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A Non-spoiler Synopsis
Third year Ph. D. candidate, Olive Smith, is just trying to be a good friend. Olive doesn’t really believe in long lasing romantic relationships. Which is why she is completely fine with her best friend Anh dating her ex. The only problem is that Anh doesn’t believe Olive is actually over him. So, what does any good scientist do? Provide evidence. Which leads Olive to panic and kiss the first man she comes across…who happens to be Adam Carlsen, an up-and-coming professor and resident terror to all students.
There’s more beneath Adams jerk exterior though. He agrees to help Olive by going along with a fake dating charade. As they delve deeper into a fake relationship that’s starting to make Olive question her underlining hypothesis on romance, Olive’s scientific career is coming under fire. Can Olive navigate the politics of academia while her experimental love life is combusting?
My Thots on the Smut and Vibes of “The Love Hypothesis”
I see now why this book launched Ali Hazelwood’s career as a romance author. This book is perfect for those that are looking for a light entertaining romance with well placed smut and quippy dialog. I was honestly going back and forth on whether or not to give this book three or four stars. The deciding factor for me was that there wasn’t a whole lot of plot going on but it was still a very enjoyable read.
If you enjoy fake dating (which I certainly do), then you’d enjoy this book. What really worked well with the trope was that Olive’s friend Anh, was skeptical of Olive’s fake relationship with Adam so she kept putting them in the position to prove that they were dating. A few other tropes in this book are grumpy x sunshine, shared bedrooms, he falls first, and he falls harder.
The smut was well done and occurs later in the book. Which I appreciate because there are definitely some good slow burn moments when the fake dating starts to feel more real.
Overall, a very fun read if you like broody MMCs and quippy dialog. Don’t be surprised if you see more Ali Hazelwood reviews coming soon.