The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood: Is It A Top-Tier S.T.E.M. Romance?

By: Ali Hummel

*Minor SPOILERS for the book are included in this post!

Besides myself and a book social media influencer I watch (JustAli on YouTube), Ali Hazelwood is the only person I've heard of that spells Ali the same way I do, so automatically she's awesome.

The Love Hypothesis is Ali Hazelwood's debut novel that came out in September of 2021, about a year after BookTok (the side of TikTok where the book enthusiasts share content) blew up. For a debut novel, The Love Hypothesis did exceptionally well and Ali Hazelwood quickly became a New York Times best-selling author.

Here is a brief summary of the book: Ph.D. candidate Olive Smith needs to convince her best friend, Anh, that she's happy and dating someone. Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees in the room and that man happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen. Adam is unanimously disliked by his students and is naturally an asshole, so Olive is surprised when he agrees to be her fake-boyfriend for more reasons than one. Once again, a classic fake-dating turns into real feelings trope.

One thing I should mention is that the book is written in third person from Olive's point of view. I prefer first person normally but this POV didn't bother me. It took some time getting used to while reading but it was totally fine by the end.

I'll be the first to admit I was hesitant to read this, partly because it was third person, but I picked it up earlier this month per my sister's recommendation when I was in the midst of a major book slump. A book slump is a phrase people in the book community use when they go a long time without reading or spend a long time reading one book. The main reason I was hesitant to read this is that I heard it was based off of a Star Wars fan-fiction about Kylo Ren and Rey. Usually fan-fiction is cheesy and sometimes unbearable to read, but luckily this book didn't read like a poorly written fan-fiction.

To put it simply, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Adam was charming, protective, kind, and not as much of an ass as the other characters thought. The perfect male love interest, in my opinion. As much as I love the grumpy/sunshine book trope, I'm glad they didn't keep Adam as the grumpy character the whole time. In fact, I'd call Adam practical and a purist rather than a grumpy guy. He ended up showing his soft side and his intense side simultaneously (for example, when he pinned Tom against the wall after he harassed Olive. A bonus point for Adam). More importantly, Adam was respectful and attentive. For instance, a big part of Olive's character is that she mentions how inexperienced she is. Adam took note of that and never made Olive do anything she was uncomfortable doing whether it was something sexual or anything else. Clearly, we need more men like Dr. Adam Carlsen in the world.

As for Olive, she is most definitely the sunshine character. Despite her misbelief in long-lasting romantic relationships, she was very peppy and often described ordering the sweetest, most outrageous coffee drinks while wearing unicorn socks. She's chaotic, messy, and very emotional, but understanding.

Adam and Olive are the complete opposite of each other. As the reader, you truly fall in love with them as a couple and understand how they fit together so well. Ali Hazelwood did a fantastic job of making her readers root for them.

So you may be wondering, besides the quirky but adorable scientist couple, why am I recommending this book? Well, I'll tell you. In my previous review for Elle Kennedy's The Deal, I wrote how her main characters were for the most part well-rounded and that the story was entertaining. The reason I recommend The Love Hypothesis is similar. I'd say that The Love Hypothesis is an incredibly well-done fake-dating story that was entertaining, not too cheesy, and had well-rounded characters that felt like real people. That's all you can really ask for in a well-written adult romance.

Overall, I'm glad I took my sister's recommendation and finally read this adorable book. Just to warn you though: if you're not a Ph.D. candidate like Olive or if you're not involved in the science field in any capacity, you might want to get a dictionary so you can understand a couple of Olive and Adam's conversations. Ali Hazelwood sure did her research on Ph.D. programs and scientific talk.

Thank you for reading!

All images found on Google.

The description of the book and links on where to purchase it can be found on the author's website as well.

Ali Hazelwood's Website: https://alihazelwood.com/the-love-hypothesis/