Book Review #122: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I've had this book for a while but I haven't been interested in reading romances lately. After reading a couple of darker books in a row, I was looking for something more fun and light-hearted, and came across this.

Ph.D. candidate Olive is trying to convince her best friend Anh that she's in a relationship. To keep up the charade, in a panic, Olive kisses the first man she sees. Unfortunately, that man happens to be Adam Carlsen, the harshest professor at the university. So it's a surprise when he agrees to be Olive's fake boyfriend. But as the pair spend more time together to keep up the illusion, Olive finds that maybe she doesn't want the relationship to be fake anymore.

I loved this book. I honestly didn't even expect to like it, so the fact that I completely loved it was a huge shock to me.

From very early on I liked the characters more than I thought I would.

And while I really liked Olive as a character, I loved Adam. Like, I was (and still am a little bit) in love with Adam. This combination of characters was so much fun to read, and I haven't liked a romance so much in a while, if ever.

My favourite thing about the characters was the way they interact. Their dialogue is authentic while also creating an enviable friendship/fake relationship. I'd read about these characters in any setting.

I don't think I've ever smiled so much while reading a book! I think I finally get what romance lovers see when they read these books!

Some things in the story were told when they could have been shown. We don't need Olive to brush things off as her imagination - it would be a lot more fun if the reader noticed something she didn't, rather than her noticing and dismissing it.

I personally didn't enjoy the (20-ish page) sex scene as much as I wanted to. I liked living in the characters' innocence, and the somewhat graphic nature of this took that away. Especially for the character of Adam, who before this was quite elusive to the reader. But this is more about personal preference than anything else - it was well-written, and it did move the story forward.

I wanted it to last so much longer than it did. I actually felt really upset when it ended, and I found it hard to pick my next book. I didn't want to let the characters go.

Overall, this is probably my favourite romance book of all time. I love the main and supporting characters, I love the story, and I really want another one! I need more of Olive and Adam!

4.5/5