““What do I always tell you?”
”Um…’Don’t misplace the multichannel pipette’?”
”The other thing.”
She sighed. “‘Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.’”” (The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood, 2021, p. 198)
Review
Interested in a detailed summary with read-alikes?? Check out my Annotation of this book.
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Title: The Love Hypothesis
Category/Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Romance
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance; STEM Romance, Romantic Comedy
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
Number of Pages: 352 pages of story text; includes author’s note, acknowledgements, and a preview of the author’s forthcoming STEM Romance
Series (if applicable): This is book is not part of a series
Content warnings (from the author’s website) SLIGHT SPOILERS: Death of one of the main characters’ parents in the past (due to cancer), workplace sexual harassment of the main character (NOT from Adam, the love interest), power differential (Olive is a student and Adam is a professor; they clear out their fake relationship with the Dean early in the story and no abuse of power occurs), explicit and graphic sexual content, cursing and vulgar language.
Representation:
Well-developed BIPOC supporting characters
LGBTQIA representation in well-developed supporting characters
Asexual representation- the protagonist, Olive, is most likely demisexual although this word is not used directly when she describes her sexuality (but an almost textbook definition is used).
Summary: You might know the fake dating and grumpy/sunshine Romance tropes but author Ali Hazelwoood adds delightful new layers to these themes with her steamy and STEMinist academic love affair.
Ph.D student Olive struggles with romance, but her friends want her to find her happily ever after. Of course, Olive would do anything for her friends, including kissing the first guy she sees in the hallway, just to prove to her best friend that she can be in a relationship too. Except that guy Olive kissed almost without his consent is none other than the notoriously grouchy and feared faculty member Adam “Ass” Carlsen. Miraculously, instead of a filing a Title IX complaint against her, he agrees to help her out and fake date her. As they enter into an agreement, Olive finds she doesn’t mind her regular “dates” with Adam and he doesn’t seem to be that bothered with buying her unicorn lattes all the time. As their fake dating contract wraps up, drama occurs behinds the scenes at a big science conference testing the limits of their feelings for each other. Will Adam come through for Olive or will Olive keep quiet so the two can go their separate ways?
The connection between Olive and Adam is awkward, nerdy, witty, and endearing and challenges some of the traditional Romance conventions. It’s a refreshing and engaging read that will melt your heart and have you thinking about it long after you’ve closed the book.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
WARNING: May contain spoilers
I was not expecting to but I LOVED this book! While meeting some well-worn Romance tropes, I still found the story realistic and comforting, heartwarming and also heart wrenching, but ultimately optimistic and powerful. Maybe there were just a lot of things I could identify with in the story that made it ring true for me? Olive's sarcasm and self-deprication was familiar but not self-destructive. While the male hero stereotype would normally have me running away screaming, I'm glad I didn't know that at the start, it totally melted my heart in the moment and Adam’s general awkwardness make him imperfect in the role, which is not at all a bad thing. I think there was some equal rescuing and never does the saving feel like it is patronizing or diminishes Olive's own power. It’s more that Adam is there when Olive needs it most, even if she can't say what she needs and he backs off completely whenever he or his help is not wanted. Adam does the right thing at the right time because it's the human thing to do and is his own awkward at love is centered much of the rest of the time.
Throughout the novel, the levels of respect and consent between Olive and Adam is wonderfully astounding.
My main regret about reading The Love Hypothesis is that I was not able to read it all in one sitting. It was delightful, real, and emotional while also being escapist. As someone dedicated to their studies and likely a life in academia, this book nailed the best and worst of it from my real-life experiences thus far. I also appreciated a lead on the asexual and aromantic spectrum that I could relate to. And no, there is no power-play between leads, which yes, I did fear at first. I have also seen some of the evils of white, male, tenured professors first hand and the situation Tom Benton puts Olive in is totally believeable. Sadly there aren’t enough Adam-like figures in real list. The main unbelieveable part is that Olive escaped the situation with Benton with only verbal abuse as a scar.
When I decided I would spend my final semester of my master’s program studying Romance novels, I was nervous about adding a large amount of reading in a genre I never thought I’d enjoy to my TBR. There’s nothing like setting up an independent study for your final semester to force you out of your comfort zone! I thought I’d self-test the hypothesis of the importance of representation in Romance, and this book, among others, is proving my hunch. Now I just need to find the supporting literature and holes in research because my studies won’t end when I get my masters…
Final resting place: This book will eventually end up between We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler and Emperor of the Eight Islands by Liam Hearn. I purchased a used library copy and, while it’s in great condition, it needs to be rebound before I shelve it to remove the plastic-based tape on the spine and back cover used for the Cutter number and barcode.
WHAT I’M READING NOW
My annotations and reviews are always running a bit (or more) behind what I’m actually reading so here’s a little bit of a teaser, if you will, for reviews to come.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson