Tuesday, September 14, 2021

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ~ Review

Source: e-ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair & honest review.

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.




I picked up an ARC of this on a whim. I knew I wanted to read it, but I was content to wait until the book's release to pick it up. But then I saw it on NG and thought "why not?" and requested it. And then I got approved the next day and gave it a glance. I then proceeded to let this book take over my life until I finished it. So suffice it to say, that this book was fantastic and I LOVED IT.

From the very beginning The Love Hypothesis hooked me. Olive's voice comes through loud, clear, and arresting from the start. And the humor, the banter, is present right away. I wasn't even a full chapter in and already laughing. So I suppose all of this is my way of making a case that Ali Hazelwood is an excellent writer.

The plot is everything I could think to want in a romance. The tropes alone are magnificent. Grumpy & sunshine! Fake dating! Slooooowww beautiful burn! Did I mention the grumpy hero??? And Ali Hazelwood executed all of these tropes in a way that was so perfect, my ever aching heart was so full.

And the romance. The. Romance! I could write an entire love letter about the romance alone. I was so invested. So satisfied. So happy. Olive and Adam are 100% OTP material and will live in my heart as one of my favorite couples.

The setting and side characters complemented the story so well also. I haven't read a lot of STEM based romance, but I will need to search some out because I loved it here. And Olive's best friends? Top tier. And Adam's best friend? Also the greatest. And everyone together was so funny and supportive and amazing and I loved them all.

Overall, The Love Hypothesis brought me so much joy, and will for sure be one of my top ten reads of 2021. I adored the romance with all its well done tropes, and will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled so I can pounce on whatever Ali Hazelwood has coming next. And if you're on the fence, please allow me to peer pressure you into picking this one up! You won't regret it!

(...Especially if you're a fan of Mariana Zapata. This book filled the MZ-shaped hole in my heart that I always have between her releases.)


5 stars - The grumpy + sunshine slow burn fake relationship romance of my dreams!




3 comments:

  1. Soooo many people reading this book right now, I guess I might have to pick it up, but I am always scared of hyped books

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  2. I absolutely loved this book too! I do understand where Tee is coming from. I've tried to read hyped up books before and ended up not liking the book for my own reasons. I do hope you are able to give it a try Tee. I'm not a big fan of fake relationships/fake dating in books but I took a chance and ended up loving it. Great review Jessica!

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