Review | THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood

Review of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood

“Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.” 

– The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood

I am absolutely in love with Dr. Adam Carlsen

Synopsis

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. 

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Review

So, this book… The Love Hypothesis is so hyped on Bookstagram and BookTok and I had to read it. I must say when reading the blurb I was intrigued. I loved the fact that the main characters are getting (or already have) their PhD and that the trope is enemies-to-lovers.

However, I found out quite soon that this wasn’t going to be a 5-star read. The thought actually came to me when reading the first few pages. Olive is just so… cringe sometimes? Like the explanation she gives for doing things is so unrealistic. This book felt so unrealistic sometimes.

Also, a lot of conversations were overall just really cringey. I did have to laugh a few times out loud just because of how absurd some conversations were.

I also really didn’t like Ahn, Olive’s best friend. I felt like she only wanted to talk about herself and celebrate her own victories rather than be there for her friend.

I did really love Adam though. He was definitely the highlight of this book. I have added him to the list of my book boyfriends. He was broody and mysterious and I loved it.

There were some good scenes, especially the sex scene. That one was honestly amazing.

I also didn’t like the ending of the book? It felt quite rushed, and I would’ve liked to see a more fitting end.

Definitely disappointed by The Love Hypothesis.

Would I recommend it?

If you can handle a bit of cringe, maybe.

Rating

6/10

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Details

Trigger warnings
Cancer, death of a parent (past), misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment
Representation
Jewish secular main character, demisexual main character, Vietnamese American side character, queer side character
Genre
Romance (new adult)
Pages
352
Publication date
September 14th 2021
Publisher
Berkley Books
About the author
Ali Hazelwood is originally from Italy, lived in Japan and Germany, and eventually moved to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. Oh, the sheer dread of being entrusted with the care of young minds!

When she’s not at work you can find her binge-watching shows with her feline overlords (and her slightly less feline husband), running, or eating candy.