The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
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.
BUY ON
REVIEW
This little gem of a book is FREAKING AWESOME! Leaving out the fact that the cover couple looks like Reylo canon kissing, this book is about women in academia, specifically STEM, the hardships that come with this field (and to be honest as a Historian in all fields of academia), and the cuteness that comes from a simple misunderstanding that develops to an arranged-fake relationship.
Olive is a PhD candidate who is also a closed emotional person, she doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships, and in order to make her best friend that she is happy and in love, she kisses the first man she sees. Who happens to be Adam, a professor, and the last person Olive expected to fall her way.
After this hilarious awkward moment, they both decide that pretending to be a couple can have more benefits than they could imagine. Adam needs someone to make the head office believe that they do not plan to leave the university and Olive wants to keep her friends from thinking she is not happy, or in a relationship.
But the more time they spend with each other the more they both realize that being in love is not just a hypothesis but could be a reality.
What I loved the most was how relatable Olive was both as a woman in academia as also a person who is afraid to be emotionally open. She blooms the more time she spends with Adam and her friends, how slowly she gains the confidence to be not only better as a person but also to stand up for what happens when she is threatened (trigger warnings for attempted harassment).
I loved, loved, loved this book so much I do plan on listening to the audiobook too! Definitely recommended!
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