Ali Hazelwood’s dazzling debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, follows a fake relationship between Olive and Adam, who each have something to prove. 

Olive Smith’s biggest problem as a third year PhD candidate is that her best friend refuses to date her ex-fling, citing girl code. Olive knows that her friend, Ahn, is interested, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. 

She randomly kisses a stranger, who is revealed to be none other than reputable jerk, Adam Carlsen. 

What Olive doesn’t know is that Adam has a problem of his own: the Stanford Board of Directors view him as a flight risk, resulting in the withholding of his funding for his science research. So, this fake relationship is going to benefit them both. It has a deadline, and there are no feelings involved. 

The fake relationship is going fine, outside of Olive’s internal warfare over just how much she likes being around Adam. Then, Adam’s longtime friend and colleague, Tom Benton comes to town to discuss a potential partnership with Adam. 

It’s all well and good, until it goes haywire after Adam gives Olive an entry into one of the best research labs in the country at Harvard. He convinces Tom to let Olive continue her research after her PhD in Boston, but all is not what it seems.

Told in a witty, grumpy-sunshine sort of way, Hazelwood is able to tackle some big issues in academia. Particularly those that women face in STEM fields, such as the one Olive is in. Hazelwood mentions that she writes in academia because it is all she’s ever known, which means that readers can infer that something along the lines of what happened with Tom and Olive has been said to her, too. 

Towards the climax of the story, readers will witness Tom degrade Olive’s personality and work, to the point where she becomes upset in the presence of Adam.

“A pretty girl like you should know the score by now. Don’t lie to me and say you didn’t pick out a dress that short for my benefit. Nice legs, by the way. I can see why Adam’s wasting his time with you” (Hazelwood, 218, Apple Books version). 

 Tom’s treatment of Olive seems to be a common theme throughout academia, particularly in fields that could be categorized as STEM. Women are often the minority in fields such as these, and Hazelwood does an amazing job of allowing those women to have the voice they deserve. This is shown through Adam’s reaction to what Tom said to Olive, which is revealed through an accidental voice recording. He defends Olive, and immediately rejects Tom’s offer to also move to Boston. 

For a debut novel, Hazelwood is extremely articulate and the characters become well represented in their priorities. This work highlights both sides of a life in academia, which I don’t feel is seen in mainstream outlets, such as Booktok. Sure, this one book became popular because of TikTok, but others like it have not seen the same popularity as The Love Hypothesis. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think the message behind it is important. Women deserve the same types of opportunities as men, especially if they have proven they are up to the task. The main message behind this book stems from equality in the workforce and academia, something that the American public can take stock in and understand that it impacts more than they think it does. 

I only have one minor critique, if I may. 

Although I enjoy the fake relationship trope and everything that accompanies it, I would have liked to see some more interaction between Adam and Olive. 

Nevertheless, the work is extremely well written; Ali Hazelwood has a gift that is meant to be shared with the world. 

This debut novel is deserving of its 5 star rating, and I can’t wait to read Ali Hazelwood’s next work, Love on the Brain.