A cute and heartwarming and charming 4⭐ contemporary I had no idea I needed! I now miss Adam and Olive and I need more Malcolm and Holden. No idea what made me pick this up, but I'm glad I did. It had such fun and cute interactions, dialogue was spot on and the subjects it depicts were beautifully written. I wish it was longer ❤

This book exploded across my Twitter feed recently and I instantly added it to my TBR and was delighted when I was approved for an ARC. The hype was was deserved! This book is so, so good!

The tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, pining, misunderstandings, adorable awkwardness. And it's funny, truly, laugh out loud funny. Basically this book was made for me and I will definitely be buying myself a physical copy when it comes out so that I can have it in my library. I also foresee rereading this one at some point, or at least parts of it. I will also be keeping my eyes on this author and check out anything else they come out with.

If you're looking for something entertaining, funny, and swoon-worthy with a kind of awkward/anxious heroine and a stoic but sweet hero, this book is for you.

The Love Hypothesis had absolutely raving reviews so it was a must-read for me. It was a BOTM choice for September too. I was swooning over this book and absolutely devoured it, the only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because it wasn’t an absolute top romance book for me this year.

The grump/sunshine fake dating trope has slowly grown to be one of my favorites, especially one with a slow burn and tons of sassy banter. This is a steamy professor/student dating story with so much more than just romance.

The Love Hypothesis took a deep dive into the world of stem and even touched on some of the more sensitive topics such as gender and cultural inequalities.

This book is swoon-worthy and if you need a huggable and steamy romance then definitely pick this one up.

If you want to read this one and get it from BOTM, you can use the link in my bio to get your first month for a discount.

I absolutely adored this book. I thought it was sweet and funny and the characters were so lovable. I was rooting for this couple from the very beginning and watching it play out was so fun. I thought the love scenes were extremely well written and the heartfelt moments were sincere. This book was nerdy and adorable and I loved very page.

I think this is my favorite book of the year! I loved Adam. I loved Olive. I loved the premise of the book. I loved how it discussed women in STEM and in the academic world. This had a Grumpy hero, a fake-dating, close proximity trope that I loved. I can't gush enough about this book because I loved everything about it. It has TWO incredibly cute meet cutes. I was smiling throughout this book. I am so surprised this was a debut because I thought the dialogue was perfect. The story flowed so well. I also loved the author's note at the end. Highly recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Olive just wanted her best friend Anh to be happy, and she knew her sort-of-ex would make Anh happy. In an effort to prove she was over him, Olive embarked on a fake relationship with resident superstar (and resident battleaxe), Adam. Little did she know that Adam was full of surprises, and the biggest surprise was her changing feelings for him which defied everything Olive thought she knew about love.

You know how sometimes your face hurts from smiling too much. Well, that was exactly what happened to me as I read The Love Hypothesis. I jumped on this book for the science angle, but found my experience surpassed my expectations. Sweet, charming, and tons of fun, it was a pleasure to get lost in this book.
I have an engineering degree, taught physics and chemistry, and wrote software, so seeing a STEM heroine in a book will always pique my interest. It was exciting being back in the lab, and there was just the right enough jargon to delight this science-geek.

But the heart of this story was the growing attraction between Adam and Olive. I have been adoring all the grump heroes that have come into my life lately, and Hazelwood introduced me to another phenomenal grump with Adam. He was respected for his scientific talent, but not exactly well-liked. As with most grumps, his beautiful heart was slowly revealed, and he transformed into a sweet cinnamon roll right before my eyes. Seriously, I learned some really lovely things about him that touched my heart. Never mind the way he was with Olive. He did and said things that simply made me melt.

I loved Olive too. She was neurotic and quirky, traits I seem to love, but it was her backstory that wowed me. To know what she lost and see how much she accomplished on her own impressed me. Learning about her past made me grateful that she had Anh and Malcom, her two besties, in her life. Found family makes me happy, and this trio was built on a solid base of love and affection. I thought they had a great dynamic, but was also filled with glee as their little family grew.

I came for the STEM heroine, but there was so much more to love here. This book charmed the pants off of me. I was pretty much grinning from beginning to end and in the end, I was left with that walking-on-sunshine feeling.

This was a good book. I really liked the banter between Adam and Olive. I also loved Malcolm and Holden. They were great side characters.

I found it sort of weird to read a single POV rom-com, I personally like to see the POVs of both love interests so I didn't love not being inside Adam's head too. Also, it felt like the conflict happened and then resolved itself way too quickly. The end of the book just flew by and it felt like there wasn't enough time to have it all sink in.

All in all, a funny (if a tad angsty) rom com. I liked the academics aspect of it, I don't think I've read a grad school rom-com before.

I'm generally hesitant about romance books that were originally written as fanfiction. There are so many assumptions made in fanfiction about a reader's familiarity with the characters, tropes, etc. that often don't translate well to a self-contained novel, and frankly, the most successful ones I've read seem to focus on sex and throw characterization to the wayside.

Needless to say, this book defied all expectation! The characters were fleshed out and grew as the book progressed. I understood *why* the characters were drawn to one another (a sad rarity in a lot of romance books, quite frankly) and what it is that they liked about each other. I liked that the Olive's (the protagonist) friends were characters who were present throughout her life and cared about her.

The book was also delightfully tongue-in-cheek, referencing memes and tropes in fanfiction, the Star Wars fandom, and academia, and while I did initially roll my eyes at some of the more overt references, towards the end they'd won me over and I found myself smiling whenever I recognized one (I heard Professor Carlsen has an eight-pack, that he's shredded...)

All in all this was a delightful read. It delighted me.

I don’t think there is a thing that I didn’t love about this book. I loved the awkwardness, the witty banter. The fake dating trope, the side characters, the STEM setting, Olive and Adam’s chemistry- yes, all of that and more. Cute book!

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”

If you’re not reading this book, what are you doing?

If you love the fake dating trope, women in stem, scenes like him carrying her bridal style, bending in front of her when she’s crying to ask “what’s wrong”, grump and sunshine, banter, nerd talk, slow-burn romance, this book is for you.

This book made me love the fake dating trope even more. I genuinely don’t have the words to explain how this book made me felt. I just know that I loved everything about it. I loved the way that each chapter had a “Hypothesis” and the epilogue was a “Result”, because it just felt so different from I typically read. The author’s writing makes it so easy to visual the settings of the book, feel the emotions the characters are going through so you feel more connected. Adam, I will be manifesting for someone like you. Holden, my favourite supporting character, I love your sarcastic remarks. I can’t wait to read more books by Ali, I just know she’s gonna deliver EVERY TIME! I’m going to be thinking about this book for a while.

Also, what is it with these books being disguised with the cute illustration covers but having so much spice! Not complaining though, I think we all love that.

And omg I loved seeing a Canadian character as a main like THANK YOU!

READ IT NOW PLEASE YOU WON’T REGRET IT!!!!!!!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC so I could find a new book to add to my favourites list.

I loved the story of Olive and Adam so much, I devoured the book in one sitting. I not only loved the story itself but also the side characters and the banter. Anh and Malcolm were funny and supportive, along with Holden. I also loved the science that was included how it played a role in the plot of the story and wasn’t just a “they are scientist, but that’s not important”. This is definitely a book that people need to pick up!

I love a good fake dating trope paired with grumpy/sunshine pair.

I loved that this book had the backdrop of science and the main character was a women in STEM. You don’t see enough of it.

I really liked seeing Olive and Adam’s relationship grow through the course of the book.

I enjoyed seeing Olive build her confidence and better understand her contributions to the field of pancreatic cancer research.

This was a sweet story and I would definitely recommend.

The Love Hypothesis is about Olive Smith, a PH.D candidate at Stanford University who ends up in a fake relationship to allow her best friend to date Olive’s old boyfriend. She kisses the first man she sees to help this plan; it just so happens that the man she kisses is the tough unlikable tenured professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen. To help each other, they embark in a fake relationship with an expiration date. Falling in love was not part of the equation but can you really quantify love? Olive and Adam are about to find out. This was a very enjoyable romantic comedy that featured women in academia, particularly in STEM. The pacing was phenomenal, the dialogue was hilarious, and the characters were well developed not to mention quirky and lovable. The reader really gets a sense that the author is very well acquainted with this world and it shows in her deft handling of the myriad issues facing women in academia; sexual misconduct and the lack of diversity. I really appreciate the author’s exploration of asexuality and demisexuality. I am very glad to see these topics in a mainstream contemporary romance. If you are looking for a different fast paced contemporary romance that really focuses on emotional growth, pick up The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. My many thanks to the publisher, Berkley and Netgalley, who allowed me to read this book in September 2021 in exchange for an honest review.

While this was a thoroughly predictable romance, I loved every minute of it. The characters were smart and funny and while they weren't as aware of what great catches they both were, they also didn't fall into the "I'm gorgeous but have no idea, so I can't believe anyone would ever be interested in me" trap that comes up so often in romance novels.

This was definitely a fun read and easy read. Took me less than a day to finish it. Women in STEM definitely need more representation. I do find that the book was extremely predictable but I didn't really mind this simply because the book was just that enjoyable. Some of the events that happened in the book were a bit unrealistic but they were still cute scenes so one can easily overlook that. One example, in particular, was the scene where she was sitting on his lap, but other than that, I can find no other faults with this book. It was great!

This was an adorable book! It had the same old tropes that we've all seen before, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, etc., but in a whole new unique setting. Set in the academic/STEM world the characters are authentic and real and situations in the book are current and accurate to the real world. The characters are unique and the banter between both love interests and their friends is just superb. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. Everyone should read this book, because it's amazing. Easily one of the best romance books I have read this year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Pub for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

A STEAMY open door fake dating love story set in the world of academia that just might be my favorite romance of the fall! Setting the bar high, debut author Ali Hazelwood has created a HOT slow burn romance between an older Professor and a younger Canadian grad student working in the same Stanford Department.

Their relationship starts off based on a lie but feelings quickly escalate. I never knew a science lecture or a work picnic could be so HOT!! I loved the supportive relationship that develops between Adam and Olive and once they take their relationship to the next level - WOWEE, do things HEAT up!! I really enjoyed that Olive was so vulnerable, sharing how she needs to be really connected to a person to feel desire. And I'm always a sucker for a main character who holds a secret flame for the heroine. Adam was the ultimate swoon worthy, awkward hero we all wish for!!

I cannot recommend this debut more, especially for fans of love stories about women in STEM like Susannah Nix's Chemistry Lessons series, The kiss quotient, The chai factor or The princess theory. It's been ages since I was in grad school but Ali Hazelwood does an amazing job writing about the stress and pressure of academic life and the extra pressure women and people of color face competing in a largely white male dominated field. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy!!

CW: workplace sexual harassment, death of a parent due to cancer

I was nervous about how I would feel about the professor/student love trope but everything about this book worked for me. I loved that it represented women in STEM as well as it did and the storyline itself was super cute.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ali Hazelwood, and Berkley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up liking this better by the end (at the halfway point, I was thinking it was barely scraping a 3) and I do love that it exists — with its academic, women in STEM representation — so I talked myself into rounding it up to 4 full stars..

The good:
It definitely delivers on the fake-dating for Reasons, grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, academic women in STEM promises. And there's a pretty great impaired-vision meet-cute, some good snark, dorky science jokes and references, and really good models of communication and consent during the steamy sexy time (an honest to goodness "may I?" makes an appearance).

What didn't work for me:
It was pretty predictable but my biggest issue was that our main characters didn't seem fleshed out and developed early enough for my tastes. I could barely picture Olive, and we're told how exceptional she is but we don't get much of a sense of it because she doesn't see/believe it herself and the hot-mess-of-it-all overshadows her capable, sciencey side. (Don't get me wrong: smart, capable but hot-messy is generally a winningly realistic character to me, though I'm wary of how often it's applied to women and not men). Some of her less than stellar decisions would've been easier to swallow if I could've connected with her better earlier. Also, even though I could picture him better, for much of the book, Adam was so taciturn and extremely unaware of how others saw him (to the point that I thought he might be neurodiverse, but that was never mentioned) that it was hard to get a handle on his real personality. To be fair, I think there are decent plot-driven reasons for his non-emoting around Olive (and plenty of convoluted plot-driven misunderstandings). There's also some odd, cringey peer pressure from Olive's best friend (which is addressed by the end) that I didn't enjoy.

But most of it *is* addressed by the end, so I'm glad I stuck around for it.

Topics/themes: higher ed, academia, research, funding, women in STEM, BIPOC in STEM, sexual harassment, MeToo, grief, self-doubt, financial struggles, good science, ethics, mentoring
Tropes: fake dating, grumpy-sunshine, professor-student, forced proximity, hot mess, starving grad student, hot scientist
Content notes: death of a parent (backstory), foster system (backstory), abusive academic advisor (backstory), cancer, sexual harassment, lab animal research, peer pressured PDA, strong language, steamy sex

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for a digital ARC!

I rather enjoyed this one! Science love stories can be tricky for mass consumption, but this one doesn't have an over abundance of words I don't know. Lol.
My main complaints are a smattering of grammatical errors (which I hope will be fixed between ARC and finished copy) , over use of 'very', and the amount of times the characters reference that the happenings are a rom-com trope.