omg this BOOOOOOOK. loved it so much. Read it in one night. Ali Hazelwood is a genius, both technically and emotionally. This is a big thumbs up.

Thx to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion,

First off, I’d like to thank Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and Ali Hazelwood for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

The Love Hypothesis follows Olive Smith, a Ph. D candidate, and Professor Adam Carlsen, who is known around campus for his grumpiness and bad attitude. In order to ensure that Olive’s friend Anh will give dating her ex, Jeremy, a chance, she chooses to pretend that she has a new love interest. To accomplish this she kisses the first man she sees: none other than Adam Carlsen himself.

They craft the idea of forming a “fake relationship” together to benefit them both and all is well, until she slowly begins falling for him…

This book is one of my FAVORITE novels of the year and I just bought a physical copy for myself (yes, it’s that good) even though I already have the e-book haha! The storyline, characters, and writing are all amazing and it’s hard to believe that it’s Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel. I automatically liked Olive and it was great reading about a woman in STEM! She was quirky, yet relatable and self-aware, and also educated and determined. I also fell for Adam very quickly! I loved his grumpiness and soft spot for Olive. He’s become one of my favorite characters and especially one of my favorite romantic leads. Their relationship is one of my favorites and the witty banter between them always made me smile! :)

As you can probably tell, this book includes a lot of tropes, but I loved it. Olive is a fan of romcoms as well and jokes about the situation that they’re in a lot, which makes it seem natural instead of forced. I love books set in an academic setting as well and this one was perfect! I’m not into STEM myself, but it was refreshing seeing what it’s like and how truly stressful, yet rewarding, it can be. One other thing that I really enjoyed was the pacing. In my opinion lots of romance novels can mess up the pacing very easily and make relationships seem unrealistic, but it was done extremely well in this one.

Overall, this novel was impressive and super fun. It was easy to read and has definitely made my list of favorite books. I HIGHLY recommend it and can’t wait to see what is next from Hazelwood!

In a frantic attempt to convince her friends that she was okay with their budding relationship, she kissed a passerby. That particular person was none other than the university's most hated. In a wonderful new development of the "fake relationship" trope, we get to go down the harrowing road of academia and the pressures involved with it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and PRH International for the free ARC for 'The Love Hypothesis'

My ratings:
5/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️

Olive is a biology Ph.D. student in Standford. She is focused on one thing & one thing only which is, her research on early detection of pancreatic cancer. She has no time for anything else, including dating so when she has to convince her best friend that she is dating someone, she kisses the first guy she sees, who happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen. A hot shot young, broody professor who has a reputation for being an asshole. After Olive reveals why, Adam surprisingly agrees to fake date Olive to help her with her friend and also achieve some of his own goals. Their fake dating scheme slowly develops into something else and AKSDKSLSKLD the rest is history

This was an AMAZING book to read! Easily one of my favourites for this year. The science nerd in me is screaming while reading this book 😂 A small part of me thinks I am just biased that it revolves around a main character who is in STEM but yk what, idc 💅 Love the fact that the author dives into the world of academia which I have not read that much of from this genre which I NEED MORE OF PLS

The two main leads had amazing chemistry, their banter was just *chefs kiss and I was absolutely all in for it. The fact that both of them are complete opposites made me squeal so hard cause HE HE HE THEIR INTERACTION made my little heart legit wanna explode. The ability this book has to make my heart swoon was crazayyy, like oof!

The amount of times i giggled and gasped in this book was too much for me to count but gosh ya'll better pick this up! I could not stop grinning while reading this cause it was just so cute and hilarious!

Love how the book explores many issues such as problems and obstacles women have to face in the field of science, not only that, academia in general, struck me hard there cause it made me cry lmao (me in my feels).

✨ Fake Dating
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Strong, solid and supportive friendships
✨ Women in STEM, academia setting
✨'I hate everyone but you'/'If you touch her, I'll kill you' trope GOSH
✨ Adult Contemporary Romance, 18+
✨ Sunshine x Grumpy/Teacher x Student w/o the gross power dynamic

I don’t read a lot of rom-coms and I promised myself that I would read more this year! I went into The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood totally blind. I loved the cover and knew I had to read it and I thoroughly enjoyed it! What a great debut novel!!

I absolutely loved everything about these geeky characters. The fake relationship trope between two STEM nerds was a new one for me and it was perfection! The fun and witty banter between Adam, the grumpy professor and Olive, the sweet and smart student created a nice slow buildup between the two until the sparks started to fly!

I now want to be best friends with Olive and have my own fake coffee date with a handsome professor at Starbucks every Wednesday and discuss all things pumpkin spice!! I guess you’ll have to read it to see what I’m talking about. I highly recommend this fun, quirky, relatable, and over-to-quick rom-com!!

I got three hours of sleep before I had to wake up and Do Science™ with preteens because of this book. I curled up in the fetal position and told my dog to walk and feed herself because I was BUSY OK with this book. I was distraught this book had to come to an end. Hello to my new favorite romance.

The science and statistics jokes were the first thing to delight me. To make things even more perfect, the grad school humor is dark, the only flavor allowed for such a gruesome form of existence. It brought to mind my not-so-glory days in a way I could laugh at-- that special form of imposter syndrome so entwined with being a female scientist in grad school, the negative dollars flowing into your bank account, the complete lack of self-worth and opportunity for setting boundaries that would protect your fraying mental health. But what cracked my heart open and put it back together again is two simple sentences describing Olive as demi-sexual. Guys, I have NEVER read a romance centering that experience before, and it healed a small part of something in me to see it on the page.

The romance is moving and heartfelt. The banter is popping without losing a touch of awkward reality. The tension is sizzling and slowburn, perfect for a girl who needs a foundation of trust first. The self-aware rom-com jokes are corny and amazing. The grand gestures are heart-melting, reality-banishing badassery. The whole thing is a freaking warm hug.

And then there's Olive. Olive is a human train wreck and I LOVE HER. One innocuous sentence can set her brain off imagining multiple scenarios, likely dire, all increasingly dramatic. It's a single POV, so we have the pleasure of getting to know her in all her socially offbeat majesty. We learn her darkest fears (not being good enough, losing everyone she cares for), her greatest triumphs and passions (pancreatic cancer research, PSLs, and mocking Adam), and we have the privilege of witnessing the greatest loves in her life (both her friendships and her romance).

I did my best, but I don't actually have the words to do this one justice. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

The Love Hypothesis was witty, adorable, fun, and smart, plus it gave me major PSL cravings!

Olive is a total sunshine heroine, and Adam is the brooding, grumpy hero. Olive has the best intentions in mind when she randomly grabs Adam in the hallway and kisses him, but then suddenly she finds herself fake dating the grad school’s biggest jerk of a professor.

I can’t believe this fantastic novel is a debut! I wasn’t sure about the academia setting going into this, but trust me, it worked! The women in STEM aspect added such a unique element to a rom-com, and I loved all the nerdy science talk and the adorably geeky characters!

There were so many fun rom-com references sprinkled throughout this book! It made me laugh out loud, swoon, cringe, blush - just all the feels! I couldn’t get enough of Olive and Adam’s witty banter, and their awkwardness was just so endearing. Olive was quirky and insecure yet intelligent, strong, and independent. Adam was driven and confident but guarded, yet he had a heart of gold beneath his tough exterior. Their fake coffee date Wednesdays at Starbucks were the best! I loved their heated debates about pumpkin spice!!

I really want to gush about certain side characters, but it’s so hard to do that without giving spoilers, so I will only say that Malcolm was my favorite! I won’t hold his utter disdain for pumpkin spice against him! There was only one side character whom I despised, but the author handled a very sensitive topic extremely well. I appreciate it when characters and situations are presented in a realistic and relatable way. I already miss these charming, dorky, funny, and sweet characters, and I hope we’ll see more from this author in the future!

Thank you so much Berkley Publishing and Berkley Romance for gifting me with an eARC through NetGalley!

I've talked on the podcast a few times about the number of books featuring grad students in the sciences, well here is one more and it is a delightful fake relationship trope between a grad student and a professor (but at Stanford he's not her direct advisor so it's fine.) I'm not sure if it was deliberate but I pictured a young Snape as the professor.

And then Erin in Instagram said,

"Apparently this book is re-packaged Rey/Ben Solo fan fiction and the dude is Adam Driver…so Young Snape isn’t too far off IMO"

I had no idea but it does really work now that I know. It didn't feel shoehorned or suffer from the awkwardness of similar attempts in my opinion, so kudos to the author.

And I know this isn't the intent of #scienceseptember but it might be as close as I get this year.

The cute cover, STEM nerds, and fake relationship trope with a twist had me grabbing The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. I am glad that I did because I loved this adorkable romance.

I slipped into this story easily and connected with Olive Smith, a third year Ph.D. candidate. Her first meet with Professor Adam Carlsen was adorkable and set the tone for the rest of the story.

Olive is a sweetheart and her friends are her world, so when her friend Anh is positively smitten with Olive’s ex but wants to honor the girl code no matter how much Olive protests she doesn’t care. Olive does what any sane, socially awkward science gal would do…. she kisses Professor Carlsen in the hall in front of Anh. I was grinning from ear to ear at Olive’s predicament and Adam’s equally awkward response and the reason will make you swoon.

Adam and Olive are both brilliant scientist and life in the lab is where they feel most at home, so seeing them commit to this fake relationship and tagging along for social interaction was delightful.

From STEM nerds to career goals, I was pulled into the Olive’s world and the science section of Stanford. Ali Hazelwood delivered just what I was hoping for and more. The romance was wonderful, with a slow buildup and the awkwardness of realizing you want more than a fake relationship.

The story had depth and touched on difficult topics from fast acting cancers to sexual harassment. We had a diverse group of characters with LGBTQ and BIPOC. The characters felt authentic and weren’t cliche regarding their diversity. Hazelwood developed her secondary characters and made them memorable.

I loved the subtle romance from their talks at the coffee shop to tentative kisses. Neither Olive nor Adam is socially confident, but I loved how Adam supported Olive in her pursuits, even if it meant he could lose her. We get some heat between the sheet. It was beautifully done but the morning after was uncomfortable since communication isn’t their strong suit. Why can’t they just confess their feelings? Thankfully, a little character growth and help from friends and a power-play kept the drama low and grounded.

I cannot wait to see what Ali Hazelwood brings us next. The Love Hypothesis is the feel good, curl your toes, adorkable romance you need to read this fall.

Asgfgfasdgfadg! This debut by Ali Hazelwood is the rom-com I didn't know I needed! A book hasn't made me laugh this hard in awhile. You know the kind, the one that hurts your stomach and should have resulted in shredded abs like Adam's. This made me laugh, smile, cry, swoon... all the feels. It is so hard to put into words, but Ali delivers and then some! It is absolutely geeky, fun, swoon worthy and unputdownable!

Debut author Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis is genuinely one of my fave books for the year! I legit smiled every time I thought about it during the week.

Shy, introverted, slightly socially awkward and absolutely brilliant Olive accidentally ropes in grumpy professor, Adam (*coughdriver*) into a fake relationship when she panics and pretends to have a boyfriend. Adam agrees to the scheme for his own reasons and hijinks ensue.

The banter in this book between Olive and Adam was just delightful, especially when he teases her (with the most deadpan expressions) about their meet-cute. I also adored how Olive breaks down his stoic walls with her quiet sass and care for him. I love hates-everyone-but-her and this was *chef’s kiss*.

Their fake relationship quickly turns into a genuine friendship, but holy moly, the tender face holding made me feel like shaking those adorable oblivious fools. (I joke, the pining was DELICIOUS!)

The cutthroat world of academia was also such a great setting and brought a lot of tension into the story. This was particularly the case for Olive as a young woman in STEM. The MCs’ passion for their work really shone and the nerdy jokes and dialogue really flew.

As icing on the cake, I believe this book started as a Reylo fanfic, AND I LOVE IT. I’m going to be looking up the author’s fanfic now to tide me over until her next book!

I am so impressed by this debut! This book was just so lovely, tender and slyly snarky. The slow burn also paid off in spades and I was thoroughly satisfied with this read. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the author!

Thank you to the publishers for the arc.

Release: 14 September


#alihazelwood #thelovehypothesis #reylo #contemporaryromance #bookmages

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood is quite possibly the sweetest, most adorable romance novel I’ve ever read. It checked so many boxes for me (a STEM heroine, the fake dating trope, hilarious banter, and so much more) and it just had me grinning from ear to ear pretty much the entire time I was reading.

The story follows Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate at Stanford. Olive has just learned that her best friend, Anh, is attracted to Jeremy, a guy Olive used to date. Anh and this guy have major chemistry but Anh doesn’t want to hurt Olive by dating him. Olive thinks that’s sweet and is grateful to have such a loyal friend but she also knows that Anh and Jeremy would actually be perfect together. Olive decides to also be a great friend and let Anh think she is head over heels in love with a new guy so that Anh will go for it with Jeremy. The next time she sees Anh, Olive panics, grabs the first guy she sees and plants a kiss on him. There’s just one problem – the guy she kisses is none other than Adam Carlsen, a rock star of a professor who also happens to have a reputation for being an ass and making his students cry. Not exactly who Olive had in mind, to say the least, but to her utter shock, once she explains to Adam why she did what she did, he agrees to fake-date her so that Anh and Jeremy can get together.

I honestly can’t even get over how much I adored both Olive and Adam. As we’ve established, Olive is such a lovely friend who would clearly do anything to help a friend find happiness. I also just found her overall personality delightful. She’s smart, determined, resilient, and she’s also hilarious. Once she gets comfortable fake dating Adam, he repeatedly calls her a pain in his rear because she’s always gently mocking and teasing him about his awful reputation and of course tormenting him with her love of all things pumpkin spice, lol. After hanging out with him just a few times, Olive has picked up on the fact that Adam is anything but an ass. He’s actually quite sweet and surprisingly soft, and she can really open up to him in ways she never has with anyone else. I loved watching the two of them interact because they really did bring out the best in each other and I loved the slight tension as they each began to realize that their feelings for each other weren’t fake at all.

Aside from the romance, the author also tackles some more serious topics, such as the challenges women face in academia, particularly in STEM. She explores sexism, bias, and what happens when a professor grossly abuses his power. The romance definitely takes center stage and makes up the bulk of the story, but I liked having these “meatier” topics to add some depth to the overall story.

I could go on and on about how much I adored the book. If you’re looking for a charming and heartwarming romance that features lovable characters, witty banter, and fake dating, be sure to check out The Love Hypothesis. It’s an absolute gem of a book that I will be recommending to every romance reader I know.

I am not much into rom-coms and the only reason I read this book is because of my friend, you know who you are 😂. But I did enjoy reading this book. I'm reading a rom-com after many years and it was kind of brain numbing and cozy to read. The story was pretty simple and predictable. The trope was fake dating. But there was something about the characters and the way it was written that appealed to the nerd in me.

Each chapter started off with a hypothesis which was hilarious. This book made me giggle a lot. The whole book was set in academia and it kind of made it more romantic in a way. The story was about Olive who is a 3rd year P.hd student who recently broke up with Jeremy, a fellow student. Her best friend Anh likes Jeremy but she refuses to date Jeremy because of girl code. So Olive makes up a fake date and ends up randomly kissing someone. That someone turned out to be a hot shot professor in campus, Dr. Adam Carlsen.

Weirdly, he agrees to go on this charade albeit for also other selfish reasons. The rest you can already predict. They start liking each other, lot of tragic stuff happens and they finally confess and it was all very steamy. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who reads rom- com.

Olive Smith is a smart, funny PHD candidate. On a whim one night, she kisses unapproachable, broody Professor Adam Carlsen. They end up working out the terms for a mutually beneficial fake relationship. But is it really fake after all?

Did I receive this as an e-ARC AND also buy it?? Yes, yes I did! And I have no regrets because it's that good! This was sooo cute, and to be honest I just want to read it again immediately. The characters, the banter, the tropes... absolutely perfect. And the tension and chemistry between Adam and Olive was spectacular and I loved them both immediately. Are you a fan of fake dating? Women in STEM? Amazing dialogue? Strong opinions on pumpkin spice? Then read this gem! This book made me laugh, smiled and "aww" more than any other book has. And that hotel seen 🔥 This is my top rom-com of the year, and might just end up being one of my top favorites overall. This author has won me over and I will buy anything else she writes!

"Olive,” Dr. Aslan interrupted her with a stern tone. “What do I always tell you?” “Um . . . ‘Don’t misplace the multichannel pipette’?” “The other thing.” She sighed. “‘Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.’”

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is due for publication September 14th and I definitely recommend it!

(This review will be posted on my Instagram @that.bookmom and Amazon on publication day)

This was such a cute read with some of my favorite things in a romance: fake relationship, forced proximity, humor, and great characters including a grumpy hero. I really loved Olive and Adam! Adam had a reputation as a demanding professor but Olive seemed to bring out the best in him. He really showed a different side of himself with her. Olive was alone in the world and had to overcome a lot of obstacles to make it in STEM academia.

This was one of the best fake relationship books I've read. I especially enjoyed the banter. If you're in the mood for a fun rom-com with some steam, give this one a try. Thank you to Berkeley for an e-copy of this book.

So there is a 5⭐️ book. Then there is a 5⭐️ book that I want to SCREAM TYPE ABOUT!!!! This book is the perfect example of why I truly love contemporary romance - finding fun twists on classic trope formulas. It makes me excited for the genre. And guys - this is Hazelwood’s debut!!

I have always felt that my favorite books are hardest to review and this book is an INSTANT FAVE! So, I’ll give you my random thoughts as I read this book:
🧫Workplace, grumpy sunshine, AND fake dating?!? What a literal gift!
🔬A slowest of slow burns that was worth every single second of the wait.
🥼Smart, LOL witty banter!
🧪The chemistry between Adam and Olive was incredible - jumping off the page from the beginning!
♥️You will laugh, cry, and swoon over this romcom - I honestly cannot recommend it enough!!

By now you have likely seen the hype surrounding The Love Hypothesis and I am here to say that every little bit of hype is 100% deserved. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK.
Olive and Adam. Olive needs someone to fake date so she can convince her best friend she is okay with her dating her kinda-ex. Adam, a super hot (but major asshole) professor, just so happens to be in Olive’s path when she goes looking for someone to kiss. The two enter into a fake-dating relationship, but you guessed it, it ends up being more than either of them bargained for.

Y’all. The slowburn is immaculate. The characters? Swoon-worthy. The steam? Hot damn. If you have any hesitations about this book, scootch them right out of your mind and pick this up asap.

Okay, now that I got that out of my system…let’s get to the actual review portion. I know we are supposed to be in love with Adam, but I think I might also be massively in love with Olive. She is so funny and a great friend, she’s brilliant and dedicated to her research, with great passion and determination. Like, Adam is hot as heck and dreamy, with just the perfect amount of jerk to make me fall completely head over heels…but Olive really steals the show. Watching the relationship sloooowly develop between these two is the best kind of torture.

That ending!!! I was cheering so hard. If you have a couple hours to kill, I cannot recommend this book enough! It was one of my top reads in August and one of the best books I’ve read all year.

I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!! LIKE THE WHOLE BOOK WAS A VIBE, HONESTLY!!! BETWEEN THE SCIENCE THEME AND WE HAD THE FAKE-DATING AND ONE- BED TROPE!! WE ALSO HAVE GRUMPY/SUNSHINE WHICH IM OBSESSED WITH CURRENTLY. I JUST LOVE THE WHOLE PLOT AND THE PLOT TWIST IN THE END THAT I DIDN’T SEE COMING!! OLIVE’S CHARACTER IS SO STRONG AND SHE CARES FOR HER FRIENDS SO MUCH. AND ADAM OMG I LOVE HOW HE IS SO RUDE AND SHORT WITH EVERYONE BUT EVEN THO IT’S FAKE-DATING HE HAS THIS SOFT SPOT FOR OLIVE AND U CAN TELL SHE IS SPECIAL IS TO HIM.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!! THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR SENDING ME AN ARC.

I listened in to the author zoom chat with @lovearctually at the end of August and I picked this as my BOTM but just read it since I wanted to use it as my prompt for this month, book about science for #playbookers on fb.

Omg you guys! 😍🥰🤯😘💀👩‍🔬😘💋
I want to read it again!

In the chat Ali talked about how this started as a fanfic and evolved into this 20 chapter novel that she worked into this beautiful book. Though if you look at the cover and the name of the main character is Adam you see the Reylo love happening.

We start the book with a chance meeting an akward expired contact incident where our MC Olive ducks into a bathroom and meets a surly tall deep voiced blurr of a man that she assumes is a phD student that gives her great advice to convince her to keep going with her grad interviews. He's always in the back of her mind but she never knew who he was.

Fast forward a few years in and she is trying to get her friend to date the guy she likes but she had gone on a few dates with and her friend deemed him off limits. In her desperate haste to get her to think she's moved on she pretends she's dating and kisses the first guy she sees and it happens to be the Professor everyone is scared of.

Let the hilarity ensue as she explains her predicament ends up in a fake dating arrangement, gets into a research grant she wanted, catches feelings, gets to talk at a important conference, gets sexually harassed, wait what?

As I've discovered academics is a good old boy field and women have to work extra hard to be taken seriously.

Everyone needs a friend like Malcolm! Omg double date please! She had such a great friend group!

This book made me seriously swoon! That hotel one bed ok there were two beds but really! The banter and tally of title IX complaints were hilarious! I was offended by the hate on pumpkin spice though but agree it shouldn't be in everything just coffee and candles lol.

Thank you berkleyromance and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

"HYPOTHESIS: If I fall in love, things will invariably end poorly."

Okay I'm actually giving a romantic comedy 5 stars because OMG this is just SO good!! If this is Ali Hazelwood's debut novel, I cannot wait to see what she does next! Refreshing, inventive, sexy, smart, funny...I could go on and on. Olive and Adam are amazing!!

I never knew I needed a STEM romance in my life but hello, give me a romance set in the world of academia and I am sold. I also read that the characters Olive and Adam were loosely based on Kylo Ren and Rey from the Star Wars sequel trilogy and I can 100% see Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley as these characters. I also want to say how much I LOVE the chapter headings in this book. It's the little things for me!

"HYPOTHESIS: Adam Carlsen and I have absolutely nothing in common, and having coffee with him will be twice as painful as a root canal. Without anesthesia."

I have never been this excited to read a book with a fake dating trope. Usually they are just seem uninteresting to me and well, overdone. But here, the author make Olive and Adam's fake dating actually compelling with a slow-burn chemistry that kept me invested and believing in their connection.

"He stepped a little closer, and really, he was not gross. How someone this sweaty, someone who’d just pushed a truck still managed to smell good was a topic worthy of a Ph.D. dissertation, for sure. Earth’s finest scientists should have been hard at work on this."

This book has that very elusive "it factor" that just made it work on every every level for me. I love Olive and Adam, I loved the academic setting, I loved the slow-burn chemistry, and I loved the author's humor. You won't go wrong with this book! I'm obsessed!