The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood - Book Review

I love reading campus novels, so I just had to pick up ‘that TikTok book’ 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.’

There are so many things that this book does well. For one, it doesn’t fall into the typical romance book trope where the brooding male love interest is actually a bit of an asshole. Initially he does seem unfriendly and antagonistic, but it turns out that he’s actually a really nice guy - just misunderstood. It’s refreshing to read an enemies to lovers story where the main character’s love interest isn’t actually toxic (I’m looking at you, The Hating Game).

I also thought that the university campus setting was really fun to read about, and you can tell that the author is an academic as it feels really realistic. She’s actually a professor, which is super cool!) We spend time with the characters in their labs, at their student house, and follow their shenanigans at a biology conference in Boston, which feels a bit like a summer camp for biology grad students. And that’s without mentioning some pumpkin spiced coffee dates at the on-campus Starbucks. As with all fake dating stories (what trope doesn’t this book have?!), I internally screamed with frustration as I watched Olive and Adam dance around each other for 350 pages in a slow burn romance that ended with some *very* hot scenes.

In criticism, I did feel that there were a few plot points that seemed to fit together a little too conveniently. Without giving out any major spoilers, Marcus’ love interest felt a bit forced, and the ‘corruption within science’ storyline wrapped up a bit too nicely for my liking. It definitely could have been fleshed out a lot more.

Having said that, I did really appreciate the book’s exploration of sexism and exploitive behaviour in academia. The author touches on the gender imbalance found in the labs of STEM subjects, and discusses the manipulation of vulnerable students - sexual and otherwise. I just wish it had been explored a bit further!

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I definitely think that it’s worth the hype. There was much more depth to the story than I’d usually expect from a romance novel, and the slow burn romance was swoon worthy. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re looking for a page turning romance, or if you’re stuck in a reading slump. I can’t wait to see what Ali Hazelwood writes next!