Ali Hazelwood

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. 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.

The Love Hypothesis

A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021 When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. 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.

SHE HAS THE RECORDING!!!! YESSS I AM SO HAPPY ALSO I SO DIDNT SEE THAT COMING 

Fireless

although i do find the writting to be off

like are the whole talk was done with her standing and him sitting on the bed. the environments aren't that well described and i hate that because i like to keep track of what every one is doing

"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

There is no moment in life that cannot be omproved by food delivered by conveyer belt.

If my best friend tried to push me into kissing my boyfriend in public just cause he showed off his power, I think they wouldn't really be my best friend lol

jeeyu

Olive whirled around, abruptly reminded of Anh's existence. "What?" No. No. "I'm good. I just said goodbye to him a minute ago and-"

"Ol, why don't you want to go kiss your boyfriend?"

Ugh. "I...It's not that I don't want to. I just-"

"Dude, he just moved a truck. By himself. On uphill ground. He deserves a damn kiss." Anh shoved Olive and made a shooing motion.

'Contemporary romance's unicorn: the elusive marriage of deeply brainy and delightfully escapist.' Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. 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 on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, 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 he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Tiktok made me buy it! The romcom of the year!

Alma 

“Hey," Holden asked from the passenger window. “What did Adam's fortune cookie say?" 

“Mmm." Olive made a show to look at the strip. “Not much. Just “Holden Rodrigues, Ph.D., is a loser.”"

 Malcolm sped up just as Holden flipped her off, making her burst into laughter. 

“What does it really say?" Adam asked when they were finally alone. 

Olive handed him the crumpled paper and remained silent as he angled it to read it in the lamplight

. She wasn't surprised when she saw a muscle jump in his jaw, or when he slid the for- tune into the pocket of his jeans. She knew what it said, after all.

 You can fall in love: someone will catch you.

 "It was him," Adam whispered. His voice was low, barely a whisper, deceptively calm. His eyes, unreadable.

 “It was Tom. The reason you were crying.”

 In the background, Tom's recorded voice droned on and on. Talking about how mediocre she was. How Adam would never believe her. Calling her names. 

"This is ridiculous." Tom was coming closer again, reattempting to take the phone away. “I'm not sure what this bitch's problem is, but she's clearly—“

 Adam exploded so fast, she didn't even see him move. One moment he stood in front of her, and the next he was pinning Tom against the wall. 

“I'm going to kill you," he gritted out, little more than a growl.

"If you say another word about the woman I love, if you look at her, if you even 

 "Olive. If you ever need anything, anything at all. 

His jaw worked, like there were other words, words he was keeping inside. “I 

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when she was sitting itting on her bed staring at the Boston skyline and chewing on her lunch, that Olive realized that the protein bar Adam had given her was covered in chocolate.

 He nodded calmly. But then, then he asked equally calmly, “why?”

 and she wanted to bang her head against the table.

  “The room is a double, of course," he offered, as if that piece of information could have possibly changed her mind.

“Because people will think that we..." She noticed Adam's look and immediately hushed. "Okay, fine. They already think that. But." 

 “Adam." She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "There will be only one bed.”

 He frowned. "No, as I said it's a double—”

 "It's not. It won't be. There will be only one bed, for sure." 

He gave her a puzzled look. “I got the booking confirmation the other day. I can forward it to you if you want; it says that—“

He stared at her, perplexed, and she sighed and leaned helplessly against the back of her chair. He'd clearly never seen a rom-com or read a romance novel in his life. "Nothing. Ignore me."

Holden's gaze turned sharp. “Adam said you might be going to work with Tom next year. Is that true?”

He nodded, pensive. Then seemed to come to some sort of decision and added, "Watch your back while you're around him, okay?" 

"My back?" What? Why? Did this have anything to do with what Adam had mentioned Holden not liking Tom? “What do you mean?" 

"Adam's back, too. Especially Adam's back."

 The bottom of the image proudly stated “Pumpkin Pie Frappuccino," and below that, Adam's text: 

She didn't need to be told that she was grinning at her phone like an idiot.

Olive's smile stayed in place for a long time. 

He smiled in response, as if pleased to have made her laugh. 

Though it was certainly for some other reason.

The silence between them stretched, and Olive noticed that he was blushing faintly. 

Just a dusting of red, but he looked so… olive couldn’t stop staring.

The ghost of a smile appeared on his mouth, but he said nothing.

Here after “love, theoretically” where Elsie didnt think olive knew what fake dating even was😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

 “Yes. You know. What we are allowed and not allowed to do. What we can expect from this arrangement. I think that's pretty standard protocol, before embarking on a fake-dating relationship."

 He tilted his head. “Standard protocol?"

 "Zero. But I am familiar with the trope."

 “The... what?" He blinked at her, confused. 

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. C onvincing Anh that Olive on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam C arlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

SJ Rowley

Adam exploded so fast, she didn't even see him move. One moment he stood in front of her, and the next he was pinning Tom against the wall.

"I'm going to kill you," he gritted out, little more than a growl. "If you say another word about the woman I love, if you look at her, if you even think about her--I'm going to fucking kill you."

"Adam." She rubbed her forehead with her fingers.

He frowned. "No, as I said it's a double.”

"It's not. It won't be. There will be only one bed, for sure."

Then again, she'd also rather not be in this room with Adam Carlsen, have the semester begin in a handful of days, have climate change be a thing. And yet.

foteini

Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man 

San fr is my resume for your kind reference to 

Barry cooper

Test the results on your computer to see what you 

“And I am drawn to you, even though I don’t know why.”

“Maybe you just pull out the best in me?”

Christina Farkona

“Olive.” He pulled her closer, pressing his lips against her forehead. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is that you’re crying about, I will fix it. I will make it right. I—”

I’m starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. Being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole.

listen this book is fun, but also im just kinda picky about whats a good rom to me, but its still a fun turn your brain off read. 

that being said, this was reylo fic and you can kinda tell, because to me im just not invested in these characters/didnt really feel their chemistry. which makes sense cause in fanfic you dont have to develop that people just go already invested. the main girl character is also annoying and dumb. man is texting her “wish you were here” and shes like damn, too bad he doesnt like me :(. and its like girl lol. additionally we have to hear how evil the main guy is every other sentence and like the worst thing he does is tell someone their research isnt good and like, thats not evil? thats just being a good professor. 

ALSO this book really did piss me off in the first 5 pages, canada does have thanksgiving. its just on a different day!!!!!!

alice l

listen this book is fun, but also im just kinda picky about whats a good rom to me, but its still a fun turn your brain off read. 

that being said, this was reylo fic and you can kinda tell, because to me im just not invested in these characters/didnt really feel their chemistry. which makes sense cause in fanfic you dont have to develop that people just go already invested. the main girl character is also annoying and dumb. man is texting her “wish you were here” and shes like damn, too bad he doesnt like me :(. and its like girl lol. additionally we have to hear how evil the main guy is every other sentence and like the worst thing he does is tell someone their research isnt good and like, thats not evil? thats just being a good professor. 

ALSO this book really did piss me off in the first 5 pages, canada does have thanksgiving. its just on a different day!!!!!!

0.5 bc i cant give it a zero. bad writing cliche tropes too much happening. ahn and malcolm and holden being there for diversity points took years off my life and so did the sorry excuse for sex scene which imo added nothing to the book. we need better conflicts in romance novels that dont revolve around someone harassing a woman and her LI in turn fighting them. its cringey! and not in a fun way! like half the book could have been cut away. why did characters act like teenagers YOURE GROWN. i wish this had stayed on ao3. 

khush

Christina Melia 

its okay namann erbody said its kinda mid pero oks lang, altho medyo rushed sa last part thoo this book full of nerds and they speak research language HAHHA i wanna read adam's pov so bad im itchinggg

Mharie

Liv N.

first (and probably last) booktok/contemporary romance I'd ever read. physically cringed at some parts. can't believe grown women out there are reading such garbage every day.

Ayesha

elinabel hidalgo 

Desde hace meses había comprado el libro y hasta ahora me digné en leerlo, ¡me ha encantado! Ahora me arrepiento muchísimo de no haberlo leído antes. Desde el primer capitulo me enganché con el libro, cosa que no suele suceder a menudo en mi. Fue hermoso, carajo. 

ADAM CARLSEN TIENE UN LUGAR ESPECIAL EN MI CORAZÓN 🫶🏻

Scarlett

Se ha convertido en una de mis lecturas favoritas, olive es un amorcito y solo quiero abrazarla y hablar con ella durante toda la noche. Adam tiene un aire de misterio que me enamora y me hace no poder dejar de pensar en el
No había leído una historia de romance con científicos pero me ha encantado como la autora llevo toda la dinámica
Y sinceramente, quien no querría aplicarle protector solar a Adam Carlsen por su espalda ?

sometimes the girlies just want to have fun and sometimes i am that girly.

ash (smokedshelves)

Morana 

finally done reading this book! i honestly enjoyed every chapter of this book. but i guess this kind of romance story is not my cup of tea. i want something more, i want something deep. but i know that this story is not design for that. its light, fun, ease😌 nevertheless, i'm glad i met olive and adam.

Kirsten Kim

beside the unicorn stockings this was a cute lil romcom novel

Linara K.S

It was... okay?
I don't get the hype, and I think I never will (with any of the booktok books).

Anyhow, here are the goods and the bads (entirely based on MY opinion):
the goods:
• the realistic depiction of post-grad academia 
• the mentions of scientific procedures, etc...
• the problems dealt with in the book concerning academia and student life.

the bads:
• no attachment to characters (especially the two main leads). They were as stale as a month old loaf of bread. 
• the romance fell flat for me. This book is  supposed to be a romance, is it not??? Then why didn't I feel the angst? The tension??? The ROMANCE!? *sighs*
• the stupid catalyst. The book's plot is put into motion for a stupid reason, and you can't tell me otherwise.

"When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. 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."--

Rebecca Hurd

Cute read!! Absolutely loved the back and forth between Olive and Adam it made their “fake relationship” so adorable and showed their amazing chemistry!! Definitely recommend!!

Kiran Aftab

not a fan of the miscommunication trope but i love fake dating! i also love the sun and moon dynamic. a fun read indeed

Ok I read this but what was this TikTok forced me to and idk professor student thingy is js HUHHHH

Aashvi

tori 👻

4,5

I had the time of my life reading this. I'm not used to reading romance but I wanted to try it this year. I feel like I was trying in the wrong place before, which was YA. Don't get me wrong, I still felt second-hand embarrassment a few times in the beginning. But I guess that is me in general and it's part of the ride.
I don't like student/professor romances, but it worked since they have nothing to do with each other, do not work together and, well, she's a grad student.
Boring talk from my part aside, I had fun. It was juicy, filled with those tropes we know and love while being very self-aware.

la vdd es q me gusto pero a veces era desesperante la protagonista 😞 siento que necesitaba un poco más de romance? pero detalles

♥︎

Daphne

Tsamarah

A solid 3.5 Stars from me.

I find the monologue quite dull and boring so I skim through most of it, although I feel like I could relate to the heroine as I struggle with social anxiety myself, but somehow I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The PDAs were forced and didn’t felt as natural as It should, rubbing a professor nude back in a large gathering? Cringe. The book is ridiculous and it acknowledge it and I guess that made it way more enjoyable. It could definitely do better but overall a nice read. 

P.S I know this was a fan fiction before so I really can't NOT thought about Adam Driver while I was reading this and it kinda bothers me.. lol but ok never mind

look while i find this book very enjoyable and fun to read somethings did bug me

like the whole tall thing i didnt find plausible actually like no i dont understand how this is possible

the fact that environments are never described in detail, how much it read like a first draft.

if the books was writen as fanfiction it doesn not mean it can't be edited and then published not just reskined and published

i do like the represation of women in stem and how akward they are somtimes because it made me more immersed in the story and the whole tall women thing (i was just couldnt get my head around the fact that he was THAT taller then her if she was 5'8". also i dont really understand how this whole inches and foots work so idk)

look while i find this book very enjoyable and fun to read somethings did bug me

like the whole tall thing i didnt find plausible actually like no i dont understand how this is possible

the fact that environments are never described in detail, how much it read like a first draft.

if the books was writen as fanfiction it doesn not mean it can't be edited and then published not just reskined and published

i do like the represation of women in stem and how akward they are somtimes because it made me more immersed in the story and the whole tall women thing (i was just couldnt get my head around the fact that he was THAT taller then her if she was 5'8". also i dont really understand how this whole inches and foots work so idk)

Controversial, I know. But in brief, I found this infinitely more readable and bingeable than a lot of other TikTok famous authors / novels I have read. It did not make me want to get a lobotomy - not many authors of the genre can boast this achievement.

You can tell that Hazelwood has a background in fanfiction writing - the novel relies on tropes, little character or setting building and development and her own niche experience - and just like it, it makes for a great lazy day read. Most of the issues of the novel are negligeable if you take it for what it is, accept that it does what it says on the tin. For example, some of the nicknames Adam uses for Olive (smart-ass, sweetheart) sound either repetitive or cringey, or the way Olive constantly notes how massive Adam is (I am 5'9", as I am contractually obliged to say, and I suspect Hazelwood herself might not be quite there to find out that it takes a basketball / volleyball player to make me say that. Adam Driver is not that), or some of the miscommunication between the two feels convoluted (maybe if Hazelwood had spent more time convincing us of the characters' flaws that make them fundamentally unable to communicate, it would have been different. See: Sally Rooney's "Normal People"), or the way the novel kind of just fizzles out, are all things that are perfectly forgivable in a fic you have picked up at 11.30pm because you could not sleep and oops! it is now 2am and you have school / work tomorrow.

From my outstanding comments, a jokey one is that it must be criminal to call the main character in your published Reylo fanfic Adam. On a less funny note, the book made me raise an eyebrow over some of the representation of people of colour.

P.S. My edition came with an extract from "Love on the Brain" which was, frankly, bad so I am tempted to pick that up just to see whether this truly is the case and whether maybe "The Love Hypothesis" was a fluke.

Controversial, I know. But in brief, I found this infinitely more readable and bingeable than a lot of other TikTok famous authors / novels I have read. It did not make me want to get a lobotomy - not many authors of the genre can boast this achievement.

You can tell that Hazelwood has a background in fanfiction writing - the novel relies on tropes, little character or setting building and development and her own niche experience - and just like it, it makes for a great lazy day read. Most of the issues of the novel are negligeable if you take it for what it is, accept that it does what it says on the tin. For example, some of the nicknames Adam uses for Olive (smart-ass, sweetheart) sound either repetitive or cringey, or the way Olive constantly notes how massive Adam is (I am 5'9", as I am contractually obliged to say, and I suspect Hazelwood herself might not be quite there to find out that it takes a basketball / volleyball player to make me say that. Adam Driver is not that), or some of the miscommunication between the two feels convoluted (maybe if Hazelwood had spent more time convincing us of the characters' flaws that make them fundamentally unable to communicate, it would have been different. See: Sally Rooney's "Normal People"), or the way the novel kind of just fizzles out, are all things that are perfectly forgivable in a fic you have picked up at 11.30pm because you could not sleep and oops! it is now 2am and you have school / work tomorrow.

From my outstanding comments, a jokey one is that it must be criminal to call the main character in your published Reylo fanfic Adam. On a less funny note, the book made me raise an eyebrow over some of the representation of people of colour.

P.S. My edition came with an extract from "Love on the Brain" which was, frankly, bad so I am tempted to pick that up just to see whether this truly is the case and whether maybe "The Love Hypothesis" was a fluke.

The Love Hypothesis

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