Review: "The Love Hypothesis" by Ali Hazelwood


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. 





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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!






About the author:

I'm Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I'm also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I'm a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!


ARC Review: "A Shadow in the Ember" (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout


A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

The Flesh and Fire series is set in the beloved Blood and Ash world.

Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.

However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.





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REVIEW

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. It is recommended to read the series "From Blood and Ash" first before reading this one

Before Poppy and Cas, before the upcoming War of Queens...there was a kingdom with a dark promise. Seraphena Mierel was born shrouded by the Primals promised to the Primal of Death in order to stop the Rot. Trained as a sacrifice, a bride a seducer she is not the Maiden promised to save their world, but kill the Primal responsible for the deal.

What she does not expect is the same Primal of Death to make her world view change and as gods, Primals, and old secrets slowly rise to the surface she will have to reevaluate her place in this world, but mostly if she belongs by the Primal's side.

I knew that I would enjoy this one. It has thems that kind of reminded me of Hades and Persephone bu because this is Jennifer Armentrrout we are talking about this book was phenomenal. Magic and kingdoms, secrets, actions, swoony and streamy moments it had everything I love in a good placed and written prequel. Not to mention dragons!

I can not spoiler much of the story but I wanted to see how Sera belonged in the greater scheme of things and how The Primal of Death was not who she was believed to be. There was a lot to unpack in the book but mostly I enjoyed the world-building. Jennifer has crafted yet another amazing world within the existing world from the Blood and Ash series!

Totally recommended but again I strongly advise you to read the Blood and Ash series first.




About the author:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.