This was delightful, tropey fun! I love fake dating plots, but am not generally a big fan of workplace romances due to an inability to turn off my HR-brain. However, the author made it work by leaning into the mires of a workplace romance and exploring both the upside and the downside of being a young woman in a male dominated STEM field. I found the ending to be a little rushed — and the love declaration a bit dramatic — but I think some of that might have had to do with the pace at which I read the book. As an aside, I was thrilled to discover the demisexual rep in this book while reading, but a bit confused why Olive never used the label to self-describe -- this isn't a critique, per se, but just something I found puzzling. Looking forward to what this author writes next!

So good! Women in STEM! Grumpy heroes with cinnamon roll centers! Fake dating! Graduate school despair!

The Love Hypothesis was smart and funny, with writing that sucked you in and loveable, vibrant characters. I'm not usually one for contemporary romance (historical romance is my jam) but I loved this! The graduate school setting was something I hadn't read before, and was clearly written by someone who had lived through it. Adam and Olive were well fleshed characters and I loved the slow burn between them.

For my complete thoughts, check out our full review on The Nerds Awaken podcast!

Did this book have every romance trope and was it very easy to predict most of the plot points? Yes. Did I absolutely enjoy it? Also yes. Have I ever met a hot science professor working in academia? No.

A fun and sweet romance with smart dialogue. Sexy times ahoy. I’m a librarian not your preacher.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC I got to many many months late.

Acho que eu provavelmente devia começar essa resenha confessando que quando eu escolhi “The Love Hypothesis” para resenhar com a oferta da PRH, eu não tinha ideia ainda de que ele era um livro queridinho para tantas pessoas. Nem sequer imaginava que havia boatos sobre ser primeiramente uma fanfic de Star Wars ou algo sobre a imagem da capa ser sobre um casal (são um casal mesmo?) de Star Wars. Eu assinei essa daí única e simplesmente por conta dessa sinopse que me deixou cheia de curiosidade porque eu sou uma boa e velha cadelinha da trope fake dating.

Dito isso, eu preciso dizer que esse livro se tornou um dos meus favoritos DO ANO. Sério.

Em “The Love Hypothesis” nós começamos no passado quando Olive Smith está no prédio da faculdade para fazer uma entrevista para possivelmente vir a se graduar ali naquela faculdade e tirar seu PHD, além de poder levar adiante seu projeto de pesquisa sobre um tipo de câncer e sobre meios para diagnosticar ele antes. Lá, naquele dia, depois de um pequeno incidente com sua lente de contato, ela acaba sendo ajudada por um estranho que ela não consegue ver porque está com as vistas embaçadas.

Cortando para anos depois, Olive está passando por um dilema. Ela teve um curto relacionamento de trocar alguns beijos com um garoto da faculdade, mas quando ele e a melhor amiga dela, Anh, se conheceram faíscas rolaram soltas e ela saiu do caminho para permitir que a amiga conhecesse o rapaz e ficasse com ele – algo que sua amiga não queria de jeito nenhum, porque tinha medo de acabar magoando ela com isso e por isso ela mentiu, dizendo que já estava em outra e que tinha até um encontro marcado.

Por ter inventado essa mentirinha, durante uma noite ela foi se esconder e trabalhar no laboratório e o que ela não contava era que sua amiga ia aparecer ali do nada e por isso ela simplesmente agarrou no corredor durante a noite o primeiro rapaz que apareceu, que não era ninguém mais, ninguém menos que Adam Carlsen, um professor e um que todos pareciam ter o maior pavor, porque ele simplesmente não era cuidadoso na hora de dar um feedback aos alunos, não se preocupando muito se eles iriam se sentir bem ou mal com o que ele tinha para dizer.

Quando o beijo acaba e Adam ameaça entregar Olive para o departamento de recursos humanos acusando ela de assédio, ela se vê na obrigação de contar pra ele tudo para que ele reconsidere e entenda o lado dela e é aí que os dois acabam se enfiam nessa história de um relacionamento de mentira: ela para deixar o caminho livre pra amiga dela não se sentir culpada e ele para ter os fundos necessários para sua pesquisa liberados (porque é o que ele diz que precisa, de uma namorada que mostre que ele não pretende sair fora da faculdade enquanto faz sua pesquisa e seu trabalho). E aí começa um dos melhores livros de comédia romântica que eu já li nos últimos tempos.

Olive é uma pessoa que é bem alegre e pra cima ao passo que Adam “não gosta de felicidade” como ela afirma muitas vezes durante o livro, o que torna o relacionamento deles mais gostoso ainda, porque não existe nada melhor do que um cara que é emburrado com todo mundo, menos com o interesse amoroso dele. Enquanto temos Adam se preocupando (e ficando horrorizado) com todas as escolhas “não-saudáveis” que Olive faz pra sua vida, nós temos ela do outro lado que fica tentando fazer ele se soltar um pouco mais – mesmo que às vezes ela mesma fique envergonhada com as coisas que a amiga a faz passar, acreditando que eles são mesmo um casal.

Claro que, como toda boa comédia romântica, tem algum drama em torno do casal, além do fato de que eles estão em um relacionamento de mentira, mas com sentimentos cada vez mais reais um pelo outro – e esse drama é muito, muito diferente de qualquer coisa que eu vi nos últimos tempos, mas também é muito bom de ver a resolução que acontece, como tudo se desenrola para o final do casal.

Eu me apaixonei completamente por Olive e Adam, e aliás, preciso dizer que depois que eu soube que era uma fanfic de Star Wars não foi difícil ver como o personagem principal, em todas suas descrições físicas, remetem realmente ao personagem que ele é baseado, de fato fica até difícil não pensar no ator a cada cena deles dois juntos.

Eu terminei esse livro com um sorriso bobo no rosto e suspirando, daquele jeito gostoso que só as melhores comédias românticas deixam a gente no final e com uma certeza absoluta de que todo mundo devia dar uma chance a esse livro, mesmo que romance não seja muito a sua praia.

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House International.

Who knew science could be so sexy! Ali knocked her debut rom com out of the park. This book was swoony, sexy and had some amazing laugh out loud moments. I loved the secondary characters just as much as the Main characters. They were all so loveable and the connections between everyone was flawless. Highly recommend this one for all rom com lovers

I was really excited about this book and I have heard so many great things about it, but unfortunately for me, it just missed the mark. Don't get me wrong it was an okay book, but I found that it relied heavily upon tropes that are often frustrating, such as miscommunication and the pushy friend. Overall, I would still suggest this book to anyone who is looking for a light and fun read.

I’ve read this book a while back and I’ve been meaning to write a book review but I can’t make myself to. I’m not sure how to express myself on this. The Love Hypothesis is a hype! and all I could say was it was worth it. I end up buying a Book of the Month copy before finishing the other half of the story and I end up reading from the start so I could put the tabs. This book is a fast, enjoyable and funny read. I’d definitely read this again if I got time! And, FYI there’s an Adam POV!

The book is really awesome! I loved every parts of it! But, it’s funny that Olive didn’t realize right away that the guy (Adam) is the guy she already met all those years ago. Olive and Adam is such a perfect match. It’s not everyday you’ll find someone like them, right? It’s fun to see them together. I’d love to read more about them and their love story. Olive is just an overthinker woman and Adam is the guy who put all things together, he’s calm and he understands his assignment well.

Some people thinks the book is too cheesy, or something, but… I think, it’s the kind of book that you’d want to read when you think you need a good romance and a good laugh. This romcom book made me laugh a lot and made me want to read things over and over. I keep telling my friends to read it too! I hope this book gets a book 2 though! It deserves another story with Olive and Adam in it!

Thank you to PRHInternational for sending me an e-ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review! This review took me so long to write. I just have so many feelings with this book that I found it hard to put into words how much I adore it!

WHERE DO I EVEN START WITH THIS REVIEW?!?!?!
This is hands down one of my favorite reads of 2021. I don’t often rate adult romance novels five stars. But in this case, it was inevitable. This book was everything I was hoping for and so much more. It was fun, fast, funny, addictive and just the perfect book for getting out of a weird reading mood.

I started reading The Love Hypothesis when I was in a bad reading mood. I couldn’t settle on what to read and kept starting a million different books without finishing a single one. But this one blew it all away. It was addictive as hell.

From the very start I could tell I would like it. Grumpy x sunshine romance. Women in STEM. Quirky FMC. Are we even surprised I adored this one??
Ever since this book came out, I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know and think will like it. Both in person in the bookstore I work at as well as online on my Instagram page. This book has become my instant recommendation to people! It was just so relatable and hilarious and Olive’s character was this funky quirky modern woman, and Adam was the perfect grumpy cinnamon roll to complement her!


Soooo, let’s delve into the book!
Olive is a PHD student. Her friend Anh wants to date Olive’s ex with whom she’s only gone out about three times. Obviously Olive is on board since she harbors no feelings, but Anh is skeptical. Olive, being the awkward little nugget that she is- comes up with the greatest idea to make Anh realize that she is serious and doesn’t mind the two dating! So what does she do? She makes up a fake date and a fake boyfriend! Problem is, there is no fake boyfriend or fake date!
Enter Adam Carlsen. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time… or should I say the right time?
On the night Olive is supposed to be on a date, she is actually in her lab. No problem right? Who would know??? ANH WOULD KNOW. Cause ANH is there. But as luck would have it, so is Adam Calrsen. Which leads us to the most awkward impromptu kiss ever. Olive kisses Adam in order to make Anh think that’s who she’s dating.
One situation leads to another and Adam & Olive come to an agreement. They both have something to gain from fake dating- and so they do! All goes well… until of course feelings are developed.
I can’t even tell you how many times this book made me laugh out loud. From the very first chapter to the very last I was always giggling, laughing or outright squealing and gushing!!

One of the things I loved about this book is how it laughs about tropes inside the romance genre. Both the fake dating trope and the only-one-bed trope get their own gripe and it’s absolutely adorable and hilarious at the same time!

I’m excited to see what Ali Hazelwood would have in store for us with her books in the future! One thing is for sure, this is an auto-buy author for me now!

Honestly, what are y’all even waiting for?? GO READ THIS BOOK!! It’s amazing! I cannot recommend this one enough. If you love rom-coms… look no further!!

The Love Hypothesis was a FANTASTIC mash-up of fake dating, badass heroine, and the perfect grumpy hero. I cannot wait to read more for Hazelwood. Definitely the debut of the year.

https://www.tiktok.com/@spicybooks/video/7044634657190710575?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
https://www.tiktok.com/@spicybooks/video/7015278091459218693?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

This book was so fun! I loved this swoony, smart Rom Com and Olive & Adam’s journey! It had me hooked from the very first page.

please welcome me to the group, because i am officially in love with this book.

i am not gonna lie, after being disappointed multiple times by books recommended to me on tiktok, i went into this one thinking it’s gonna be a three-stars-read at best. but oh boy, was i surprised.

i decided to pick up one paragraph from one of my future posts, because i believe it expresses well how much i loved this story and where does the love come from.

in this book, we meet olive, who’s a PhD student and who ends up fake-dating adam so she could convince her best friend that she is not interested in some other guy. however, i believe that my love for this book is not due to the fact that the chemistry between the main character and her love interest is good, or because it’s fun (even though the chemistry is good and the book is fun). i loved this book because of how much i relate to it as someone who’s also in academia. throughout the novel, we see olive struggle through academic life, as a student, but especially as a woman in a field dominated by white men (STEM). this story is a love letter to the research field, to academia, and to women in STEM. so it comes to no one’s surprise that i could relate to this story and its characters, and i picked it up at the perfect moment (when i wanted to take a break from overwhelming academia).

also, i felt smart understanding all the scientific references even when they weren’t explained.

however, i have to say something. this book is labelled on tiktok as ‘‘smutty’’, and it didn’t come to my surprise that it’s indeed...not. by that time i had grown used to being disappointed by tiktok recommendations in that area, so i wasn’t really expecting much. and in fact, there is exactly one (1) sex scene.

so yeah, this is one that’s gonna stick with me for a while. i already purchased a finished copy and plan on rereading it.

This book was everything I wanted and so much more. I cannot even begin to explain how much I adored every aspect of this novel. The characters were so wonderful and seeing their story unfold was amazing. Will definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC. The Love Hypothesis is a good read. If you like the fake dating trope this book is for you. I will say it was a spicy. The chemistry between the main characters was on fire. I am giving this book a 4 out of 5. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC (and apologies for the late review).

Ali Hazelwood's fiction debut was a fun read. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is a brilliant, genuine love story set in the cutthroat world of hard science academia. And though I ran screaming from hard sciences in my school days (astronomy 101 was as hard as I got...), I was totally here for Olive and Adam's romance.

Olive is a third-year PhD student researching blood markers as an early screening method for detecting pancreatic cancer. Olive's got a lot on her mind: her research advisor is retiring, her own work requires a bigger, better-funded lab, and her best friend is in love with the guy Olive used to date but is too afraid of hurting Olive to take the leap. Naturally, the solutions to these problems intersect in spectacular and calamitous ways, and romcom-lover Olive is fully aware that her life is now full of tropes, including a fake romance.

Hazelwood does an admirable job of giving her characters depth. Olive and Adam don't always do likeable things, but as we learn more about them and their pasts, their actions begin to make sense. That being said, I held back a star because Olive's lying was a bit frustrating. I liked how Hazelwood resolved this issue, but for much of the book I wanted to shake Olive by the shoulders. I couldn't wait to keep reading, though, so it obviously didn't bother me that much!

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is a smart, self-aware romance that will appeal to readers who love awkward heroines, brooding heroes, electron microscopes, and pumpkin spice-flavored drinks. Highly recommended.

DNF @ 53%, so no rating.

I gave into the hype when I requested this one, and for me, it didn't live up to it. Halfway through, and I'm bored. I also find the main characters insecurities grating on my nerves, because they are never ending. Even narrator Callie Dalton couldn't save this one for me, and that's saying something.

ARC from Berkley and PRHA.

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood was such a brilliant rom-com read. During the read we follow Olive, a third year PhD candidate. After an accidental staged kiss witnessed by her best friend, Olive lands herself in a fake relationship with the notorious Dr Adam Carlsen. When the news of their “relationship” spreads throughout the campus Olive and Adam decide to keep the charade going as long as they can for their own personal reasons. As they spend more time together, lines begin to blur. Where Olive started to develop true feelings for Adam.

I loved the interactions between Olive and Adam. Through their banter and teasing one another; Olive teases about Adam's hatred for sweets, especially pumpkin spice lattes, his fear of needles or their minor age gap. Their connection was incredible. I found it hard at times to stop reading because I wanted to know what is going to happen next with them. Although Adam is known as a hotshot professor who terrifies his students for their incompetent with his brutal honesty. When it comes to Olive it seems they are the only ones who truly understand one another, accept each other for who they are. In some ways Olive becomes a positive influence on Adam. And vice versa, when Adam’s around Olive you can see how much he believes in her especially when she doubts herself. He encourages and praises her for her astonishing work. The progress of their relationship felt natural, intense and never forced.

I admired Olive's ambition, passion and drive. She’s witty, smart and sarcastic. It was nice to see her vulnerable side when learning the backstory on what drove her to start her research.

I also never wanted to play ultimate frisbee before until a shirtless Adam Carlsen came into my life.

The only thing I didn’t like about the read was the miscommunication that occurs between Olive and Adam that results in a span of lies and misinterpretation. One of my pet peeves in rom-com books.

Overall, the book was amazing, sweet and fun. The romance developed between Olive and Adam was beautiful to witness. I’m excited for Ali’s future books.

This was the book I needed to read but didn't know I needed to read it until after I finished reading it! It was funny and endearing without being too over the top or predictable. I knew something would happen, but I definitely didn't predict where this book was headed. I found some of the (ahem) more intimate scenes to be quite a bit cringe-y but there was only one or two to get through.

Such an AMAZING book! I adored everything about it, but especially the fact that the MC is demisexual!

Loved loved loved!

Loved the characters and the dynamic. Especially that it was set in a STEM field. Loved how it went in to the dynamics of a woman in STEM.

I did think the romance was a bit odd, but it didn’t deter me from the book at all!

Olive Smith is a scientist. She’s a phd student who doesn’t believe in love; she’s too practical for that and doesn’t really feel attracted to anyone. Until one night, when she’s caught in her lab after lying to her best friend about being on a date, she kisses the first guy she sees to cover her lie. The only problem is the guy she kisses is Adam Carlsen, a professor who everyone hates. Olive and Adam begin to hang out though, and like any good rom-com as Olive would point out, they begin to fake date. But, also like any good rom-com, they begin to develop real feelings. This book set in academia is a fresh take on the romance genre. It has some tropes, and even pokes fun at itself for said tropes by having the main character voice that she’s living in a rom-com, but it was new and different. It’s told in the third person, but the readers get Olive’s point of view, and her take on relationships and attraction or lack there of was refreshing. Authors don’t usually tackle women who aren’t interested in relationships, especially romance authors. Obviously though, Olive develops feelings for Adam, but that predictably didn’t overshadow the point. Also, the author tackles sexual harassment in academia very tactfully. This book was real and well-rounded; the characters felt like real academics and real human beings with other important relationships in their lives too.