Hi, it's me, back again obsessing over a book about a grumpy male lead.

Olive is a Ph.D. student who, after one kiss, finds herself in a fake relationship with the broodiest, grumpiest, most intimidating man- Dr. Adam Carlsen. When they both realize they can gain something from this fake relationship they decide to continue their ruse, but can these two brilliant scientist really fake love?

I reread this book over the weekend because it’s the cutest and I’m obsessed -but let’s be honest, any book that has a grumpy male lead is automatically a favorite. I’m in love with literally everything about this book and at the tippy top of that list is that Olive is a woman in STEM. Listen, maybe in another life I’m some brilliant scientist, but in *this* life I have to settle for reading books about them.

Everything about this book was perfect. The characters, the romance, the chemistry, the steam! This is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year, and I bet it would be A LOT of y’alls too. 10/10 recommend adding it to your tbr!!

read if you like:
fake dating trope
sunshine/grump trope

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of The Love Hypothesis. I enjoyed this book so much!

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub Date: September 14, 2021
Star Rating: 4 Stars

As a woman working in academics in a quantitative field, I appreciated this book so much. It is really hard to earn respect in this field, especially as a woman, and I think my favorite line of the whole book was, "Have the confidence of a mediocre white man." Truer words have never been written.

I absolutely loved Olive and Adam. I thought they were cute and funny, providing a nice contrast to each other's character(s). I will say, I have never experienced an academic department that would be so laissez faire about a full professor dating a PhD student, but the book is careful to highlight that 1) Adam has no direct control over Olive's path, 2) he can't serve on any of her committees, and 3) he can't be involved in decisions regarding her funding. These are three big areas that, for me, I'm glad the book distinguished because a major problem with relationships like Olive and Adam's relationship is the faculty member having power over the PhD student and using that power in nefarious ways. The book handles this issue carefully and with clarity, and I think that keeps people reading from romanticizing relationships like this and instead focusing on romanticizing the fake dating trope of Adam and Olive. I love a good fake dating trope because inevitably, the feelings start to simmer because someone always catches them or already has them.

I also enjoyed that Olive was a talented, motivated researcher. That being said, she suffered from many of the self-doubts I had during graduate school, and it was so nice to see myself in a character like her. I think everyone deals with imposter syndrome during a PhD program, and the book calls a PhD program a certain type of hell at one point...again, truer words. This book took me back down memory lane, and brought up all the feelings I had during graduate school, the good and the bad...but I liked that. I sometimes miss the excitement of learning something new, of finding someone who is as fascinated with your research as you are, of having someone to share that excitement with. You don't really have that same atmosphere once you finish a PhD program. Olive's research is deeply personal, and I really respected her as a character for tackling such a personal issue.

Oh Adam...a deeply brooding, moody, dark haired academic boy with a body of gold? Sign me up today and twice on Sunday. I loved Adam's portrayal of the richly successful but unassuming researcher, and I saw pieces of my own dissertation chair in his character...a man who was unfailingly tough, who took the same attitude to molding minds as Adam does in this book, who sometimes came off unapproachable and insanely critical with the feedback...Adam brought that person to life for me in many ways.

From a triggering perspective, sexual harassment is real in academics, and it's something a lot of women face everyday. Sexism in general runs rampant, and I like that Olive had the courage to confront her demons here (no spoilers, though).

I really liked this book, and the only reason I didn't rate it five stars is I thought the sexy scene was somewhat awkward and that detracted from the moment. I understand part of Olive's character was being somewhat detached from her body until she met Adam, but the whole "making it fit" part was a little extra for me. The connection between them was real, though, and I loved that calm and collected Adam was not so calm and collected in the sack. :)

This story gave me the feeling of cuddling up on the couch with a soft blanket on a rainy day, just pure happiness.

I was worried about this book, only because so many people have been talking about it, and now a days the hype for most books do not live up to it. This one completely does, I could hardly put it down. The story is all from Olive's POV and reading what happens in her crazy mind made me laugh so many times. This story is a fun ride from start to finish, the meet cute is very unique, along with so many of the situations that Olive finds herself in. The story between Adam and Olive as so many just little relatable things that you are really able to connect with the characters.

If you are looking for a great weekend read, that will just give you the cozy feelings of joy, this is the book for you.

This book was such a delight, and quite possibly the perfect romance book. The plot was well-paced, the characters were dynamic and well-crafted, and the romance was so sweet. I especially loved the scientific academia setting and it was so clear reading that it was a field that the author was quite familiar with. I absolutely loved this and will be recommending it to anyone that gives me a minute to chat about it!

Full-review will be up on pop-culturalist close to pub date!! I HEARD THIS IS A KYLO AND REY FAN FIC AND I'M HERE FOR IT!!!!

This book was compulsively readable and I finished it in a day. I liked the STEM (and specifically Stanford) setting and discussion of Title IX ethics. There were places where I wanted to know more from the characterization and story, but I couldn't stop reading it and enjoyed the fake-dating hijinks.

Read this if you:
*have a science-y background or are married to someone who is
*have an advanced degree
*would lie for your friends sake
*have ever been motivated to be a better person because of your past
*are a sucker for a GREAT fake dating scheme

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

Anything I say about this book will not do it justice, but I will try:

This book was the absolute cutest. Absolutely my top rom-com for the year! Some of the things Adam & Olive would say reminded me of things my husband has said or would say [he’s a chemical engineer]. I read this in one sitting and could not put it down! I am absolutely blown away that this was a debut novel. This has EVERYTHING you could want in a romance novel!

Some of my favorites parts:
*female in STEM
*realistic plot
*SWOON WORTHY ADAM
*written in a way non-STEM people can understand

I will be absolutely begging Berkley to send me a physical copy of this so I can fan girl and keep promoting this.

Thank you NetGalley & Berkley for eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: Sept 14

This book is definitely one of the best Rom-Coms I’ve EVER read. It was absolutely adorable and I loved every page.

I am not a stem major, so I wasn’t able to appreciate some of the specific references, but reading about women in stem and academia was so empowering regardless.

I loved all the main characters and hated the characters you were supposed to hate, which is very telling of how well written they were. Their relationship was developed beautifully, the pacing was done so well, the tension was perfect.

This book was so enjoyable and such a fun read.

In an act of trying to convince her friend Anh that she is dating someone, Olive kisses the first person she sees, Dr. Adam Carlsen. Unfortunately, Adam is the professor everyone hates. He's arrogant, aloof and just plain mean to students when he delivers feedback. He's made more than one student cry and everyone knows he's not one to tangle themselves with, but why does kissing him send a spark through her body? More importantly, why does he seem to like it too?
Olive isn't really socially awkward, she just doesn't have time for people. She has two best friends and they get her through. She is committed to doing research on pancreatic cancer (and this is close to home for me as well so I loved this aspect) and is currently trying to get into programs to help further her study. After she kisses Adam and he demands that she explain why she did it, he agrees to enter into a fake relationship with her. He has some funds that the university haven't released to him because they feared he would leave, and if it looks like he's in a relationship too it makes him less of a flight risk. When the two embark on this experiment, layers are peeled back revealing so much more underneath.
This is an enemies to lovers(ish), office romance (ish), fake relationship with a grumpy hero (my favorite kind) and a sunshine heroine that leaves the hero with hearts in his eyes. It is all the tropes that I love rolled into one hilariously sweet package that had me laughing out loud at chapter one. I can't wait to read more of Ali Hazelwood in the future.
Thanks to Berkley, Netgalley and Ali for an early copy.

This was a really fun read! I love an academic romance and a fake dating plot so this was going to be an easy sell for me, but I enjoyed it even more than I was expecting. The author has mastered the fine art of banter and I found myself laughing a lot. I also was not at all surprised to find out the author is an academic herself, because her critiques of sexism in STEM academia felt very authentic. I also appreciated the delightful fantasy of a scummy man (seriously the eventual villain of this book is gross) getting his comeuppance in a viscerally satisfying way.

I knocked a star off because while I was able to buy into Olive falling for Adam over time, I was never confident I felt where Adam stood and when a revelation towards the end of the novel suggested he was more intensely interested for longer than I think comes across in the rest of the book, I found myself like "really? I knew you were intrigued but THAT much?" I think this could have been solved by providing his point of view as well, but that is likely my strong bias in favor of romances with alternating perspectives talking.

In short: a charming, satisfying read with excellent banter, unexpectedly steamy sex scenes (in a good way!), and heaps of nerdiness. If you enjoy the tropes this one embraces (academic romances, fake dating, etc.), I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Olive Smith is a scientist, she believes in proven facts and concrete evidence. She also believes that all relationships end and she has the proof to back it up. As a graduate student in Stanford's science department, Olive is content to live her life among her lab rats and her research. Enter Adam Carlsen: scientist, professor, and all around ass who makes his grad students cry. It doesn't help that he is hot AF and that Olive can't stop thinking about him after he agrees to fake date her. But, soon, Olive's fake boyfriend is starting to look an awful lot like a real one...and she's pretty okay with that.

Can we please talk about how AMAZING this book is?!?!? Let's start with the absolute best parts: fake dating trope, grump/sunshine, he's an asshole to everyone but her, women in STEM representation, asexuality representation, and, of course, ALLLLLLL the longing looks.

The Love Hypothesis gave me all the feels. The banter between all the characters is top notch. The chemistry (pun totally intended) between Olive and Adam leaves the pages smoldering. And the slow burn of this book...totally worth it!

"The Love Hypothesis," Ali Hazelwood's debut novel, was the most adorable and steamy book I have read in a long time and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Olive Smith, a third-year graduate student, somehow manages to start fake dating Dr. Adam Carlsen. They seem to be complete opposites, but are they really? Olive was so kind and sweet, but had trouble allowing herself to get close to people and Adam was such a jerk to everyone, but so soft for Olive. The chemistry between these two was palpable and watching Olive, who felt so alone in the world, find her person and her home in Adam was lovely.

Olive and Adam were perfection together. I only wished we could see more of them together, but "The Love Hypothesis" had everything I love in a romance novel: fake relationship, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, and steamy goodness and I cannot wait to read more from Ali Hazelwood.

I was drawn to this book by the fabulous cover and the premise. Who doesn’t love a fake dating scenario that will inevitably end in both parties catching feelings?
I thought the book was wonderful with phenomenal writing. The fake dating scenario was fairly believable and funny. The plot was filled with related hijinks that go along with such a setup. The academic setting was interesting and allowed for some more serious plot points.
I think this one of my top five books of the year and I sincerely loved it. Highly recommend it for anyone who loves a well written romance with a great fake dating premise.

I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PUT MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK INTO WORDS BUT I WILL CERTAINLY TRY. I adored this book! Seriously ADORED it. The Hating Game may have just been surpassed by this book for my favorite rom-com of all time. I loved the academia-science-grad school setting (I am in a science grad school program currently and it hit very close to home for me lol), I adored the commentary on women and minorities in STEM, and I adored the grumpy-sunshine trope that never seems to get old, at least for me. Adam was SO swoony and enigmatic while still maintaining vulnerability and humor. Olive was quirky and SO funny while not coming across as annoying or over the top. A lot of Olive's thoughts and struggles about the time in life she is in and about grad school really resonated with me and I connected with her a lot. Also, this book was SO SO funny and I genuinely laughed out loud so many times while reading. I could not recommend this more highly.

Two science nerds fake a relationship to benefit their mutual interests. Romance is not my typical genre, and the science setting greatly influenced my decision to request this book. Even though the closest I've come to any kind of laboratory setting was one geology lab in college, I enjoyed the peek into a real lab where actual research is done and discoveries are made.

I felt sorry poor Olive, yet envied her that she is able to thrive in that kind of environment. Adam seems like a demon to work with, but when you peel back the layers and find out why he is the way he is, you can't help but fall for him, this guy with the heart of gold hidden under a very prickly exterior.

My one wish is that there had been a few more romantic scenes.

I have pre-ordered a copy of this book to help support this amazing author.

CW: verbal sexual assault, death of a parent (past, off page, due to cancer), emotional abuse (off page, past), explicit sexual content (not suitable for people under age 18)

You're telling me this is a debut adult romance novel??? I have read very few debut adult romances that are as amazing as Ali Hazelwood's THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS.

From the amazing tropes (check out Ayushi's review for the list of tropes) to the self awareness about rom coms to this book will have you feeling everything

I simply cannot properly convey how much joy this book has brought me. If you're looking for an adult rom com to read, THIS IS THE ONE!!!!!

This is by far one of my favorite reads of the year! The Love Hypothesis is truly the perfect romance book and I was swooning the entire time reading this book.

Olive is a biology PhD student at Stanford who, one night, in an attempt to prove to her best friend that she has moved on from her ex, kisses the first guy she sees. However, that guy just happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, a hot-shot, young professor with a reputation for being a complete hardass. But surprisingly, Adam agrees to go along with this fake dating scheme as it has benefits for both of them. For Olive, she saves face with her friends and convinces them that she’s moved on. For Adam, he proves to the department that he’s put down roots in California in order to get his new research project funded. However, things get complicated when Olive finds herself falling for the tall, brooding, antagonistic guy who is only sweet to her.

This book is everything you want in a romance; the fake dating, the grumpy sunshine trope, the “if you touch her, i’ll kill you” trope, the witty and sarcastic banter between Olive and Adam. It is funny and sexy and Adam is the perfect tall, dark-haired, grumpy hero with a soft spot for one girl and it is impossible not to fall in love with him.

As a scientist myself, between the strong, supportive friendships, the focus on women in STEM, Olive and Adam’s immaculate chemistry, the hilarious nerdy banter, how sweet and caring Adam is toward Olive, this book warmed my cold, dead, nerd heart. I was hooked on every last word and couldn’t stop smiling while reading. Olive and Adam have my entire heart and I look forward to reading everything that Ali Hazelwood writes in the future.

This book was okay. It was hard to suspend belief with the MC. She was supposedly a very accomplished, up and coming scientist, but there was very little logic employed in her decision making. Which left them feeling like nothing but convenient plot devices or at least excuses for the next thing to happen. It wasn’t well written. But despite that I enjoyed it enough to finish the book. But I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as there are much better choices out there.

I absolutely loved The Love Hypothesis! Ali Hazelwood's self aware style of using well known tropes (like fake dating) really worked here. Both the leads were absolutely great. Alex and Olive are both conducting different research projects at the same university, Olive approaches Alex seemingly out of nowhere to convince her friend that she is not interested in the man she was seeing casually. What ensues is basically all the best parts of the fake dating trope mixed with likeable characters. The pacing is excellent, and the flow of the story never falters. Hazelwood's writing is confident and breezy, a perfect mix for a romcom. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to a variety of readers. I'll be looking for more of Hazelwood in the future.