The Love Hypothesis

 

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. - excerpt from Goodreads.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood will make you laugh, swoon and feel warm in your heart. I absolutely adored this book and was so mesmerised by the story. It made it to my top 3 favourite rom-com books in 2021. I appreciated all the scientific aspect of the book although I don't understand any of it but it showed how much thought the author put into building her characters. The story started off with a lot of fun and the plotline albeit simple yet it was engaging.

The book is written in Olive's perspective only which gives the reader a good grasp of her personality, challenges as well her growth. I absolutely loved reading her interactions with Adam, so intense and funny for many moments. As a reader, you can already feel the signals that Adam is giving her yet both of them dense to what is happening at the same time. Her past and her challenges greatly shapes her person and it's not unrealistic at all. When you read about it, you'll feel like if only she was more fortunate but alas it's part of the story. Adam is elusive at first but you can definitely get more of his personality shining through when he is with Olive, it's a side of him that is exclusive for her. For the supportive characters of the story, they are well written, contributes in moving the plot forward as well.

I always enjoy a book with plotlines that are not predictable. Although you can predict what kind of ending it would be, but the journey to get there is what makes this a good page turner. Plot twists happens because we need the characters to grow as well as to give a change of pace. I felt the timeline in the book was not rush and also not draggy. Everything happened at the right timing and the outcome certainly makes readers swoon.

To summarise, this book was a breath of fresh air considering I've read many rom-com over the years. It was unique with characters that you feel for and steamy at the right moments. The author does not lack in keeping you at your toes and sometimes wishing where is this "Adam" in my life. These past few years, there are many rom com authors that shine through their first book and then they start to lose that spark, I hope this author continues to do well because there aren't many of them.