I had been seeing a lot of great reviews of this, so I went in with high expectations and it definitely did not disappoint. All of the conflict made sense with the characters' personalities, as well as what happens in academia, particularly male dominated fields. I can't wait to see what else Ali Hazelwood writes!

Rom com is full of tropes, like the fake dating relationship, normally one of my least favorite but it works here. The tension is fantastic. Sometimes the details about the lab work are...a stretch to say the least, but fortunately that's not what the story is about. You'll be rooting for this couple the whole way through!

4.5 Stars - Top Pick

Olive is committed to trying to convince her friend that romance is an illusion. Her entire life she has been by herself. She is an orphan who buried herself in her books. Now as a biologist, she focuses on her research projects.

Olive recently breaks up with her boyfriend and her friend thinks she is still hung up over him. She just doesn’t buy into the whole love thing. Being the brainy scientist that she is, she has to prove everyone wrong so she kisses Adam in the hallway in front of everyone.

Adam is shocked but he goes along with it. He will pretend to have something going on with Olive. He needs funding for his own research and this seems beneficial to him. The only hiccup is that neither party expects to really like each other.

You ever just decide to pick up a book on a whim to find out it is a real gem? Well, that is what happed with The Love Hypothesis. I fell for the nerdy romance hard. However, there is just one thing that took away from the story…the repetitive misunderstandings. Yes, it did provide for angst but too many can become boring.

Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. The chemistry between Adam and Olive is really off the charts. The whole nerdy talk which didn’t deter me and sexual tension kept me interested all throughout the story. The sex scenes were smoking hot.

The secondary characters added a buffer for when Olive and Adam started to bicker too much. Olive shows her growth as she stood up for herself. Being a woman in the science field is not an easy task. Adam finally let his walls down and he is not such a jerk face. He is the perfect man for Olive.

The humor, writing style and fast pace of the story all makes for the perfect rom-com. I can’t wait to read more by Ms. Hazelwood.

~ Samantha

Contemporary romance at its finest! Olive was such a lovable, relatable main character and the dynamic of grumpy and sunshine was spot on! I loved every moment of this -at times adorable, at times sexy- rom com!

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS was an utter delight! A fresh, fun, and heartwarming take on the fake dating trope. Olive’s hijinks were hilarious, and her self-deprecation and anxiety was so relatable. Plus the sparks with Adam were A+! I couldn’t put this one down!

Must buy book alert!! I'm jumping on the bandwagon, and shouting my love for The Love Hypothesis Ali Hazelwood from the rooftops!! I have been recommending this book to anyone and everyone who will listen. Just this Saturday at my library a coworker and a patron had to listen to me gush on and on about how good this book was. And how they needed to read it right now!! Thank you Berkley Romance for the advance copy of this book.

If you are a fan of smart romance, with women in STEM, fake dating, and a grumpy/sunshine slow burn, then this book is FOR YOU! I absolutely fell in love with Adam and Olive. Grumpy heros are totally my catnip. Especially when they are misunderstood and go to bat for their heroine. Swoon. Their chemistry together was perfect, and I loved the yearning in this book. Go and grab this one ASAP.

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

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.

“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.”

Summary
Third year PhD student Olive makes the most daring move of her life and kisses the first stranger she sees in the dark biology hallway late at night to convince her best friend that she was indeed on a date. Unbeknownst to her, the random man she kisses is none other than Dr. Adam Carlson, the young hotshot (and intimidating as hell) professor of the biology department. What takes Olive by surprise is that he continues to keep up the fake dating charade for reasons of his own.

Review
If you need me, I will be in a corner crying about how much I loved this book. It was a perfect mixture of fluff and spice and I have thought about it every day since I finished it. It was the nerdy academia rom com of my DREAMS.

Olive is sometimes unsure of herself, but she believes in her work. Adam is a grumpy, intimidating professor, and yet Olive seems to get through his grumpy exterior. I loved seeing these two characters navigate their "fake" relationship as it becomes more and more obvious that the feelings are turning into something real. Olive is also demisexual, which is not something that I have encountered before in this genre, and I loved the discussions around how she experiences attraction, and how it played into this love story. Adam is perfectly grumpy with a soft exterior and I loved his character.

This book also deals a lot with what it is like to be a woman in academia, and I thought this discussion was so, so important. As a woman in STEM who studied at a well known and rigorous university, I really related to some of Olive's experiences. Unfortunately, there is still so much misogyny present, and being a woman in STEM comes with a challenging set of experiences. I feel like this book wove that theme into its plot and really highlighted that this is a common experience that still happens quite a lot.

The side characters added a lot of fun to the story! Ahn was so bubbly and bright and also supported Olive in the best way possible. I loved seeing their love for one another. Malcom and Olive also have a precious relationship. I just loved this whole cast of characters!

This is a book that will be sticking with me for a long time, and I suspect I will be coming back for a re-read at some point in the near future because I can't get enough 🤍

I was interested in this book because it’s a romance and because I heard it was inspired by Kylo Ren; from Star Wars. Now that I’ve read it, I cannot see how it’s inspired by Kylo Ren.

First the only thing I enjoyed was Adam Carlsen, he’s a sweetheart despite always being referred to as being an “asshole”; something we never actually see. In my opinion Adam was the best part of this entire book, he’s a gentleman and always looking out for Olive; bending over backwards for all her needs. An asshole wouldn’t do that! Plus he’s a nerd and very awkward, which I love. Give me all the nerdy awkward amazing main male characters!!

Now on to Olive and the plot of this book. Olive is a third-year Ph.D candidate at Stanford, she is supposed to be incredibly smart yet has absolutely no common sense or self awareness. She constantly lies, but we are suppose to be okay with it because she only does it to protect the feelings of those she loves. HUGE RED FLAG, it doesn’t matter why she’s doing it the truth is that she is constantly lying! That’s where this story starts with Olive putting herself in a weird situation because she’s lying to her best friend about dating someone. To prove to her friend that she was in fact on a date, which she wasn’t, she grabs the first man she sees and kisses him; this man turns out to be Adam. Even though this is a classic “meet cute” in romance novels and I’ve enjoyed it in the past, I didn’t like it in this story because Adam points out that Olive assaulted him by just grabbing him and kissing him without his consent. All true and gave me a weird vibe because it’s pointed out and then dismissed. Later on in the book this “assault” is used as an inside joke when they constantly tease about filling a sexual assault form now that they are “fake dating”. So none of that sat well with me and made me cringe. Others might not see it that way, but I did.

The other thing I believe merits mentioning is that there is definitely an imbalance of power between Adam and Olive. He’s a professor who’s older and she’s a student that’s almost a whole decade younger and is broke. He’s constantly having to take care of her to provide for her and keep her fed because she clearly can’t keep herself well fed on her broke student ‘salary’. That power imbalance didn’t really bother me or drive me away from the book, but I know it can be an issue for some readers.

Lastly I’ve seen this book described as “smutty” and/or “spicy”, but there is really only one sex scene. However that one scene is very descriptive and goes into great detail, so that scene was spicy and well done in my opinion.

I was very excited for this book and was disappointed that I didn’t end up loving it. I enjoyed it enough overall that I would still recommend it to others because they might still love it, but I gave it 3/5 stars. I am still interested to check out any other books this author writes, but I don’t think I would ever re-read this specific book.

Ali Hazelwood is a bright new voice in the literary world.

The Love Hypothesis is completely charming and delightfully endearing!

I’m not usually a fan of the “fake relationship” trope but I was so taken with the characters that I quickly devoured the story! Olive is so relatable. She’s a smart cookie but she’s had a lot of loss in her life and it’s understandably hard for her to open herself up to trusting, to loving someone. I admired her greatly. Olive is brilliant, dedicated, protective, loyal, and wants her friends to be happy. How can you not get behind this girl!

The characters are meticulously lovingly and intricately crafted and a vital part of the story. The dialogue is witty, funny and engaging. The storyline is equally brilliant. I wished the book never ended! I laughed, I loved and I may have teared up a bit in a few places. It's one of my favorite books this year.

I absolutely LOVED the story! The Love Hypothesis is not just a romance, it’s a story about empowerment, and believing you deserve happiness. It’s about having the courage to take chances and to make your dreams a reality through hard work and discipline. And it’s definitely a story about love.

I highly recommend The Love Hypothesis to all adult readers. I don't want to spill any details but you definitely need to be at least 18 to ride this ride 😉

I’m very excited to find out what Ms. Hazelwood has in store for us next!

Thank you so much to Penguin for giving me this ARC!!

Went into this book blind, just saw the word love and was like yup, click.
After TikTok blew it up, I honestly wanted to stay away from it because I don't want to get my hopes crushed. But I'm so glad I didn't.

The book was amazing even though the long chapters did kill me slowly. The banter between the pair was *chefs kiss* and so nerdy, I loved it!

The smuttt oh my God the smutt, wow, I'll just say two words: chapter 16.

Crazy absolutely crazy

Can't wait to see whats next for Ali Hazelwood!

I devoured this. It was so delightful, sexy, and smart. I loved the chemistry between Olive and Adam. Will be recommending and re-reading.

This is my new favorite romantic comedy. There was quite a bit more detail. to the LGBTQ relationship between side characters in the story than I would have preferred to read, because I prefer to read man-woman romance. However, I did love the story of main characters Olive and Adam, with his grumpy demeanor and her fun-loving, self-deprecating ways. I loved the story line and the pacing. Well done and I can't wait to read another by this author.

Ok so when I heard about this book, it was after everyone had read it and raved about it. So naturally I was intrigued. Everyone started recommending it left and right. So when I saw that Libro FM had it available for librarians, I HAD to get my hands on it.

Olive is trying to make sure her best friend is comfortable all while making herself uncomfortable. So she kisses the first man she sees. This turns out to be the professor that everyone can't stand, Adam Carlsen. She's floored when he says he'll keep the secret and not out her to Anh. But suddenly, things start to feel different. She's suddenly proving the influence of gravity where she's falling for him. Is he following her lead? Or is she putting herself out there to get hurt?

Ok, after hearing so much of this, I was a little put off. I wasn't sure about the professor/student troupe. I wasn't a fan by the way it sounded. But I'm glad I gave it a shot. (I hate that saying lol So cliche. But it's true) This book was everything. I liked the romance, I liked the smart talk banter, and believe it or not, I liked the instant way they just "fit" together. Normally I'm the first to scream about insta-love, but I think for the way it was written it was great.

The romance itself was great. I liked seeing the two of them together. I heard it was originally written as fanfic, but the fandom that it was written for I've never watched, but it didn't take anything away from the story. Well honestly I wouldn't know if it did lol But I don't think it did. I think it was an extra layer of cuteness for those that have tho.

If you've seen this on TikTok as a spicy book, please be advised this is only a book with some spice in it lol It had its moment that made me blush. But it fit. Anything else wouldn't have felt natural with a couple like this. Don't get me wrong, the spicy events happened a couple of times, but they only "showed it" the one time. It wasn't completely clean, but if you're looking for a book that has minimal spicy times and more romance, this is the one for you.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars like everyone else was the miscommunication troupe. I'm not a fan, and this one was no different. Everything could have been fixed with them talking to each other. I hate that in real life, so seeing it in books makes me angry too. But with everything else being so good, this stuck out like a sore thumb to me. It was so glaringly obvious that all they needed to do was talk so that they could be together, so they purposely didn't lol Maybe it's just me being picky since I hate this troupe, but ehh, I still loved it.

This was a solid read for me. Full of troupes and fanfiction I have no idea about and all, I really enjoyed it. Hoping to see more from Ali Hazelwood soon.

I adored these characters. There was so much hype for The Love Hypothesis that I thought, for sure it can’t measure up. But strike me sideways, it was addictive and compulsively readable. Finished it in a couple days and really enjoyed it.

Employs the tropes we love but refreshes and surprises with STEM field settings and academia issues. Each of the MCs is given plenty of attention, exploring their issues and weaknesses as well as their strengths. As it’s from Olive’s POV, it’s more her journey, but Adam’s journey becomes intrinsic to her own. It’s wonderfully balanced.

The banter and antagonism that’s turns to friendship and romance is taken in believable steps. It never feels pressured or obscene. In fact the romantic closeness takes a long while to arrive, but full disclosure, they arrive in full steam. It’s a natural progression and delightfully cute as well as hot.

The attention given to their minds and work is such an important part of the story. I love that these smart characters weren’t given lip service and then given only romantic focus. The plot was excellent.

And Olive is great. She smart and sassy but also nervous and undervaluing herself in a believable way. My only gripe was her extreme leaps of logic involving feelings. There was a point where it was just one naive moment too far.

Overall though I freaking loved it and definitely recommend.

*I received a free copy from the publisher via netgalley.

This is such a cute and comforting book to read! I had such a fun time reading this lighthearted story and seeing how both characters grew throughout the book. I have heard so much hype surrounding this read and the story definitely lives up to it! I know it is a sort of fanfiction, but the story held it's own voice. This allowed me to follow along with the characters as their relationship grew.

The Love Hypothesis was a joy to read! Ali Hazelwood has absolutely nailed the essence of higher education. This is a spicy, funny love story that starts with a case of mistaken identity that ends up as so much more. Ali Hazelwood portrays the struggles of women in higher ed in a very realistic way.

What an utterly charming book! I really enjoyed this one and devoured it in a day. So well-written and with characters that feel REAL. And an absolute belter of a HEA! YES!

The Love Hypothesis may have just made me a rom-com convert. These characters are so vibrant and relatable they practically leap from the page and pull you into their story. Olive, our protagonist is awkward and dorky and so painfully relatable while Adam, the broody love interest had me kicking my feet under the covers. Their dynamic is so wonderful, not to mention the fun well fleshed-out setting and wonderful cast side characters make this story an all-around great time from start to finish. This is the first fake-dating book that I real-love and I cannot recommend this book enough!

3 stars - I liked it.

Well this was cute! Olive doesn’t believe in love nor has she ever really felt attraction for anyone. So when she needs to convince her best friend Anha that she is dating, she kisses the first man she sees. Unfortunately, that happened to be the grumpy and difficult professor Adam Carlsen.

Olive was a great character. She was smart, sassy, and dedicated to her career. I enjoyed her dedication to science and her random references to it during random conversations. I didn’t always understand it but it was fun. I loved how she slowly came to trust Adam and slowly opened up to him, especially about her sexuality.

Adam started out as a grumpy and stern hero. We don’t get a lot of him in the beginning but once they actually start talking more of his personality finally comes through. He had a surprisingly dry sarcastic humor that I enjoyed. Yes he was a stern taskmaster of a professor but he had a good reason for it. I do wish we had gotten his POV some during this book though because I really wanted to know what he was thinking at times, especially towards the end when feelings were being admitted.

Overall, this was a great STEM and fake relationship romance. This is one of my favorite tropes and I really enjoyed this couple's story. I look forward to reading more books from this author now.

Trigger Warnings: sexual harassment by another professor

*3.5🌟
This was fun! I think my expectations were just a bit too high? Even though I could relate to the main character some of the time, she was also very frustrating to read about at other times 🙈 I did really like the love interest and their relationship, but it isn't a new favourite.