The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Published by Penguin on September 14, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month
The Instant New York Times Bestseller and TikTok Sensation!
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A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021
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.
My Review
I was on the fence about picking this book for my BOTM box but after reading it I am so glad I did. I picked this book up early meaning before February because I needed to escape my brain space. You see I heard some terrible news about a friend of mine recently and I just wanted to escape reality for a bit. The Love Hypothesis did that for me. Now I am suffering from a bit of a book hangover.
Olive who is one of the main characters does not believe in love and romance but she does believe in friendship. That belief is what got her into this mess to begin with. You see Ahn who happens to be one of Olive’s besties has feelings for one of her ex-boyfriends. It does not seem to matter how many times Olive tells Ahn to go for it she still believes Olive has feelings for her ex. So one night in a desperate attempt to show Ahn that she has moved on she kisses Adam Carlsen. Adam is a well-known professor in the science department but that isn’t the worst part he is also known as a dick among her peers. What is Olive to do when she realizes who it is? The most logical thing is to start fake dating. The shocker is Adam agrees to Olive’s charade. Why does he agree to do this, what is in it for him? Does she discover another side of Adam or is he really the ass her peers make him out to be?
I very much enjoyed reading about Olive and her friends navigating their third year in the Ph.D. program at Stanford. If you are looking for a fun rom-com type book then this one may be the one for you. It would absolutely be a great read for February or basically, any time you need a pick-me-up and maybe an escape from reality. Readers beware though there are trigger warnings in this book for loss, grief, and sexual harassment.