelwood comes out with next.

The Love Hypothesis
By Ali Hazelwood

This was a witty and smart romance read I really enjoyed. It was funny, sexy, and I just enjoyed reading about all the characters. Through a series of miscommunications, Olive Smith the grad student and Adam Carleson, the professor agree to fake date. I found the writing refreshing, super fun, and very satisfying. I love the STEM representation in this book which was an added plus for me.