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The Love Hypothesis

• Author: Ali Hazelwood

Category: New Adult

• Chapters: 22
• Status: Complete

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Synopsis of the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood.

The Instant  New York Times   Bestseller and TikTok Sensation!

As seen on THE VIEW!

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.

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The Love Hypothesis Movie Release Date, Cast, Plot and More

The Love Hypothesis movie is in the works as the popular romance novel by Ali Hazelwood will soon get the Hollywood treatment by coming to the big screen.

This novel is about Olive Smith, who doesn’t have the best luck in love. However, she attempts to convince her best friend, Anh, that she does by pretending to date her professor, Adam Carlsen. Of course, real feelings get involved, which is usually how this tends to go.

The author, Ali Hazelwood , was born in Italy and initially worked as a neuroscience professor. This job has influenced her writing because she tends to write about women who work in STEM fields.

Her first novel was The Love Hypothesis , which became a NYT best seller. The interesting thing about this novel is that it was originally a Star Wars fanfiction starring characters Rey and Kylo Ren. Eventually, it was tweaked, and most Star Wars references were removed, so it became an original story rather than fan fiction.

Since then, she has published several other novels, with more on the way in 2024. However, our focus in this article will be on The Love Hypothesis because it is set to become a movie.

What is the Premise of The Love Hypothesis?

One of the main characters in The Love Hypothesis is Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate. She tends to focus a lot on school and academics, meaning her love life is a mess.

Her best friend Anh is concerned about this and is convinced that her romance life is in peril. To trick her best friend into thinking that her romantic life is fine, Olive Smith decides to start fake dating Adam Carlsen, a young professor at the college she attends. But she’s surprised when Adam agrees to fake date her and help her continue her charade.

At first, everything seemed to be going well. They are convincing people that they are an actual couple, but eventually, real feelings start developing. When this happens, Olive begins to panic because this was not supposed to happen.

That’s the basic plot of The Love Hypothesis book, and it will likely stay the same for the upcoming movie adaptation as well.

It’s natural for book-to-movie adaptations to condense the source material to fit the movie’s runtime, and for rom-com books like this one, it won’t present a challenge to write a script that does justice to the novel.

What is The Love Hypothesis Movie Release Date?

In October 2022, the author herself announced that a movie based on The Love Hypothesis book was in development.

It’s only been a little over a year since this announcement came out, but there hasn’t been any update regarding what stage the movie is at. As such, a release date hasn’t been announced!

A script must be made, the casting must be decided, and a lot of things need to be accomplished in the pre-production stage, and only then does the actual filming begin.

This is a process that can span months or even years. Sometimes, it can also fall through for a multitude of reasons. Many books are picked up for movie or TV series adaptations but do not reach the point where the filming starts.

It’s still very early for The Love Hypothesis movie, so hopefully, this will not be the case with it, and we will get to see it enter into the production stage and eventually get a release date.

What is The Cast of The Love Hypothesis Movie ?

As we said in the previous section, the movie adaptation was only announced a little over a year ago, so the cast hasn’t been decided yet.

The script needs to be written first before this even happens! Thankfully, the author of the book, Ali Hazelwood, would be the writer, or one of the writers, to adapt the book and transform it into a movie by writing a comprehensive script.

As soon as the cast for the main characters is announced, I will update this section and not keep you waiting for the information!

Who is Developing The Love Hypothesis Movie ?

According to Collider , the movie rights to The Love Hypothesis book have been given to Bisous Pictures, a production company.

You might wonder who this production company is because chances are you haven’t heard of it before. This is likely because it’s a very new production company with only one finished film to its name. The other movie listed is The Love Hypothesis , which is still in production.

Persuasion , a movie released in 2022, is the first and only finished film on Bisous’s list of works. The movie aired on Netflix and was directed by Carrie Cracknell, with well-known actress Dakota Johnson staring in one of the roles.

The romance genre is popular and shows no sign of slowing down. When The Love Hypothesis book was published, it was a little different from other romance novels because it originally came out as a fanfiction before the author changed it into an original piece. This enabled her to publish it, and it became a worldwide phenomenon in a relatively short time.

So, when it was announced it would be a movie, hopes were high and continue to remain as we wait for another update on this movie. Until we get any solid information about the upcoming The Love Hypothesis movie, you should consider re-reading the book or picking up one of the author’s other books while you wait!

Also Read: Book Lovers Movie Release Date

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Everything You Need To Know About ‘The Love Hypothesis’ Movie

Every product on this page was carefully chosen. I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through a link. See my full disclosure .

Ali Hazelwood took over the bestsellers list with her ultra-cute and utterly STEM-tastic 2021 release, The Love Hypothesis . The New York Times bestseller became a TikTok sensation and was a BuzzFeed best summer read.  

In October, Hazelwood posted to Instagram with exciting news about the upcoming movie adaptation of her buzziest novel, The Love Hypothesis . It is safe to say that we are all eager to see Olive and Adam on the big screen. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ali Hazelwood (@alihazelwood)

What is the premise of Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling novel The Love Hypothesis ?

Graduate student Olive Smith plans to attain her Ph.D. Nothing can derail her focus, not even the aloof hotshot professor that sends students running from his office in tears.   

By all accounts, Olive knew that she, an exhausted and overworked grad student, probably registered as nothing but a blip on Adam Carlsen’s radar. And that would be true if Olive had never accosted said professor with an uninvited kiss. 

What should have been a one-and-done smooch to curb her besties concerns over her dating life quickly spirals out of control when news of the “relationship” trickles down the STEM department grapevine.

To say that the pair are in a tricky predicament would be the understatement of the century.

Who is creating The Love Hypothesis ?

According to Deadline , Elizabeth Cantillon and MRC Film’s romance label Bisous Pictures has partnered with Ali Hazelwood to adapt her New York Times bestseller The Love Hypothesis to the big screen. 

“Bisous Pictures is thrilled to be working with Ali to amplify her voice and bring this magical book to the screen,” Cantillon said.

Hazelwood added, “It’s a true privilege to have Elizabeth and such a talented and experienced team of people working on adapting The Love Hypothesis, and I’m very excited for this next step in Olive and Adam’s story!”

Who is in the cast of The Love Hypothesis ?

There is no news on casting decisions yet. However, many fans hope to see Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley bring Adam and Olive to life. 

When is the release date of The Love Hypothesis ? 

The Love Hypothesis is currently in pre-production, so there is no information on the release date for the movie yet.

Is there a trailer for The Love Hypothesis ?

There is no trailer for The Love Hypothesis .

What other adaptations can you expect in the upcoming year?

In addition to the movie The Love Hypothesis , there are more book adaptations to look forward to in 2023: A Court of Thorns and Roses , Daisy Jones and the Six , It Ends with Us , Red, White, and Royal Blue , The Idea of You , The Inheritance Games , The Selection , The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , and Uglies .

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The Love Hypothesis

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.

If you would like to read a list of content warnings for The Love Hypothesis (warning for mild spoilers), please click here . 

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The love hypothesis.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 2 Reviews
• Kids Say 2 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Uneven romance has explicit sex, features women in STEM.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis is an adult romance set in the higher levels of academia at Stanford University. Ph.D. candidate Olive starts a fake relationship with a professor in hopes of inspiring her best friend to go for the man she's really interested in. Other than a few…

Why Age 17+?

Other than a few kisses and some romantic tension, there's only one sex scene, b

"Bulls--t," "clit," "clusterf--k," "c--k," "d--k," "f--k," "f--king," "holy crap

An incident of verbal sexual assault with an attempted kiss and coercion. An exc

A few food and beverage brands, and a couple of entertainment franchises to esta

All characters are adults of legal drinking age in California, where the story i

Any Positive Content?

Olive and Ahn are good models of women in STEM. They're extremely loyal and supp

Olive reads as White, is from Canada, and is very slim. Adam implies he's Jewish

An author's note explains Title IX and offers websites supporting women and BIPO

You have to be strong and tough to make it in the academic world, especially in

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Other than a few kisses and some romantic tension, there's only one sex scene, but it's extended, explicit, and meant to arouse. Oral and genital sex, manual stimulation, genital penetration, sucking nipples and genitals, and orgasm are described in detail with some crude words like "clit" and "c--k." Good examples of consent are modeled, and birth control and being "clean" are talked about. A few times adults talk about sex or sex acts like sixty-nining, butt stuff, and getting a "hand job."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"Bulls--t," "clit," "clusterf--k," "c--k," "d--k," "f--k," "f--king," "holy crap," "holy s--t," "pr--k," "s--t," "s--tshow," ass," "assness," "bitch," "bitching," "butt," "crap," "crapfest," "dammit," "goddamned," "hell," "jackass," "pee," "smart-ass." "Jesus" as an exclamation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

An incident of verbal sexual assault with an attempted kiss and coercion. An excerpt at the end from a future book has sexual harassment and cyberbullying. A man pins another against a wall by the collar and threatens to kill him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A few food and beverage brands, and a couple of entertainment franchises to establish character and setting.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

All characters are adults of legal drinking age in California, where the story is set. Very little actual drinking is depicted, but there are mentions of past drunkenness, a weekly beer and s'mores night, and taking advantage of free alcohol at academic meetings and conferences.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Olive and Ahn are good models of women in STEM. They're extremely loyal and supportive of each other, and Anh creates chances to support other women, especially BIPOC women in STEM. Adam is very protective and kind on a personal level toward Olive, but to his students he's harsh and uncompromising and seems uncaring. Olive makes a grand gesture out of compassion for Anh and models perseverance in advancing her research and career.

Diverse Representations

Olive reads as White, is from Canada, and is very slim. Adam implies he's Jewish and is very tall and powerfully built. Best friend Anh's family is from Vietnam, and she identifies as a woman of color. Roommate Malcolm reads as White, dates men, and enters a romantic relationship with another man. Olive wonders if she's asexual.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Educational Value

An author's note explains Title IX and offers websites supporting women and BIPOC women in STEM academic fields. The overall story provides insight into graduate and postgraduate academic life and careers, especially in STEM fields.

Positive Messages

You have to be strong and tough to make it in the academic world, especially in STEM fields. Don't be afraid to speak up when you've been harmed or you learn about something unethical. Your web of lies will eventually come to light, and when it does, it may cause more hurt than being truthful from the start would have.

Parents need to know that Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis is an adult romance set in the higher levels of academia at Stanford University. Ph.D. candidate Olive starts a fake relationship with a professor in hopes of inspiring her best friend to go for the man she's really interested in. Other than a few kisses and some romantic tension, there's only one sex scene, but it's extended, explicit, and meant to arouse. Oral and genital sex, manual stimulation, genital penetration, sucking nipples and genitals, and orgasm are described in detail with words like "clit" and "c--k." Main character Olive experiences verbal sexual assault, and an excerpt from another book in the back has sexual harassment and cyberbullying. Strong language includes "c--k," "d--k," "f--k," "pr--k," "s--t," and more. Adults mention past excessive drinking, look forward to free alcohol at university events, and have a weekly "beer and s'mores night." Two characters remember one of them projectile vomiting after eating bad shrimp, but it's not described. Olive is an orphan with no family. Her mother died of pancreatic cancer, so grief and loss are important themes, along with the struggles women still face in STEM-related fields.

Where to Read

Parent and kid reviews.

• Parents say (2)
• Kids say (2)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Good for kids

What's the story.

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS is about Stanford graduate student Olive, who needs to convince her best friend, Anh, that it's OK for Anh to date a guy Olive had recently been seeing but wasn't really interested in. So she hatches a plan to "fake-date" none other than the Biology department's most prestigious professor, Adam Carlsen, who's also a huge jerk. As Olive and Adam's ruse gets harder and harder to keep up, Olive starts to feel like she wishes their dating wasn't actually fake. Will she be able to untangle her web of lies without ruining everything, for everyone?

Is It Any Good?

This romance set in the lofty world of a prestigious graduate school program has its ups and downs. It's refreshing to see women in STEM represented and important to highlight how much many women struggle in that world. The Love Hypothesis has some funny banter, especially with colorful supporting characters. Readers who enjoy very familiar romcom tropes will feel at home here, because this story is chock-full of them. The one explicit sex scene is easy to skip for those who aren't interested. A big drawback is Olive's truly bad and unrealistic decision making, which strains believability and takes the reader outside the story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the graphic sex in The Love Hypothesis . Is it over-the-top? Realistic? Is reading about it different from seeing it in movies, videos, and other media?

What are some concerns about reading or watching explicit sex ? Do you compare yourself or your body to the characters? Does it make you afraid, feel creepy, or unsure about what sex is like for real people?

What about all the strong language? Is it realistic? Is it a big deal? Why, or why not?

Talk about women studying and working in STEM fields. What are some of the challenges Olive and Ahn face? How do they deal with them? Who supports them? What can men do to make STEM fields more welcoming and inclusive?

Book Details

• Author : Ali Hazelwood
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : STEM , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Perseverance
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Berkley
• Publication date : September 14, 2021
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 18 - 18
• Number of pages : 400
• Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : April 2, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

'The Love Hypothesis' won Amazon's best romance book of 2021, has a near-perfect rating on Goodreads, and is all over TikTok. Here's why it's such a unique love story.

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• " The Love Hypothesis " grabbed the attention of romance readers everywhere in 2021.
• It was named Amazon's Best Romance Novel of 2021 and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.
• This book checks off all my boxes for a great romance read and is definitely worth the hype.

This year, Amazon named " The Love Hypothesis " by Ali Hazelwood the best romance book of the year. Even though it was only recently published in September 2021, "The Love Hypothesis" has quickly become a fan-favorite, with 88% of Goodreads reviewers giving it four- or five-star-level praise .

It was also nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award and is hugely popular amongst Book of the Month members , with only 1% of readers giving it a "disliked" rating.

"The Love Hypothesis" is about Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying pancreatic cancer at Stanford. In an attempt to convince one of her best friends that she's moved on from an old crush, she impulsively kisses Dr. Adam Carlsen, the department's notoriously brutal (but undeniably attractive) professor. After the kiss, Adam and Olive agree to fake a relationship so she can prove to her friend that she's happily dating and he can convince their department that he isn't planning to leave anytime soon.

I'm a little picky about my romance novels , so giving this read every bit of a five-star review didn't come lightly. My standards are high because the best romance novels have the potential to expose readers to authentic and imperfect relationships and offer new topics of discussion without making us feel like it's a story we've already read. 

With all the hype surrounding this new romance read, I couldn't resist picking it up.

Here's why "The Love Hypothesis" is one of my favorite recent romance books:

1. the story focuses a lot on olive and adam's lives outside their romance, making their love story more believable and interesting..

Romance novels tend to fall into a few popular tropes such as " enemies-to-lovers " or "forbidden love." "The Love Hypothesis" combines two of the most popular tropes right now, "Fake dating" and "grumpy/sunshine," really well — I loved the contrast between Adam's serious attitude to Olive's bright and sugary one. 

But despite following these tropes, the story feels fresh because it's also largely about Olive's work and its meaning to her. The only other romance book I've read featuring a STEM heroine is "The Kiss Quotient" , so I loved seeing that representation and learning about something new. 

The story honestly reflected the challenges Ph.D. candidates face in academia and that authenticity — deepened by the author's personal experiences — brought the characters, the settings, and the romance to life even more as Olive and Adam faced challenges with funding, time-consuming research, and questioning their sense of purpose.

2. The steamier scenes are also awkward and realistic, which made them even better.

In romance books, there are a few different levels of how graphic a steamy scene can get , from little-to-no detail to explicitly outlined movements. (I personally prefer mine to "fade to black.")

There was only one chapter with adult content, and it was definitely graphic. While I made a ton of ridiculous faces while reading and tried to skim past the parts that made me audibly gasp, I loved that it wasn't a movie-made, perfect sex scene with graceful movements and smooth dialogue. The scene was a little awkward, imperfect, and full of consent and conversation, making it refreshingly real.

3. The book deals with other topics besides the main love story, making it a much deeper read.

While it's wonderful to get swept up in the magic of a romantic storyline, having a secondary plot that addresses real issues is what makes a romance novel truly great . 

Mild spoilers and content warnings ahead: While "The Love Hypothesis" is a fun romantic read, it also addresses the pain of familial death, power differentials, intimacy challenges, and, most prevalently, workplace sexual harassment. 

Love is beautiful, fun, and amazing, but "The Love Hypothesis" takes the opportunity to also include conversations about serious issues. While these topics may be tough for some readers, I think these plot points, hard conversations, and complicated emotions take "The Love Hypothesis" to the next level and make it a five-star read. 

The bottom line

"The Love Hypothesis" has everything I personally look for in a romance novel: A unique storyline, authentic characters, and an important message. If you're looking for a perfectly balanced romance read, "The Love Hypothesis" is worth the hype and definitely one of the best romance books to come out in the past year.

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'The Love Hypothesis' Film Adaptation Announced at Bisous Pictures

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Reylo stans rejoice! Bisous Pictures have partnered with author Ali Hazelwood on an adaption of her New York Times Best Selling novel, The Love Hypothesis . Deadline reports that a deal was struck between Elizabeth Cantillon and MRC Film to adapt the Berkley-published book.

The Love Hypothesis is one of a growing number of titles which gained popularity through the 'BookTok' community on TikTok. It is a romance book set amongst academia which follows the story of a young, hot, dreamy and talented - naturally - professor named (more on this later) Adam Carlsen, and a Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith. The pair end up caught in a lie to portray a convincing and romantic couple, with the story portraying - and subverting - many tropes used in classic romance tales.

“Bisous Pictures is thrilled to be working with Ali to amplify her voice and bring this magical book to the screen,” said Cantillon, with Hazelwood adding: “It’s a true privilege to have Elizabeth and such a talented and experienced team of people working on adapting The Love Hypothesis , and I’m very excited for this next step in Olive and Adam’s story!”

RELATED: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’: Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver on Rey and Kylo Ren’s Intertwining Paths

Looking more closely at the cover of the novel, however, and you would be forgiven for thinking you might have seen the couple before. Hazelwood began writing fan fiction for the Star Trek fandom, before moving on to Star Wars. And yes, if you haven't already figured it out, the main characters are based on Kylo Ren and Rey from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Archive of Our Own is where The Love Hypothesis took flight, albeit under a different title, and where a legion of fans joined in Olive and Adam's romance.

In a 2021 interview with Collider's Carly Lane , the day after news broke that The Love Hypothesis officially became a New York Times bestseller , Hazelwood spoke at length about the freedom fan fiction offered. She explained how it was allowing writers to find their voice and express their feelings on mediums where they would find it harder to do in traditional publishing houses.

"I was really, really into writing fan fiction, first for the Star Trek fandom and then for the Star Wars fandom. And I loved it. It was just, it was this amazing community. I made a lot of friends and I was just having a lot of fun. And then what happened is that I started slowly thinking about trying to write something original, just to challenge myself and to do something different. And while I was in that kind of mood, my agent started reading my fan fiction on Archive of Our Own and then she reached out with a DM. She was like, "I saw that you wrote something about maybe pulling some of your fics and reworking them. And I wanted to tell you that I'm a literary agent and I would love to see you some of your manuscripts, if you're interested in it."

No release date has yet been announced for The Love Hypothesis, but the petition for Driver and Daisy Ridley to take on the lead roles is surely moments away from launching.

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The Love Hypothesis (Review, Recap & Full Summary)

By ali hazelwood.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a delightful rom-com about a fake relationship between a biology Ph.D. student and a professor.

In The Love Hypothesis , Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. candidate who shares a kiss with a handsome stranger in order make her friend think that she's in a relationship. She's horrified when she realizes the "stranger" is Dr. Adam Carlson, a prominent professor in her department who is known for being a hypercritical and moody tyrant.

She and Adam each have reasons for needing to be in a relationship, and they agree to pretend to date for the sake of appearances. Of course, as she gets to know Adam, it's only a matter of time before she starts feeling something for him, and it becomes clear that her little experiment in fake-dating just might combust...

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

Three years prior, Olive Smith talks to a guy when she's in the bathroom fixing her contacts (and can't see) after her Ph.D. candidate interview. She tells him about her passion for her research. She doesn't catch his name but remembers the conversation distinctly and wonders about the guy she met.

In present day, Olive is a biology Ph.D. student researching early detection methods for pancreatic cancer. She kisses a guy randomly in order to trick her best friend into thinking she's dating someone (so that her best friend Anh won't feel bad about dating Olive's ex). That guy turns out to be Dr. Adam Carlson , a young, handsome and highly-respected tenured faculty member in her department. He's also known for being hypercritical and moody.

Meanwhile, Adam's department chair is worried that he's planning on leaving for another university and has frozen some of his research funds. So, Adam he agrees to pretend to be in a relationship with Olive in order to give the impression he's putting down "roots" here, in hopes they will unfreeze the funds.

As Olive and Adam fake-date, they get to know each other. Olive sees that Adam is demanding and blunt towards his students, but not unkind or mean. Olive confides in him about her mother getting pancreatic cancer, which is why she's doing her research.

Olive soon realizes that she has feelings for Adam, but she's afraid to tell him. When he overhears her talking about a crush, she pretends it's about someone else. Olive also hears someone else refer to a woman Adam's been pining after for years and is surprised at how jealous she feels.

In the meantime, Olive needs more lab space and has been talking to Dr. Tom Benton for a spot at his lab at Harvard. When Tom arrives in town, it turns out he's friends with Adam. Adam and Tom are friends from grad school, and they have recently gotten a large grant for some joint research that Adam is excited about. After Olive completes a report on her research for Tom, he offers her a spot in his lab for the next year.

Olive and Adam's relationship continues to progress until they attend a science conference in Boston. Olive's research has been selected for a panel presentation, while Adam is a keynote speaker. There, Olive is sexually harassed by Tom, who makes advances on her. When she rejects him, he accuses her of someone who sleeps around to get ahead. He also says that he'll deny it if she tells anyone and that they won't believe her.

While Olive does finally sleep with Adam at the conference, she soon tearfully breaks things off since she doesn't want to complicate things with Adam's joint research project with Tom. Adam is also in the process of applying for a spot at Harvard.

Olive is certain no one will believe her about Tom until she realizes that the accidentally recorded the conversation where he made advances and threatened her. Meanwhile, Olive's roommate Malcolm has started seeing Dr. Holden Rodriguez, a faculty member who is a childhood friend of Adam's. Olive and Malcolm turn to Holden for advice, who encourages them to tell Adam about the recording. He points out that he thinks the main reason that Adam is considering a move to Harvard is because Olive is supposed to be going there.

Olive finds Adam and shows him the video. He is incensed at Tom and reports it to their faculty. When Adam returns from Boston, he reports that Tom has been fired. Meanwhile, Olive has been reaching out to other cancer researchers for spots at other labs, and she's gotten promising responses. Olive tells Adam that she loves him and that she never liked anyone else. Adam admits that he remembered her from the day he met her in the bathroom and that she's the one he's been interested in for years.

Ten months later at the anniversary of their first kiss, Olive and Adam re-create the kiss to mark their anniversary.

For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary .

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Book Review

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood came out a few months ago, and I didn’t really pay much attention to it. However, people seem to really be enjoying this book, and after reading The School for Good Mothers , I was really in mood for something light and fun.

In the Love Hypothesis, Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford who ends up fake-dating a young and handsome tenured professor in her department. All the usual rom-com shenanigans ensue.

The Love Hypothesis is an unapologetically cheesy rom-com novel — with an upbeat attitude, meet cutes, fake-dating tropes, etc. — but it’s also a genuinely fun and often funny book. It hits a lot of familiar notes if you’re familiar with this genre, but somehow Ali Hazelwood has arranged them in a way that ends up being delightful and entertaining.

The book is super melodramatic at parts, uses so many tropes I couldn’t even list them all here if I was inclined to do so and is predictable in the way that rom-coms are always kind of predictable. That all said, I still had a fantastic time reading it and it flew by.

This is a short review because honestly it’s not that complicated to explain that this book is super cheesy and super fun.

Read it or Skip it?

If you like “chick lit” and rom-coms, you should definitely look into this book. I tend to be a little hypercritical of books in this genre, but I really enjoyed The Love Hypothesis . I found myself smiling and chuckling quite a bit as I read it.

This book is a straight-up cheesy rom-com — it is funny, melodramatic and fun as hell. I thought it was great.

See The Love Hypothesis on Amazon.

The Love Hypothesis Audiobook Review

Narrated by : Callie Dalton Length : 11 hours 8 minutes

I listened to about half of this on audiobook. I think the audiobook is solid. The narrator is easy to listen to and does a good job with it.

Hear a sample of The Love Hypothesis audiobook on Libro.fm.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of The Love Hypothesis

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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.

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Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe thx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Series: Love Hypothesis

Love on the brain by ali hazelwood | book review.

Posted August 18, 2022 by Jana in Adult Fiction , Book Review / 8 Comments

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis--with explosive results. Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project--a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia--Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward. Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school--archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away. Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it's her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas...devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

I LOVED The Love Hypothesis (read my review at the link above), so I was incredibly excited to see Love On the Brain pop up on Netgalley and then even more excited when I was quickly approved! I read this 7 months ago, so I literally had no chill about it. I dove in immediately and had so much fun reading this quirky, nerdy romance. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. The first this you should know is that this is not in any shape or form a sequel to The Love Hypothesis . We’ve got completely different characters, a different setting, different science, same quirk. There’s no mention of anyone or anything from The Love Hypothesis so, while this is being marketed as part of the same series, it’s a standalone novel. Science and the author are the only two things that tie these books together.

1. Bee. When I think of Bee, I think of this little slice of puff pastry. She’s pretty adorable and quirky (I think I’m going to use this word to describe a lot about this book). Bee is a neuroscientist, who is on loan to NASA from NIH to collaborate on a project involving developing helmets for astronauts that offer transcranial magnetic stimulation. It sounds like it’s essentially a non-invasive way of stimulating the brain to help control mood? Who knows. The science was way over my head and, at times, made me glaze over and read the words but not actually know what I was reading. Anyway, Bee is very smart and sweet and spirited. she’s frequently underestimated and pushed to the side. She’s relatively fresh off a bad break-up (her ex cheated on her with her best friend), so there’s a lot of insecurity and issues with trust on her end. I felt for her and liked her a lot. Oh, she’s also obsessed with Marie Curie and I now know more about Marie than I ever needed to know. lol.

2. Levi is a major cinnamon roll. He’s the silent brooding type, who doesn’t always know how to process his feelings and act on them correctly and is just so sweet. I wanted to hug him and also give him a pep talk. I love how he treats Bee (he takes her seriously and really respects her), how he feels about her, and how he sticks up for what’s right and fair. Oh my gosh, there’s a scene where he has to go save her from a cemetery that she got locked into because she fell asleep after her run, and I was cracking up. And he loves cats. My goodness.

3. These two… oh my goodness. They are hilarious and frustrating at the same time. Their banter and flirtatious teasing of one another had me smiling a lot. Levi has been in love with Bee for years but has accidentally disguised that love as hate. She is convinced that he hates her, therefore she also hates him and he struggles to convince her otherwise! She jokes with him about it and brings it up all the time, and just when you think they’re turning a corner and she’s beginning to understand how he really feels, she says he hates her again and ahhhhhhhh!! LOL. Seriously, I relate to this part of Bee more than I’d like to admit.

4. There is some major heat in this book. Wow. And the swoons are there, too, OF COURSE. These two have some very sweet, romantic moments.

5. Bee’s co-worker… I cannot remember her name for the life of me. Oh my gosh, she is a dramatic hoot and really grew on me. I was rolling my eyes all over the place at first, but then I loved her. She also has an online friend named Schmac, and I loved her candid conversations with him about her life.

6. I’m not kidding when I say I glazed over the science bits and a lot of the info about Marie Curie’s life. Science and facts are abundant in this book, way more than I remember in The Love Hypothesis, and there were times when I feared I would not survive it. 

7. Bee’s monologues include a lot of trademark symbols behind made-up phrases, which was annoying. I searched my eARC by “™” and got 42 results. It was excessive. We have WurstFest™ (aka Meatwave, aka a “dicksplosion in the testosteroven”); Cockcluster™ (meetings with only one woman in the room); Sausage Referencing™ (when a man vouches for a woman’s ideas, therefore making the rest of the men think it’s a better idea); The Cute Guy™, The Handsome Guy™, and The Sexy Guy™ (all of these “guys” are categories that Bee and her friend place guys in, and each category has different qualities); Hostile Companionable Silence™ (how Bee and Levi work), Levi Green™ (as opposed to an actual color), and Uh-Oh™. This was easily my least favorite part of the book. Every time I saw a ™ I wanted to throw my Kindle. I don’t like the use of trademark as a way to place emphasis on something or make it seem special. I see it on social media a lot, and it bugs me because that’s not how trademarks work! It’s like when people speak in hashtags (for example: “Hashtag best. summer. ever!”). Annoying. There’s a time and a place for hashtags, and there’s a time and a place for trademark symbols. This was not the time or the place for trademark symbols. Wow. That was a rant. Moving on.

8. There’s some major “You’ve Got Mail” vibes that I loved.

9. There’s also some drama and career scaries, a mysterious cat, and even a life or death situation and it all combined together to create quite the page-turner!

All in all, I really enjoyed Love On the Brain . The Love Hypothesis is still my favorite of the two stories, but Love On the Brain is filled with quirk, heart, nerdiness, and a heaping spoonful of swoons. If you like science, women in STEM, plucky heroines, and cinnamon roll heroes then I highly recommend this book.

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