A good friends let me borrow her physical ARC of The Love Hypothesis recently and I actually have no words. The only way I can describe how I felt after reading is to quote something from Ali Hazelwood’s acknowledgment page: ⁣
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asgfgsfasdgfadg!!!!!⁣
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Listen, I read a lot of contemporary romance. It’s my comfort genre, the one that got me into romance in the first place. And I can truly say I can’t remember the last time I read a debut, set in academia, that was this absolutely perfect. The setting, the characters, the storyline. P E R F E C T. ⁣
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The Love Hypothesis gave me allllll the swoon, all the tension, all the fake dating turned real feelings perfection. On top of that, it had some of my other favorite tropes: grumpy/sunshine, and forced proximity?! Please and thank you! I cried at one point, I loved these characters so hard. I’m so grateful to my friend for letting me read her copy so that I could hug it. If any book deserves to be hugged, it’s this one. ⁣
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I’ve always loved romances set in college settings, but so rarely are they about characters getting graduate degrees. While I didn’t go as far as my Ph.D (...yet) I recognized so many of the feelings and thoughts Olive had. There’s something so relatable and real about her graduate experience. Olive and Adam are both so passionate about their research, this story is the ultimate in competency porn! I didn’t realize how badly I needed a STEM romance with a Ph.D candidate heroine until now. ⁣
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It should be known after I saw so many reviews mentioning the cover looking like Reylo, I could only picture Adam Driver as Adam Carlsen, and I definitely wasn’t mad at it! From the prologue I was sucked into their world at Stanford and it was everything I wanted and more. I love a grumpy, yet swoony, hero and Adam Carlsen fit this so well. He’s cranky to almost everyone, except Olive, and I loved it. ⁣
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I loved how Hazelwood made it clear that Adam had no control over Olive’s Ph.D and that they were in different departments. There were implications to them fake dating, but he didn’t hold power over her. I need more romances like this set in academia immediately please! ⁣
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The Love Hypothesis is a slow burn. Sure Olive and Adam kiss in the first chapter, but as relative strangers. But holy wow when the steam hits! Hazelwood can write some damn good steamy scenes.
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If I could give The Love Hypothesis a million stars I would. Love, love, loved.
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CW: Death of a parent, cancer, sexual harassment⁣

I loved this book! I could not put it down, staying up way too late finishing it. I will be purchasing this book for my library. Faking dating stories always catch my attention and this one was a fun one. SO cute!

Hands down my favorite read of 2021. The Love Hypothesis is charming and sexy and incorporates some of the best romcom tropes in the most amazing tongue-in-cheek way. The pacing is deliciously perfect and the payoff isn't rushed. Do not pass this one up!

The Love Hypothesis is everything you would want from a romance— an instantly likable and relatable MC, a handsome, broody love interest, hilariously witty banter, and tons of chemistry between Olive and Adam. The author does a wonderful job in setting this light-hearted romance against the backdrop of the issues faced by women in STEM, making it richer and more balanced than your typical love story. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this delicious, entertaining read!

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is hilariously pokes fun at academia while also shining a light on the not so glamourous parts in this fake dating romcom. I loved the witty banter and STEM humor between kind/tired/impoverished PhD candidate Olive and her grumpy unapproachable hero/esteemed faculty member, Adam. Through the course of their fake relationship, we get to see Olive experiences the initial consequences of their fake relationship as one of the few women in her department and and how she is treated differently from peers and faculty that I felt was so honest.

The chemistry between Olive and Adam is *chefs kiss* so perfect.

I loved this book so much. I highly recommend it, without reservation.

A delightful read that also addressed some heavy topics facing some of today’s biggest issues. I could not put this down!

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for the advance review copy—all opinions are my own! Full review to come closer to Pub Day, September 14, 2021. For now...

This was a lovable, funny, banter-loaded RomCom that unabashedly embraced its STEM in academia setting with humor, playfulness, and tender honesty. Olive was thoroughly likable, her backstory incredibly sympathetic, and her character arc was deeply satisfying. Because this is single POV, we don’t see much of Adam’s interiority, especially because he’s very reserved through the first 50% of the book, but I still enjoyed watching him open up and show his super-soft-spot for Olive.

Chock full of fake dating shenanigans, this also features cute meta-aware nods to RomCom tropes, spot-on Star Wars references, and delightfully quirky characters who felt like friends by the time I read THE END. I can’t wait to see what Ali gives us next!

CW: parental death - cancer (in the past, off-page), sexual harassment in the workplace (on page), portrayal/discussions of social anxiety.

I was absolutely squeeling with delight the first 2/3 of this book, but then it took a turn. I was worried about the age/power differences in this book, but I think the author handled it really well. I also loved the discussions of consent and Adam and Olive had the most amazing chemistry.

My issues started with the steamy scenes. Adam seemed to turn into an entirely different person during those scenes and then seemed off the rest of the book. The ending was also a bit abrupt and I would have liked some more conclusion.

This book is an addictively charming escape! I loved the chemistry between Adam and Olive, Olive's passion for science, and being immersed in the world of academia. Reading this book feels like eating chocolate (sorry Adam!) cake--sweet, rich, and delicious. I laughed, felt for Olive, and couldn't help but smile as I breezed through this delightful rom-com.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I will post my review on Goodreads and TikTok closer to the publication date.

Rep: Demisexual MC, mlm side relationship, Vietnemese best friend, tall women rep.

I have been on a romance binge and I have to say that this book caught my eye because of the cover. It’s very much giving me Reylo vibes, and with the love interests name being Adam my suspicions were only heightened. Naturally, I did some digging to discover that the author, Ali Hazelwood, is a popular Reylo fanfic author and this book is the rework of an earlier fan ficition she wrote. I truly love that for us all.

Now onto the review, there’s no better way to say it - this book was simply a joy to read. I found myself laughing, audibly I might add, and smiling throughout. I adored our quirky, and widely intelligent Olive and our broody, and deeply caring Adam. The side characters were great too, adding a lot of richness and drama to the story.

While it is never explicitly stated that Olive is demisexual, the author paints the pictures with the questions and thoughts she has Olive reiterate to us. This was refreshing to see as this is not an identity I see often in books. As someone who wants to go back to school for a graduate degree I gobbled up Olive’s PhD experience. I think it’s important to showcase the highs and lows of higher education to give people a realistic picture. That’s why, although sexual assault is a difficult topic, it really highlighted the power imbalances that reside, even within academia.

I don’t know if it’s simply the fact that in most of the romances I’ve read recently I’ve gotten to see into the minds of both of the love interests, but getting a couple chapters from Adam’s point-of-view would have really elevated this novel. Olive had a strong voice and she vividly recounts her situation, but Adam is elusive and Hazelwood teases us with all of his looks and gestures. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I loved Adam, his character was well developed and his actions were explained and justified without the author telling us every minute detail. However, sometimes when you grow attached to a character you simply desire to know a bit more about them, to see a situation through their eyes.

This love story made me feel good and even though I’m not the big fan of the miscommunication trope I feel like it made sense in this novel. It never felt like Hazelwood was adding drama or causing problems for the sake of it, every action felt intentional and aided in character development and plot progression. This is a story I can feel myself going back to time and time again and I can’t wait to read more of Hazelwood’s fiction works.

I went into this book feeling fairly sure I would like it, because the premise is just so great. And in fact I loved it! Olive and Adam are wonderful characters, spiky yet vulnerable, and so perfect together. Their banter made me grin like an idiot, and all the science talk made my brain go pitter-patter with excitement because, don't you agree, intelligence is just so sexy. I especially loved how Olive became stronger throughout the story without losing any of her adorkable charm. The Love Hypothesis gave me real The Kiss Quotient vibes - endearing and smouldering and full of heart - and I have no doubt it's going to be a huge success.

Fake dating, science, banter—I love to see it!!! The Love Hypothesis was supremely enjoyable in every respect, from the characterizations to the plot to the absolute dynamite dialogue. It was so much fun!

One of my favorite things about this was how Hazlewood played with tropes, calling them out on several occasions to a lovely humorous effect. Like when Olive and Adam need to share a room, Olive exasperatedly claims that even though she knows he booked a room with two double beds, she predicted that there would inevitably be only one bed! (I won't spoil whether that trope came to fruition or not)

Another really spectacular thing I loved is reading about a demi-sexual (although not explicitly so) character. It wasn't treated as weird that she needed to trust someone before she experienced sexual feelings. It just was!

Basically I loved this SO much!!

HOWEVER, Hazlewood and I differ in opinion on one very important point: Olive (and the author) claim that Tokyo Drift is the best Fast/Furious movie. That is absurd. I agree with Adam that the best one is Fast Five—an absolute banger that never disappoints!

a very cute and fast-paced romance that kept me entertained throughout the book! The main character and love interest were enjoyable to read about, and the ensemble cast were super funny!! There were moments that I was either laughing or smiling to, so I totally recommend this novel to any romance reader!!!! 4/5

Wow, this is the best book that I've read in 2021. Olive is a third year PhD student, struggling to get funding for her experiments and muddle through the hell of grad school. When her friend Anh wants to date one of Olive's exes, Olive does the rational thing: she kisses one of the professors in her program to make it seem like they're dating. Adam, Olive's fake boyfriend, surprisingly agrees to go along with Olive's fake dating plan to help his own image within his department, and shenanigans ensue. Olive and Adam's fake relationship quickly develops more depth than either of them anticipated, and they have to figure out if they have a chance at the real thing.
I am not exaggerating when I say that this is The Perfect Book. I laughed, I swooned, and I had to put this book down sometimes because I tried to read it as slowly as possible. I will be yelling about this book forever and counting down the days until I can buy a physical copy. If you wanna be happy, do yourself a favor and read this book!

I really loved this book! I really liked that the woman who wrote the book works in a STEM field. I felt like as she has worked in academia we got to see a true representation of what that world is really like. I loved the characters and the fake dating trope. It's also pretty steamy at points. I thought it was well written, well-paced, with interesting characters. I'm interested to read more from this author in the future! Highly recommend!

For anyone who has been caught between logic and love *raises hand.* THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is a fast, fun romance in the STEM world, which means you get smile and feel smart at the same time. Ali Hazelwood is pure joy in author form, and her book is pure joy in book form. Highly recommend!

This was a cute read! I enjoyed the Academia backdrop for this love story. Plus, it had one of my fave tropes, fake dating. Olive was a very unique character with such a sad backstory. I really felt for her and wanted her to find happiness. I of course loved the brooding Adam. It didn’t hurt that he seemed based on Adam Driver to this reader. I loved their chemistry and interactions. The climatic part of the story had me seeing red due to one side character I hated. This one had me emotionally invested. It was a quick read and I’ll definitely read more from this author

I ADORED THIS BOOK. Read it in a day. The best rom-com I've read in a looooong time. Adam was just everything a romance reader wants in a hero - he is a modern day Darcy, swear to God - and Olive was real and human and I wanted to be her BFF. Fans of Christina Lauren will LOOOOOOOOOOOVE this book!!!

A fabulous debut novel full of sweetness and humor. The main characters were phenomenal. I look forward to more novels from Ali Hazelwood.

I just absolutely loved this book. I loved the honest representation of academia, and I loved seeing awesome women in STEM. Hazelwood writes with such a clear voice for Olive, and I laughed out loud multiple times. The dialogue crackles with wit and chemistry between the two characters, and the romance has so much tension! I can't wait for September when everyone can fall in love with this book!