The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

genre: contemporary romance

Olive’s decision to get a PhD at Berkeley wasn’t an easy one - but she is committed.  Her research topic is close to her heart and her love of science is strong enough to withstand all the nonsense of academia.  What’s a little harder though?  Feeling close to people, feeling safe in her relationships - and when her best friend seems to need some encouragement with a new boyfriend, Olive employs one of the oldest tropes in the romance novel handbook - the fake boyfriend.  And that fake boyfriend is not only a professor but one of the crankiest, sternest professors in the science department.  That’s what makes it a fun read though, right?

And it genuinely was a fun read, just the sort of romantic story to make a long flight fly by.  It’s tropey - but it’s freely acknowledged so it felt like more of an homage.  Olive is sympathetic, her love interest is the romantic kind of grump and the university lab setting gave it a different twist on the trope.  There were a few loose threads that really stuck out to me so I’m giving it four stars instead of five but I did really enjoy this!

Content warning: open door romantic scenes