Friday, September 9, 2022

Audio Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Pages: 356
Genre: Adult Fiction/Romance
Pub. Date: September 14, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Personal Copy
Other Books By Author: Love on the Brain
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Goodreads says, "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."

 

Olive Smith is heavily involved in pancreatic cancer research at Stanford University as she lost a loved one to this horrible disease.  While there, she briefly met Professor Adam Carlsen in the bathroom of the lab of all places. Years later after this awkward meeting, their paths cross again. Olive is desperately trying to appear to be dating someone (anyone!), so her best friend, Anh, will get off her case. To prove this to Anh, she kisses the next person she sees, who happens to be Adam. Yes, Professor Adam Carlsen.  Cue the awkwardness.  This one random kiss turns into a fake relationship of sorts when Adam realizes there are benefits on his end as well. The university thinks Adam could leave at any point for a new position, but what if he got involved with someone and it appeared he was setting down roots? Maybe they would release the rest of the money for his research. Adam and Olive set a few rules regarding their relationship and that it will end by September.  What could possibly go wrong? Ali Hazelwood's laugh-out-loud rom-com,The Love Hypothesis, is such a fresh romance and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Olive is a wonderful character in The Love Hypothesis. Yes, she's quirky and a bit awkward, but that's why I love her.  Her relationship with Adam was fantastic. They are truly opposites and even though the fake relationship trope has been done a ton, Hazelwood kept it fresh.  Their witty banter was one of the best aspects of the novel and I loved Hazelwood's incorporation of STEM.  Adam, on the other hand, is a foil of Olive, and seemed too good to be true at times. Not only is he brilliant, he is in excellent shape (those abs!), and good looking.  But isn't that what we turn to romance novels for?

I adored the academia setting of The Love Hypothesis. I have not read too many STEM romances, but Hazelwood is seriously the best at this. She made the academia setting come to life and who would have thought it could actually be sexy?  So, with that said, there's a lot of spice in this novel.  If you love your romances with a strong side of steam, this is it! 

The audio book narrator of The Love Hypothesis, Callie Dalton, was also wonderful and she really brought the book to life. It was one of the only audio books this year where I kept finding myself sneaking time to listen to the story to see how it would end for Olive and Adam.

So, romance lovers, if you are one of the few people who hasn't yet picked up The Love Hypothesis definitely do so! You won't be disappointed by the smart, yet romantic story lines.  Are you a fan of Ali Hazelwood? Have you read The Love Hypothesis and her latest novel, Love on the Brain? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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