The Love Hypothesis

Ali Hazelwood

Sep 2021 · The Love Hypothesis Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The Instant New York Times Bestseller and TikTok Sensation!

As seen on THE VIEW!

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.

Ratings and reviews

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book very much. It was quirky and addictive. The main character reminded me so much about somebody I care about. I could go on. The problem is that there was a trope that I can't stand in it that almost made me put the book down. The person I was buddy reading actually did. I can't say I blame him. I was stubborn though and wanted to see it through to the very end. I'm glad I did. (More on blog: Star's Books & Tea)

This book checked all of my boxes and was an absolute joy to read. It was adorkably wonderful and gave my heart all the flutters and swoops that I love to feel. The Love Hypothesis combined so many of my favorite tropes like fake dating, "I hate everyone but you", slow burn enemies to friends to lovers, etc, and leaned into them so perfectly. All the pining and longing had my heart beating so fast and every loaded glance and near touch had me swooning. I'm always a sucker for those thoughtful little gestures and gifts that slowly add up, and The Love Hypothesis had them in spades. I adored Adam and Olive and their chemistry and the build up between them was so well done. I nearly combusted when things finally boiled over *bites fist* and I'm honestly still fanning myself. I loved all the aspects of their friendship and relationship because they connected on so many levels. The banter between them, as well as all their friends, was hilarious and I laughed so hard. I loved that they all gave as good as they got. In addition to loving Olive and Adam, I adored the secondary characters just as much (well, besides a certain "good friend", but even he played his role so vilely). Anh and Malcolm are the ride or dies that we all want and need in our lives. Their found family was a highlight of the book for sure. The Love Hypothesis is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021 (and ever!) and I can't wait to read what Ali Hazelwood writes next! CW: cancer, death of parent, bullying, sexual harassment *I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I just adored this book! I cannot say enough wonderful things about it! Just go buy it, you won't be sorry. Olive Smith is a 3rd year PhD student. Olive wants to convince her best friend, Anh that she is over the last guy she dated, whom now Anh likes. So when the opportunity arises, Olive turns and kisses the closes person to her, knowing that Anh will see. Well it ends up being Adam Carlsen, the young, hot shot professor who everyone hates. Now Olive has a bigger problem in that she has to convince her friends that she really is dating Adam. Good thing he decides to "play" along. Of course the more time these two spend together, the more those lines keep getting blurred. When a big science conference ends up throwing Adam and Olive together, things get even hotter. Just when it looks like everything in Olive's life is starting to look promising, a wrench gets thrown into the mix and her life gets shattered. Just when it looks like there is no hope, Olive finds that she may still have a little luck on her side. This fake dating, super sexy contemporary romance story was perfect. I just loved both of these characters. Olive was quirky, fun and so tuned into her school work that she didn't notice many things going on around her, namely Adam. Adam was stern and took his work seriously. He strived to make everyone a better scientist, and most of the time was misunderstood. He also had a secret crush on Olive. These two together provided such fun dialog and I could not put this story down. I just loved how these two meshed. Overall I cannot recommend this book enough.

About the author

Ali Hazelwood is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis, as well as a writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her three feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).