• Home
  • Categories
    • Book Reviews
    • Bookish stuff
    • Wrap Ups
    • Blogging
  • Review Archive
    • Romance
    • Mystery/Thriller
    • Young Adult
  • About
  • Contact

In Lin's Library

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

november 30, 2021

Name: The Love Hypothesis
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publication date: September 14th, 2021
Length: 352 pages (paperback)
Tropes: Grumpy/sunshine, Fake dating, only one bed (sort of)
POV: Female main character, third person, past tense
Steam level: ✦✦✦✦✧
Final rating: ★★★★★

Warning! Gushy review incoming! Yesterday I finished The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, everyone’s latest favorite read. It came out in September of this year and I feel like I was the last of my Goodreads friends to read it. But that’s a good sign right? Especially because most people loved it! Except I usually don’t love the books that everyone else loves.. Well, this time I was proven wrong.

In this book we follow Olive, a third year P.h.D candidate (women in STEM, we love to see it!) Olive is on the ace spectrum (which was lovely to read about) and although it is never said with that many words in the book, I’d consider her demisexual: she only feels sexual feelings towards people she also has an emotional connection with. And that doesn’t happen often to olive. But then she panics and ‘accidentally’ kisses a young assistant professor that’s also a well-known ass. And then, because of reasons, they have to (gasp) fake date each other!

Let me start with the elephant in the room: I was a bit iffy to read about a student/professor relationship but it didn’t end up bothering me in this book. Of course, Olive is a grad student, so she’s a whole ass 26 years old. But also, the male main character isn’t in her department and they don’t work together. The book even makes it a point to mention they got permission from the department to date each other , as long as Adam is not involved with Olive’s research and thesis, which he wasn’t in the first place so that’s easy enough. All in all, I think the relationship in an academic setting was tastefully done, which I’m happy with, because it was a really fun setting to read about!

Something that really stood out to me was how funny this book was. I liked that it didn’t take itself or its tropes too seriously. I specifically remember two times where our main character thinks: this is just like in the romcoms! She is aware of the fake dating trope as well as the ‘there is only one bed’ trope, although the latter is proved wrong here! That made the whole book seem really fun and made it easier to suspend some of my disbelief regarding those things. There is also the grumpy/sunshine trope, which is one of my personal favorites, especially in combination with the fake dating trope.

When it comes to steam, I’d definitely say that it takes a while to get there, but when we do get there the pay-off is worth it. I have seen this referred to as a slow burn and I understand why, but at the same time a slow burn is often referred to as a story where the action doesn’t start to get going until 60% to 70% into the book, and technically these character kiss within like.. the first 10 pages. So I’m a bit iffy on that one. There is still a lot of yearning, pining and deep staring though, and that is always good.

You should also know that the steam is pretty explicit and not fade-to-black, but it also is pretty vanilla and contained to one specific section of the book. So if you’re not into that sort of thing, it’s easy to skip. I loved it though, and thought it was well written. Olive is pretty inexperienced in the sexual department and the author was not scared to show that. I much prefer to read about sex that seems at least somewhat realistic, it can still be hot!

This book was really fun, and it’s one of the better romances I read this year. I loved the setting, and I wish there were more romances about women in STEM! If you’re into romances at all, I highly recommend this one. I don’t give books five stars all that often, so I’m always happy to add another one to the list.

Posted In: Book Reviews · Tagged: ali hazelwood, Book Reviews, Contemporary Romance, the love hypothesis

Trackbacks

  1. Wrap up: November 2021 – In Lin's Library schreef:
    december 2, 2021 om 2:47 pm

    […] Just like the previous one, I have already reviewed The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood in a separate post. I ended up really loving this one and my review is mostly to gush about it! The romance, the […]

    Beantwoorden

Geef een antwoord Reactie annuleren

Het e-mailadres wordt niet gepubliceerd. Vereiste velden zijn gemarkeerd met *

Hi there! My name is Lin and welcome to In Lin's Library, my little corner on the internet where I talk about books (and anything else that strikes my fancy because I have no self control).

2022 Reading Challenge

2022 Reading Challenge
In Lin’s Library has read 0 books toward their goal of 100 books.
hide
0 of 100 (0%)
view books
  • Privacy policy

Copyright © 2023 In Lin's Library · Theme by 17th Avenue

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Altijd ingeschakeld
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDuurOmschrijving
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
OPSLAAN & ACCEPTEREN