The Love Hypothesis Book Review
Check out my review of The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, the bestselling women in STEM romance author responsible for making science scintillating.
I’ve been enjoying a steady stream of romance books this year, I find them to be the perfect escape when life gets stressful.
With all the buzz around Ali Hazelwood’s women in STEM romance series, I wanted to start with her debut novel The Love Hypothesis.
Curious if this book is for you? Check out my full review below.
Summary of 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.
What I Liked
Here’s what I would tell my best friend about the book:
- The Science Theme: I’m married to an engineer so I definitely related to the portrayal of Adam Carlsen, the “hotshot professor” main romantic interest but I’m the farthest thing from a scientist myself so I loved living vicariously through Olive’s story.
- The Hypothesis Chapter Intros: Each chapter begins with a hypothesis that sets the stage for the next few pages. I loved these little tidbits.
- Adam: Honestly, he reminds me very much of my husband. Quiet and reserved until he lets you in and trusts you. Winning over a guy like that makes you feel like a superstar. I loved watching his feelings grow for Olive and watching her realize how much about him she just didn’t understand.
What I Didn’t Like
Every reader needs something different from a book. What I may not have preferred may be your favorite part.
I really appreciate modern contemporary romance even when I’m not the same age of the main characters, it helps me to better understand the world my own daughters are aging up into.
That said, this book was so very current with situations, sayings, and thought patterns of young 20-somethings right now that I suspect it will not age well and will feel dated for future audiences.
This is a shame because showcasing smart, romantic women in the workplace is so fantastic.
How Spicy Is It?
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️: The Love Hypothesis rates a Level 4 on my spicy books rating scale. Open door romance that is a main motivation for the characters.
Tropes
This is a grumpy sunshine romance between two scientists in a professional lab setting.
Overall Score
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I give The Love Hypothesis a 4-star rating. The romance was swoony but it was the unique setting and characters that kept me grabbing my book to read. I’ll definitely be checking out more books by this author.
If this is your first time reading one of my reviews, you may want to check out how I score my reads with this scale guide here.
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