Review: The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis was a fun contemporary romance new adult book. The story easily kept me entertained until the very last page! Read my review below to find out why!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Published by Berkley Books on September 14, 2021
Genres: adult, romance
Format: ARC
Source: Penguin Random House INTL
Buy on Amazon, Book Depository, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.
That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs.
Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

I received this book for free from Penguin Random House INTL in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

sex, emotional and physical abuse, terminal illness (pancreatic cancer), death of a loved one, sexual harassment, anxiety

There are no spoilers in this review.

This blog post contains affiliate links. If you buy something on my recommendation, I will receive a small commission. Purchasing via these links will not cost you any extra and will help me cover the costs of book blogging. You will find more info on my privacy policy and disclaimer pages. Thank you!

I ENJOYED…

☂️

• The original context! I don’t know about you but I’ve NEVER read a book taking place in grad school (What is up with that? Am I living in a cave or are there really not that common?!). I loved the fact that the story took place during that both exciting and confusing time after high school and just before entering the job market. I also loved the fact that the focus was on a female scientist! Yaaayyy to female scientists! We need more of those! To be honest I was a bit scared that all the science talk would confuse me because it’s definitely not my cup of tea but it was not an issue at all.
• The relatable flawed main character. She’s this sweet, nerdy and quirky woman who tries to find the cure of pancreatic cancer. Olive is both insecure and really hard working, spending most of her time in the lab for her reasearch. I found myself easily rooting for her, getting frustrated for her, wanting her to reach all of her dreams.
• The fake dating trope! One of my favorite trope! Even if the reason behind it was a bit lame and the motivation to keep it up was a bit unconvincing (in my opinion!), I still found myself laughing out loud at all those unlikely situations. And the banter… oh yes, the banter was gold! The dialogues were witty and snarky and I absolutely live for those!
• All those important topics that were beautifuly tackled. This book was light for sure and it will definitely make your heart melt. Nevertheless, it still tackled important issues like school pressure. It was really well depicted in this book. How hard you must work to achieve your goal. How burn-outs are quite litterally just around the corner. The public speaking anxiety was also on point! Suffering from that as well, I found myself seen and heard and it felt freaking good.

• Last but not least, this story was about women, women in a field surrounded by men. As you turn the pages, you can see how women can be denied opportunities just because of their gender. How women are having issues just getting to be believed in. How women can feel inferior despite all their hard work and talent. All those additional obstacles we encounter just because we’re young and female in a predominantly male-dominated field.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I would have loved to see both POV! Unfortunately, Adam felt a bit bland. It was really hard for me to understand his personnality besides being constantly moody and sullen. I think that getting both POV would have made the character more lovable and the chemistry more “honest” and real.
• The sex part… I’ve got no issues with sex parts in books (beware, in case you didn’t see it up there this one is an adult book and sex is included) but I really don’t know how to feel about that particular part in this story. It felt like a lot, it was way too long for my liking without adding anything to the story.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a fun, sweet and flirty read that’ll make your heart melt, The Love Hypothesis is the perfect match for you!

FINAL RATING : 3,5 drops!

📌 Pin the book review of The Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood on Pinterest!

📚 Books similar to The Love Hypothesis that I’d recommend:

• For more books with the fake-dating trope, check out our recommendations of YA books with fake-dating!

Did you read The Love Hypothesis or do you want to? What’s the latest contemporary romance book you read and enjoyed? Let me know in comments!

Twitter ☂️ Instagram ☂️Goodreads ☂️ Bloglovin’ ☂️ Support the blog