The Love Hypothesis

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 a copy of The Love Hypothesis from the publisher when it was released, and the book had been staring at me to read it whenever I walked by it. I was hesitant because I’ve been burned lately by cartoonish covers being labeled as Romance, but once I started reading them, I realized they should have been labeled Women’s Fiction/Chick Lit. In the case of The Love Hypothesis, I didn’t get burned this time because this book was a Romance, and I enjoyed the storyline with this one and adored the characters.

This was the first book I read from author Ali Hazelwood, too, and I’m kicking myself for not reading her sooner. The whole time I was reading this book, I couldn’t wait to tell my oldest daughter, who is away at college right now, about it. This book is something I know she would enjoy, especially with it being a STEM romance.

I’ve always enjoyed the fake dating storyline in romance books and loved how Olive and Adam ended up stumbling into it. The whole reason behind the ‘fake relationship’ was to convince Olive’s friend she had moved on from a guy that her friend now was seeing that Olive used to date. Adam agreed to fake date Olive until a certain deadline. The more time they spent together, though, the more one of them or both were going to start having genuine feelings, and I was all for them developing into a real relationship, especially with how they had an instant chemistry between the two.

I adored Olive’s character and hated knowing what she went through when she was younger. She was a driven, brilliant character that I connected with right away, and she reminded me of my oldest daughter. I hated what happened to Olive during the conference and wanted to comfort her and encourage her to tell someone. Yes, this scene did bring out some emotions in me because I had experienced something similar while working in the Navy and hated that I never had the encouragement to do something about it. No woman should ever feel they can’t speak up about this issue, especially when the person threatens her. I’m grateful for how the book addressed the issue and thankful for Olive having some amazing friends and how Adam handled it, too.

Adam may have been a difficult college professor and a grump at times, especially to certain people, but he wasn’t that way with Olive. He had agreed to fake date her, and he was one of her biggest supporters. I loved how he was with her when they did eventually give in to their attraction to one another. (I highly recommend listening to the book because you’ll get a chapter in his POV, and you’ll fall head over heels for the man.)

This book is told mainly in the FMC’s POV, which I usually prefer reading dual, but I didn’t mind with this book. I preferred not knowing what Adam was thinking because it made it more mysterious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I give the story 4.5 stars; I can’t wait for my daughter to read it when she has time between taking notes, writing essays, and studying for her degree. I also can’t wait to read more books from Ali Hazelwood.

Here are some of the trope(s)/element(s) that I found while reading this book that may appeal to readers:
💙STEM Romance
💙Fake Dating/Relationship
💙Age Gap
💙Grumpy vs. Sunshine
💙Slow Burn

Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5

Steam/Spice: 🌶.5

Standalone or Part of Series: Standalone

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Contemporary Romance

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FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)

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