The Reading Life

Helpful Book Guide: The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters List and Review

Posted on Published: July 27, 2023  - Last updated: October 23, 2023

Categories Book Guide , Spicy Chapters

What are The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters? Well, this guide is for you! Though this book is not very spicy, it is still my responsibility to squeeze out the spiciest The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters possible for you. It’s also a book I recommend with the ‘who did this to you” trope!

Table of Contents

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters

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 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.

The Love Hypothesis Review

The Love Hypothesis is a captivating and heartwarming romance that delves into the complexities of academia and love. The story revolves around Olive Smith, a dedicated PhD student, and Adam Carlsen, a charming and cocky professor. Both characters are beautifully crafted with depth and vulnerability, making them relatable and endearing to readers.

The romance between Olive and Adam is a slow-burn delight, filled with moments of vulnerability and tenderness that will leave you swooning. Their undeniable chemistry and emotional connection create an engaging and satisfying love story. The witty banter between the two adds a delightful touch to their interactions.

Ali Hazelwood’s writing is both engaging and emotionally resonant, effortlessly drawing readers into the world of academia and scientific research. The novel’s exploration of the characters’ hidden depths and vulnerability adds layers to the story, making it a truly captivating read from beginning to end. “The Love Hypothesis” is a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and well-developed romance that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

books like the Love Hypothesis

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

The Spanish Love Deception Spicy Chapters

Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.

She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.

Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.

But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.

This book was cute to read! Also have the only one bed trope and enemies to lovers (of course).

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Twisted Games Spicy Chapters

She can never be his…but he’s taking her anyway.

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until  her.

Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.

Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defences until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she’s his.

His princess. His forbidden fruit. His every depraved fantasy.

Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she’s suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies—and treacheries—of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can’t have.

Her bodyguard. Her protector. Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom…and doom them both.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Icebreaker spicy chapters

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA.

A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win.

No exceptions.

Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.

When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.

The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

twisted hate spicy chapters

He hates her…almost as much as he wants her.

Gorgeous, cocky, and fast on his way to becoming a hotshot doctor, Josh Chen has never met a woman he couldn’t charm—except for Jules f**king Ambrose.

The beautiful redhead has been a thorn in his side since they met, but she also consumes his thoughts in a way no woman ever has.

When their animosity explodes into one unforgettable night, he proposes a solution that’ll get her out of his system once and for all: an enemies with benefits arrangement with simple rules.

No jealousy.

No strings attached.

And absolutely no falling in love.

Outgoing and ambitious, Jules Ambrose is a former party girl who’s focused on one thing: passing the attorney’s bar exam.

The last thing she needs is to get involved with a doctor who puts the SUFFER in insufferable…no matter how good-looking he is.

But the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes there’s more than meets the eye to the man she’s hated for so long.

Her best friend’s brother.

Her nemesis.

And her only salvation.

Theirs is a match made in hell, and when the demons from their past catch up with them, they’re faced with truths that could either save them …or destroy everything they’ve worked for.

Twisted Hate is a steamy enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers romance. It’s book three in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Abou t The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

spicy books on kindle unlimited The Fine Print Spicy Chapters

A typical billionaire romance that is quite popular. It’s one of the more famous ones of the genre, especially on Kindle Unlimited.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Love on the Brain spicy chapters

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.

But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

It Happened One Summer spicy chapters

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time.

Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart. 

Romance between a sunshine fashionable “it” celebrity girl with grumpy sea sailor local. Bright cheerful icon x cold ordinary sailor combo meal.

The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

As many readers may know (especially romance book readers), oftentimes we like to seek out book tropes and read romance books that include the book tropes we usually like and the book tropes we want to read at the moment. It’s what drives a lot of book recommendations and is a common way we seek out books to read. If you are a reader who is interested in:

  • Tracking tropes that you have already read
  • Tracking tropes that you would want to read in the future
  • Collect original trope ideas that you came up with (and haven’t come across before)

Then this book trope reading journal is perfectly made for you!

Subsribe to my newsletter!

Sign up and get a free colouring book, be kept up-to-date with new content, and get other freebies!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Please subscribe to my mailing list to get a FREE colouring book, and follow me on my social media accounts if you want more posts like this! I really appreciate the support <3.

Recent Activities

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Get your Romance Reading Journal at 50% off for a limited time only!

brewing writer

Guide to Love on the Brain: Spicy Chapters, Quotes, & More!

' src=

This blog post contains affiliate links, no extra cost to you, thank you for your support!

Can’t get enough of Ali Hazelwood’s STEM romance book , The Love Hypothesis? 

Well, whether you enjoyed Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel or not, you might want to check out Love on the Brain . It has a similar STEM setting but only spicier! 

Some readers say that Love on the Brain was better than her first book and is worth trying to read even if you didn’t like the booktok sensation.

This blog will tell you about everything you need to know from Love on the Brain spicy chapters to other similar novels, all without spoilers.

love on the brain spicy chapters

  • 16 Books Like The Love Hypothesis That Are Sweet and Spicy.
  • 7 Other Books By The Author of The Love Hypothesis To Dive Right Into
  • 22 Spicy Booktok Books To Get You In The Mood (2023)
  • Sign up for a free trial of Audible:   Get 30 days of free access to thousands of audiobooks, and one free premium title of your choice. Perfect for listening on the go!
  • Sign up for free trial of Kindle Unlimited:  Get 30 days of free access to unlimited ebook reading on any device. You will unlock access to over two million titles instantly!
  • Sign up for free trial of Amazon Prime:  Get 30 days of a free trial offering free two-day shipping on all purchases, plus access to hundreds of new ebooks each month.
  • Receive 2 audiobook credits  with my code:  BREWING  on Libro.fm!

Get Your Romance Reading Journal (Functional, Minimal & Aesthetic)

romance reading journal printable

Are you a romance reader trying to keep track of  all the books you’ve read and want to read  but there’s just too many books to think about? Think no more, journal instead!

What Is Love on the Brain About?

Love on the Brain follows Bee, a quirky neuroscientist who refuses to conform to her gender within STEM. After her engagement broke and when everything felt like it couldn’t get any better, she got a job offer to lead a project at Nasa.

Little does she know that her grad school nemesis, Levi is also working there. If you love a feel-good rom-com book with a good enemies to lovers trope that discusses science and empowers women, this book is for you.

Is Love on the Brain A Spicy Book?

Yes, Love on the Brain is spicy . It has four spicy chapters, some of them open-door romance scenes that are suitable for an older audience.

Love on the Brain Spice Level

Love on the Brain has a spice level of 4/5 . This book is more spicier compared to The Love Hypothesis.

When Does Love on the Brain Get Spicy?

Love on the Brain gets spicy about 50% through the book with the first spicy chapter being chapter 16 .

Love on the Brain Spicy Chapters List

If you want to skip ahead to the spicy chapters, visit chapters 16, 17, 18 and 20. You can also make your reading experience spicy-free with these close-door modifications.

Love on the Brain Age Rating

Love on the Brain is recommended for an 18+ audience due to its intimate scenes, violence and use of language.

Love on the Brain Romance Tropes

  • Forced Proximity
  • Workplace Romance
  • Grumpy-Sunshine
  • Enemies to Lovers

What Chapter Do Bee and Levi Get Together?

Bee and Levi end up together in the epilogue. Love on the Brain was quite a slow-burn romance read.

5 Best Love on the Brain Quotes

  • “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a community of women trying to mind their own business must be in want of a random man’s opinion.”
  • “The real villain is love: an unstable isotope, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay. And it will forever go unpunished.”
  • “If there is one thing men hate more than a smart woman, it’s a smart woman who makes her own choices when it comes to her own sex life.”
  • “But before I can say anything, he cups my cheek and leans down to kiss me once more. This time it’s sweet, slow, savoring. Patient. This time it’s lingering and gentle—everything our other kiss wasn’t. I want to try them all. All the kisses Levi Ward is capable of, I want to sample them like fine wine.”
  • “Science doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t do deadlines or consolation trophies. You can design the perfect study, sleep one hour a night, feed on nothing but despair and Lean Cuisine for months on end, and your results can still be the opposite of what you were hoping to find. Science doesn’t give a shit. Science is reliable in its variability. Science does whatever the fuck it wants. God, I love science.”

' src=

Hi there, i'm Sonia. The founder and author at Brewing Writer, a blog that features detailed book reviews, bookstagram tips, book blogging tips, thoughtfully curated book lists (which my readers love!) and cozy aesthetic photography that’ll make you crave a cup of coffee and a good book.

Similar Posts

Wildfire by Hannah Grace: Spicy Chapters, Summary, Quotes & More!

Wildfire by Hannah Grace: Spicy Chapters, Summary, Quotes & More!

Twisted Lies: Spicy Chapters, Spice Level & Romance Tropes

Twisted Lies: Spicy Chapters, Spice Level & Romance Tropes

Twisted Series In Order (Ultimate Guide)

Twisted Series In Order (Ultimate Guide)

Guide to Legends & Lattes Series: Summary, Spice Level & More

Guide to Legends & Lattes Series: Summary, Spice Level & More

Guide to King of Greed: Spicy Chapters, Quotes, Characters & More!

Guide to King of Greed: Spicy Chapters, Quotes, Characters & More!

What The River Knows Characters (FULL List!)

What The River Knows Characters (FULL List!)

The Bibliofile

Advertise   Contact   Privacy

Browse All Reviews

New Releases

List Reviews by Rating

List Reviews by Author

List Reviews by Title

the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood book review plot summary synopsis recap discussion spoilers

The Love Hypothesis (Review, Recap & Full Summary)

By ali hazelwood.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a delightful rom-com about a fake relationship between a biology Ph.D. student and a professor.

In The Love Hypothesis , Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. candidate who shares a kiss with a handsome stranger in order make her friend think that she's in a relationship. She's horrified when she realizes the "stranger" is Dr. Adam Carlson, a prominent professor in her department who is known for being a hypercritical and moody tyrant.

She and Adam each have reasons for needing to be in a relationship, and they agree to pretend to date for the sake of appearances. Of course, as she gets to know Adam, it's only a matter of time before she starts feeling something for him, and it becomes clear that her little experiment in fake-dating just might combust...

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

Three years prior, Olive Smith talks to a guy when she's in the bathroom fixing her contacts (and can't see) after her Ph.D. candidate interview. She tells him about her passion for her research. She doesn't catch his name but remembers the conversation distinctly and wonders about the guy she met.

In present day, Olive is a biology Ph.D. student researching early detection methods for pancreatic cancer. She kisses a guy randomly in order to trick her best friend into thinking she's dating someone (so that her best friend Anh won't feel bad about dating Olive's ex). That guy turns out to be Dr. Adam Carlson , a young, handsome and highly-respected tenured faculty member in her department. He's also known for being hypercritical and moody.

Meanwhile, Adam's department chair is worried that he's planning on leaving for another university and has frozen some of his research funds. So, Adam he agrees to pretend to be in a relationship with Olive in order to give the impression he's putting down "roots" here, in hopes they will unfreeze the funds.

As Olive and Adam fake-date, they get to know each other. Olive sees that Adam is demanding and blunt towards his students, but not unkind or mean. Olive confides in him about her mother getting pancreatic cancer, which is why she's doing her research.

Olive soon realizes that she has feelings for Adam, but she's afraid to tell him. When he overhears her talking about a crush, she pretends it's about someone else. Olive also hears someone else refer to a woman Adam's been pining after for years and is surprised at how jealous she feels.

In the meantime, Olive needs more lab space and has been talking to Dr. Tom Benton for a spot at his lab at Harvard. When Tom arrives in town, it turns out he's friends with Adam. Adam and Tom are friends from grad school, and they have recently gotten a large grant for some joint research that Adam is excited about. After Olive completes a report on her research for Tom, he offers her a spot in his lab for the next year.

Olive and Adam's relationship continues to progress until they attend a science conference in Boston. Olive's research has been selected for a panel presentation, while Adam is a keynote speaker. There, Olive is sexually harassed by Tom, who makes advances on her. When she rejects him, he accuses her of someone who sleeps around to get ahead. He also says that he'll deny it if she tells anyone and that they won't believe her.

While Olive does finally sleep with Adam at the conference, she soon tearfully breaks things off since she doesn't want to complicate things with Adam's joint research project with Tom. Adam is also in the process of applying for a spot at Harvard.

Olive is certain no one will believe her about Tom until she realizes that the accidentally recorded the conversation where he made advances and threatened her. Meanwhile, Olive's roommate Malcolm has started seeing Dr. Holden Rodriguez, a faculty member who is a childhood friend of Adam's. Olive and Malcolm turn to Holden for advice, who encourages them to tell Adam about the recording. He points out that he thinks the main reason that Adam is considering a move to Harvard is because Olive is supposed to be going there.

Olive finds Adam and shows him the video. He is incensed at Tom and reports it to their faculty. When Adam returns from Boston, he reports that Tom has been fired. Meanwhile, Olive has been reaching out to other cancer researchers for spots at other labs, and she's gotten promising responses. Olive tells Adam that she loves him and that she never liked anyone else. Adam admits that he remembered her from the day he met her in the bathroom and that she's the one he's been interested in for years.

Ten months later at the anniversary of their first kiss, Olive and Adam re-create the kiss to mark their anniversary.

For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary .

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Book Review

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood came out a few months ago, and I didn’t really pay much attention to it. However, people seem to really be enjoying this book, and after reading The School for Good Mothers , I was really in mood for something light and fun.

In the Love Hypothesis, Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford who ends up fake-dating a young and handsome tenured professor in her department. All the usual rom-com shenanigans ensue.

The Love Hypothesis is an unapologetically cheesy rom-com novel — with an upbeat attitude, meet cutes, fake-dating tropes, etc. — but it’s also a genuinely fun and often funny book. It hits a lot of familiar notes if you’re familiar with this genre, but somehow Ali Hazelwood has arranged them in a way that ends up being delightful and entertaining.

The book is super melodramatic at parts, uses so many tropes I couldn’t even list them all here if I was inclined to do so and is predictable in the way that rom-coms are always kind of predictable. That all said, I still had a fantastic time reading it and it flew by.

This is a short review because honestly it’s not that complicated to explain that this book is super cheesy and super fun.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Read it or Skip it?

If you like “chick lit” and rom-coms, you should definitely look into this book. I tend to be a little hypercritical of books in this genre, but I really enjoyed The Love Hypothesis . I found myself smiling and chuckling quite a bit as I read it.

This book is a straight-up cheesy rom-com — it is funny, melodramatic and fun as hell. I thought it was great.

See The Love Hypothesis on Amazon.

The Love Hypothesis Audiobook Review

Narrated by : Callie Dalton Length : 11 hours 8 minutes

I listened to about half of this on audiobook. I think the audiobook is solid. The narrator is easy to listen to and does a good job with it.

Hear a sample of The Love Hypothesis audiobook on Libro.fm.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of The Love Hypothesis

Share this post

Bookshelf -- A literary set collection game

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.

The Housemaid is Watching

She’s Not Sorry

The Seven Year Slip

Darling Girls

Yours Truly

Best Literary Fiction of 2024 (New & Anticipated)

The Housemaid Book Series Recap

2024’s Best Book Club Books (New & Anticipated)

Bookshelf: Development Diary

Best Rom-Com, Beach Reads & Contemporary Romance Books

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Share your thoughts Cancel reply

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe thx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Love Hypothesis

Guide cover image

48 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-13

Chapters 14-15

Chapters 16-19

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 12-13 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 12 summary.

Adam goes away for a few days to work on research with Tom. While he’s gone, Olive spends time with her friends, works, and tries to forget about her emotions. Anh and Olive get together for beer and smores, and Anh lays out her plans for the future. Despite all the struggles, she wants to stay in academia and carve out a place for women while Jeremy goes into industry and makes better money. Olive feels both proud and a little jealous that Anh is figuring out her life, which gives her a pang in her stomach “in that spot that seemed to feel Adam’s absence most acutely” (191).

blurred text

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Ali Hazelwood

Guide cover image

Ali Hazelwood

Guide cover image

Check & Mate

Guide cover image

Love on the Brain

Guide cover image

Love, Theoretically

Featured Collections

Appearance Versus Reality

View Collection

New York Times Best Sellers

Pride Month Reads

The Best of "Best Book" Lists

Truth & Lies

Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

  • Everything about the best romance books

Romance Book Lovers Club

  • Search for:
  • Enemies to Lovers
  • Fake Dating
  • Grumpy Sunshine
  • Office Romance

No products in the basket.

Return to shop

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Are you looking for a new spicy romance book to read and are looking for a review of The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood?

You’ve come to the right place!

Published in 2021, The Love Hypothesis has quickly become a Booktok sensation and one of the best examples of spicy romance books with a female character in STEM.

It’s a great book for people looking for a rom com with some twists.

In this article, I tell you everything you need to know about the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost for you!

The Love Hypothesis Cover and Quick Introduction

The love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Author : Ali Hazelwood

Published : 2021

Number of pages : 352

Category : Contemporary Spicy Romance

Themes and tropes: Fake Dating, Age Gap, College Romance, Teacher, Opposite personalities, Grumpy sunshine, STEM

Set in: Stanford, California and Boston

Where to buy: Amazon | AbeBooks

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Boyfriend Rating: 💍💍💍

Likelihood of reading a sequel: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Love Hypothesis Summary

The love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis is the story of Olive, a 3rd-year Ph.D. student in biology at Stanford and Dr Adam Carlsen, a scholar.

It all starts when Olive randomly kisses Adam so her best friend would think she is dating someone.

Her best friend likes Olive’s ex and Olive wants them to go out together but Anh refuses because, you know, girls code. And while honourable, it’s not actually what Olive wants since she has never really been into that guy.

After the kiss, things take a bit more proportion than anticipated and her and Adam end up agreeing on fake dating for a while.

Adam is completely different from Olive. They have different tastes in pretty much everything (especially food and movies). But as the fake dating game goes along, Olive starts developing feelings for his fake boyfriend.

I won’t tell you much more about it but there are also a lot of elements regarding academia, grants and their careers as a general thing.

The Love Hypothesis: Is it for you?

The love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Yes it is for you for if you love:

  • Spicy romance
  • Book turners (I read it in a day so that’s how good it is)
  • Fake dating tropes

No it’s not for you if you don’t like:

  • Books that take place in a school environment (well college, they are in their late 20s and 30s)

I also wouldn’t recommend it if you are triggered by the following topics: loss of a parent, illness of a parent.

The Love Hypothesis Review: My Opinion

The love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

This book is a real page turner. I read it in a day! And while I do love a good rom com, it usually takes more time than a day to finish a book.

Overall, I thought it was a great story and very well written.

A lot of romance books can be a bit of slow burns and while Olive and Adam don’t actually get together until the end, there isn’t a single moment where you’re bored. There is always something happening.

Yet, it doesn’t feel like there are too many levels to the story. It just perfectly works together.

Things I loved about the Love Hypothesis

There are many things that I loved about the Love Hypothesis but the main one is that I thought Olive was a very strong character.

She works in science, which is an area that is notorious for being mainly male. It’s so amazing to see a female character evolving in this male dominated industry.

You will see that she faces mainly challenges because she is a woman and I loved how all these challenges were tackled. Because whether we like it or not, this is the reality of being a woman.

We are often undermined by men unfortunately and I loved the fact that the author tackled these topics.

I also loved the character of Adam. He is quite shy and doesn’t speak that much but you can just tell that he really likes Olive and that even though they are completely different, he loves her for who she is.

I also loved the secondary characters. They are funny and bring a lot to the story.

Things I didn’t like about the Love Hypothesis

There is actually barely anything that I didn’t like about this book. I thought it was rather perfect but if I were to point out some things, I wished there were more spicy parts. There is only one chapter really and a bit more would have been nice.

It would also have been nice to have a longer epilogue with more insight on their future life.

The Love Hypothesis Review: The Characters Ranked

Here are my favourite characters in the Love Hypothesis.

  • Olive. She is just a lovely character. She is modest, incredibly smart, funny, and quite shy at times. She simply has it all.
  • Holden Rodrigues. He is just the best friend we all want and brings a lot to the story. He is the one who pushes Olive to believe in herself and in Adam without even realising it.
  • Adam. I loved how he stood by Olive and just did the right thing. Also, I always have a soft spot for boyfriends who fell in love first.

Best The Love Hypothesis Quotes

  • “And then I’ll come find you, and I’ll take care of you.” – Adam
  • “Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.”
  • “Because I’m starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. Being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole.”
  • “I am going to take care of this,”
  • “I know it’s scary, being vulnerable, but you can allow yourself to care. You can want to be with people as more than just friends or casual acquaintances.”

FAQs about The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Now that you know everything about our review of the book, it’s time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about The Love Hypothesis.

What is the genre of The Love Hypothesis?

The Love Hypothesis is a contemporary spicy romance book featuring characters working in STEM.

Is the Love Hypothesis part of a series?

Unfortunately no but Ali Hazelwood has published other books such as Love Theoretically or Love on the Brain.

Is Love Hypothesis a spicy book?

Yes it is! There is one spicy chapter in the Love Hypothesis. It’s not as spicy as others but it’s still good.

Can a 14 year old read The Love Hypothesis?

No, there is one very spicy scene so this book is for 18+.

Is the Love Hypothesis a LGBTQ book?

Yes and no. The main characters are a straight couple however, two of the secondary characters are gay men.

What are the spicy chapters in the Love Hypothesis?

They are chapter 15 and 16 but mainly chapter 16.

How old is Adam Carlsen in The Love Hypothesis?

Adam Carlsen is 34 years old and Olive is 26.

Do Adam and Olive sleep together?

Of course they do. We won’t spoil it but it’s towards the end of the book.

Does The Love Hypothesis have a love triangle?

Not really. Both Olive and Adam think that there is a third person involved at some point but there actually isn’t.

You may also be interested in:

  • Book Review: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
  • Book Review: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
  • Book Review: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
  • Book Review: The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

' src=

Hey, my name is Pauline and I'm a romance books lover on a mission to share everything I know about romance literature.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Username or email address  *

Password  *

Remember me Log in

Lost your password?

  • Review Requests
  • Jen’s Reviews
  • Chelsea’s Reviews
  • Arielle’s Reviews
  • Cassie’s Reviews
  • Yearly Favorite Books
  • Jen’s Favorites
  • Christmas Romance Books
  • Top Ten Tuesday
  • Monthly Wrap-Up
  • Our Most Anticipated Releases
  • Author Signings

BOOK REVIEW: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Synopsis: 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 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.

The Love Hypothesis snuck up on me and captured my heart.  It was addicting, sexy, angsty and thoroughly intoxicating!  I’m sure a huge fan of the fake dating trope and it not only made this book a ton of fun but it had a lot of emotional power too.  With a broody male, a quirky girl and a story filled with science, contemporary romance lovers will fall head over heels in love with this book!

“Have you considered getting a real girlfriend?” His eyebrow lifted. “Have you considered getting a real date?” “Touché.”

The prologue quickly pulled me in.  Not only was the meet cute beyond adorable and memorable , but it was laced with emotion too.  When we jumped two years and eleven months into the future in chapter one, we found Olive fake kissing some random guy.  I was like what is even going on?!   But it was because she hoped that her best friend would see her liking someone else and would then start dating her ex, who she never had feelings for. So to prove to her bestie that she had moved on, she kissed the first guy she saw. And it was Adam Carlsen who was a professor at her school and a complete jerk. It led to them fake dating and there’s so much more to the story then this but eeps I loved every minute of it!

“People who date, they—they talk. A lot. More than just greetings in the  hallway. They know each other’s favorite colors, and where they were  born, and they . . . they hold hands. They kiss.” Adam pressed his lips  together as if to suppress a smile. “We could never do that .” A fresh  wave of mortification crashed into Olive. “I am sorry about the kiss. I  really didn’t think, and—” He shook his head. “It’s fine.”

Olive was a brilliant scientist in grad school, but she was a little unsure of herself at times.  It took me a little while to warm up to her, and I wanted to shake her a time or two about her lying.  I wanted her to be upfront and honest but as the story unfolded and we learned the whys behind her actions it was impossible not to love her.  Her past and present helped mold who she was nowadays and we get to know every part of Olive.  So during moments like when she explained why she was so passionate about her research, I got tears in my eyes.  I loved her determination and dedication! And when she found her voice and the courage to say and do what she wanted, I was so proud of how far Olive grew from that first page till the last!

Olive laughed, and the way he looked at her, kind and curious and  patient . . . she must be hallucinating it. Her head was not right. She  should have brought a sun hat.

Adam Carlsen was such an unknown besides his reputation as an arrogant asshole. Yet each time we learned a little something more about Adam, I kept falling harder and harder.  Adam knew how to take control and be in charge of a situation.  Yes it sometimes made him come across as a complete and total jerk but other times it came across so hot *fans face*.  He left me feeling beyond happy, giddy and counting down till his next interaction with Olive!  But with Adam, I loved how he commanded attention from others without even trying. I also loved how his humor was so subtle and effortless; each time he made me laugh out loud he snagged another piece of my heart. Adam was caring, strong, beautiful, someone so easy to become obsessed with and the moments he was thoughtful made my heart exploded. I was absolutely obsessed with this broody man who oh so easily got added to my book boyfriend list!

“We are friends, right?” His frown deepened. “Friends?” “Yes. You and I.” He studied for a long moment. Something new passed through his face,  stark and a little sad. Too fleeting to interpret. “Yes, Olive.”

Olive and Adam’s moments together created even more speculation and gossip of what was truly happening between them.  So it easily led to them fake dating. They both had reasons behind wanting to do that. So each time they were together, I desperately wanted them never to part. I was obsessed with their coffee dates or when they ran into each other. Because even the most simplistic moments between them, like listening to a presentation or a school picnic, made me have butterflies in my stomach. The chemistry between them was through the roof hot. And while I guessed how quite a few things would play out, it never once took away from my love of this story.  But one thing I didn’t guess correctly was how unbelievably sexy this book was.  Pages upon pages of scenes had me melting into a pile on the floor.  Together they were sigh worthy!

He took a deep breath. His shoulders rose and fell in time with the  thudding of her heart. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see  you.”

The Love Hypothesis was a mixture of steamy and adorable, and landed right on my favorites list! It was impossible not to cry tears or stop the smiles that constantly appeared on my face. Ohhh plus it was so cute that Olive kept thinking of them as a book trope, like the fake boyfriend, possible one bed, her wearing his shirt and he’s speechless.  It truly didn’t even matter that I’ve read so many of these tropes countless times, Olive and Adam made it feel unique on every single page. Now I now can’t wait to read whatever else Ali Hazelwood releases!

He tilted his head. “Standard protocol?” “Yup.” “How many times have you  done this?” “Zero. But I am familiar with the trope.” “The . . . what?” He  blinked at her, confused.

“It was good, wasn’t it?” Olive asked, with a small, wistful smile. She  wasn’t herself sure what she was referring to. Maybe his arms around  her. Maybe this last kiss. Maybe everything else. The sunscreen, his  ridiculous answers on his favorite color, the quiet conversations late  at night . . . all of it had been so very good. “It was.” Adam’s voice  sounded too deep to be his own. When he pressed his lips against her  forehead one last time, she felt her love for him swell fuller than a  river in flood. 

Stay up to date on our latest book posts

They contain Reviews, Recommendations, Upcoming Releases & Giveaways! We don't want you to miss anything, so signup below!

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Share this:

  • Related Posts
  • By Ali Hazelwood

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Adult Romance

' src=

March 16, 2022 at 11:05 am

' src=

March 23, 2022 at 12:09 pm

A million times yes! You’re making me want to re-read this one *sigh*!

' src=

March 21, 2022 at 11:05 am

March 23, 2022 at 12:11 pm

Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that it lived up to the hype for you, yay! This book was such a wonderful surprise, I was hoping to enjoy it and loved that I loved it so deeply!

' src=

March 23, 2022 at 2:16 am

March 23, 2022 at 12:23 pm

Personally I’m not a fan of the cover at all *shrugs and then hides face* lol. But it was the fake dating trope that pulled me in and I’m so glad I did because the story was so fun and the chemistry was amazing!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Follow Star-crossed Book Blog on WordPress.com

Enter Email to Subscribe to Posts

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Star-Crossed Ladies:

Recent reviews, fun lists about books.

✮ Christmas Book Recommendation List: What to Read This Holiday

✮ Favorite Enemies to Lovers Romances

✮ Books Every YA Fantasy Lover Should Read

✮ Platonic Relationships In Books We Love

✮ Books We Could Re-read Forever

Recommendations

Jen’s currently reading.

Awry

Chelsea’s Currently Reading

Beach Read

Share book reviews and ratings with Chelsea ❤Peril Please❤ , and even join a book club on Goodreads.

Arielle’s Currently Reading

Anna’s currently reading.

The Unbound

❤ Buddy read with my awesome friend Chelsea❤

Star-Crossed Ladies

Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin

Privacy Policy & Affiliates Discosure

© 2024

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

Novel Notions

Book review: the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood, december 13, 2021 celeste comments 0 comment.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

This book, y’all. It was seriously just the sweetest thing. I’m going to be transparent and tell you that I didn’t think I’d be super interested in The Love Hypothesis when I first heard of it. I’m not a science person. Like, at all. But I am a Star Wars person, and I thought something about the cover looked familiar. When I heard that this book was originally Reylo (Kylo Ren and Rey) fan fiction, I could see it immediately in the cover art. I’ve always been a sucker for fan fiction in multiple fandoms, so my curiosity was understandably piqued. And I am so, so incredibly glad that I chose it as my Book of the Month pick, because it was absolutely delightful.

The Love Hypothesis is another one of those debut novels that completely blew me away. Hazelwood is an immensely talented author. Her background as a neuroscientist laid a phenomenal foundation for this story. You could really tell that she had experience in the setting she chose, which lent an authenticity to the story that I think is actually rare in the world of genre fiction. Speaking of, this is hands down one of the best rom-coms I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading . Hazelwood integrated a ton of popular romance tropes into this book, fake dating and forced proximity among them. But instead of feeling tired or trite, these tropes had new life breathed into them. They were fun and funny and enchanting, and I kept getting excited whenever a new trope would pop up.

However, those tropes would have been nothing without the wonderfully engaging couple at the heart of The Love Hypothesis . Olive Smith is a Ph.D. candidate who, in the first chapter of our story, locks lips with the first man she stumbles across out of desperation to convince her friend that she’s on a date. The lips in question happen to belong to Dr. Adam Carlsen, a giant of a man as infamous for being a hard-ass as he is famous for his genius. The two strike a bargain; they will pass themselves off as a couple for a few weeks, as they would both benefit from people believing they’re in a committed relationship. Of course, everything that can go wrong does, but that’s what makes it a fun story. Adam and Olive’s chemistry was insane . And their banter and inside jokes were absolutely adorable. I loved them so much.

This was a bit of a slow burn, but that made the payoff that much stronger . I’ve seen The Love Hypothesis proclaimed as spicy, which it is, but it’s in no way smutty. There’s really only one (admittedly extensive) sex scene in this book. But that scene was absolute fire. Again, it’s a slow burn of a romance, but the one aforementioned sex scene is about as open-door as it gets. I can read just about anything with a perfectly blank expression, but because of all of the buildup and banter, I actually blushed just a little reading this. And grinned the entire time. And reread an entire chapter because it was just that good.

I loved everything about The Love Hypothesis . I physically hugged this book when I finished it, I loved it so much. It was bright and sweet and funny and felt like a warm hug from a new friend. This might be the first book Hazelwood was written and the first I’ve read, but she’s immediately an auto-buy author for me, and I can’t wait to see what she puts out next. The only other author I’ve read who scratched this same itch for me is Emily Henry. If there were more rom-coms like The Love Hypothesis , it would undoubtedly be my favorite genre.

You can purchase this book from: Blackwell’s  | Bookshop.org (Support Independent Bookstores) |  Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible | Libro.fm (Another way to support independent bookstores!) | Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide!)

View all my reviews

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

'The Love Hypothesis' won Amazon's best romance book of 2021, has a near-perfect rating on Goodreads, and is all over TikTok. Here's why it's such a unique love story.

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

  • " The Love Hypothesis " grabbed the attention of romance readers everywhere in 2021.
  • It was named Amazon's Best Romance Novel of 2021 and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.
  • This book checks off all my boxes for a great romance read and is definitely worth the hype.

Insider Today

This year, Amazon named " The Love Hypothesis " by Ali Hazelwood the best romance book of the year. Even though it was only recently published in September 2021, "The Love Hypothesis" has quickly become a fan-favorite, with 88% of Goodreads reviewers giving it four- or five-star-level praise .

It was also nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award and is hugely popular amongst Book of the Month members , with only 1% of readers giving it a "disliked" rating.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

"The Love Hypothesis" is about Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying pancreatic cancer at Stanford. In an attempt to convince one of her best friends that she's moved on from an old crush, she impulsively kisses Dr. Adam Carlsen, the department's notoriously brutal (but undeniably attractive) professor. After the kiss, Adam and Olive agree to fake a relationship so she can prove to her friend that she's happily dating and he can convince their department that he isn't planning to leave anytime soon.

I'm a little picky about my romance novels , so giving this read every bit of a five-star review didn't come lightly. My standards are high because the best romance novels have the potential to expose readers to authentic and imperfect relationships and offer new topics of discussion without making us feel like it's a story we've already read. 

With all the hype surrounding this new romance read, I couldn't resist picking it up.

Here's why "The Love Hypothesis" is one of my favorite recent romance books:

1. the story focuses a lot on olive and adam's lives outside their romance, making their love story more believable and interesting..

Romance novels tend to fall into a few popular tropes such as " enemies-to-lovers " or "forbidden love." "The Love Hypothesis" combines two of the most popular tropes right now, "Fake dating" and "grumpy/sunshine," really well — I loved the contrast between Adam's serious attitude to Olive's bright and sugary one. 

But despite following these tropes, the story feels fresh because it's also largely about Olive's work and its meaning to her. The only other romance book I've read featuring a STEM heroine is "The Kiss Quotient" , so I loved seeing that representation and learning about something new. 

The story honestly reflected the challenges Ph.D. candidates face in academia and that authenticity — deepened by the author's personal experiences — brought the characters, the settings, and the romance to life even more as Olive and Adam faced challenges with funding, time-consuming research, and questioning their sense of purpose.

2. The steamier scenes are also awkward and realistic, which made them even better.

In romance books, there are a few different levels of how graphic a steamy scene can get , from little-to-no detail to explicitly outlined movements. (I personally prefer mine to "fade to black.")

There was only one chapter with adult content, and it was definitely graphic. While I made a ton of ridiculous faces while reading and tried to skim past the parts that made me audibly gasp, I loved that it wasn't a movie-made, perfect sex scene with graceful movements and smooth dialogue. The scene was a little awkward, imperfect, and full of consent and conversation, making it refreshingly real.

3. The book deals with other topics besides the main love story, making it a much deeper read.

While it's wonderful to get swept up in the magic of a romantic storyline, having a secondary plot that addresses real issues is what makes a romance novel truly great . 

Mild spoilers and content warnings ahead: While "The Love Hypothesis" is a fun romantic read, it also addresses the pain of familial death, power differentials, intimacy challenges, and, most prevalently, workplace sexual harassment. 

Love is beautiful, fun, and amazing, but "The Love Hypothesis" takes the opportunity to also include conversations about serious issues. While these topics may be tough for some readers, I think these plot points, hard conversations, and complicated emotions take "The Love Hypothesis" to the next level and make it a five-star read. 

The bottom line

"The Love Hypothesis" has everything I personally look for in a romance novel: A unique storyline, authentic characters, and an important message. If you're looking for a perfectly balanced romance read, "The Love Hypothesis" is worth the hype and definitely one of the best romance books to come out in the past year.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

  • Main content
  • Mar 15, 2022

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | Book Review + Questions

Updated: Oct 25, 2023

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

When we chose The Love Hypothesis for our book club February book, I was feeling giddy and excited. But as I started reading that feeling slowly started fading away. But ... wasn't this book all hyped up on Bookstagram and TikTok? What was happening? Then a crazy thought entered my mind ... Was I too old for YA or NA books? Thankfully according to Marie Pabelonio, associate editor at Goodreads, NO. 😁😁 ( click here for the article ).

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

First things first , I'm not into the professor / student romance. Call me uptight, but it's just not my thing. And as it's not my thing in real life, then it's not something I particularly enjoy reading in books.

Second - Adam. I know he was supposed to come off as moody and sullen, but I found his character very bland. Very been-there-done-that. I hated finding out that he had actually been pining over Olive since their meet-cute. I don't see how that needed to be added to the storyline actually - it only made it worst for me! If Olive hadn't fake kissed Adam, then how long would he have continued to wait before talking to her?

Third - The first kiss. I thought their meet-cute was cute, but ..... the first kiss? Ughhhhh ... Olive kisses him, as she would have done to any random guy, because she wanted to fool her best friend into thinking that she was over the guy she last dated because her best friend was crushing on said guy but wouldn't do anything about it because she was thinking Olive was still into him. Again ughhhh ... These are PhD students, but why does it feel like I'm reading something outta high school? Also ... a stolen kiss is only sweet in movies and books. Trust me.

Fourth - Olivia and Ahn's friendship. Read paragraph above. If you need to go through all that to convince your best friend, then I question the friendship. If Anh is really her best friend, why can't they just have a sensible conversation about this? And what kind of best friend puts her friend time after time in embarrassing situations and expect her to do what she tells her to? Ahn was annoying!

Fifth - The sex scene. I was very shocked that it had unprotected sex. Someone assuring you that they are clean counts for nothing in my book and I think this shouldn't be included in books. Always practice safe sex. Someone in the book club also mentioned that she hated the way it was written and the words used. The word "pornographic" was mentioned during our book club discussion.

So is there one thing that I liked about this book? Yes!

Olive. But Olive without her friends and without Adam . Olive, a successful woman in STEM. She came from Canada and pursued her education in the US. Moreover, she experienced many difficulties and faced obstacles to have opportunities she deserved, but nevertheless she really fought to get them. I admire that about her, which is maybe why I am so upset at how she is represented in love and her friendships.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Book Club Questions:

Did you find that there first meeting was cute?

What did you think of Olive?

What did you think of Adam?

Did you find Olive immature at times?

How did you picture Olive physically?

What did you think of the side characters? Which one was your favorite? Which one was your least favorite?

Did you think that Anh was a cliché character?

Why do you think it was more important for Olive to deceive Anh than to tell her the truth?

How do you feel about unprotected sex in books? Does it ruin the sex scene for you?

How did you feel about how Olive managed the situation with Tom Benton?

How did you feel about the ending?

Do you think that this book was overhyped?

xoxo Elodie

*As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases

  • Books, Music, Series, & Movies

Related Posts

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie | Book Review + Questions

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab | Book Review + Questions

Mr. Dickens and His Carol | Book Review + Questions

That Artsy Reader Girl

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | Book Review

Posted August 12, 2021 by Jana in Adult Fiction , Book Review / 4 Comments

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | Book Review

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 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.

So. I’m really not the best at reviewing books I absolutely loved because I don’t have many words! We all know I love fake dating romances, and I loved the idea of a STEM romance because science is cool and I really love and miss Big Bang Theory (and no, this isn’t like that per se, it’s just got super smart people spouting off science facts). Anyway, I immediately gravitated toward The Love Hypothesis because it sounded fresh and funny and unique. It was all those things and more! As always, my main points are bolded.

1. This book is so, so nerdy and I loved it. The people are a little awkward and extremely smart. There’s strong women in science, and I loved learning a little bit about the challenges women face in this field. Every chapter starts off with one of Olive’s hilarious little scientific hypotheses about love and life, each one teasing a bit about what’s coming up in that chapter. These made it very hard to stop reading because I’d get to the end of the chapter and decide to read and then BOOM. I’m intrigued again and must continue reading. Very clever. A lot of the book takes place on campus in the labs, and I thought it was such a fun setting with people working late and running experiments because science doesn’t wait for people to sleep or eat. There’s lots of science talk, there’s a science convention and people get all excited about presenting posters and attending talks and it’s all just so much fun. It reminded me a bit of Ross’s paleontology convention from Friends, just no Barbados.

2. Olive is sweet and strong. She’s smart and strong and totally dedicated to her cancer research. She’s looking for a lab that will accept her the following year so she can continue her testing with better equipment and proper funding. It matters more to her than pretty much anything. Everyone she’s ever loved has died, so she’s very reluctant to get too close to anyone except her two best friends. Relationships are scary and also a little confusing for her. It takes her a while to sort through her feelings and figure things out, and I loved watching her grow and evolve.

3. Dr. Carlsen (Adam) is a dreamboat. He’s seen as rude and lacking in compassion. He’s hard on his grad students, but it’s because he wants them to succeed. He’s super sexy and thoughtful and protective of those he cares about. He’s sarcastic, flirty, suave, and all the things I love in a hero. Olive is a little inexperienced in the love department, and there’s a scene where he puts all of his focus on taking care of her. Consent and comfort are so important to him, and the entire scene was him making sure she was ok. It just melted me, and I’ve never read another scene quite like this one.

4. The chemistry between Olive and Adam is insane. These two can throw the banter back and forth forever and get me laughing, but they can also build up a level of tension that makes you squirmy. There’s an age gap of about 8-9 years between these two, so Olive loves to make fun of him for being old. She also loves to make fun of his healthy eating habits. He likes to tease her about her love of sugar and poor taste in food. But then there’s a scene where Olive’s best friend kind of forces her to kiss Adam after he’s just pushed a car out of the road and is all sweaty, and wow. And then there’s a scene at the department picnic where Olive has no choice but to coat his muscley back in sunscreen (poor girl), and wow. Their relationship is sweet and spicy and tender, and I just love them.

5. Olive’s best friends, Anh and Malcolm, made me so happy. They are both scientists and work together, although their research is all different. Anh is the loyal best friend, who also mothers Olive and makes sure she doesn’t get skin cancer. Malcolm is Olive’s roommate, and he’s pretty much made of rainbows and sunshine. They love to discuss hot men and other fun things. I would love to be a part of this friend group. Adam’s friend, Holden, is another favorite character of mine. He gives great advice, really cares about his people, and is so happy all the time.

6. There’s some deeper issues at play that run throughout the story, including the #MeToo movement. All were treated with sensitivity and respect. 

7. There’s so, so much humor! I actually laughed out loud at one point, which never happens to me. I’ve been known to smile or silently laugh, but this was an actual audible laugh that startled me.

8. The writing is also spot on, and flowed so nicely that the pages practically turned on their own. 

All in all, this is a stunning debut for Ali Hazelwood. Strong women in science, a sexy doctor hero who values and supports those women, hilarious banter, strong friendships, and a very sweet love story all wrapped up into a glittery, sugary package. What’s not to love? I highly recommend The Love Hypothesis, and cannot wait to see what Ali Hazelwood does next!

Related Posts

  • By Ali Hazelwood

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

4 responses to “ The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | Book Review ”

' src=

“insane chemistry?” Sounds fun!

' src=

Great review. I’ve been waiting for this book and I”m so glad you liked it so much!

' src=

I can’t wait to read this one! It’s one of my most anticipated releases and reading your review just bumped it up to multiple spots haha! CANNOT WAIT! Hasini @ Bibliosini recently posted… Can Books Be Effective Horror? // Let’s Talk Bookish

' src=

Book was insightful and inspiring, right mix of teasing, drama, and nerdy science. Once picked up, the book just can’t be put down Check out @thehazelwoodfangpage on Insta

web analytics

Bookshelf Fantasies

A life amidst books.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Title: The Love Hypothesis Author: Ali Hazelwood Publisher: Berkley Publication date: September 14, 2021 Length: 352 pages Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Purchased Rating:

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.

EVERYBODY seems to either have read or to be reading this contemporary romance — so I gave in to temptation and joined the crowd! And mostly, it’s a really enjoyable, sweet tale.

But — ugh — let me just say that I do not like the synopsis (above). It just doesn’t convey the charm of the characters or what’s special about the book’s set-up.

So… Olive is a Ph.D. student working her butt off, living off her meager grad stipend, and basically focused solely on her work. A complication arises when it becomes clear that the guy she’d started casually dating is actually much more interested in Olive’s best friend, who seems to return the interest. But Anh would never agree to date him and break the friend code, even if Olive insists she’s just not that into him.

When Olive lies to Anh and says she’ll be out on a date with a new love interest, leaving Anh free to start a romance with Jeremy, things get complicated. Anh sees Olive in the lab building — clearly not on a date. So, as the synopsis says: Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees — who just happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, a young powerhouse in the academic field, with a reputation of being an arrogant ass when it comes to his grad students.

Olive is embarrassed and super awkward… but as it turns out, a fake dating scenario would benefit both Olive and Adam. Olive needs Anh to believe that Olive is in a relationship so that she can pursue her own love life guilt-free, and Adam needs Stanford to believe he’s in a relationship so they don’t consider him a flight risk and cut off his grant money. So hey, what’s a little fake-dating between (kind of) colleagues? Olive assumes a weekly coffee date is enough to seal the deal and make it believable.

Of course, it’s more complicated than that, as Olive and Adam are constantly thrown together, and (of course) develop an easy rapport, ridiculously cute banter, physical attraction, and, eventually, real and actual feelings.

The Love Hypothesis follows many of the standard story beats of the fake dating trope, but it’s got a lot of unique elements going for it as well. First of all, the science and academia setting is terrific. I love seeing a woman in science, here presented as dedicated to the point of obsession when it comes to her profession and her research. Olive is smart, motivated, and committed, and her struggle to be taken seriously and get the opportunities she deserves is well portrayed and convincing.

Also, the academic setting provides a structure that I haven’t come across much in contemporary romances. The science and lab work and dissertation meetings are all part of the plot. I’ve seen too many romances where we’re informed that the lead character is a respected professional, but we never see her doing any actual work. Here, we follow Olive in and out of meetings and labs and conferences, and get a real feel for the texture of her life as a graduate student (as well as the truly minimal financial resources she has… so yes, it’s a big deal when Adam pays for her pumpkin spice lattes!).

An added unique element is Olive’s sexuality, which I’d describe (although not labeled as such in the book) as demisexuality. Olive is fairly inexperienced when it comes to sex, mostly having tried it a few times during her college years as something to check off a list, rather than experiencing desire. As she explains, she’s only able to feel sexual attraction when with someone she likes and trusts, and this hasn’t really happened for her previously in her life.

Olive and Adam do have great chemistry, and I enjoyed them together as a couple. Despite Adam’s fearsome reputation in the department, he warms up around Olive, and they’re able to joke and exchange quips together that would probably make his grads’ heads spin.

I’m not typically a big fan of awkward encounters, which seem to be a staple in contemporary romances, and this is an obstacle for me in The Love Hypothesis as well. There’s a lap-sitting scene and a sunscreen scene, to name but a couple, that are kind of clunky and weird — I think they’re meant to be funny, but really, just made me cringe and feel uncomfortable.

Also, some of the lying really bugged me after a while. Olive persists in lying about the fake-dating to Anh even well past the point where she should have just come clean. She also lies to Adam after he overhears a conversation that could reveal her feelings about him, and continues to allow him to misinterpret her feelings even after it’s clear that she should be honest. She’s way too smart for some of the dumb decisions she makes about her emotions and her personal life, and even though she’s portrayed as someone so focused on science that she’s neglected her inner life, I feel like this goes overboard and undersells Olive’s maturity and good sense.

If you’ve read any of my other romance reviews, you may know that I prefer my romances with steaminess on the implied rather than explicit side of things. In The Love Hypothesis , there’s really just one major sex scene, but it is very explicit. Because it was limited to one encounter, I didn’t feel that it took over the book or overwhelmed the reading experience — but still, if you prefer these kind of scenes to be off-screen or fuzzy, just be aware in advance that the sex in The Love Hypothesis is graphic.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Love Hypothesis and found the characters and the set-up charming and off-beat. I love seeing women in STEM professions, especially when the professional aspect is treated seriously and not just as a side note. I’ll definitely want to read more by this author!

Share this:

6 thoughts on “ book review: the love hypothesis by ali hazelwood ”.

I’m with you on the cringey bits and preferring the steamy stuff to be implied. But I like that that the setting in this one actually plays a part and the characters are shown working. Though I don’t read many romances, but like you I find mentions of work or professions but rarely anyone doing the said work. Great review

Thanks so much! It was really refreshing to see the main character dealing with actual work issues in her lab, dealing with professors, dealing with grants and equipment, etc. I guess it helps that the author herself is a scientist with a PhD!

I loved Adam and Olive; I thought they were such great characters…and that this was a fun romance. Especially with that academic setting. 🙂

Yes, definitely lots of fun! And I didn’t mention it in the review, but I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a really super job creating voices for Olive and Adam.

I feel like the last person on the planet to read this. Even my daughter has read it, lol.

I guess that makes me the 2nd to last! 🙂 Did your daughter like it?

Comments... We love comments! Cancel reply

' src=

  • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
  • Copy shortlink
  • Report this content
  • View post in Reader
  • Manage subscriptions
  • Collapse this bar
  • Join a community of book lovers in sneakers for the next round of the Walking Book Club >

Julie Kaminski

The Love Hypothesis

Written by Ali Hazelwood Narrated by Callie Dalton

THE WALKING BOOK CLUB SNEAKER RATINGS:

Motivation to Move: 4.4 Sneakers Quality of Narration: 4.5 Sneakers Overall Experience: 4.6 Sneakers Moving and listening time: 11 hours and 8 minutes

Audiobook Review: Terrific Fan Fiction Audiobook

When you get to chat with the author, you fall in love with the book even more!

The Walking Book Club had the special treat to host Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love Hypothesis , a New York Times bestseller, and TikTok phenom!

Here’s our interview if you’d like to watch:

Keep an eye out for Bernie, the cat in the upper left-hand corner. I’m hoping Ali will start to crochet some hats for her furry friends.

Now for the audiobook review.

If you like spicy romance, The Love Hypothesis will keep you motivated to move, especially chapter sixteen! In addition, the narrator does an excellent job at voicing both female and male characters. (I was partial to her male voices.) You might want to consider staying at a normal pace, but I listened at 1.2., slightly zippy but doable. Overall, a fun, sexy, and light-hearted romance audiobook.

A couple of fun facts about Ali and The Love Hypothesis audiobook:

  • Olive loves pumpkin spice lattes but not Ali. Just like Adam, Ali isn’t a fan, but she does love Nutella! It’s part of her Italian roots.
  • Writing helped Ali manage her stress during her Ph.D. program. Her hobby as a fanfiction writer morphed into the story of Olive and Adam. (Did you know about fanfiction? It was new to me too. In fanfiction, fans write storylines featuring characters from a particular TV series or movie. For Ali, she wrote Star Wars characters into a fictional academic setting, which evolved into Olive and Adam.)
  • Speaking of new things I learned, Ali describes Adam as a human cinnamon roll. The term originated from The Onion (a satirical newspaper) and represents people, especially fictional people, who are sweet and supportive – the “oh-so-sweet hero who is just too good for this world.”

< Back to all audiobook reviews

Join The Walking Book Club – it’s free!

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

  • Kindle Store
  • Kindle eBooks

Audible Logo

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $15.75 $15.75

Save: $2.76 $2.76 (18%)

Buy for others

Buying and sending ebooks to others.

  • Select quantity
  • Buy and send eBooks
  • Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Image Unavailable

The Love Hypothesis

  • To view this video download Flash Player

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Follow the author

Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis Kindle Edition

  • Print length 383 pages
  • Language English
  • Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
  • Publisher Berkley
  • Publication date September 14, 2021
  • File size 3306 KB
  • Page Flip Enabled
  • Word Wise Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting Enabled
  • See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Love on the Brain

Get to know this book

What's it about.

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Popular highlight

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

From the Publisher

Editorial reviews, about the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved..

Chapter One

Hypothesis: When given a choice between A (a slightly inconveniencing situation) and B (a colossal shitshow with devastating consequences), I will inevitably end up selecting B.

In Olive's defense, the man didn't seem to mind the kiss too much.

It did take him a moment to adjust-perfectly understandable, given the sudden circumstances. It was an awkward, uncomfortable, somewhat painful minute, in which Olive was simultaneously smashing her lips against his and pushing herself as high as her toes would extend to keep her mouth at the same level as his face. Did he have to be so tall? The kiss must have looked like some clumsy headbutt, and she grew anxious that she was not going to be able to pull the whole thing off. Her friend Anh, whom Olive had spotted coming her way a few seconds ago, was going to take one look at this and know at once that Olive and Kiss Dude couldn't possibly be two people in the middle of a date.

Then that agonizingly slow moment went by, and the kiss became . . . different. The man inhaled sharply and inclined his head a tiny bit, making Olive feel less like a squirrel monkey climbing a baobab tree, and his hands-which were large and pleasantly warm in the AC of the hallway-closed around her waist. They slid up a few inches, coming to wrap around Olive's rib cage and holding her to himself. Not too close, and not too far.

It was more of a prolonged peck than anything, but it was quite nice, and for the life span of a few seconds Olive forgot a large number of things, including the fact that she was pressed against a random, unknown dude. That she'd barely had the time to whisper "Can I please kiss you?" before locking lips with him. That what had originally driven her to put on this entire show was the hope of fooling Anh, her best friend in the whole world.

But a good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while. Olive found herself melting into a broad, solid chest that showed absolutely no give. Her hands traveled from a defined jaw into surprisingly thick and soft hair, and then-then she heard herself sigh, as if already out of breath, and that's when it hit her like a brick on the head, the realization that- No. No.

Nope, nope, no.

She should not be enjoying this. Random dude, and all that.

Olive gasped and pushed herself away from him, frantically looking for Anh. In the 11:00 p.m. bluish glow of the biology labs' hallway, her friend was nowhere to be seen. Weird. Olive was sure she had spotted her a few seconds earlier.

Kiss Dude, on the other hand, was standing right in front of her, lips parted, chest rising and a weird light flickering in his eyes, which was exactly when it dawned on her, the enormity of what she had just done. Of who she had just-

Fuck her life.

Fuck. Her. Life.

Because Dr. Adam Carlsen was a known ass.

This fact was not remarkable in and of itself, as in academia every position above the graduate student level (Olive's level, sadly) required some degree of assness in order to be held for any length of time, with tenured faculty at the very peak of the ass pyramid. Dr. Carlsen, though-he was exceptional. At least if the rumors were anything to go by.

He was the reason Olive's roommate, Malcolm, had to completely scrap two research projects and would likely end up graduating a year late; the one who had made Jeremy throw up from anxiety before his qualifying exams; the sole culprit for half the students in the department being forced to postpone their thesis defenses. Joe, who used to be in Olive's cohort and would take her to watch out-of-focus European movies with microscopic subtitles every Thursday night, had been a research assistant in Carlsen's lab, but he'd decided to drop out six months into it for "reasons." It was probably for the best, since most of Carlsen's remaining graduate assistants had perennially shaky hands and often looked like they hadn't slept in a year.

Dr. Carlsen might have been a young academic rock star and biology's wunderkind, but he was also mean and hypercritical, and it was obvious in the way he spoke, in the way he carried himself, that he thought himself the only person doing decent science within the Stanford biology department. Within the entire world, probably. He was a notoriously moody, obnoxious, terrifying dick.

And Olive had just kissed him.

She wasn't sure how long the silence lasted-only that he was the one to break it. He stood in front of Olive, ridiculously intimidating with dark eyes and even darker hair, staring down from who knows how many inches above six feet-he must have been over half a foot taller than she was. He scowled, an expression that she recognized from seeing him attend the departmental seminar, a look that usually preceded him raising his hand to point out some perceived fatal flaw in the speaker's work.

Adam Carlsen. Destroyer of research careers , Olive had once overheard her adviser say.

It's okay. It's fine. Totally fine. She was just going to pretend nothing had happened, nod at him politely, and tiptoe her way out of here. Yes, solid plan.

"Did you . . . Did you just kiss me?" He sounded puzzled, and maybe a little out of breath. His lips were full and plump and . . . God. Kissed. There was simply no way Olive could get away with denying what she had just done.

Still, it was worth a try.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.

"Ah. Okay, then." Carlsen nodded and turned around, looking vaguely disoriented. He took a couple of steps down the hallway, reached the water fountain-maybe where he'd been headed in the first place.

Olive was starting to believe that she might actually be off the hook when he halted and turned back with a skeptical expression.

"Are you sure?"

"I-" She buried her face in her hands. "It's not the way it looks."

"Okay. I . . . Okay," he repeated slowly. His voice was deep and low and sounded a lot like he was on his way to get ting mad. Like maybe he was already mad. "What's going on here?"

There was simply no way to explain this. Any normal person would have found Olive's situation odd, but Adam Carlsen, who obviously considered empathy a bug and not a feature of humanity, could never understand. She let her hands fall to her sides and took a deep breath.

"I . . . listen, I don't mean to be rude, but this is really none of your business."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded. "Yes. Of course." He must be getting back into his usual groove, because his tone had lost some of its surprise and was back to normal-dry. Laconic. "I'll just go back to my office and begin to work on my Title IX complaint."

Olive exhaled in relief. "Yeah. That would be great, since- Wait. Your what?"

He cocked his head. "Title IX is a federal law that protects against sexual misconduct within academic settings-"

"I know what Title IX is."

"I see. So you willfully chose to disregard it."

"I- What? No. No, I didn't!"

He shrugged. "I must be mistaken, then. Someone else must have assaulted me."

"Assault-I didn't 'assault' you."

"You did kiss me."

"But not really ."

"Without first securing my consent."

"I asked if I could kiss you!"

"And then did so without waiting for my response."

"What? You said yes."

"Excuse me?"

She frowned. "I asked if I could kiss you, and you said yes."

"Incorrect. You asked if you could kiss me and I snorted."

"I'm pretty sure I heard you said yes."

He lifted one eyebrow, and for a minute Olive let herself daydream of drowning someone. Dr. Carlsen. Herself. Both sounded like great options.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. It was a weird situation. Can we just forget that this happened?"

He studied her for a long moment, his angular face serious and something else, something that she couldn't quite decipher because she was too busy noticing all over again how damn towering and broad he was. Just massive. Olive had always been slight, just this side of too slender, but girls who are five eight rarely felt diminutive. At least until they found themselves standing next to Adam Carlsen. She'd known that he was tall, of course, from seeing him around the department or walking across campus, from sharing the elevator with him, but they'd never interacted. Never been this close.

Except for a second ago, Olive. When you almost put your tongue in his-

"Is something wrong?" He sounded almost concerned.

"What? No. No, there isn't."

"Because," he continued calmly, "kissing a stranger at midnight in a science lab might be a sign that there is."

"There isn't."

Carlsen nodded, thoughtful. "Very well. Expect mail in the next few days, then." He began to walk past her, and she turned to yell after him.

"You didn't even ask my name!"

"I'm sure anyone could figure it out, since you must have swiped your badge to get in the labs area after hours. Have a good night."

"Wait!" She leaned forward and stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He paused immediately, even though it was obvious that it would take him no effort to free himself, and stared pointedly at the spot where her fingers had wrapped around his skin-right below a wristwatch that probably cost half her yearly graduate salary. Or all of it.

She let go of him at once and took one step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"The kiss. Explain."

Olive bit into her lower lip. She had truly screwed herself over. She had to tell him, now. "Anh Pham." She looked around to make sure Anh was really gone. "The girl who was passing by. She's a graduate student in the biology department."

Carlsen gave no indication of knowing who Anh was.

"Anh has . . ." Olive pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear. This was where the story became embarrassing. Complicated, and a little juvenile sounding. "I was seeing this guy in the department. Jeremy Langley, he has red hair and works with Dr. . . . Anyway, we went out just a couple of times, and then I brought him to Anh's birthday party, and they just sort of hit it off and-"

Olive shut her eyes. Which was probably a bad idea, because now she could see it painted on her lids, how her best friend and her date had bantered in that bowling alley, as if they'd known each other their whole lives; the never-exhausted topics of conversation, the laughter, and then, at the end of the night, Jeremy following Anh's every move with his gaze. It had been painfully clear who he was interested in. Olive waved a hand and tried for a smile.

"Long story short, after Jeremy and I ended things he asked Anh out. She said no because of . . . girl code and all that, but I can tell that she really likes him. She's afraid to hurt my feelings, and no matter how many times I told her it was fine she wouldn't believe me."

Not to mention that the other day I overheard her confess to our friend Malcolm that she thought Jeremy was awesome, but she could never betray me by going out with him, and she sounded so dejected. Disappointed and insecure, not at all like the spunky, larger-than-life Anh I am used to.

"So I just lied and told her that I was already dating someone else. Because she's one of my closest friends and I'd never seen her like a guy this much and I want her to have the good things she deserves and I'm positive that she would do the same for me and-" Olive realized that she was rambling and that Carlsen couldn't have cared less. She stopped and swallowed, even though her mouth felt dry. "Tonight. I told her I'd be on a date tonight ."

"Ah." His expression was unreadable.

"But I'm not. So I decided to come in to work on an experiment, but Anh showed up, too. She wasn't supposed to be here. But she was. Coming this way. And I panicked-well." Olive wiped a hand down her face. "I didn't really think."

Carlsen didn't say anything, but it was there in his eyes that he was thinking. Obviously.

"I just needed her to believe that I was on a date."

He nodded. "So you kissed the first person you saw in the hallway. Perfectly logical."

Olive winced. "When you put it like that, perhaps it wasn't my best moment."

"But it wasn't my worst, either! I'm pretty sure Anh saw us. Now she'll think that I was on a date with you and she'll hopefully feel free to go out with Jeremy and-" She shook her head. "Listen. I'm so, so sorry about the kiss."

"Please, don't report me. I really thought I heard you say yes. I promise I didn't mean to . . ."

Suddenly, the enormity of what she had just done fully dawned on her. She had just kissed a random guy, a guy who happened to be the most notoriously unpleasant faculty member in the biology department. She'd misunderstood a snort for consent, she'd basically attacked him in the hallway, and now he was staring at her in that odd, pensive way, so large and focused and close to her, and . . .

Maybe it was the late night. Maybe it was that her last coffee had been sixteen hours ago. Maybe it was Adam Carlsen looking down at her, like that. All of a sudden, this entire situation was just too much.

"Actually, you're absolutely right. And I am so sorry. If you felt in any way harassed by me, you really should report me, because it's only fair. It was a horrible thing to do, though I really didn't want to . . . Not that my intentions matter; it's more like your perception of . . ."

Crap, crap, crap.

"I'm going to leave now, okay? Thank you, and . . . I am so, so, so sorry." Olive spun around on her heels and ran away down the hallway.

"Olive," she heard him call after her. "Olive, wait-"

She didn't stop. She sprinted down the stairs to the first floor and then out the building and across the pathways of the sparsely lit Stanford campus, running past a girl walking her dog and a group of students laughing in front of the library. She continued until she was standing in front of her apartment's door, stopping only to unlock it, making a beeline for her room in the hope of avoiding her roommate and whoever he might have brought home tonight. It wasn’t until she slumped on her bed, staring at the glow‑in‑the- dark stars glued to her ceiling, that she realized that she had neglected to check on her lab mice. She had also left her laptop on her bench and her sweatshirt somewhere in the lab, and she had completely forgotten to stop at the store and buy the coffee she’d promised Malcolm she’d get for tomorrow morning. Shit. What a disaster of a day. It never occurred to Olive that Dr. Adam Carlsen— known ass— had called her by her name.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08T6XN4FP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (September 14, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3306 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 383 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1408725762
  • #65 in Workplace Romance eBooks
  • #76 in Workplace Romance
  • #366 in Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)

Videos for this product

Video Widget Card

Click to play video

Video Widget Video Title Section

Watch this BEFORE buying! (no spoilers)

Brandi Leigh

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Is The Love Hypothesis worth reading? No spoilers!

Marie Dubuque

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Your New Favorite Romance Book! - Honest Book Review!

Sophia Doyle

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Love Hypothesis Novel- My Honest Review

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

About the author

Ali hazelwood.

Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

Customer Image

  • Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Top reviews from other countries

love hypothesis book spicy chapters

Report an issue

  • Amazon Newsletter
  • About Amazon
  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • Press Center
  • Investor Relations
  • Amazon Devices
  • Amazon Science
  • Sell on Amazon
  • Sell apps on Amazon
  • Supply to Amazon
  • Protect & Build Your Brand
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Become a Delivery Driver
  • Start a Package Delivery Business
  • Advertise Your Products
  • Self-Publish with Us
  • Become an Amazon Hub Partner
  • › See More Ways to Make Money
  • Amazon Visa
  • Amazon Store Card
  • Amazon Secured Card
  • Amazon Business Card
  • Shop with Points
  • Credit Card Marketplace
  • Reload Your Balance
  • Amazon Currency Converter
  • Your Account
  • Your Orders
  • Shipping Rates & Policies
  • Amazon Prime
  • Returns & Replacements
  • Manage Your Content and Devices
  • Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices

COMMENTS

  1. Helpful Book Guide: The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters List and Review

    Discover the sizzling chemistry between Olive and Adam in The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters. Ali Hazelwood's captivating romance novel takes readers on an emotional journey as these two characters navigate the complexities of love and desire. Get ready to experience the steamy and passionate moments that will leave you hooked from start to finish. Dive into the spicy chapters of "The Love ...

  2. The Love Hypothesis: Recap & Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

    Chapter 10. On Wednesday, Olive and Adam are texting and teasing each other when Anh comes in and comments on how in love with Adam she is. Anh says that she feels better about dating Jeremy, since she sees how much Olive likes Adam. As Anh leaves, it dawns on Olive that Anh is right.

  3. Guide to Love on the Brain: Spicy Chapters, Quotes, & More!

    This book is more spicier compared to The Love Hypothesis. When Does Love on the Brain Get Spicy? Love on the Brain gets spicy about 50% through the book with the first spicy chapter being chapter 16. Love on the Brain Spicy Chapters List Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 20. If you want to skip ahead to the spicy chapters, visit ...

  4. The Love Hypothesis Summary and Study Guide

    The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (2021) follows a female scientist's comedic journey to true love that's fraught with lies, tears, and awkward moments. The book was an instant NY Times bestseller, a BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021, and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist. Born in Italy, Ali Hazelwood moved to the United States via Japan and Germany to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

  5. Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood came out a few months ago, and I didn't really pay much attention to it. However, people seem to really be enjoying this book, and after reading The School for Good Mothers, I was really in mood for something light and fun.. In the Love Hypothesis, Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford who ends up fake-dating a young and handsome tenured ...

  6. The Love Hypothesis Chapters 12-13 Summary & Analysis

    Chapter 12 Summary. Adam goes away for a few days to work on research with Tom. While he's gone, Olive spends time with her friends, works, and tries to forget about her emotions. Anh and Olive get together for beer and smores, and Anh lays out her plans for the future. Despite all the struggles, she wants to stay in academia and carve out a ...

  7. Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    Can a 14 year old read The Love Hypothesis? No, there is one very spicy scene so this book is for 18+. Is the Love Hypothesis a LGBTQ book? Yes and no. The main characters are a straight couple however, two of the secondary characters are gay men. What are the spicy chapters in the Love Hypothesis? They are chapter 15 and 16 but mainly chapter ...

  8. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood: 9780593336823

    About The Love Hypothesis. Now see Adam pine for Olive in a special bonus chapter! The Instant New York Times Bestseller 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.

  9. The Love Hypothesis: The Tiktok sensation and romcom of the year!

    The Love Hypothesis: The Tiktok sensation and romcom of the year! - Ebook written by Ali Hazelwood. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Love Hypothesis: The Tiktok sensation and romcom of the year!.

  10. BOOK REVIEW: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    The Love Hypothesis snuck up on me and captured my heart. It was addicting, sexy, angsty and thoroughly intoxicating! I'm sure a huge fan of the fake dating trope and it not only made this book a ton of fun but it had a lot of emotional power too. With a broody male, a quirky girl and a story filled with science, contemporary romance lovers ...

  11. Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    The Love Hypothesis is another one of those debut novels that completely blew me away. Hazelwood is an immensely talented author. Her background as a neuroscientist laid a phenomenal foundation for this story. You could really tell that she had experience in the setting she chose, which lent an authenticity to the story that I think is actually ...

  12. Review: Why 'the Love Hypothesis' Is Such a Hit Romance Novel

    Here's why "The Love Hypothesis" is one of my favorite recent romance books: Advertisement. 1. The story focuses a lot on Olive and Adam's lives outside their romance, making their love story more ...

  13. Book Review: "The Love Hypothesis" is a sweet, steamy, utterly

    But because this book is such a charming, hopeful read, the very real struggles are offset by the optimistic hope that out there somewhere, there are good people striving to make things just a little better. The Love Hypothesis was an absolute joy to read. So much so that I read it in one sitting while recovering from eye surgery (don't yell ...

  14. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    First things first, I'm not into the professor / student romance. Call me uptight, but it's just not my thing. And as it's not my thing in real life, then it's not something I particularly enjoy reading in books. Second - Adam. I know he was supposed to come off as moody and sullen, but I found his character very bland.

  15. The Love Hypothesis: a personal review : r/books

    The Love Hypothesis: a personal review ... making this piece unoriginal and banal. The chapters in which the protagonists have sex are written relatively accurately, however once again sustain the idea of a physically large male and a small, feeble female, who is, even after preparation, still too 'small and tight', making the scene take on ...

  16. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    Published by Berkley on September 14, 2021. Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy. Pages: 384. Format: eARC. Source: Publisher (Netgalley) Add to Goodreads. Buy on Amazon. When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

  17. Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

    Shelf Control #302: Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen. Book Review: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz. Title: The Love HypothesisAuthor: Ali HazelwoodPublisher: BerkleyPublication date: September 14, 2021Length: 352 pagesGenre: Contemporary romanceSource: PurchasedRating: ★★★★ As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't ...

  18. The Love Hypothesis

    The Walking Book Club had the special treat to host Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love Hypothesis, a New York Times bestseller, and TikTok phenom! Here's our interview if you'd like to watch: Keep an eye out for Bernie, the cat in the upper left-hand corner. I'm hoping Ali will start to crochet some hats for her furry friends.

  19. The Love Hypothesis: The Tiktok sensation and romcom of the year!

    The Love Hypothesis has wild commercial appeal but the quieter secret is that there is a specific audience, made up of all of the Olives in the world, who have deeply, ardently waited for this exact book."—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author "Funny, sexy and smart, Ali Hazelwood did a terrific job with The Love Hypothesis ...

  20. The Love Hypothesis

    With an exclusive new bonus chapter... from Adam's POVBased on the available information and the data hitherto collected, my hypothesis is that the further I stay away from love, the better off I will be.'Contemporary romance's unicorn: the elusive marriage of deeply brainy and delightfully escapist.' Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners*When a fake ...

  21. The Love Hypothesis Kindle Edition

    The Love Hypothesis has wild commercial appeal but the quieter secret is that there is a specific audience, made up of all of the Olives in the world, who have deeply, ardently waited for this exact book."—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author "Funny, sexy and smart, Ali Hazelwood did a terrific job with The Love Hypothesis ...