I spent the first half of the year reading morbid, nightmare inducing thrillers. So when I saw that #bookstagram and #booktok were raving about "The Love Hypothesis, I figured it would be a great time to jump into a different genre.
I will say that I normally get really bored with love stories because I actually crave the drama of a thriller, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The book follows main characters Olive and Adam as they navigate the interesting and very competitive world of STEM.
Let's get into the synopsis
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 het into the situation. Convincing Ahn 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 bog 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.
Without giving too much away, I want to start by saying I really enjoyed the way the book was written. There was an easy and uncomplicated feel to the entire book which made for a lovely read. Apart from really liking both main characters, I found Olive really relatable. As a young woman, she was navigating feelings such as despair, loneliness and even inferiority and as a reader I was eager to see how she would deal with them. I did not immediately like Adam. His character was moody and unapproachable initially and, he had a hardness about him that was such a stark contrast to Olive. I was sure that the fake dating would not last very long. Needless to say, as the book progresses, he proves me wrong. He shows kindness and vulnerability that is both surprising and endearing. Throw in some steamy scenes, adorable inside jokes and a scandal that blew up a friendship and you have yourself a winner.
As I have already said, this is not the genre I would reach for normally, but I'm glad I did. Apart from being an effortless read, I appreciated the way the world of science was portrayed. Basically, it was not difficult to form a picture in my head. As much as you hear about fake dating scenarios, the storyline did not feel cheesy or predictable. I looked forward to every encounter between Olive and Adam.
The Love Hypothesis is definitely a book I would recommend to everyone. It was unexpectedly delightful.
Have you read it? What are your thoughts on the book? What are you currently reading?
TILL LATER,LAUREN!
