
The Love Hypothesis
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The Instant New York Times Best Seller and TikTok Sensation!
As seen on The View!
A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021
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 PhD 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.
- Listening Length11 hours and 8 minutes
- Audible release dateSeptember 14, 2021
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB08V4NYQ9D
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 11 hours and 8 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Ali Hazelwood |
Narrator | Callie Dalton |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | September 14, 2021 |
Publisher | Penguin Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B08V4NYQ9D |
Best Sellers Rank | #394 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #9 in Romantic Comedy (Audible Books & Originals) #18 in Contemporary Romance (Audible Books & Originals) #178 in Romantic Comedy (Books) |
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Top reviews from the United States
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Olive is the best kind of mess. She's frazzled from her PhD. She's grieving the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer (which is fueling her research into easier/cheaper screening methods). She adores her friends and will do anything for them... which is how she ends up kissing Dr Adam Carlson.
Adam is the resident grump/beast - instilling fear into graduate students (but all in the name of scientific excellence, of course). He agrees to a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship with Olive after the whole kissing-incident.
Both Olive and Adam are navigating the challenges and obstacles of academia in their own unique ways - research, funding deficits, grants... i.e. lots of work, questionable returns. But science! Meanwhile juggling their fake-relationship and not at all (!!!) catching feelings.
Cancer is a near and dear topic to me (my mum died of cancer and i am currently fighting cancer) so I was gut punched during several scenes that this was discussed.
The banter and incredible one-liners in this story are perfection. Funny. Snarky. Intelligent. Real.
The relationship between each character and their individual friends is beautiful. The development of their relationship together feels *just so good*.
Read if: you're traumatized from academia and/or a STEM nerd, if you love Mariana Zapata & Helen Hoang, if you love sharp and funny banter, if you like a delicious slow burn with a fun twist on some classic tropes, if you're wild for sunshine/grumpy books.
I'm so so excited to see this book climb the bestseller list. I know its going to be (frankly it already is) a total hit.
Overall score: 5++ (this is my new bible. I will study it religiously)
Smut score: 3.5/5 (slow burn, explicit but not super kinky other than *one* thing that had me going "ohhhh" 🥵🌶)

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2021
Olive is the best kind of mess. She's frazzled from her PhD. She's grieving the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer (which is fueling her research into easier/cheaper screening methods). She adores her friends and will do anything for them... which is how she ends up kissing Dr Adam Carlson.
Adam is the resident grump/beast - instilling fear into graduate students (but all in the name of scientific excellence, of course). He agrees to a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship with Olive after the whole kissing-incident.
Both Olive and Adam are navigating the challenges and obstacles of academia in their own unique ways - research, funding deficits, grants... i.e. lots of work, questionable returns. But science! Meanwhile juggling their fake-relationship and not at all (!!!) catching feelings.
Cancer is a near and dear topic to me (my mum died of cancer and i am currently fighting cancer) so I was gut punched during several scenes that this was discussed.
The banter and incredible one-liners in this story are perfection. Funny. Snarky. Intelligent. Real.
The relationship between each character and their individual friends is beautiful. The development of their relationship together feels *just so good*.
Read if: you're traumatized from academia and/or a STEM nerd, if you love Mariana Zapata & Helen Hoang, if you love sharp and funny banter, if you like a delicious slow burn with a fun twist on some classic tropes, if you're wild for sunshine/grumpy books.
I'm so so excited to see this book climb the bestseller list. I know its going to be (frankly it already is) a total hit.
Overall score: 5++ (this is my new bible. I will study it religiously)
Smut score: 3.5/5 (slow burn, explicit but not super kinky other than *one* thing that had me going "ohhhh" 🥵🌶)

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD!
TW: sexual harassment / assault
I could tell at 30% into this book I was not liking it. But I paid for it & everybody seems to love it, I kept reading to see what the hype is about. I should’ve stopped at 30%.
First, it was just so much AWKWARD. Not cute awkward. I am not here to try to relive my awkward teenage first kiss years. So painful. I hate being embarrassed. LOATHE. It is my least favorite feeling next to getting blood drawn. So much second hand embarrassment in this book. I was literally cringing on behalf of Olive.
Second, realizing about myself that I am easily super annoyed with insecure & clueless females. 100% over it. I can't get past the inner monologue of these heroines.
Third, this book would have been better without the sex scene. I said what I said.
How did two awkward almost virgins go from their third kiss (first genuine kiss) to banging? WITHIN MINUTES. Oh, and the super awkward science nerd, WHO SAID NO 3 TIMES, who seems to have no experience with women - of course is a rockstar in the bedroom. Because that makes sense. 🙄
BIG issues with the consent in this book.
The book opens with Olive, our heroine kiss-assaulting Adam with out his clear consent.
There is a moment before they get down that he is saying "No" for various reasons, and then the big reason is a lie that Olive has told in the past. He gives her an opening to come clean, tell the truth and be honest. SHE DOESN'T. And then they decide to do the deed... AND I WANTED TO THROW MY KINDLE AND DNF RIGHT FREAKIN THERE. The whole chapter 16 is a mess of a disaster. The whole thing is out of character FOR BOTH CHARACTERS. And then Adam is asking "Can I F*** you?" TWICE. Ugh. Such a gross and crass way to ask this. Why? Just Why?
I have tried to sleep on this review, think about it, re-write it in a nicer way. But every time I start thinking about it, especially Chapter 15/16 I get irrationally irate. I still want to throw my kindle.

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD!
TW: sexual harassment / assault
I could tell at 30% into this book I was not liking it. But I paid for it & everybody seems to love it, I kept reading to see what the hype is about. I should’ve stopped at 30%.
First, it was just so much AWKWARD. Not cute awkward. I am not here to try to relive my awkward teenage first kiss years. So painful. I hate being embarrassed. LOATHE. It is my least favorite feeling next to getting blood drawn. So much second hand embarrassment in this book. I was literally cringing on behalf of Olive.
Second, realizing about myself that I am easily super annoyed with insecure & clueless females. 100% over it. I can't get past the inner monologue of these heroines.
Third, this book would have been better without the sex scene. I said what I said.
How did two awkward almost virgins go from their third kiss (first genuine kiss) to banging? WITHIN MINUTES. Oh, and the super awkward science nerd, WHO SAID NO 3 TIMES, who seems to have no experience with women - of course is a rockstar in the bedroom. Because that makes sense. 🙄
BIG issues with the consent in this book.
The book opens with Olive, our heroine kiss-assaulting Adam with out his clear consent.
There is a moment before they get down that he is saying "No" for various reasons, and then the big reason is a lie that Olive has told in the past. He gives her an opening to come clean, tell the truth and be honest. SHE DOESN'T. And then they decide to do the deed... AND I WANTED TO THROW MY KINDLE AND DNF RIGHT FREAKIN THERE. The whole chapter 16 is a mess of a disaster. The whole thing is out of character FOR BOTH CHARACTERS. And then Adam is asking "Can I F*** you?" TWICE. Ugh. Such a gross and crass way to ask this. Why? Just Why?
I have tried to sleep on this review, think about it, re-write it in a nicer way. But every time I start thinking about it, especially Chapter 15/16 I get irrationally irate. I still want to throw my kindle.

The whole time I was kind of unsure how he felt about her - their wasn’t that super intense tension/chemistry there - she always seem flustered/mentioned she might be asexual. It was weird because I was wondering “will they won’t they?” But not in a giddy fan girl way just kinda in a ‘this is kind of taking forever, she keeps lying and I can’t read him,’ way. And then wham bam. The sex scene. If ratings here are like fanfiction K-E. This is E for explicit. I had to skip chunks of it, what I did catch was cringeworthy, tasteless and just too much.
I couldn’t even finish reading it.
It should also include a trigger warning; as there is mention of cancer death and a sexual assault.
Top reviews from other countries



Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2021



This may just be my new favorite book, maybe ever. Plot? Perfect. Characters? Perfect.
The only bad thing about this book is just that it really reinforced my idea that I’ll die alone, because Dr. Adam Carlsen simply does not exist and now he is my standard for men. And Olive has my whole heart. Absolutely adorable. And the side characters too. I just wish they were real so I could be friends with them.
Anyway, this is perfection in book form and if you are wondering if you should read it, do yourself a favor and go do so immediately. Seriously. You won’t regret it.


Ph.D student Olive Smith kisses the 1st person she finds in the hallway in order to convince her best friend Anh that she was dating. The person happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, Professor in her Department, the source of tears of many students. Later he helps her solidify this lie and thus begins their journey of 'fake-dating'.
I'll admit I am not that into Professor-Student relationships but the premise here was plausible and palatable to me because A) Olive wasn't technically Adam's student and B) Their age gap wasn't outrageous.
Nonetheless, I loved how Ali tackled this issue early on. From clearing the issue with the Dean to Olive's peers accusing her irrationally for Dr. Adam's harsh feedbacks on proposals, she dealt all sorts of problems in a realistic manner. The pressure of pursuing academia, feeling insecure, underconfident and simply not good enough is something I feel quite often. I related with Olive on an emotional and professional level.
I love how their fake-dating wasn't too cliché with them still retaining their initial perspectives about each other but slowly their layers peeled away bit by bit and they let themselves show their true vulnerable selves with each coffee date, each activity they did forced by Olive's friends.
Olive is a sunshine-y character but in an awkward, over-imaginative rambling sort of way and Adam is no doubt a grump with a deadpan and dry sense of humour and I loved all their banter. I loved how slowly Olive felt safe with him. How he helped her, protected her without ever interfering in her work. Even in the physical aspect, his care and worry over her consent was the sweetest thing ever.
And consent is hot. 🔥😍
Their friends, Anh, Malcolm and Holden were hilarious and I loved them all.
Also, I can't stop praising how hilarious the book it. There were too many laugh-out-loud moments. I was chucking a lot and I had a stupid goofy grin the entire time I read this book. My jaws are hurting from all the smiling and my cheeks are warm from flushing! 😍
I can't wait to read more of Ali's works.
Lastly, where do I get Dr. Adam Carlsen for myself?