the love hypothesis reading time

• Kindle Store
• Kindle eBooks

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $15.75 $15.75

Save: $2.76 $2.76 (18%)

Buy for others

Buying and sending ebooks to others.

• Select quantity
• Buy and send eBooks
• Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Love Hypothesis Kindle Edition

• Print length 383 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Berkley
• Publication date September 14, 2021
• File size 3306 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Get to know this book

What's it about.

Popular highlight

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved..

Chapter One

Hypothesis: When given a choice between A (a slightly inconveniencing situation) and B (a colossal shitshow with devastating consequences), I will inevitably end up selecting B.

In Olive's defense, the man didn't seem to mind the kiss too much.

It did take him a moment to adjust-perfectly understandable, given the sudden circumstances. It was an awkward, uncomfortable, somewhat painful minute, in which Olive was simultaneously smashing her lips against his and pushing herself as high as her toes would extend to keep her mouth at the same level as his face. Did he have to be so tall? The kiss must have looked like some clumsy headbutt, and she grew anxious that she was not going to be able to pull the whole thing off. Her friend Anh, whom Olive had spotted coming her way a few seconds ago, was going to take one look at this and know at once that Olive and Kiss Dude couldn't possibly be two people in the middle of a date.

Then that agonizingly slow moment went by, and the kiss became . . . different. The man inhaled sharply and inclined his head a tiny bit, making Olive feel less like a squirrel monkey climbing a baobab tree, and his hands-which were large and pleasantly warm in the AC of the hallway-closed around her waist. They slid up a few inches, coming to wrap around Olive's rib cage and holding her to himself. Not too close, and not too far.

It was more of a prolonged peck than anything, but it was quite nice, and for the life span of a few seconds Olive forgot a large number of things, including the fact that she was pressed against a random, unknown dude. That she'd barely had the time to whisper "Can I please kiss you?" before locking lips with him. That what had originally driven her to put on this entire show was the hope of fooling Anh, her best friend in the whole world.

But a good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while. Olive found herself melting into a broad, solid chest that showed absolutely no give. Her hands traveled from a defined jaw into surprisingly thick and soft hair, and then-then she heard herself sigh, as if already out of breath, and that's when it hit her like a brick on the head, the realization that- No. No.

Nope, nope, no.

She should not be enjoying this. Random dude, and all that.

Olive gasped and pushed herself away from him, frantically looking for Anh. In the 11:00 p.m. bluish glow of the biology labs' hallway, her friend was nowhere to be seen. Weird. Olive was sure she had spotted her a few seconds earlier.

Kiss Dude, on the other hand, was standing right in front of her, lips parted, chest rising and a weird light flickering in his eyes, which was exactly when it dawned on her, the enormity of what she had just done. Of who she had just-

Fuck her life.

Fuck. Her. Life.

Because Dr. Adam Carlsen was a known ass.

This fact was not remarkable in and of itself, as in academia every position above the graduate student level (Olive's level, sadly) required some degree of assness in order to be held for any length of time, with tenured faculty at the very peak of the ass pyramid. Dr. Carlsen, though-he was exceptional. At least if the rumors were anything to go by.

He was the reason Olive's roommate, Malcolm, had to completely scrap two research projects and would likely end up graduating a year late; the one who had made Jeremy throw up from anxiety before his qualifying exams; the sole culprit for half the students in the department being forced to postpone their thesis defenses. Joe, who used to be in Olive's cohort and would take her to watch out-of-focus European movies with microscopic subtitles every Thursday night, had been a research assistant in Carlsen's lab, but he'd decided to drop out six months into it for "reasons." It was probably for the best, since most of Carlsen's remaining graduate assistants had perennially shaky hands and often looked like they hadn't slept in a year.

Dr. Carlsen might have been a young academic rock star and biology's wunderkind, but he was also mean and hypercritical, and it was obvious in the way he spoke, in the way he carried himself, that he thought himself the only person doing decent science within the Stanford biology department. Within the entire world, probably. He was a notoriously moody, obnoxious, terrifying dick.

And Olive had just kissed him.

She wasn't sure how long the silence lasted-only that he was the one to break it. He stood in front of Olive, ridiculously intimidating with dark eyes and even darker hair, staring down from who knows how many inches above six feet-he must have been over half a foot taller than she was. He scowled, an expression that she recognized from seeing him attend the departmental seminar, a look that usually preceded him raising his hand to point out some perceived fatal flaw in the speaker's work.

Adam Carlsen. Destroyer of research careers , Olive had once overheard her adviser say.

It's okay. It's fine. Totally fine. She was just going to pretend nothing had happened, nod at him politely, and tiptoe her way out of here. Yes, solid plan.

"Did you . . . Did you just kiss me?" He sounded puzzled, and maybe a little out of breath. His lips were full and plump and . . . God. Kissed. There was simply no way Olive could get away with denying what she had just done.

Still, it was worth a try.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.

"Ah. Okay, then." Carlsen nodded and turned around, looking vaguely disoriented. He took a couple of steps down the hallway, reached the water fountain-maybe where he'd been headed in the first place.

Olive was starting to believe that she might actually be off the hook when he halted and turned back with a skeptical expression.

"Are you sure?"

"I-" She buried her face in her hands. "It's not the way it looks."

"Okay. I . . . Okay," he repeated slowly. His voice was deep and low and sounded a lot like he was on his way to get ting mad. Like maybe he was already mad. "What's going on here?"

There was simply no way to explain this. Any normal person would have found Olive's situation odd, but Adam Carlsen, who obviously considered empathy a bug and not a feature of humanity, could never understand. She let her hands fall to her sides and took a deep breath.

"I . . . listen, I don't mean to be rude, but this is really none of your business."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded. "Yes. Of course." He must be getting back into his usual groove, because his tone had lost some of its surprise and was back to normal-dry. Laconic. "I'll just go back to my office and begin to work on my Title IX complaint."

Olive exhaled in relief. "Yeah. That would be great, since- Wait. Your what?"

He cocked his head. "Title IX is a federal law that protects against sexual misconduct within academic settings-"

"I know what Title IX is."

"I see. So you willfully chose to disregard it."

"I- What? No. No, I didn't!"

He shrugged. "I must be mistaken, then. Someone else must have assaulted me."

"Assault-I didn't 'assault' you."

"You did kiss me."

"But not really ."

"Without first securing my consent."

"I asked if I could kiss you!"

"And then did so without waiting for my response."

"What? You said yes."

"Excuse me?"

She frowned. "I asked if I could kiss you, and you said yes."

"Incorrect. You asked if you could kiss me and I snorted."

"I'm pretty sure I heard you said yes."

He lifted one eyebrow, and for a minute Olive let herself daydream of drowning someone. Dr. Carlsen. Herself. Both sounded like great options.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. It was a weird situation. Can we just forget that this happened?"

He studied her for a long moment, his angular face serious and something else, something that she couldn't quite decipher because she was too busy noticing all over again how damn towering and broad he was. Just massive. Olive had always been slight, just this side of too slender, but girls who are five eight rarely felt diminutive. At least until they found themselves standing next to Adam Carlsen. She'd known that he was tall, of course, from seeing him around the department or walking across campus, from sharing the elevator with him, but they'd never interacted. Never been this close.

Except for a second ago, Olive. When you almost put your tongue in his-

"Is something wrong?" He sounded almost concerned.

"What? No. No, there isn't."

"Because," he continued calmly, "kissing a stranger at midnight in a science lab might be a sign that there is."

"There isn't."

Carlsen nodded, thoughtful. "Very well. Expect mail in the next few days, then." He began to walk past her, and she turned to yell after him.

"You didn't even ask my name!"

"I'm sure anyone could figure it out, since you must have swiped your badge to get in the labs area after hours. Have a good night."

"Wait!" She leaned forward and stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He paused immediately, even though it was obvious that it would take him no effort to free himself, and stared pointedly at the spot where her fingers had wrapped around his skin-right below a wristwatch that probably cost half her yearly graduate salary. Or all of it.

She let go of him at once and took one step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"The kiss. Explain."

Olive bit into her lower lip. She had truly screwed herself over. She had to tell him, now. "Anh Pham." She looked around to make sure Anh was really gone. "The girl who was passing by. She's a graduate student in the biology department."

Carlsen gave no indication of knowing who Anh was.

"Anh has . . ." Olive pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear. This was where the story became embarrassing. Complicated, and a little juvenile sounding. "I was seeing this guy in the department. Jeremy Langley, he has red hair and works with Dr. . . . Anyway, we went out just a couple of times, and then I brought him to Anh's birthday party, and they just sort of hit it off and-"

Olive shut her eyes. Which was probably a bad idea, because now she could see it painted on her lids, how her best friend and her date had bantered in that bowling alley, as if they'd known each other their whole lives; the never-exhausted topics of conversation, the laughter, and then, at the end of the night, Jeremy following Anh's every move with his gaze. It had been painfully clear who he was interested in. Olive waved a hand and tried for a smile.

"Long story short, after Jeremy and I ended things he asked Anh out. She said no because of . . . girl code and all that, but I can tell that she really likes him. She's afraid to hurt my feelings, and no matter how many times I told her it was fine she wouldn't believe me."

Not to mention that the other day I overheard her confess to our friend Malcolm that she thought Jeremy was awesome, but she could never betray me by going out with him, and she sounded so dejected. Disappointed and insecure, not at all like the spunky, larger-than-life Anh I am used to.

"So I just lied and told her that I was already dating someone else. Because she's one of my closest friends and I'd never seen her like a guy this much and I want her to have the good things she deserves and I'm positive that she would do the same for me and-" Olive realized that she was rambling and that Carlsen couldn't have cared less. She stopped and swallowed, even though her mouth felt dry. "Tonight. I told her I'd be on a date tonight ."

"Ah." His expression was unreadable.

"But I'm not. So I decided to come in to work on an experiment, but Anh showed up, too. She wasn't supposed to be here. But she was. Coming this way. And I panicked-well." Olive wiped a hand down her face. "I didn't really think."

Carlsen didn't say anything, but it was there in his eyes that he was thinking. Obviously.

"I just needed her to believe that I was on a date."

He nodded. "So you kissed the first person you saw in the hallway. Perfectly logical."

Olive winced. "When you put it like that, perhaps it wasn't my best moment."

"But it wasn't my worst, either! I'm pretty sure Anh saw us. Now she'll think that I was on a date with you and she'll hopefully feel free to go out with Jeremy and-" She shook her head. "Listen. I'm so, so sorry about the kiss."

"Please, don't report me. I really thought I heard you say yes. I promise I didn't mean to . . ."

Suddenly, the enormity of what she had just done fully dawned on her. She had just kissed a random guy, a guy who happened to be the most notoriously unpleasant faculty member in the biology department. She'd misunderstood a snort for consent, she'd basically attacked him in the hallway, and now he was staring at her in that odd, pensive way, so large and focused and close to her, and . . .

Maybe it was the late night. Maybe it was that her last coffee had been sixteen hours ago. Maybe it was Adam Carlsen looking down at her, like that. All of a sudden, this entire situation was just too much.

"Actually, you're absolutely right. And I am so sorry. If you felt in any way harassed by me, you really should report me, because it's only fair. It was a horrible thing to do, though I really didn't want to . . . Not that my intentions matter; it's more like your perception of . . ."

Crap, crap, crap.

"I'm going to leave now, okay? Thank you, and . . . I am so, so, so sorry." Olive spun around on her heels and ran away down the hallway.

"Olive," she heard him call after her. "Olive, wait-"

She didn't stop. She sprinted down the stairs to the first floor and then out the building and across the pathways of the sparsely lit Stanford campus, running past a girl walking her dog and a group of students laughing in front of the library. She continued until she was standing in front of her apartment's door, stopping only to unlock it, making a beeline for her room in the hope of avoiding her roommate and whoever he might have brought home tonight. It wasn’t until she slumped on her bed, staring at the glow‑in‑the- dark stars glued to her ceiling, that she realized that she had neglected to check on her lab mice. She had also left her laptop on her bench and her sweatshirt somewhere in the lab, and she had completely forgotten to stop at the store and buy the coffee she’d promised Malcolm she’d get for tomorrow morning. Shit. What a disaster of a day. It never occurred to Olive that Dr. Adam Carlsen— known ass— had called her by her name.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08T6XN4FP
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (September 14, 2021)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2021
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 3306 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 383 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1408725762
• #49 in Workplace Romance eBooks
• #69 in Workplace Romance
• #309 in Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Is The Love Hypothesis worth reading? No spoilers!

Marie Dubuque

Watch this BEFORE buying! (no spoilers)

Brandi Leigh

Your New Favorite Romance Book! - Honest Book Review!

Sophia Doyle

Love Hypothesis Novel- My Honest Review

About the author

Ali hazelwood.

Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

Customer reviews

Our goal is to make sure every review is trustworthy and useful. That's why we use both technology and human investigators to block fake reviews before customers ever see them.  Learn more

We block Amazon accounts that violate our community guidelines. We also block sellers who buy reviews and take legal actions against parties who provide these reviews.  Learn how to report

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Report an issue

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Amazon Assistant

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Get your first book for $9.99 with code BREEZE at checkout.

Pick a book

• Current books
• Book of the Year
• How it works
• Virtual Book Tour
• Relationship status
• Give a gift
• Redeem a gift
• Group gifting

Get in touch

• Help center

Already a member? Sign in.

We’ll make this quick.

First, enter your email. Then choose your move.

By tapping "Pick a book now" or "Pick a book later", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy .

• Modern classics
• Famous authors
• Thriller books
• Historical fiction books
• Romance books
• Fantasy books
• Literary fiction books
• Mystery books
• Contemporary fiction books
• Horror books
• Legal thriller books
• Sci-fi books
• Young adult books
• Narrative nonfiction books
• Memoir books
• History books
• True crime books

Popular right now

• Just for the Summer
• Butcher & Blackbird
• The Husbands
• Darling Girls
• Listen for the Lie
• The Paradise Problem
• Heartless Hunter

Top Bookmoji

Search or browse

• June selections

Only on BOTM

BOTY Finalists

Blue Box Boutique

Debut authors

Repeat authors.

• Historical fiction

The Love Hypothesis

Each year thousands of members vote for our Book of the Year award—congrats to The Love Hypothesis !

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Ali Hazelwood, on your first book!

Excellent choice

Just enter your email to add this book to your box.

By tapping "Add to box", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy .

After a fake relationship generates real sparks, a rising scientist must decide if she's ready to experiment with love.

Good to know

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.

Free sample

Frankly, Olive was a bit on the fence about this whole grad school thing.

Not because she didn’t like science. (She did. She loved science. Science was her thing .) And not because of the truckload of obvious red flags. She was well aware that committing to years of unappreciated, underpaid eighty-?­hour workweeks might not be good for her mental health. That nights spent toiling away in front of a Bunsen burner to uncover a trivial slice of knowledge might not be the key to happiness. That devoting her mind and body to academic pursuits with only infrequent breaks to steal unattended bagels might not be a wise choice.

She was well aware, and yet none of it worried her. Or maybe it did, a tiny bit, but she could deal. It was something else that held her back from surrendering herself to the most notorious and soul-?­sucking circle of hell (i.e., a Ph.D. program). Held her back, that is, until she was invited to interview for a spot in Stanford’s biology department, and came across The Guy.

The Guy whose name she never really got.

Create a free account!

Sign up to see book details, our quick takes, and more.

By tapping "Sign up", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy .

Why I love it

Rachael Burlette

Botm editorial team.

What is the formula for a perfect romance? For me, it’s about the sweet moments, the witty banter, and amazing chemistry. I’m particularly drawn to love stories that also go beyond falling in love, which is why I was excited to read about Olive’s journey as a young scientist. I loved her drive and ambition. Once I began reading The Love Hypothesis , I knew that it had all the right elements to become one of my new favorite romances.

Set in the world of academia, Olive is a Ph.D. biology student who spends most of her time in a lab. She certainly doesn’t have time for dating. So when she kisses a random person at her university to convince her best friend, Anh, that she is doing just fine, she finds herself entering into a fake dating agreement with the infamously grumpy Professor Carlsen. It’s the perfect plan: Olive’s friends will stop worrying about her and Adam’s bosses will believe he’s not leaving for a new job anytime soon. Adam and Olive just need to follow a few ground rules and not fall in love. What could possibly go wrong?

On the surface, this book is a fun romance about a hilarious fake dating scheme. But it’s also more than that. It’s a glimpse into the world of academia and the obstacles women face in the male-dominated STEM field. I found myself reading this book whenever I had the chance. I felt completely invested in Adam and Olive’s love story and how everything would unfold. The Love Hypothesis is everything that you’ll want in your next read. I have a theory you’ll love this book—I know I did!

Other books by Ali Hazelwood

Member ratings (71,675)

Lindsay P .

Portland , OR

Don’t mind me, as I add Ali Hazelwood’s 2 upcoming STEM-inist novels to my TBR. Best Rom-Com I’ve read in 2021.The worst part of this book, is that’s it a debut and I have for more ???? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Metamora , MI

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read this in one sitting, could not put it down. Adam has single-handedly destroyed my standards for men. Hazelwood’s wit has yet to be matched. Can’t wait to read more of her work :)

Allison A .

Prosper , TX

Could not have loved this book more! Finished it in 24 hours, I stopped only because I had to go to work. I absolutely love the characters, the storyline, the brains, the chemistry. It’s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

La Mesa , CA

Slow to develop the characters/their story line but halfway through it picked up. I absolutely loved how it all came together. A little cheesy but that’s exactly what it was supposed to be. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Belton , TX

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ O.M.G. So good! I totally lost sleep cause I couldn’t put it down!! Great hidden romance plot. I would have loved to have more steam, but what we did get - phew watch out! Best add-on ever!

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Screen-Free Activities for Kids and Teens to Enjoy Over the Summer

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

The love hypothesis, common sense media reviewers.

Uneven romance has explicit sex, features women in STEM.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

An author's note explains Title IX and offers webs

You have to be strong and tough to make it in the

Olive and Ahn are good models of women in STEM. Th

Olive reads as White, is from Canada, and is very

An incident of verbal sexual assault with an attem

Other than a few kisses and some romantic tension,

"Bulls--t," "clit," "clusterf--k," "c--k," "d--k,"

A few food and beverage brands, and a couple of en

All characters are adults of legal drinking age in

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

Community reviews.

• Parents say
• Kids say (2)

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

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.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Check & Mate

You Have a Match

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

Teen books trending on #booktok, related topics.

• Perseverance
• Great Girl Role Models

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

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

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 . 

SUBSCRIBE TO ALI'S NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND EARLY UPDATES

Once Upon A Time Bookstore | 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020 | (818) 248-9668 | [email protected]

Search form

• Advanced Search

Store Hours

Monday - Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm

Sunday: 11 am - 4 pm

Masks are optional but preferred at events

The Love Hypothesis (Paperback)

September 2021 Indie Next List

• Description
• About the Author
• Reviews & Media
• Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
• Fiction / Romance / Workplace
• Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
• Kobo eBook (December 4th, 2023): $17.99
• Kobo eBook (September 13th, 2021): $12.99
• Library Binding, Large Print (February 1st, 2022): $43.64
• More…

Dads read too!

Staff Picks

The Glass Scientists: Volume One (Paperback)

An interesting mash up of Victorian science fiction stories in a dark and colorful queer comic book.  (Graphic novel, ages 14+)  - Reviewed by Jessica

'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.

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

• " 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.

• Main content

The Love Hypothesis

48 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-13

Chapters 14-15

Chapters 16-19

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Summary and Study Guide

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (2021) follows a female scientist’s comedic journey to true love that’s fraught with lies, tears, and awkward moments. The book was an instant NY Times bestseller, a BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021, and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist. Born in Italy, Ali Hazelwood moved to the United States via Japan and Germany to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She currently works as a college professor and writes romance novels about women in STEM fields. The Love Hypothesis was her debut novel. This guide follows the 2021 Berkley edition.

Plot Summary

Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!

• 7,800+ In-Depth Study Guides
• 4,800+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
• Downloadable PDFs

The Love Hypothesis is set in modern-day America and follows Olive Smith , a 26-year-old graduate student of biology at Stanford University. Olive’s research focuses on pancreatic cancer, but each chapter begins with a hypothesis about Olive’s love life or choices as is relevant to the chapter’s contents.

Two years before the main events of the story, Olive’s expired contacts act up right before her interview for Ph.D. candidacy at Stanford. While she waits in the bathroom for her eyes to stop watering, she meets Adam Carlsen , one of the foremost biology researchers in the world—though she doesn’t learn it was him until the end of the book. His wise words convince Olive that grad school is the right path, and two weeks later, she accepts an offer to study at Stanford.

The SuperSummary difference

• 8x more resources than SparkNotes and CliffsNotes combined
• Study Guides you won ' t find anywhere else
• 175 + new titles every month

Almost three years later, Olive is trying to convince her best friend that she’s over her ex-boyfriend so her friend, who is interested in her ex-boyfriend, will date him. Olive is working in the lab on a night she said she’d be on a date when she sees her friend walk by. Desperate to appear on a date, Olive kisses the first man she sees, who turns out to be Adam. Adam has a reputation for being mean and terrifying, and he demands an explanation. Olive haltingly explains her situation, apologizes for the kiss, and runs away, hoping she never sees him again.

A few days later, Olive’s friend corners her in the lab. Before Olive can spin an explanation, Adam arrives and acts warmly toward her, which convinces Olive’s friend their relationship is genuine. Olive wants to keep up the charade until her friends are solidly together, and Adam needs to convince Stanford he’s not leaving to get his research funds unfrozen. The two decide to pretend they’re dating for a month in hopes their fake relationship will be mutually beneficial.

Olive’s area of focus is early detection for pancreatic cancer. Her mother died from pancreatic cancer because it was found too late, and Olive dedicates her life to the disease so other people don’t lose loved ones to it. Needing a better equipped lab for the next phase of her research, Olive contacts several professors at other universities, but only one responds—Tom Benton from Harvard. He’ll be visiting Stanford in a couple of weeks, and Olive frantically works on her project in the hopes he’ll give her space in his lab.

Meanwhile, she keeps up appearances with Adam, meeting him at the campus coffee shop once a week. At their second fake date, Tom Benton joins them. It turns out that he’s a friend of Adam’s and wants to meet this girlfriend everyone’s been talking about. After listening to her research pitch, Tom requests a report by the end of the week, which Olive delivers. A few days later, Tom offers her a spot in his lab next year.

Olive receives an email regarding a paper she submitted to an upcoming conference in Boston. Her paper was accepted for a panel, which means she’ll need to give a speech. She’s terrified, but Adam helps her prepare until she feels more ready. Olive’s friends found other accommodations for the conference, which leaves Olive to share Adam’s hotel room. Olive’s panel overlaps with the keynote speech, and Adam is the keynote speaker, which means he won’t be able to attend as he promised he would.

After the panel, Tom approaches Olive and forces himself on her. When Olive pulls away and threatens to report him, Tom threatens to publish her research under his name and insults her, calling her mediocre and talentless. Adam finds Olive crying in their hotel room. Olive tells him what happened but not who insulted her. They spend the evening together. He shares a similar story from his grad school years, and they make love.

Olive spends the next few days dealing with her emotions, breaking things off with Adam because she feels it’s the right thing to do. When she finally meets up with her friends, they hear Tom’s insults, which Olive accidentally recorded after the panel. They convince Olive to tell Adam the truth and report Tom. Tom is fired from Harvard, and Olive and Adam get back together. Olive finds a new lab placement closer to Stanford, and the two stay in California together.

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood

Check & Mate

Love on the Brain

Love, Theoretically

Featured Collections

Appearance Versus Reality

View Collection

New York Times Best Sellers

Pride Month Reads

The Best of "Best Book" Lists

Truth & Lies

Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

LightSail includes up to 6,000 high interest, Lexile Ⓡ aligned book titles with every student subscription. Other titles are available for individual purchase.

Watch the power of

Lightsail in action, support growing readers.

LightSail Education is a comprehensive Lexile Ⓡ and standards-aligned, literacy platform and digital e-book library. Including multimodal learning functionality and featuring books from leading publishers, LightSail holistically assesses and nurtures each student on their reading and writing-to-learn journey, throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

*LightSail offers a 2,000 or a 6,000 title bundle with its student subscriptions. Other titles are available for individual purchase.

Advertise   Contact   Privacy

Browse All Reviews

New Releases

List Reviews by Rating

List Reviews by Author

List Reviews by Title

The Love Hypothesis

Quick recap & summary by chapter.

The Full Book Recap and Chapter-by-Chapter Summary for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood are below.

Quick(-ish) Recap

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.

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Olive Smith is an applicant for Stanford’s biology Ph.D program. After the interview with Dr. Aysegul Aslan , she ends up in a bathroom nearby unable to see and trying to wash out her eyes because she put in expired contacts.

She meets “The Guy” there, who she assumes is a Ph.D student there. As they strike up a conversation, she tells him that her name is Olive and talks about why she’s applying to the program. She tells him that she wants to do it in order to research a specific topic.

A few weeks later, Olive is accepted into the program.

Years later, Olive is now 26 and a Ph.D. student in Dr. Aslan’s lab. Olive has just kissed a random stranger (in order to trick her best friend, Anh , into thinking she’s on a date) — only to realize that the “stranger” is actually Dr. Adam Carlson , a 34-year-old tenured and highly-respected professor in her program with a reputation for being notorious moody, mean and hypercritical.

After they pull away, Adam accuses her of assaulting him. Olive insists she asked him and he said yes, but he says he merely snorted. Finally, she explains that her friend Anh had hit it off with a guy she’d been dating, Jeremy. Olive broke things off with Jeremy, but Anh felt too bad to go out with Jeremy. To make Anh feel better about it, Olive lied to Anh about dating someone and being on a date tonight. When Anh showed up at the lab, Olive needed to kiss someone so Anh would believe she was on a date.

Finally, Olive apologizes and leaves. She doesn’t notice that Adam had called her by her name (which she hadn’t brought up in this conversation).

A few days later, Olive is still embarrassed by what happened. However, she figures that she’d never crossed paths with Adam before then, so perhaps she wouldn’t cross paths with him again. Meanwhile, Olive is preoccupied with needing to find more lab space for her research on early detection of pancreatic cancer. Today, she also finds out Tom Benton , a well-known cancer researcher and an associate professor at Harvard, is interested in potentially allowing her to carry out her research at his lab at Harvard. He’s going to be in town in two weeks and wants to meet with her.

When Anh sees her, she confronts Olive about kissing Adam Carlson. Olive thinks back to how they met since they were the only two non-cis-white-male students in their class. Beyond that, Anh was her biggest support and best friend.

Today, Anh demands to know why Olive is dating Dr. Carlson. This conversation is interrupted when Adam walks in. He plays along and pretends that he and Olive are together. After they make formal introductions, he tells her to call him Adam, in case her friend Anh is around. Later, when Olive talks to Anh again, Olive continues to pretend she’s dating Adam, and she once again encourages Anh to date Jeremy.

On campus, Olive starts to notice that people are treating her differently and with some level of curiosity. When her roommate, Malcom , demands to know why she didn’t tell him about dating Dr. Carlson, Olive realize that everyone know about her lie. Olive goes to Adam’s lab to tell him what’s going on, and she apologizes to him for it.

Olive notes that he seems very at ease with everyone believing that they’re dating, and she wonders why. Finally, he admits that Stanford considers him to be a “flight risk” (that he wants to leave them for another institution) and that they’ve frozen some of his research funds because of it. Part of the issue is that he’s recently gotten a large grant with one of his collaborator’s at another institution, and the department is worried he’s planning on moving there. He hopes that the dating rumors will make them think he’s more likely to stick around since he’s dating someone here.

A few days later, Olive goes to Adam’s office and tells him she wants to proceed with pretending that they’re dating. Olive notices that she’s been treated much better by everyone since the rumor started. (Apart from Malcom, who dislikes Adam Carlson, and has been shunning her.) Adam explains that he’s looked into it and there’s no issue with it, though he can’t serve in any supervisory capacity for her or serve on her thesis committee or be a part of any decisions if she’s nominated for a fellowship or other awards.

They decide to set some ground rules for their fake-dating arrangement. They decide to be fake-dating while on-campus only, so no personal engagements. Olive stipulates that there’ll be no sex. They also agree not to date others in the interim, since it will make things messy. And they agree that they should get coffee or something regularly to make things believable.

They plan to continue their fake-dating until September 29, roughly a month from now, which is the day after the department’s budget review. Their first coffee “date” is planned for Wednesday at 10 AM.

Later, Olive talks to Malcom, who is still upset with her. Malcom comes from a long line of well-known scientists, and he dislikes that Adam Carlson’s criticism of his research had made his life so difficult. Olive confides in Malcom that they’re merely fake-dating and that she barely knows Adam. She says that he’s just helping her out with the Anh/Jeremy situation (and she doesn’t mention Adam’s reasons for participating).

On Wednesday, Olive and Adam have their first fake-date at the coffee house. They ask each other some basic questions, and Adam pays for her order.

The next week, they meet up again, though Olive is running late since she was getting ready for a meeting she has with Tom Benton later that day. Meanwhile, Adam is a little moody because his department chair has still not agreed to release his research funds. They discuss attending the fall biosciences picnic together so that his department chair can see that they’re together.

They’re interrupted when a friend of Adam’s walks in and greets him warmly. Adam introduces the man to Olive as his friend and collaborator — who turns out to be Tom Benton.

Dr. Benton reveals that he’s heard about Adam’s romantic exploits all the way at Harvard, and he’s surprised to hear the rumors about Adam’s new girlfriend being true. Olive also awkwardly tells Dr. Benton that they have a meeting planned for later that day. Tom is delighted to find out that his meeting is with Adam’s new girlfriend.

The three of them sit down to chat. As Tom asks her about her research, Adam rephrases it to help Olive organize her thoughts when he sees that she’s struggling to come up with an answer. Olive then tells Tom about her research on biomarkers in order to more easily and cheaply diagnose pancreatic cancer. As Tom inquires about her reasons for doing her research, Olive reluctantly admits that it’s because her mother had pancreatic cancer.

Finally, Tom asks Olive to spend two weeks writing up a report on the current state of her research. He says that he’ll make a determination of whether to give her the lab space and cover her research expenses depending on what he reads in that report.

When Tom steps away, Olive and Adam discuss that if she decides to go to Harvard then she needs to keep it a secret until the end of their arrangement, otherwise it’ll make Adam look worse. They also agree not to tell Tom that they’re only fake-dating.

The next day, Olive attends a well-attended talk that Tom is giving on campus. The auditorium is so packed that there’s no space anywhere. Anh convinces Olive to sit in Adam’s lap for the duration of the talk.

Afterwards, Olive and Anh head back to the biology building. Olive talks about the report she’s preparing for Tom and the presentation she needs to work on for a conference (the “SBD Conference”) coming up in Boston. Meanwhile, Anh is working on organizing an outreach event for BIPOC women in STEM for the conference.

As they walk back, they see that there’s a traffic jam involving a stopped car blocking an exit. Then they see Cherie , the department secretary, talking to Adam. Adam then proceeds to physically push a car out of the way to relieve the jam. Anh encourages Olive to go over and give him a kiss for his efforts. After some awkward negotiation with Adam, they kiss.

Olive is working on her report for Tom when Greg Cohen , one of Dr. Aslan’s other Ph.D. candidates, barges in, clearly agitated. Chase , another one of their lab mates, walks in uneasily after him. When Olive asks Greg what’s wrong, he angrily responds that Carlson is on his dissertation committee and he failed his proposal. They ask Olive whether she knew he was going to fail Greg, and Olive insists she didn’t know. Greg then yells at Olive and calls her selfish for not caring how Adam makes everyone’s lives miserable. Greg then storms off.

Later that day, Olive texts Adam. She asks him about failing Greg. She argues that he should be nicer, but Adam is unapologetic. He insists that his job is to make sure that students produce useful research. Olive gets frustrated texts profanity at him, and he doesn’t respond.

A few days later, Olive is on her way to the biosciences picnic, where she’ll be seeing Adam after their tense exchange. She, Anh, Jeremy and Malcom go together and are quite late. When they arrive, they see Adam playing Ultimate Frisbee shirtless, showing off his six-pack. Olive is surprised to find herself “viscerally attracted” to Adam.

As they put on sunscreen, Anh gives Olive way too much sunscreen. Meanwhile, the frisbee from the game lands near her. When Adam comes over to retrieve the frisbee, Anh offers Olive’s excess sunscreen to Adam. He accepts, and Olive rubs the sunscreen on him. Olive also apologizes for what she texted him the other day.

Tom then comes over and brings up that Adam will be going to Boston soon for a few days.

Olive is in the break room at night when she runs into Adam next. Olive is working on her report for Tom, but there’s a section she’s having trouble with since her lab equipment seems to be messing up. They chat and share snacks. Olive finds herself wondering why he’s single.

Olive also finds herself telling him about her mother and her death. She describes how, when she was 15, her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer too late and only had a few weeks left to live by then. Olive also says that her father was never in the picture and her grandparents were deceased, so she was sent into the foster system until she was emancipated at 16.

When she mentions needing to get back to work, Adam offers to let her use his lab equipment if she needs it. He also gives her some advice on the Western blot she’s working with to make sure she’s doing it correctly. Before Olive leaves, she asks Adam why he’s single, but before he can really answer, Jeremy walks in and interrupts them.

On Saturday, Olive sends in her report to Tom. He responds by asking her to meet to talk about it at Adam’s house (where he’s staying) on Tuesday before he leaves for Boston. At Adam’s house, she and Tom chat about her report for about 20 minutes. Before she leaves, Tom offers her a spot at Harvard for the next year, and Olive is thrilled.

Adam gives her a ride back to campus. He talks about how excited he is about the research he and Tom are working on. As they chat, Adam says something that The Guy she’d met in the bathroom all those years ago had said to her. Olive realizes then that Adam was The Guy she’d met. She marvels at how she’d wondered about The Guy for years. Olive then suggests that go celebrate her lab spot and him and Tom’s grant.

They agree to get coffee. Before then, she convinces him to go with her to get flu shots at the setup on campus, all the while she teases him for his fear of needles.

On Wednesday, Olive and Adam are texting and teasing each other when Anh comes in and comments on how in love with Adam she is. Anh says that she feels better about dating Jeremy, since she sees how much Olive likes Adam. As Anh leaves, it dawns on Olive that Anh is right.

Olive soon texts Malcolm asking to talk. When they get together, she tells him about how she thinks she’s fallen for Adam. She also tells him that she thinks that Adam was The Guy that she met all those years ago. Malcolm suggests that perhaps Adam feels the same way. Olive doesn’t think that’s the case, but moreover, she says scared of being vulnerable and possibly giving up the friendship she and Adam currently have if she’s wrong. Olive also says that everyone she cares about ends up leaving her — citing her mother, father and grandparents.

Olive says she’s certain she doesn’t want to say anything to Adam about her feelings — but then she turns around and sees Adam standing there.

When Adam acknowledges that he overheard her, Olive quickly lies and said she was talking about some other guy she has a crush on. Their conversation is interrupted by Dr. Holden Rodriguez , who is going to Boston with Tom and Adam. Dr. Rodriguez knows Olive since he was on her graduate advisory committee her first year.

As they talk, Holden explains that he and Adam are old friends. They grew up together because their parents were all diplomats. Holden tells Olive about how his boyfriend dumped him just before prom, so Adam went as his date instead.

After Holden leaves, Adam comments that Holden speaks highly of Olive and her research. Adam also explains a comment Holden made about Tom, saying that the two don’t really get along. He then tells Olive that she should just tell Jeremy how she feels, incorrectly assuming that the mystery crush Olive was referring to is Jeremy.

Malcolm continues trying to convince Olive to admit her feelings to Adam, but Olive refuses. With Adam out of town, she feels his absence. When Adam finally texts her on Sunday, she feels even worse about her stupid lie about liking someone else.

On campus, she runs into Holden, who mentions how glad he is that Adam and Olive got together. Holden days that Adam had talked about someone he wanted to ask out for years, and he’s glad Adam finally did it. When he says that, Olive thinks about how there must be someone else out there that Adam likes, then, since they only really met a couple weeks ago.

Holden also warns her to watch out when it comes to Tom and to watch Adam’s back, since he doesn’t trust Tom.

A little later, Olive is informed that her research has been accepted for the SBD conference as a panel presentation with faculty. Olive feels overwhelmed, since graduate students very rarely are selected for oral presentations. She goes to her advisor, Dr. Aslan, and explains that she’s terrible at talking. Of course, Dr. Aslan just gives her some encouragement and tells Olive she’ll help her practice her presentation.

Afterwards, Olive tells Malcom and Anh, who also volunteer to help her practice. They also mention, however, that they each got invited to stay with people in Boston for the conference (Anh with Jeremy and Malcolm with some friends who had a spare room), so they won’t be rooming with Olive. Anh says she figured Olive would stay with Adam.

Olive is trying to sort out some living arrangements for Boston when Adam, who is back in town now, comes up to her. She tells him about having trouble finding accommodations in Boston. Adam comments that there’s probably not anything left in the vicinity by now, but she could stay in his room at the conference center. He adds that he has the room for the whole conference, but he will only be using the room two nights, so they’ll only overlap for one night most likely.

When she tells him about her presentation, he offers to look over her slides. She also invites him to her talk, and she thinks about how one of the reasons she likes him is that she always feels like he’s on her side.

At the hotel in Boston, Olive takes the empty bed, and she rehearses the talk she’s about to give in a few hours. When Adam arrives, she thanks him for all the help he gave regarding her presentation.

He asks when her presentation is so he can attend, but it turns out it overlaps with the Keynote speech, which he is giving along with two other people. She offers to show him the recording of it afterwards.

When Olive goes to do her panel presentation, she sees that Tom is on the same panel. She gives her portion of the talk, and it goes well. Malcolm and Anh are there to cheer her on.

Afterwards, the room empties out, and it’s just her and Tom. As they talk, she notices him moving closer until he tries to kiss her. When she pushes him away, he keeps trying. Finally, he says that she’s clearly someone who sleeps around to get ahead, and so they both know she’ll sleep with him, too, for the same reason. He also says that she only got on this panel because someone wanted to kiss-up to Adam Carlson.

He also says that Adam is the reason he accepted Olive into his lab. When Olive threatens to tell Adam about this, he says that Adam won’t believe her word against his. Olive also says she won’t go work in his lab, but Tom says she knows it’s the best option for her, and if she doesn’t then he’ll just replicate her research since he already knows all about it.

When Adam gets back to the hotel, Olive is crying. She tries to pretend nothing is wrong, but fails at it. Finally, she lies and tells him that she’s upset because she overheard someone saying that her research was “derivative” and that she was only chosen because of Adam.

Adam comforts her, and then he says he has an idea for where they should go instead.

Holding her hand, they walk past all the people at the department social and instead head out to dinner. Adam asks what she wants to eat, and Olive sees an all-you-can-eat sushi place and wants to go.

After dinner, as they head back, Olive’s heels are hurting her, so Adam gamely picks her up and brings her to their room. She then suggests that they watch a movie. Olive goes to grab a quick shower, and Adam offers her a t-shirt since she forgot to pack pajamas.

When Olive’s mind wanders back to being called mediocre (by Tom, though she doesn’t tell Adam that), Adam tells her about how his advisor had once told him he wouldn’t amount to anything because of a mistake he made. He says that he had started preparing applications for law school as a result, since the comment shook his confidence. However, Holden and Tom (who also trained under the same advisor) convinced him to stick with science.

Adam says that later he realized that his advisor was abusive and a bad mentor who created a toxic environment. Comparatively, Adam says that he is critical since he wants students to be better, but it isn’t about belittling them as people or cutting down their self-worth. Adam also says that no one ever reported his advisor’s behavior because he was short-listed for a Nobel Prize, and they didn’t think anyone would listen. Adam also mentions how Tom had helped mediate thing with him and his advisor, so he was grateful to Tom for that.

Adam then tells Olive that the abstracts submitted to SBD go through a blind review process, so they definitely didn’t choose her because of him.

Finally, Olive moves to kiss Adam, but before anything can happen, he stops her. He points out that she’s upset and staying in his room and that the situation feels coercive to him. When Olive says she’s fine, he points out that she said she was in love with someone else and that he doesn’t want to regret this later.

Olive convinces him that she’s fine with the situation, and soon things get intimate.

They have sex.

Afterwards, Olive asks Adam about a book he’s reading. He says it’s in Dutch and that he learned it as a kid. He also says that his parents were busy all the time and that he was mostly raised by au pairs. They then talk more about their childhoods.

As they chat, Adam finally tells Olive that he might be going to Harvard. The reason he’s leaving the conference early is to go interview with them. He thinks that working together with Tom in the same lab would make them much more productive. He also mentions that he could show her around Boston when she’s there.

Olive wakes up to a barrage of texts from Anh and Malcolm. When she finally talks to them, it turns out the Malcolm hooked up with Holden at the department social. Malcolm also says that Holden mentioned that Adam’s funds had been released (though Adam hadn’t mentioned it to Olive).

That night, Olive meets up with Adam. He wants to go out and have dinner, but Olive breaks things off with him, since she doesn’t know what to do about the Tom situation. She thinks that taking herself out of the equation is the best thing for him.

As she starts to leave, they end up kissing, but he pulls away, and she leaves.

Olive spends the next day crying. Then, determined not to send up at Harvard, Olive takes Adam’s advice to reach out to people through her advisor and asks Dr. Aslan to e-mail various people she’d met at the conference to see if they’d be interested in her research.

Dr. Aslan agrees, and also asks to see her speech. As Olive edits the video recording, Malcolm talks about how he went on a first date with Holden, but they ended up running into his entire family (since they are all science junkies who attend science conferences).

As she’s editing, Olive realizes she recorded her upsetting conversation with Tom. Malcolm and Anh hear her listening to it. Once they’ve listened to the whole thing, they insist that Olive needs to tell Adam about it. Finally, Malcolm fills Anh in on what was really going on with Olive and Adam. However, they both agree it’s clear that Olive has feelings for Adam and that Adam would want to know about this. Still, Olive knows how important the collaboration with Tom is to Adam, and she is reluctant to complicate things for him.

They decide to call Holden to ask for advice. Olive asks Holden what he thinks about Adam moving to Boston and working with Tom. Holden says that he doesn’t trust Tom. He says he thinks there was a weird dynamic where Tom was secretly sabotaging Adam during grad school and then defending him. He thinks that Tom likes Adam’s loyalty towards him and having influence over him. Holden also tells them that he thinks Tom and Adam’s collaboration benefits Tom more than Adam. Finally, Holden implies that he thinks the only reason Adam is considering leaving Stanford is because Olive is going to Harvard.

Olive tracks down Adam’s location at a dinner with some Harvard people, including Tom. When he sees her, he gets up and asks what’s wrong. Tom comes over to try to get Adam to sit back down, but Adam insists on talking to Olive. Finally, Olive starts playing the video. Adam grows furious as he realizes what happened. He tells Tom that he’s going to kill him and goes after him, but Olive tells Adam that he’s not worth it.

As the Harvard people demand an explanation, Adam ignores them and kisses Olive. He then tells Olive to send him the recording immediately and then goes to talk to the Harvard people.

A few days later, Olive is back home, and Adam is on his way back to San Francisco. Meanwhile, Olive has received responses from four cancer researchers who are all interested in her research.

When Adam gets back, Holden insists on a double date. Adam reluctantly agrees. When they all sit down, they address the fact that Malcolm still has misgivings about Adam because of Adam’s harsh criticism of his work. Adam tells Malcolm that it wasn’t personal.

As they joke around about pumpkin spiced flavored foods, Holden mentions how Adam has liked Olive for years. Olive corrects him, saying they’ve only been dating for a few weeks, but Holden says that they met three years ago and that he’s liked Olive ever since. Olive then realizes that Adam was definitely the The Guy (from three years ago) and that he did remember her.

After dinner, Olive and Adam head home. Adam tells Olive that Harvard is going to fire Tom and that there will be other disciplinary actions. Olive then tells Adam that she remembered him, too, from all those years ago. But she didn’t piece it together until later, and she admits that she didn’t say anything once she figured it out.

Finally, she tells him that she loves him (in broken Dutch).

Ten months later, it’s the 1-year anniversary of their first kiss. Olive and Adam go to the lab and recreate and their kiss at precisely the same time as last year.

Share this post

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 Housemaid is Watching

She’s Not Sorry

The Seven Year Slip

Darling Girls

Yours Truly

Best Literary Fiction of 2024 (New & Anticipated)

The Housemaid Book Series Recap

2024’s Best Book Club Books (New & Anticipated)

Bookshelf: Development Diary

Best Rom-Com, Beach Reads & Contemporary Romance Books

Share your thoughts Cancel reply

For Chapter 16, I think it’s important to include the part where Olive comes out to Adam as demisexual. But other than that this is a great summary.

this book is so good i couldn’t put it down. the only i wish is it was both POVS i would of loved to see what adam was thinking during all of this or have his thoughts on when they met each other during the bathroom scene. and i would of loved to see him actually hurting tom for saying that stuff to olive.

• Womens Fiction
• Paranormal Mystery
• Science Fiction Romance
• Personal Development

The Love Hypothesis Series by Ali Hazelwood: The Complete Guide

Table of Contents

Hey. What’s up, guys? I hope you are doing well. Today, we will discuss one of the most famous and romantic series by Ali Hazelwood , “ The Love Hypothesis. ” I completed all these books a week ago, so I decided to share my memories related to this novel with you. LET’S START >

The Love Hypothesis series has been written by Ali Hazelwood, a New York Times bestselling author. She writes modern romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. She published this novel on September 14, 2021, and this book consists of 383 pages, which are good enough to evoke your soul letter on 2 more books that were released in this series.

In 2022, it was announced that a  film conversion of the novel  is in progress from Bisous Pictures. The Love Hypothesis has  sold over 750,000 copies  worldwide, and the series has three different romantic story books. I will discuss all the books in this epic review, so stay with me till the end.

Overview of the series: 

The love hypothesis :.

The Love Hypothesis is an adult and romantic novel written by Ali Hazelwood. In this most-rated book, we read about the love story of Olives and Adam. Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She is researching pancreatic cancer from which her mother died. And Adam, who is a professor at the same university. The university has banned funds for Adam to study in the medical field as they fear he will leave the university and go to another. They both do fake friendship with each other. So both can have benefits.

Love On The Brain:

This is another book in the series, “ The Love Hypothesis ,” released in 2022 and is also a standalone novel. This is the romantic story of Dr. Bee Königswasser, who works at NASA, which was her dream job. And Levi Ward, who is her nemesis from grad school. He was her co-leader in the project, and they were trying their best to work with each other and forget what happened in the school. After working together for an extended period, they start loving each other.

Love, Theoretically:

This is the final book of the series The Love Hypothesis, written by Ali Hazelwood and published in 2023. This is also a comedy and romantic novel. In this book, we follow the life of Elsie, who is a good physicist and a professor at three Boston universities. She is trying to do many jobs to fulfill her needs; she also does the job as a Fake girlfriend to be hired. But this affects her academic position too much. She meets Jack and falls in love with him.

The series mainly fits within the Young Adult Romance and Romantic Agog genres; all three books share contemporary romance and academic fiction genres.

RECOMMENDED AGE RATING:

The series is recommended for mature enough readers due to its severe and emotional content. Not that mature, 17-18+ is good. Readers above 35 may not have that much fun, but the young ones’ hearts will be filled with pleasure.

Be sure that you are mature enough to read mature content.

HOW MANY BOOKS IN “The Love Hypothesis” SERIES?

There are currently three books in “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood,

• The Love Hypothesis
• Love on the Brain
• Love, Theoretically

All these books were released one after the other in a sequence. The first book, The Love Hypothesis, was released in 2021; the second in 2022, Love on the Brain; and the last in 2023, called Love Theoretically. All these books have different storylines of different couples.

Best Reading Order for “The Love Hypothesis” Series :

I recommend you read all the books in sequence; otherwise, you will face many issues in understanding concepts and logic; you can also read them without sequence because they all have different stories. So, start with “The Love Hypothesis,” then the second part, Love on the Brain, and then at last, “Love Theoretically. This will be a good way according to my view of reading.

• Love theoretically

The Love Hypothesis #1: Plot Summary

Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She is researching pancreatic cancer from which her mother died. She did not believe in Love and romance, as her boyfriend had broken up with her a long time ago. But her best friend Anh believes in Love and romance. Anh and Olivia’s ex-boyfriend Jeremy like each other but can’t get into a relationship because she thinks she will hurt Olive if she goes into a relationship. Still, Olive has already told her she has been moved on and is no longer with Jeremy. To confirm this, one day, they were in the lab, and Ana dared Olives to kiss any random guy in the science lab. She had just kissed a guy, then learned that he was Prof. Adam, a famous scientist, and a handsome guy.

Olive told Adam why she did this and made plans with him to make a fake relationship with each other so people, including Anh, would think they were in a relationship. They start fake dating; after a few days of dating, Olivia starts having feelings for Adam, but she is afraid of telling him. One day, they both go to a conference where Adams’s friend Tom also comes. He was also a great scientist, just like Adam. When she was there at the meeting, Tom did a sexual harassment with Olive. She does not tell Adam this because she thinks he will not believe her.

 One day, Anh gets to know about the fake act of Olive and Adam, which they were doing, as well as she also knows that she was sexually harassed by Tom. She advises Olive to tell Adam about what happened to her. She hopefully gets to Adam and tells him everything with some proof, and Adams believes her and takes Olive’s side. After some time, Olive also said to him that she loved him very much.

Everyone likes tall, broody, sullen hunks with genius IQs. The Love Hypothesis

 It seems to be that Adam also likes her, but he is not saying it clearly to her. They both start a good relationship and live happily, enjoying their life with romance and Love. They do everything they want to do wherever they want. They have sex whenever they want to do it. They kiss each other wherever they wish, and now they can’t live without each other.

This was a short summary of the novel; no spoilers are given.

Characters:

Dr. Adam Carlsen: A young professor who is harsh and hypercritical. This is what students say about him. The university has frozen his research funds because they are worried that he will leave and go to a different university; Adam has faked a relationship with Olive to make the science department believe that he plans to stay at Stanford University and will not go anywhere.

Olive Smith:  She is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She is doing research on pancreatic cancer from which her mother died. She has a fake relationship with Dr Adam Carlsen to convince her friend she got over her ex-boyfriend.

Love On The Brain #2: Plot Summary

Dr. Bee Königswasser is a neuroscientist working at NIH who received a prestigious chance to co-lead BLINK, a project at NASA concentrated on making helmets for astronauts that improve engagement through neurostimulation. Bee is thrilled, except she must work alongside Levi Ward, an engineer, and her old grad school nemesis. Bee went to Houston to start the task with her research assistant, Rocío Corporeal. When Bee formally begins work the next week, she finds that many of the gear and resources she had ordered have not yet arrived.

Her multiple emails to Levi to meet and discuss BLINK have been going unanswered. This, coupled with his general avoidance of her and the fact that she is kept out of the loop about team meetings, leads her to suspect that Levi purposely sabotages her involvement in the project. Levi discovers evidence that another firm is working on similar helmets, forcing their boss, Dr. Boris Covington, to push for the project to resume. With BLINK back on, Levi and Bee began cooperating closely, and she realized they had much more in common than she had ever guessed.

While working together one night, Levi and Bee find a file misplaced on the server in a row of strange circumstances. Levi calls a corrective meeting among the engineers despite Bee’s explicit request for him not to, which outrages her. Levi quickly apologizes for it, surprising Bee with his seriousness and respectfulness. There are many more hurdles in the story to love success.

The real villain is love: an unstable isotope, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay. Love On The Brain

Dr. Bee Königswasser : SHE works at NASA, and it is her dream job.

Levi Ward : He is Dr. Bee’s nemesis from grad school. He was her co-leader in the project.

Love theoretically #3: Plot Summary

Elsie is an overworked and underappreciated adjunct lecturer at three Boston universities who loves speculative physics but dislikes teaching. To cover her medical expenses and make up for her poor salary as an adjunct, Elsie works for an app called Faux that lets users hire people to act as their girlfriends.

Greg Smith has been a client of Elsie’s for some time, and she assumes they are friends, but she feels distressed by Greg’s older brother, Jack, who thinks she is lying to Greg about who she is. One day, Elsie meets the constituents of the MIT physics branch; she is surprised to learn that Jonathan Smith-Turner is  Jack Smith , her client Greg’s judgmental older brother. She begins to trust Jack, who has known through his brother that he and Elsie were only acting to date to alleviate his driven mother and hide the secret that Greg is aeromantic and has no interest in dating anyone.

Once he realizes that Greg and Elsie were never together, Jack reveals that he has always had feelings for her and only appeared to hate her because he was protective and envious of Greg.

“Have you considered that maybe you’re already the way I want you to be? That maybe there are no signals because nothing needs to be changed?” Love, Theoretically

The storyline was engaging and interesting, allowing me to read until the end. The characters and the relatable everything are highly appreciable. The well-developed plot, the twists, and the thrilling managements were great.

The writing style and storytelling were beyond my thoughts about this series. Some plot twists were clear to get what would happen next, but sometimes I need clarification about what is happening in this stage, so I repeat it.

The emotional and mental states of the characters sometimes did not show depth and genuineness. The book leans towards a more formulaic romantic approach. So I recommend reading this series; this will increase your knowledge of Love. So go grab it before it’s too late 🙂

CONCLUSION:

Be ready for an incredible journey with Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis series! It’s all about Love, drama, and amazement. Whether you’re a big fan or just starting, these books are like a cluster of feelings with lovely characters. You should totally read all the books. Each story is like a big hug of emotions – sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but always fascinating. So, grab these books, dive in, and prepare for a super awesome time!

Related posts:

About the author.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Helpful Book Guide: The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters List and Review

Posted on Published: July 27, 2023  - Last updated: October 23, 2023

Categories Book Guide , Spicy Chapters

What are The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters? Well, this guide is for you! Though this book is not very spicy, it is still my responsibility to squeeze out the spiciest The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters possible for you. It’s also a book I recommend with the ‘who did this to you” trope!

Table of Contents

The Love Hypothesis by 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 Review

The Love Hypothesis is a captivating and heartwarming romance that delves into the complexities of academia and love. The story revolves around Olive Smith, a dedicated PhD student, and Adam Carlsen, a charming and cocky professor. Both characters are beautifully crafted with depth and vulnerability, making them relatable and endearing to readers.

The romance between Olive and Adam is a slow-burn delight, filled with moments of vulnerability and tenderness that will leave you swooning. Their undeniable chemistry and emotional connection create an engaging and satisfying love story. The witty banter between the two adds a delightful touch to their interactions.

Ali Hazelwood’s writing is both engaging and emotionally resonant, effortlessly drawing readers into the world of academia and scientific research. The novel’s exploration of the characters’ hidden depths and vulnerability adds layers to the story, making it a truly captivating read from beginning to end. “The Love Hypothesis” is a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and well-developed romance that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

books like the Love Hypothesis

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.

She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.

Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.

But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.

This book was cute to read! Also have the only one bed trope and enemies to lovers (of course).

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

She can never be his…but he’s taking her anyway.

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until  her.

Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.

Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defences until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she’s his.

His princess. His forbidden fruit. His every depraved fantasy.

Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she’s suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies—and treacheries—of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can’t have.

Her bodyguard. Her protector. Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom…and doom them both.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA.

A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win.

No exceptions.

Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.

When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.

The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

He hates her…almost as much as he wants her.

Gorgeous, cocky, and fast on his way to becoming a hotshot doctor, Josh Chen has never met a woman he couldn’t charm—except for Jules f**king Ambrose.

The beautiful redhead has been a thorn in his side since they met, but she also consumes his thoughts in a way no woman ever has.

When their animosity explodes into one unforgettable night, he proposes a solution that’ll get her out of his system once and for all: an enemies with benefits arrangement with simple rules.

No jealousy.

No strings attached.

And absolutely no falling in love.

Outgoing and ambitious, Jules Ambrose is a former party girl who’s focused on one thing: passing the attorney’s bar exam.

The last thing she needs is to get involved with a doctor who puts the SUFFER in insufferable…no matter how good-looking he is.

But the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes there’s more than meets the eye to the man she’s hated for so long.

Her best friend’s brother.

Her nemesis.

And her only salvation.

Theirs is a match made in hell, and when the demons from their past catch up with them, they’re faced with truths that could either save them …or destroy everything they’ve worked for.

Twisted Hate is a steamy enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers romance. It’s book three in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Abou t The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

A typical billionaire romance that is quite popular. It’s one of the more famous ones of the genre, especially on Kindle Unlimited.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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 – 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. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. 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?

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time.

Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart. 

Romance between a sunshine fashionable “it” celebrity girl with grumpy sea sailor local. Bright cheerful icon x cold ordinary sailor combo meal.

The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters

As many readers may know (especially romance book readers), oftentimes we like to seek out book tropes and read romance books that include the book tropes we usually like and the book tropes we want to read at the moment. It’s what drives a lot of book recommendations and is a common way we seek out books to read. If you are a reader who is interested in:

• Tracking tropes that you have already read
• Tracking tropes that you would want to read in the future
• Collect original trope ideas that you came up with (and haven’t come across before)

Then this book trope reading journal is perfectly made for you!

Subsribe to my newsletter!

Sign up and get a free colouring book, be kept up-to-date with new content, and get other freebies!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Please subscribe to my mailing list to get a FREE colouring book, and follow me on my social media accounts if you want more posts like this! I really appreciate the support <3.

Recent Activities

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Third Wheel

Rekindling Love Takes More Than a Good Match. Just Ask J. Lo and Ben Affleck.

Sometimes getting back with an ex means dealing with undesired scrutiny and doubters.

By Gina Cherelus

In the Third Wheel column, Gina Cherelus explores the delights and horrors of sex, dating and relationships.

Last year, Ben Affleck made headlines for appearing to be in a bad mood. After opening a car door for his wife, Jennifer Lopez, he shut it with what viewers decided was more force than strictly necessary.

Many claimed he also appeared to be sulking while seated next to his wife at the 2023 Grammy Awards. (He later said his expression had more to do with an unplanned bit by the event’s host, Trevor Noah.)

Then there was Mr. Affleck’s unaccompanied appearance at the Netflix roast of Tom Brady in early May, followed the next day by Ms. Lopez’s arriving without her husband at the Met Gala.

For many, Ms. Lopez’s abrupt cancellation of her summer tour last week (very possibly a result of poor ticket sales) was the final bit of proof fans needed to conclude that the couple’s marriage was on the rocks.

Rumors of issues between Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck, whose breakup-to-makeup story may be one of the most closely watched celebrity relationships in Hollywood history, began about a year after their surprise wedding in 2022. (The couple called off a first engagement 20 years ago.) But who’s to say the pair’s schedules haven’t made it difficult to attend events together? Perhaps Mr. Affleck’s seeming bad mood was unrelated to his wife when he shut that car door?

The frenzied speculation has only increased the already overwhelming attention the couple receives. Just this weekend, they were surrounded by a group of paparazzi snapping pictures as they left his son’s basketball game in Santa Monica. This time, they seemed happy together, even exchanging a cheek kiss .

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

( Getty Images; Canva Pro )

7 Surprising Cities Where LGBTQ+ Homebuyers Love To Live—That Are Still Affordable, Too

Most people know that America’s LGBTQ+ communities tend to thrive in big cities such as San Francisco , New York , Miami , and even Austin, TX, among others.

But home prices in those cities are not budget-friendly.

Median home prices in San Francisco are north of $1 million. New York’s list prices are nearly double the national figure, which is now at about $442,500 . Austin is nearly 30% more expensive than the national average, and Miami is more than 20% more expensive.

So where can lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer home shoppers find an accepting, diverse community along with a friendly price point?

In celebration of Pride Month, the data team at Realtor.com® set out to learn what the data says about striking a balance between affordability and inclusivity. To do this, we used the U.S. Census Bureau’s same-sex couple data from the American Community Survey to find metro areas with same-sex couple composition above the national average.

Same-sex couples account for about 1 in every 19 unmarried, cohabitating couples and about 1 in every 93 married couples, as of the most recent census data, which goes through 2022. We narrowed our search by looking only for areas with a median list price below the national median of $442,500.

Finally, we checked the Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score  for the largest city in the metro to make sure it had high marks in the group’s evaluation of “how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people who live and work there.”

The results reveal some surprising trends about where affordable LGBTQ-friendly communities are emerging.

America’s affordable LGBTQ+ hot spots

Most notably, these communities are concentrated in the Sun Belt, with cities such as Tucson, AZ, and San Antonio, TX, making the cut. Two Florida metros, Gainesville and Tampa, also made the list. Though in Tampa, the most expensive place in our rankings, list prices are nearing the national median.

These places offer warm climates, which have long attracted newcomers from colder regions of the country, but these are also cities known for their vibrant cultural richness and a strong sense of community—and that’s on top of a price point that’s less expensive than average.

Another feature these cities have in common is that they've taken the lead on progressive policies ahead of broader adoption. The only Midwestern city on our list, Columbus, OH, is widely regarded as one of the most progressive cities in what is largely a conservative state.

Another good example is Tucson, which has seen LBGTQ+ representation and policies of inclusion for decades, notes Liane Wong , a real estate agent with Centra Realty in Tucson.

“Tucson was the first city in Arizona to have domestic partnerships. Since then, the mayor and council always support LGBTQ rights," says Wong. "Tucson has a really strong sense of [LGBTQ] community. We have a lot of [LGBTQ] organizations that have been around for 30 to 40 years."

Albuquerque, NM, according to Talia Freedman , the qualifying broker and owner of Talia Freedman and Co. real estate, has also become a refuge for people looking for a more inclusive environment.

"I and my brokers have multiple people moving here from other states, where there are extreme anti-trans, anti-queer laws. And they're extremely eager to get out," says Freedman. "It's turning into a little bit of a safe haven."

A small-to-medium-sized city in Central Florida might not be the first place to come to mind when thinking of LGBTQ-friendly markets. However, according to Lindsey Johnson , a real estate agent with Keller Williams Gainesville Realty Partners, Gainesville's character is deeply influenced by the state university and a smaller college there.

"A big part of it is the fact that it is a university town. We have the University of Florida as well as Santa Fe College," she says, noting that the areas around the schools have become the local epicenter for diversity. "I find generally when there's that type of population, there's more of a cultural melting pot."

That cultural melange, Johnson says, extends beyond the college-aged population, creating a welcoming environment for people of any age.

"There are definitely clients who are looking for a place that is accepting and inclusive, and they find that here in Gainesville," Johnson says. "Our community is a supportive place."

Where inclusion and culture go hand in hand

The presence of a vibrant arts community also links these cities.  Tucson, Albuquerque, and similar cities are known for their robust cultural scenes and community activities, which often include strong support for the arts.

Within Albuquerque, Freedman points to Nob Hill, where the city's Pride Parade will be this year.

"They go all out there," Freedman says. "It's full of cute little galleries, stores, awesome restaurants, and lots of inclusivity."

These cities also offer a blend of urban amenities and outdoor activities. Tucson, for instance, boasts the scenic beauty of the Sonoran Desert, providing a distinctive natural backdrop that appeals to many.

“The Sonoran Desert is a unique environment, and you cannot really find the plants and the wildlife that are here,” says  Gabrielle Feinholtz , a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty in Tucson.

She also notes the city's tremendous food scene combined with authenticity and low costs.

"We are a foodie city, big-time, and it's affordable," she says. "You can go to little restaurants and get unique tacos, and it's not going to cost you half of your rent to go out to dinner."

Here's our list of metros where home prices are still more affordable than average, and which welcome diversity and inclusion.

(San Antonio: f11photo/iStock)

1. San Antonio, TX

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 13 couples Median list price: $348,262 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100 (out of 100)

(Getty Images)

2. Gainesville, FL

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 11 couples Median list price: $362,300 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 90

(styxclick/iStock)

3. Columbus, OH

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 13 couples Median list price: $402,450 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100

4. Tucson, AZ

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 13 couples Median list price: $403,876 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100

5. Albuquerque, NM

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 11 couples Median list price: $423,913 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100

6. Atlanta, GA

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 11 couples Median list price: $423,950 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100

7. Tampa, FL

Estimated same-sex couple composition: 1 in every 11 couples Median list price: $425,000 Human Rights Commission Municipal Equality Index Score: 100

Evan Wyloge is a data journalist at Realtor.com. He covers trends in real estate.

• Related Articles

Share this Article

trending now in US News

Verdict reached in Hunter Biden gun trial

Hunter Biden shows little emotion as he's found guilty of felony...

New twist revealed in doomed Titan submersible investigation...

Sick moment woman smirks and giggles in court as she's charged...

Popular YouTuber with over 3 million subscribers dead at 40 after...

LA socialite breaks down after getting 15 years to life for...

$222.6 million Powerball jackpot won with single ticket in New...

Jeffrey Epstein cellmate, an ex-NY cop, gets 4 life sentences in...

Rudy giuliani grins in newly released mugshot in arizona ‘fake electors’ case.

• View Author Archive
• Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Rudy Giuliani was pictured grinning with his head tilted down in a new mugshot released Monday after he was indicted in Arizona for his alleged role in a plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The former New York City mayor has pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges, including fraud, forgery and conspiracy, for the alleged scheme that hoped to see Donald Trump remain in the White House.

Giuliani, 80, is accused of spreading false claims of election fraud in Arizona following the 2020 election and pressuring state legislators in the Grand Canyon State to change the results, which saw Joe Biden win by a slim margin of roughly 10,000 votes.

“This is yet another example of partisan actors weaponizing the criminal justice system to interfere with the 2024 presidential election through outlandish charges against President Trump and anyone willing to take on the permanent Washington political class,” railed Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman.

“Joe Biden and his allies continue to eviscerate the trust and integrity of our criminal justice system in their quest to take down President Trump and hold on to power. Mayor Rudy Giuliani—the most effective federal prosecutor in U.S. history—will be fully vindicated,” said Goodman. 

The ex-mayor was the last of 18 defendants in the failed “fake electors” scheme to be served in the indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in April. 

The group of Trump supporters are each accused of trying to award Arizona’s 11 electoral votes to the incumbent by submitting names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress. 

Giuliani was dramatically  served a legal notice of his Arizona indictment  at his 80th birthday bash in Palm Springs on May 17 after prosecutors had trouble tracking him down for several weeks. 

The doorman at Giuliani’s Big Apple apartment building refused to let investigators up to his home and would not accept the charging documents. 

Start and end your day informed with our newsletters

Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories

Thanks for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Never miss a story.

Meanwhile, the Republican publicly taunted Arizona prosecutors’ inability to catch him on a podcast and on social media in the weeks before his birthday party.

Giuliani appeared remotely at an arraignment in a Phoenix courtroom on May 21, where he represented himself and  pleaded not guilty  to all nine charges. 

“I do consider the indictment to be a complete embarrassment to the American legal system,” he said during his court appearance, prompting the judge to threaten to mute him. 

The judge at the hearing ordered he appear in court again within the next 30 days for booking procedures and that he post a secured appearance bond of $10,000. 

Monday’s mugshot was released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as Giuliani went through those booking procedures and was processed in the system. 

Giuliani was photographed wearing a suit jacket, white shirt and a blue tie with white stars in the mugshot. He appeared in a clip from “The Rudy Giuliani Show” earlier in the day wearing the same blue tie, according to  a post on his X account .  

With Post wires

Share this article:

Advertisement