I am OBSESED with this book omg. It's everything I want a romance to be. I can't believe this is Ali Hazelwood's debut novel. It's so smartly written, tongue in cheek about rom-com tropes, and just downright adorable. This author is an auto-buy from me for now on.

The building tension between Olive and Adam and the absolute delight of the their fake dating is almost too much for me. I was SQUEALING while reading this. The hotel scene is imprinted on my eyelids.

A diverse cast of characters, a serious look at the toll of academia, and an unflinching approach to how women are treated in STEM. Just marvelous.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

In science, there are many variables one must consider when conducting experiments. The conditions have to be as close to perfect as possible to see success. Some would say its like creating a delicious recipe or even coming up with the perfect story.

In The Love Hypothesis we meet Olive Smith, a third year PHD candidate who is passionate about her work in pancreatic cancer research. Dealing with some unrequited feelings, Olive wants to put her angst aside and support her best friend’s pursuit of the same said beau. But how does one get over someone else? By getting under someone else, more or less.

So Olive’s analytical mind hatches a surprisingly less than thought out plan- kiss the first man sees. Only that man just so happens to be Adam Carlsen, a young professor who has a reputation of being difficult. Predictably initially put off, Adam warms to the idea of helping Olive after he sees a way for him to help himself in the process. All they have to do is stage a fake relationship for a predetermined period of time. But what happens when even the best of analytical minds start thinking with their hearts?

The Love Hypothesis is an adorably quirky love story with frustratingly perfect, imperfect characters. I loved that each chapter came with its own hypothesis as well. However, I will say I was not prepared for the heat factor that occurs a bit out of the blue later in the book. That surprise aside, it was fun watching two scientists navigate good old fashioned romance, something that can’t be tested in a laboratory.

Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleyromance I was able to read this one with @lovearctually. Assuming you too like romantic books that center around awkward characters struggling to communicate their feelings, I can hypothesize you’ll also like The Love Hypothesis. In conclusion you should pick it up when it releases next month!

This was SO GOOD!
Not overwhelmingly full of scientific things that the average layperson couldn’t understand, instead it presented scientific things in a way that I was more curious about them.
The characters were lovable, even with our H being a full on grump.
I adore a grumpy/sunshine, and this had a light touch of that, along with the fake dating.
I giggled when Olive started identifying tropes that they could potentially encounter, and I really enjoyed the ways Adam came out of his shell.
All in all, this one was a hit for me, and something I’ll be recommending to everyone upon release.

I absolutely adored this. Fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, strong and intelligent women in STEM, this book had me grinning from ear to ear beginning to end.

There was so much smart banter, which I was almost worried about, but it was written so well that it did not come across as obnoxious or pretentious. I didn’t feel the need to google any key terms - the author had laid everything out so simply but kept true to her academic roots.

There were likeable AND relatable characters - both leading and supporting, and the established friendships just felt so real and beautifully written.

Highly recommend - one of my favourite contemporary romances of the year.

I liked this more than I thought I would and to be honest, if I had known beforehand that it was a Star Wars fanfic I probably would not have requested it. It did affect my enjoyment of the book, because I'm not into that. What made it worse is the author named him Adam and I couldn't imagine the character without seeing the actor and that kind of killed the romance for me. Aside from that, I did enjoy this once I got into it, even with all the tropes and would recommend this steamy, slow-burn romance set in academia to anyone who loves contemporary romance.

I went into this one on a complete whim because I was looking to make it through one of my netgalley books and read something "easy", and it ended up absolutely blowing me away! The writing, the characters, the chemistry, the STEAM! This was SO cute and hilarious. Made me laugh out loud several times. I absolutely loved this and I was sad when it was over. I'm super excited to see what this author writes next! Y'all need to pick this up.

I'm currently operating on three hours of sleep because I stayed up way too late reading. I knew I'd love this book! Also, while I am not an Adam Driver fan I am certainly a fan of Dr. Adam Carlsen.

Never judge a book by it’s cover, but when this particular one made my brain start screaming “Reylo romance novel! Reylo romance novel!” I had to admit that maybe we shouldn’t outright ignore the cover either.

Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel The Love Hypothesis promises all the hallmarks of a good rom-com: fake dating, opposite personalities, forced proximity, all peppered with enough true- to-life scenarios to really ground it.

I am delighted to say it delivers on every single one of these points, and then some, absolutely exceeding my expectations in every possible way.

Stanford PhD candidate Olive Smith has a problem. The guy she was seeing is very interested in her best friend, Anh, and Anh is interested right back. But the girl code prohibits a best friend from making a move on an ex, and so the two pine away.

Olive comes up with a solution. Tell Anh she’s already seeing someone else, to assuage any guilt and allow the new romance to blossom. Her lie nearly blows up in her face when Olive is nearly caught by Anh after hours at her lab when she’s meant to be on a date. In a panic, she runs up to the closest man and kisses him to cover her tracks.

Enter Olive’s new problem. The man she kissed is eternally grumpy Dr. Adam Carlsen, famous for feedback so cutting it makes grad students cry.

Despite Olive apologizing profusely and choosing to pretend it never happened, word spreads quickly that Adam and Olive are an item, and the two enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement to fake-date until the end of September. At that point, Olive hopes that Anh will be comfortably settled in her new relationship. Meanwhile Adam hopes that by proving his commitment to the university - in the form of dating someone who will be around for a few years yet - Stanford will release the portion of his funding they are withholding from him out of fear he’ll leave for another institution.

Fans of Reylo - and Reylo fanfiction in particular - will recognize The Love Hypothesis’ origins as a transformative fan work, as it touches on all the elements you’ll usually find in an AU. It’s peppered throughout the story, from Olive’s voracious sugar-based appetite, to Adam’s high-powered, largely absent parents. In a touch I personally appreciated, the three most prominent relationships in the novel are my Sequel Trilogy holy trinity of ships. For that, I must thank Ali Hazelwood.

While we’re on the fanfiction inspiration for this work, I need to take a moment to talk about the smut. Because holy shit. If I had no idea this was based on a fanfiction, that would have convinced me in a heartbeat and I mean that with the highest possible praise.

Because contemporary romance simply doesn’t do sex scenes like this.

I read a lot of romance. Like, a lot of romance. And books with explicit love scenes tend to follow a specific pattern. The unintentional heart-racing touch. The kiss that is much hotter than either character expected. The first sexual contact. The prolonged sex scene, and then maybe a shorter one after, maybe not.

The Love Hypothesis breaks this pattern by confining all of it to one scene spread out over two chapters. But what a two chapters. It was romantic, and erotic, and sweet all in one. I was left utterly breathless, and eager for anything else Hazelwood might gift romance readers with.

Vaguely connected to this, and very worthy of a mention, is Olive’s candor about her sexuality. Olive is demisexual, and the term is explained once in an internal monologue, and once to Adam. The latter of these scenes literally brought me to tears, because as a demi person, I love seeing a partner so understanding.

The story is, as I mentioned, rich with romantic comedy tropes, and it doesn’t shy away from them. If anything, it leans right into it, with Olive and Adam referring to their relationship as “fake-dating” throughout, and Olive even going so far as to express concern about there only being one bed when the two of them are forced to share a room at a conference. Despite Adam promising he booked a double room, Olive shakes it off by insisting that that doesn’t matter. There’s always only one bed.

In the way that all the best stories do, The Love Hypothesis contains a prominent, real-world throughline about the pitfalls of being a woman in STEM. An offhand comment by Adam towards the beginning of the book winds up having some very serious implications later, but all that does is serve to ground the story. But because this book is such a charming, hopeful read, the very real struggles are offset by the optimistic hope that out there somewhere, there are good people striving to make things just a little better.

The Love Hypothesis was an absolute joy to read. So much so that I read it in one sitting while recovering from eye surgery (don’t yell at me, only my mother can do that). It was a funny, heart-wrenching, romantic read, and I already cannot wait to revisit it.

Also Olive is right and Adam is wrong. Pumpkin Spice is the best.

The Love Hypothesis is out September 14, 2021 and is available for preorder now.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for the advance copy for review purposes.

Perfectly mixing serious issues and laugh out loud moments, Ali Hazelwood has created a superbly funny romance with depth. The Love Hypothesis is a perfect amalgamation of sex and science, sure to appeal to readers of Christina Lauren or Abby Jimenez.

One of the best romcoms I've read this year? Potentially.

When PhD student Olive quickly needs to make her best friend think she's moved on from her ex, she kisses the first guy she sees (with permission, kind of). Except it turns out to be the hot but brutal professor (not hers) that puts the fear of God in his graduate students, Dr. Adam Carlsen. When news spreads quickly among the biology department, and Adam offers to keep up the ruse, Olive is shocked that there's a nice guy buried under is tough exterior. And as she peels back more and more layers, feelings start to become real.

This book was so hyped up, I was nervous it wouldn't live up to everything I had heard. But it did. It had everything you want in a romcom: a grump and sunshine, fake dating, a woman in STEM lead, fun side characters, stellar sideplot(s), and a twist. Amusingly, no only one bed. Cheeky, cheeky, Ms. Hazelwood. This is definitely one I'm going to recommend to others and reread many times!

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

The Love Hypothesis

Favorite quote: “May I kiss you, Dr Carlsen”

Shout out to @readaholic19 for telling me when she finishes a book that’s she knows I’m going to love!
I absolutely adoreddddd this new romcom from @berkleyromance #berkleypartner #berkleyig, thank you for the e-arc!

Aspects of the book I loved: Ahn and her sunblock obsession, fake relationship, a misunderstood male character, picturing Adam shirtless playing ultimate frisbee, a bad ass women in science research standing up to a man that has no business thinking he’s superior to her, all of the oppsies moments that had Olive sitting on Adam’s lap

Aspects of the book that I LOVED: the steam, duhhh

I read this book in under 24 hours it was just that edible!
Thank you so much again to @berkleyromance for the e-copy!

#berkleyig #berkleybookstagram

I get excited for lots of upcoming releases every year – but I was particularly excited to read The Love Hypothesis. It really hit a lot of my checkboxes: fake dating, starring a woman in STEM, and the grumpy / sunshine trope. Needless to say, this was one (if not my most) anticipated read of the year.

The biggest indicator of an excellent book for me is if I finish it in one sitting – and I devoured The Love Hypothesis in one go. The plot was exceptionally well paced – it had me hooked from the first page and I just could not put it down.

I cannot get over how freaking cute this book was – and that started with Olive. Olive was a PHD candidate living the starving student lifestyle – she was a bit of a mess, but in the most charming way. She was incredibly dedicated to her friends – like fiercely, fake-a-relationship-with-a-hot-professor-so-her-friend-will-ask-a-guy-out dedicated. She was also hilarious – she made me laugh out loud plenty of times. I also loved how committed she was to her research.

Olive and Adam were like the perfect match – they were the epitome of the grumpy / sunshine trope in all the best ways. He was protective of her and willing to do pretty much anything she wanted but was a total hard ass with everyone else. I am a total sucker for the whole “I am only soft and sensitive for you” vibe. Even when they were just fake dating, their chemistry was just *chefs kiss*. Their banter was also immaculate. I loved how much he supported not only her research but also her career goals. These two are honestly just couple goals. I also really, really appreciated the emphasis on consent that this couple had – even during their steamiest moments consent was sought at every stage.

As a woman in STEM, I really, really appreciated the honesty with which the author approached the topic of being a woman in STEM / academia. I could see so many of my own experiences in this book – particularly about being the only woman in a room.

The Love Hypothesis is an instant new favorite for me – I’ll be rereading it ASAP. Ali Hazelwood is definitely a new auto-buy author for me – I cannot wait to read everything else she writes. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. 5/5

The Love Hypotheses by Ali Hazelwood is a cute fun and sexy rom-com novel. Olive Smith, our heroine, is working on her Ph.D in her third year at Stanford; she is a workaholic, always in the lab. Olive keeps to herself, with the exception of some of her close friends, and isn’t interested in dating. When one of the students, Jeremy, asks her out, Olive discovers her best friend, Anh is interested in Jeremy. In order to convince her friend that she isn’t interested in him, she claims she has a boyfriend, and when she sees Anh walking toward her, Olive runs to the nearest man and kisses him.

Adam Carlsen, our hero, is a professor at the school, with many students not liking him, as he is tough. Adam is shocked when Olive kisses him out of nowhere, and pushes her to tell him why she kissed him. When she apologizes and explains she is trying to convince her friend that she already has a boyfriend. To her shock, Adam will agree to be the ‘fake-boyfriend’. She meets him weekly at the coffee shop to continue their pretense, and Adam convinces her they need to appear more expressive showing off their feelings in front of others. In reality, both of them will slowly become very comfortable around each other, and their relationship will heat up, though it does take time. Olive tries to ignore her feelings, especially looking at the hot professor, who is her pretend boyfriend. Adam goes out of his way to always help Olive, as well as give her more confidence. I loved them together, and constantly wished they would succumb to their lustful feelings, which was fun to watch.

Olive’s mother died of pancreatic cancer, and she had devoted her life to become a scientist, to find a cure for that cancer. Olive was a great leading character, with a number of issues, being nervous, awkward, lack of self-confidence; but she is also loyal, fun and adorable when she is with Adam. She does excel at her work, and gets the attention of other labs away from Stanford to give her more room and help in her work. When she gets an offer from another professor at Harvard, who happens to be Adam’s friend, Olive is ecstatic.

What follows is a fun, humorous, sexy and entertaining rom-com, with a fabulous couple, excellent secondary characters (Anh, Malcom, Holden, Jeremy), great banter, as well as being steamy. There are some surprising developments closer to the end, and I loved how Olive was able to stand up to fight some issues. But most of all I loved Adam, how he put Olive first, always helping her throughout. Adam and Olive where such a wonderful couple, who were so much fun together, not to mention steamy. I suggest you read The Love Hypotheses, so very well written by Ali Hazelwood. This was too much fun to miss.

First off, this book was SO FREAKING AMAZING! It’s genuinely one of my favorite romances I’ve read this year - I know I say that about every other romance I read, but I’m serious about this one!

While reading this one, I came to the conclusion that I absolutely love the fake dating trope. But Olive and Adam, they hit it out of the park! Their chemistry was undeniable, and oh god, the slow burn? It was EVERYTHING! The fact that Adam was our grumpy hero and Olive was our sunshine queen - I was completely under their spell. The banter between them was incredible. I seriously couldn’t get enough of either of them picking fun at the other; I thought my heart was going to just burst out of my heart because there’s only so much I can take!!

The Love Hypothesis has both fire and heart, to the fullest extent. The yearning and the pining were executed to perfection. I’ll never be able to shut up about how much I love this book.

The writing, the flow, and the pacing in this book were phenomenal! Ali Hazelwood created a book that will forever have a place in my heart. It’s absolutely amazing and incredible. If you’re looking for a book about women of color in STEM, with fake dating, a grumpy hero who only has eyes for our MC - this is the one for you! Trust me, you need Olive & Adam and their rowdy ass friends in your life!

How much of a nerd would I be if I immediately began re-reading it after finishing?

This book was SO GOOD. I loved the voice from the very first page, and rooted for Adam and Olive from the Prologue. Funny, sweet, hot, wonderfully paced and written, I literally couldn't put it down. One of my top reads of the year!

One of my favorite romances of the year? YES! This is an absolute must preorder, I cannot say that enough!

Hot Takes
- Ladies in STEM! Olive is smart, witty, loyal and a damn good scientist. What she does for her best friend is and her whole thought process surrounding it is the cutest thing ever.
- Dr. Adam Carlson is Adam Driver, full stop.
- There were so many swoon worthy moments in this book. Between Adam being a grump but fully embracing the fake dating (for obviously great reasons) and Olive's cuteness of being so shy when it comes to men and her inexperience, I swooned hard.
-There were so many typical trope like moments but they absolutely worked and I was screaming when they happened! One bed, we love to see it.
- I love that Olive wasn't some crazy sexually experienced character. Adam fell for her because of her mind more than anything and that was so beautiful to see. And though it was never explicitly states, I believe Olive was demisexual, which again if damn refreshing in romance!

Read If You Like
- The Soulmate Equation for science references, quirky intelligent women and moody men.
- Fake Dating
- Grumpy, tall (like massively tall) dudes

5 stars - The grumpy + sunshine slow burn fake relationship romance of my dreams!

I picked up an ARC of this on a whim. I knew I wanted to read it, but I was content to wait until the book's release to pick it up. But then I saw it on NG and thought "why not?" and requested it. And then I got approved the next day and gave it a glance. I then proceeded to let this book take over my life until I finished it. So suffice it to say, that this book was fantastic and I LOVED IT.

From the very beginning The Love Hypothesis hooked me. Olive's voice comes through loud, clear, and arresting from the start. And the humor, the banter, is present right away. I wasn't even a full chapter in and already laughing. So I suppose all of this is my way of making a case that Ali Hazelwood is an excellent writer.

The plot is everything I could think to want in a romance. The tropes alone are magnificent. Grumpy & sunshine! Fake dating! Slooooowww beautiful burn! Did I mention the grumpy hero??? And Ali Hazelwood executed all of these tropes in a way that was so perfect, my ever aching heart was so full.

And the romance. The. Romance! I could write an entire love letter about the romance alone. I was so invested. So satisfied. So happy. Olive and Adam are 100% OTP material and will live in my heart as one of my favorite couples.

The setting and side characters complemented the story so well also. I haven't read a lot of STEM based romance, but I will need to search some out because I loved it here. And Olive's best friends? Top tier. And Adam's best friend? Also the greatest. And everyone together was so funny and supportive and amazing and I loved them all.

Overall, The Love Hypothesis brought me so much joy, and will for sure be one of my top ten reads of 2021. I adored the romance with all its well done tropes, and will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled so I can pounce on whatever Ali Hazelwood has coming next. And if you're on the fence, please allow me to peer pressure you into picking this one up! You won't regret it!

(...Especially if you're a fan of Mariana Zapata. This book filled the MZ-shaped hole in my heart that I always have between her releases.)

*note: blog review link is for a post scheduled to go up on release day 9/14 & review will be cross posted to retail upon release!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for making it happen.

I loved this book! It was funny, smart, and engaging. Olive is adorable and spunky and is a perfect match for the grumpy curmudgeon that is Adam Carlsen. They set on a fake dating relationship that is deep, meaninful, and hilariously funny. I couldn't get enough of this story.

Ali Hazelwood has a fan for life.

I wasn't sure what to expect because I don't generally love books in the third person, but OH MY GOD.

This book was OUTSTANDING. It takes the fake relationship to a new level and it's just incredible. I was totally invested in Adam and Olive's story. I was rooting for them at the same time I wanted to strangled both of them.

Gah! So so so so good! This book is an absolute must read!

So. I’m really not the best at reviewing books I absolutely loved because I don’t have many words! We all know I love fake dating romances, and I loved the idea of a STEM romance because science is cool and I really love and miss Big Bang Theory (and no, this isn’t like that per se, it’s just got super smart people spouting off science facts). Anyway, I immediately gravitated toward The Love Hypothesis because it sounded fresh and funny and unique. It was all those things and more! As always, my main points are bolded.

1. This book is so, so nerdy and I loved it. The people are a little awkward and extremely smart. There’s strong women in science, and I loved learning a little bit about the challenges women face in this field. Every chapter starts off with one of Olive’s hilarious little scientific hypotheses about love and life, each one teasing a bit about what’s coming up in that chapter. These made it very hard to stop reading because I’d get to the end of the chapter and decide to read and then BOOM. I’m intrigued again and must continue reading. Very clever. A lot of the book takes place on campus in the labs, and I thought it was such a fun setting with people working late and running experiments because science doesn’t wait for people to sleep or eat. There’s lots of science talk, there’s a science convention and people get all excited about presenting posters and attending talks and it’s all just so much fun. It reminded me a bit of Ross’s paleontology convention from Friends, just no Barbados.

2. Olive is sweet and strong. She’s smart and strong and totally dedicated to her cancer research. She’s looking for a lab that will accept her the following year so she can continue her testing with better equipment and proper funding. It matters more to her than pretty much anything. Everyone she’s ever loved has died, so she’s very reluctant to get too close to anyone except her two best friends. Relationships are scary and also a little confusing for her. It takes her a while to sort through her feelings and figure things out, and I loved watching her grow and evolve.

3. Dr. Carlsen (Adam) is a dreamboat. He’s seen as rude and lacking in compassion. He’s hard on his grad students, but it’s because he wants them to succeed. He’s super sexy and thoughtful and protective of those he cares about. He’s sarcastic, flirty, suave, and all the things I love in a hero. Olive is a little inexperienced in the love department, and there’s a scene where he puts all of his focus on taking care of her. Consent and comfort are so important to him, and the entire scene was him making sure she was ok. It just melted me, and I’ve never read another scene quite like this one.

4. The chemistry between Olive and Adam is insane. These two can throw the banter back and forth forever and get me laughing, but they can also build up a level of tension that makes you squirmy. There’s an age gap of about 8-9 years between these two, so Olive loves to make fun of him for being old. She also loves to make fun of his healthy eating habits. He likes to tease her about her love of sugar and poor taste in food. But then there’s a scene where Olive’s best friend kind of forces her to kiss Adam after he’s just pushed a car out of the road and is all sweaty, and wow. And then there’s a scene at the department picnic where Olive has no choice but to coat his muscley back in sunscreen (poor girl), and wow. Their relationship is sweet and spicy and tender, and I just love them.

5. Olive’s best friends, Anh and Malcolm, made me so happy. They are both scientists and work together, although their research is all different. Anh is the loyal best friend, who also mothers Olive and makes sure she doesn’t get skin cancer. Malcolm is Olive’s roommate, and he’s pretty much made of rainbows and sunshine. They love to discuss hot men and other fun things. I would love to be a part of this friend group. Adam’s friend, Holden, is another favorite character of mine. He gives great advice, really cares about his people, and is so happy all the time.

6. There’s some deeper issues at play that run throughout the story, including the #MeToo movement. All were treated with sensitivity and respect.

7. There’s so, so much humor! I actually laughed out loud at one point, which never happens to me. I’ve been known to smile or silently laugh, but this was an actual audible laugh that startled me.

8. The writing is also spot on, and flowed so nicely that the pages practically turned on their own.

All in all, this is a stunning debut for Ali Hazelwood. Strong women in science, a sexy doctor hero who values and supports those women, hilarious banter, strong friendships, and a very sweet love story all wrapped up into a glittery, sugary package. What’s not to love? I highly recommend The Love Hypothesis, and cannot wait to see what Ali Hazelwood does next!