“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.”
– Ali hazelwood, The love hypothesis
Since its release date in September 2021, the book has been on my recommendation page on all social feeds. Before reading the book, I read some contradicting reviews. Some people loved it, and others were disappointed. Then again, isn’t that with every book? I always believe that if you do not like a book, it is probably not for you. I read the book, and here are my thoughts.
Ali Hazelwood’s novel ‘The love hypothesis’ is a contemporary romance. The book is about the main character, Olive pursuing her PhD. Olive wants to prove to her friend that she is over this guy and she wants her friend to date him. To convince her friend that she is not a workaholic, she pretends to be on a date while working when she sees her friend. She then grabs the closest person she could see and kisses them. The person she kisses is her academic helper, role model and the most unapproachable person – Dr Adam Coulson.
From reading the above synopsis of the book, I’m sure you can tell that it would be a fantastic rom-com. The book is a nerdy romance with fake dating. Who kisses the nearest person, someone desperate? Yes, to some extent, you’d think the book is your typical romance. The incident and faking dating happened at the beginning of the book and kind of gave me the cliché factor. As the story began to unfold, it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought.
The academic experience of the main character was top notch. The author has a PhD in neuroscience, which becomes evident in the book. I enjoyed the scientific details. It leaned away from the romance theme just for a little bit. One of the points I think was terrific to include was promoting women in STEM. At the beginning of every chapter, Olive gives her own hypothesis on the chapter, which in the end was either accepted or rejected. Her theory provides the reader with a sneak peek at what the chapter could possibly be about. It was fun to incorporate both her scientific knowledge and what she thinks love is. Also, some movies make it okay to work with someone you are in a relationship with. The institution questioned the relationship of Adam and Olive many times. Realistically speaking, that was excellently portrayed.
“And then I’ll come find you, and I’ll take care of you.” – Adam”
– Ali hazelwood, The love hypothesis
What is Doctor Adam Coulson’s response to fake dating, you might think? Actually, it works for them both. The university wants to ensure that Adam is stable to supply him with funds for his research. Dating someone in the same fields gives the assurity that Adam will not be leaving the university soon. (How convenient?)
As a whole, I enjoyed the book. Many criticised the character and described Olive as having a childish personality. It was a good idea to make the character shy and introverted. It made the story a lot more relatable. The reality is, you don’t always know everything. Her uncertainty made it so much more exciting. Also, halfway through the book, the author didn’t make the characters instantaneously fall in love with each other. This made you wonder how it would end.
Due to the many events, I don’t think it was a hardcore romance rather than a light romance. Regardless, as my first romance novel, I loved it.
“You can fall in love: someone will catch you.”
– ALi hazelwood, The love hypothesis
Collectiveness 