Thank you to Berkley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Olive kisses someone when her friend And spots her. Moving on is the only way to convince her to date Jeremy, a guy Olive went on a date with. But it turns out it's Dr. Adam Carlsen, the 'ass ' of the program. But fake dating might be the way to fix both of the problems.

AHHHH I could just scream about this book! I love the fake dating trope, and Adam is such a grumpy cinnamon roll!!!! I love the dynamic between him and Olive, it was fantastic!

I also liked the subtle-not-so-subtle demi-sexual rep as well as the women in STEM. An overall amazing read!!!

I thought this was fun and really enjoyed the writing style but ultimately I only liked this book and didn't love it. The plot contrivances were a little TOO contrived for me (and I have a pretty low bar because I love fake dating so much) and I didn't feel like I truly connected to the characters. I was happy to read about them and liked the STEM/academia setting but it wasn't something I'd revisit or rave about.

Adorable plot, well fleshed out characters, loved the STEM connection and the discussion of women in STEM! Also it has my favorite trope: fake dating turning into real feelings!

Thanks to this book for finally getting me out of a reading slump. I haven't been able to read a book in a while, but this book completely drew me in. I was initially interested in this book because of the cover and some positive reviews I had seen, and I am super happy that I gave it a try. I love a good romance, and Olive and Adam's romance was great. There was so much angst and tension, but they also had so much chemistry together from the very beginning. I loved every interaction between them. There is more to this book than just the romance, though. There were a lot of important topics covered in this book, such as grief, being a woman in academia, especially STEM, and sexual harassment. I really felt for both Olive and Adam and the more difficult parts of life they have had to face. I just really loved both of them as individuals, and I loved them even more as a couple. This story was so great, and I can't wait to read more from Ali Hazelwood in the future.

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is utterly chaotic, very romantic, and a simmering Bunsen burner of love. This bewitching book stars a nerdy scientist, Olive Smith, who is beautiful, intelligent and mistrustful of men. Her bestie, Anh, along with other bestie Malcolm goad her into giving dating a chance. It's been a while, but Olive is busy perfecting her science experiments for her cure on pancreatic cancer as a third-year Ph.D candidate at Stanford. Romance is on the back burner, so to speak. Anh likes Olive's ex-boyfriend a lot, but won't date him, girl code thing. Olive assures her, she is dating someone, to get Anh to ask her ex out. When Anh walks by, Olive jumps and smooches the nearest dude, who just happens to be brainy, nasty professor, Adam Carlsen. What did she just do?

Hmm...Adam is mystified when Olive kisses him in the hallway but heck, she is really pretty. Olive privately asks him to pose as her boyfriend, to prove to her best friend she has a man in her life. Adam agrees to help her out. Olive thought it would be like pulling teeth, when he actually says yes. Could there be a soft side to tough, sarcastic, acerbic Professor Carlsen?

At a prestigious science conference, Olive's presentation is shanghaied, but Adam shocks her with his loyalty and influence. Time spent with him at the coffee shop each week is making Olive yearn for something more with the hunkalicious Professor. Likewise, Adam looks forward to spending time with lovely Olive each week. Collegiate colleagues encourage him towards a social life to boost his standing at Stanford, since he seeks funding on a special research project. Could it be these two crazy, cozy lovebirds are the perfect match?

Ms. Hazelwood pens a ravishing romance story in THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS. Wonderfully written and perfectly plotted with chaos aplenty! A cute girl haphazardly kisses a fire breathing dragon of a professor. Confusion ensues and there is love and laughter too. I loved everything about this book! It's dreamy, awe inspiring and very insightful. I learned a lot about the science community. Score a big one to Ms. Hazelwood on her intellectual prowess of scientific subjects. Loved Olive's best friends who offer support, loyalty and love. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS oozes charm that leaves you with warm fuzzies inside!

Thank You Berkley Romance for an arc e-book in exchange for an honest review 🧬

What would you do to convince your bestie to date their crush?

Olive smith is a 3rd year PH.D. Candidate that doesn’t believe in relationships. Hooking up? Sure! Love? Not high on her priority list. But she does think her best friend should date a guy she went on one date with a long time ago. But knowing her bestie won’t date him because she did, she inputs herself in a fake relationship with the ever so lovely Adam Carlsen. Adam is a tough professor, and most students don’t like him, so why would he agree to a fake relationship with a student? & why is he so charming?

Olive & Adam are such unique nerdy couple and I loved them! I love how the story progresses Adam becomes more and more attractive, and we see how his past experiences shape him into the grumbly professor he becomes. I love that there’s LGBTQ representation in this story 🙌🏻 but I love how unique this book is. I think that reading so many romances, readers start looking for something different in romance, something to peak our interest and this book is IT!

This book was an utter DELIGHT. I devoured it in two days, and kept shirking my responsibilities to read. Funny and poignant and ridiculously sexy, THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS makes Ali Hazelwood is an auto-buy author for me from here on out.

AB;AIGDJAI;GKVDASG IT'S SO GOOD. I ran out of fingers to count the number of times I was literally screaming and texting my friends about this book. As a STEM babe, I felt everything Olive did. The impostor syndrome, the stress of grad school, you name it! Add in the hottie mchottie Adam who's just so delightfully surly and it's sheer perfection. So check your contact expiration dates and bake up some butterscotch cookies now, because you're not going to want to put this book down.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

What a sweetheart of a book, set in the ultimate romantic world of . . . academia?! Yes indeed.

Olive Smith is a bit of a mess but she is passionate and dedicated and is going to get that Ph.D. goddammit. While she's focused on getting to the next step in her research, she's been ignoring matters of the heart because who has time for that? But when she needs to convince her best pal that's she's definitely over her ex, she ends up kissing a hapless bystander, who happens to be none other than the forbidding yet brilliant young professor Dr. Adam Carlsen. Sunshine kisses grump.

A fake relationship ensues, and what I love about this book is that it doesn't squander that device. Yes, of course both parties must catch feelings and be unsure of the other's reciprocation, but before that I demand some hijinks, some bad lying, and awkward situations. This has all of that.

Author Ali Hazelwood may be in academia herself, but she clearly has a talent for lively writing beyond research papers. I appreciated the specificity of her characterizations, not just giving each person their apparent likes and dislikes, but also their own signature way of speaking that felt believable. There's great banter to be had, that made for a rather intense, slow-burn romance that leads to a very hot and satisfying sex scene. Not much is left off the page. And yet, I also felt the intensity of their emotions as well - much swoonworthiness is to be had all around.

The only tiny gripe is that it does feel very conventional. The leads are typically cishet and attractive. We see a bit of representation of gay side characters and one WOC who's into helping WOC in STEM. It feels a bit like lip service. I am happy with the very strong STEM and academia representation though. Not everyone in a rom-com can be a baker, bookstore owner or writer!

There are no real surprises (there's a slight reveal later in the book that we all could see coming) but that doesn't detract either. The beautiful writing elevates this conventional story into a very engaging romance. I will happily read future books by Hazelwood.

I read a lot of romance books and romcoms. And most of the time, they are corny, have insta love, and some ridiculously perfect main man who is 1000% the greatest, never makes a mistake, everyone in the world adores him. Most of these books I give 3, at most 4 stars for giving me a warm fuzzy feeling and not ever really thinking about it again.
And then, occasionally (maybe 2 a year) I come across one that is different. One I can't put down. One that every sentence brings a huge smile to my face, has me face palming, has me laughing out loud, has me up till 2 am. And THAT was this book for me.
From the prologue I was already laughing, already adoring the characters, already swept in. I will definitely be looking this author up. The slow burn of this story was fantastic. More books like this!

The Love Hypothesis is the fake romance set in academia that I didn't know I needed! Olive is PhD student pursuing a cure to early detection of pancreatic cancer and Adam is an infamously demanding professor. When a plan to convince her best friend that she's happily pursuing love goes awry, Adam and Olive end up in a charade that is flirty, but has an end date....or does it?

It was refreshing to have a heroine who is singularly focused on excelling in a profession dominated by men who finds a man who respects her intellect. The chemistry is on point in The Love Hypothesis!

Oh my goodness, how I loved this book! This is a smart, funny, completely consuming romance that will have you swooning!

The characters are so endearing. I loved seeing the romance blossom and I appreciated their individual character quirks. I felt like a little fly on the wall of a special love beginning to bloom. I loved that the characters were scientists. I think it added a fun adult academic twist to the romance.

The romance is H.O.T. and spicy, and oh so wonderful! It brought the book up just one more level for me on a story I was already giving 5 stars...so maybe this is a six star book!

I highly recommend this for readers that enjoy a spicy rom-com that will have you laughing out loud and falling in love.

Love, love, loved this one. Will be keeping an eye out for more books from this author! Hopefully she has more up her sleeves.

A delightful rom-com that acknowledges its tropes and celebrates the genre in a seamless and authentic way. Olive and Adam are two lonely spirits who don't understand their true worth and how they are better together. A fascinating look inside the stressful world of academia and science and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Probably the best rom com I've read this year. A+, chef's kiss, two thumbs up, 5 stars.

I went into this one on a complete whim bc I needed an eBook to read on my nightly walk, and it ended up absolutely blowing me away. Everything about this was honestly perfect. The writing, the characters, the chemistry (literal and figurative lol), THE SMUT. This was SO hot, but also SO cute and SO funny and I just loved absolutely every second spent in between these pages. I didn't know who Ali Hazelwood was before going into this, but I will now be anxiously awaiting every book she will ever publish because this was JUST SO GOOD YOU ALL NEED TO READ IT / ADD IT TO YOUR TBRS IMMEDIATELY! My heart!!!!!!!

CW: terminal illness (pancreatic cancer), death of a loved one, sexual harassment

Thank you @berkelyromance for a copy of the book. What a great debut book!! I adore the fake dating trope and add a grumpy mc, I am sold. The connection between Olive and Adam was amazing and full of laughs. I love all the pumpkin spice references and I totally agree with Adam on this one.

This was a great romance that also explores the challenge for woman in STEM field. I also love the friendship won’t Anh and Malcom to Olive.

This debut contemporary romance is a fake dating slow-burn story set in academia. Take a STEM heroine and a grumpy, misunderstood colleague and add some adorkable banter, vulnerability and steam and you have the formula for a fabulous read.

I absolutely loved how Olive's sexuality was treated with a tender hand. And communication AND consent? I am here for that.

I finished this book in three days and then immediately started to read it again.

The Love Hypothesis is exactly what I needed. It has humor and romance and a little bit of sexy to pull you in. Olive is a wonderful character. She is incredibly smart, humble and insecure which makes her instantly relatable and likable. She has he best friend's heart to consider after all - Ahn is attracted to Olive's ex and the only way to get Ahn comfortable with going out with him is to date someone else! Enter Adam.

I was getting some really strong Adam Driver vibes and it was not at all bad. Tall, dark, intense and a known ass, Adam goes along with Olive's scheme for his own reasons. I love how brilliant they both are with a very solid layer of socially awkward. Oliver is the perfect blend of cute and slightly strange to get Adam out of his shell. Adam is hard to read but painfully tries to make an effort with Oliver. I love how different they are and how they come together despite their differences, even enjoying the things that make them different. (Pumpkin spice latte anyone?)

I also love the story itself, not just the romance. As Olive tries to expand her research and her career, Adam is there to be supportive. As the story moves forward, intensifying as their relationship becomes more real and Olive has to really weigh her relationship with Adam vs. her research, I love how she didn't sacrifice her principals. I don't want to give anything away, but I loved the ending. These two are so well written.

The Love Hypothesis is one of those fun, romantic steamy stories that you will want to pick up and read again and again. I loved it so much, most of my friends are eating copies for Christmas. :)

They will thank me later.

Well this was an absolutely adorable rom com. It did veer off into cheesy territory at times but it made me smile.