'The Love Hypothesis' by Ali Hazelwood: My Favourite Rom-Com To Date?

Book Reviews

Title: The Love Hypothesis
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pub. date: 14 September 2021
Series: DEBUT
Page count: 384
Genres: adult, romance, contemporary

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

Content warning: death of one of the main characters’ parents in the past (due to cancer), workplace sexual harassment, power differential (Olive is a student and Adam is a professor; they clear out their fake relationship with the Dean early in the story and no abuse of power occurs), explicit and graphic sexual content, cursing and vulgar language

I wanted to read The Love Hypothesis as soon as I heard that it was written by a research neuroscientist and it centres on S.T.EM. MCs in academia! I also heard this was originally Reylo fanfiction? But honestly, I was way more excited about the S.T.E.M. protags! And the raving early reviews were just the touch I needed to get all grabby hands and pre-order this book as soon as I could!

Olive Smith is a third-year PhD student who just broke up with the guy that her best friend Anh is interested in. So, in an attempt to get Anh to start guilt-free dating said guy, Olive panics and kisses a random guy outside her lab at some godforsaken hour close to midnight. Kiss Guy turns out to be Adam Carlsen, resident asshole professor who also happens to be hot, grumpy and something of a genius of his generation.

Expecting herself to be slapped with a sexual harassment allegation, Olive is taken aback when Adam seems shocked but agreeable to continue being her fake boyfriend. And he’s… nice?

Now Olive has a hot fake boyfriend who happens to be a superstar in the world of academia while trying to juggle a big conference on the horizon and securing funding for her literal life’s work. Things get even crazier when Olive starts questioning how fake their relationship is.

Olive is the sort of character that I wanted to roll up in a comfy blanket and keep tucked away from all the bad things out there in the world. She was such a likeable character and I could relate to her in so many ways, but my favourite thing about her is that I would protect her at all costs.

That said, it isn’t surprising to me that someone like Adam Carlsen, grumpy, ‘destroyer of academia dreams’ and whatever ends up being the love interest. It’s a classic grumpy-sunshine trope and I love them! I started liking Adam at an ‘okay he’s hot and grumpy’ level, which quickly escalated to him earning a top spot among my book boyfriends once Olive got past his walls.

And the side character? I’ll admit that Olive’s best friend, Anh, didn’t make a huge impression on me other than the comedic moments she gave us, but I got unexpectedly attached to Olive’s roommate, Malcolm! I’m talking squeal-worthy moments that had me rolling around the bed!

Ali Hazelwood’s writing was the really fun, energetic sort that I felt gave so much life to the rom-com aspect of The Love Hypothesis. Some hilarious lines had me snorting like a piggy, so rest assured that the writing itself can entertain you on its own! Olive’s inner monologue is guaranteed to wrangle a laugh out of anyone!

I also really loved that each chapter began with a hypothesis that Olive has made about herself and her life. They are hilarious but also a nice complement to the title of the book! Such a surprisingly perfect touch!

I loved the academic setting of the book, and, like academia always does, it takes over the plot. We’re talking about busy scientists working full-time while faking a relationship at the same time, so I loved that most scenes were within campus or during campus events. There is also a huge possibility that I am just really nostalgic about my uni days and I just wanna go back! Haha!

Now, the romance. How can I even begin to analyse the romance? I just loved it! Olive and Adam had such great chemistry from the very beginning but it never felt like insta-love to me. This book was chockful of some great moments that had me squealing my head off and the steaminess was just perfect! I even loved the way the author handled Olive’s demisexuality here. Ali Hazelwood gave us such iconic moments in The Love Hypothesis that I will never look at SPF or conferences the same way again!

Looking back, I don’t think I have read any books that featured S.T.E.M. protags or lifestyle this prominently, so maybe I am just taken aback by the relatability factor of this book’s plot. I found the love story woven within campus and during academic conferences so cool because that’s the life I am used to, I guess. Basically what I am trying to say is that I felt represented and it felt good to read a romance that felt so relatable for once.

I liked that The Love Hypothesis also dealt with workplace harassment but with different characters going through their own experiences. I liked that the story did not focus on just the main character’s difficulties but brought to light what everyone else goes through as well, like sexual harassment, bullying, poor work-life balance to name a few.

The Love Hypothesis is the sort of book that I would call an all-time comfort read for me. It made me feel seen as a woman in a S.T.E.M. field of occupation, and it gave me an epic rom-com out of it! This is one of my favourite reads of this year, so pick it up if you wanna see some heartwarming grumpy-sunshine and fake-dating romance, sexy S.T.E.M. nerds, everything pumpkin spice latte, and some great scenes starring sunscreen!

Here’s more The Love Hypothesis content you should check out: Kimberly’s review, Kate’s review, Arezou’s review, Nick’s Q&A with the author

From author’s Goodreads profile:

I’m Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I’m also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I’m a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!