The Love Hypothesis

The book starts with a prologue. Olive has an interview at Stanford for a PhD position in their biology department. And this is where she meets The Guy. Olive has no idea who he is. Why? Because she can’t see him, since she’s wearing expired contact lenses. She’s in what he calls his bathroom trying to calm her eyes down. The two of them get into a conversation about how she is nervous about the interview and he manages to calm her down by telling her that her reason to get into academia (a project that is very important to her) is the best reason there is.

And with that, we jump straight into Chapter One, two years later. And it does not hold back. Because we go directly into Olive randomly kissing a stranger. Or at least she thinks it is a stranger. It’s almost midnight and Olive is still in the lab when she spots her best friend Anh. Since Anh thinks that Olive is on a date Olive panics, goes up to the only other guy in the lab and kisses him. But when she pulls away Olive realizes she made a huge mistake. Because she just kissed Adam fucking Carlsen. The professor every student fears and a well-known asshole. And I just love how, when he asks her if she just kissed him Olive straight-up says no. Honestly, relatable. And then she does what I also would have done: panic, ramble about why she kissed him, apologize approximately seventeen times and run away. Perfect execution. No complaints. At least from the perspective of a person with anxiety.

After the weekend, Olive tries her very best to forget the kiss with Carlsen and hopes she’ll somehow make it through the rest of her time at Stanford without ever seeing him again. Luckily, she gets distracted by a mail. It’s from Professor Tom Benton. Olive had written to him to tell him about her research project in hopes of being able to work in his lab next year. And Benton is interested in having chat with her to learn more about it. Feeling newly motivated, Olive goes to the break room for a coffee where she meets Anh. Anh has questions. And I get that. If my bestie were kissing the campus nightmare I’d also want to check if she lost her sanity and what the hell is going on. Olive desperately wants Anh to believe her though. Now, some of you may wonder why. So, I’m gonna go into some quick background information:

Olive briefly dated Jeremy, who has secretly been in love with Anh all along. The problem? Anh refuses to date her best friend’s ex, even though Olive couldn’t care less. So, to convince Anh that she’s completely over Jeremy, Olive invents a fake date. Which would have worked brilliantly… had Anh not caught her alone in the lab instead. Cue the panic kiss.

Anyways. Olive quickly starts tying herself into knots trying to explain the situation, and Anh seems to get suspicious. That is until suddenly Adam Carlsen enters the break room and steps up to help Olive. He immediately steps behind her, places his hand on her lower back and asks her if she’s okay. In a tone, that suggests they are very familiar and somewhat intimate. (Honestly, we’re not even at the official fake dating part yet and I’m already giggling over Adam. This man has barely done anything and I’m already gone.) This somehow seems to convince Anh who is shook and leaves. Olive and Adam are left alone and chat for a bit. And I just love the humor between the two of them. Their banter just makes me smile so effortlessly. But sadly, Olive soon leaves.

Meanwhile Anh fell for Olive’s and Adam’s pretense and the rumor mill starts going. Soon almost the whole campus believes that Olive is dating professor Carlsen. When Olive gets wind of that she starts to panic and goes straight to Carlsen’s office to talk to him about it. He is surprisingly calm about this. And then he offers to be her fake boyfriend. And I love it! Especially that he comes up with the idea. I also love his humor. Honestly, I’d completely forgotten just how deadpan he is. Unfortunately, this is exactly my kind of humor and so I’m really not that surprised that this book just keeps me smiling. I mean, Adam deliberately messing with Olive when she thinks he must be in a relationship and just flat-out saying that his wife and twins won’t mind the ruse. Tell me that’s not hilarious. And so, Adam convinces Olive to play along. I repeat, Adam convinces Olive. Come on Bookdragons. This absolutely screams “He falls first”. Even if this is your first time reading the book. And I am so here for it.  

Olive, however, is not immediately on board and asks for a few days to think it over. Obviously, in the end she agrees to Adam’s suggestion. She lays down some ground rules first, though. As it is basic fake-romance protocol. And I just love how Olive throws that in herself saying that she is familiar with the trope. Adam has no clue what that means. Which to me was hilarious. I love that this joke works in the book and also serves as a cute wink at us readers. Anyway. They agree to Olive’s set of ground rules and officially start fake-dating. Bookdragons, I was squealing at this point. I was so ready for the fake dating to begin.

But whilst I am all in for the fake relationship to kick off some of Olive’s friends are not exactly thrilled about her new “boyfriend”. And with that I mostly mean Malcolm – Olive’s roommate. He is not a fan of Adam Carlsen, because he was on his committee and once made Malcolm redo a big part of his studies, setting him back by months. So in an attempt to get back into his good graces (and because she needs someone to confide in) Olive tells Malcolm that the relationship is fake and that she is only doing this for Anh’s sake.

Now some of you Bookdragons, much like Malcolm, may wonder what Adam’s motive is in all of this. Well, seasoned readers, we will take a step back here and take a deep breath. For first-time readers: Some of Adam’s funds have been frozen by the university, because they fear that Adam will leave. Being in a committed relationship will prove to the committee that Adam has no intention of leaving and this will unfreeze his funds. So it’s a win-win for both of them.

And with that we go straight into fake-dating Wednesday. This is the day they agreed to meet for coffee and keep up the ruse. Meeting point: The campus Starbucks. Duh. After all people need to see them. With fake-dating Wednesdays we learn that Olive has an obsession with sugary drinks that Adam believes don’t qualify as coffee. Like Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos or one day something called a unicorn Frappuccino. And though Adam crinkles his nose over these drinks he always pays for her, saying that he earns more than she does. And while I firmly believe in financial independence and absolutely don’t subscribe to the whole “the man has to pay” nonsense, there’s just something about Adam buying Olive those ridiculously sugary drinks—even though he clearly thinks they’re an insult to coffee—that melts my heart. Yes, yes. Even I occasionally fall victim to double standards.

Over the following Wednesdays the two of them get to know each other a little better. And on the second fake date there’s also one massive coincidence. Bookdragons, do you remember that Olive applied to work in Tom Bentons lab in Harvard the next year? Well, it turns out that Tom Benton and Adam Carlson are friends. How small the world is. And with Benton running into the two of them he suggests to Olive that she can just pitch him her research on the spot. And Olive – much like I would have been – is overwhelmed with this pop-up interview and Tom asking what is ‘cool’ about her research. Very science. I know. Luckily Adam is there. And he manages to calm Olive down. He gently nudges her knee with his own and asks her some actual science questions helping her gather her thoughts. Dreamy. This is also the first time that Olive thinks that Adam reminds her of The Guy. Make of that what you want. So, Olive actually does a good job of spontaneously pitching her research. But then Tom Benton pulls a dick move. He asks her if she is researching about pancreatic cancer because of someone close to her. Olive clearly doesn’t want to talk about it but still tells him that her mother had it. And the fucking dude has the nerve to ask whether she died and how old Olive had been. What the hell. Props to Adam for immediately standing up for Olive. For all my Bookdragons who spend way too much time on social media: please insert Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes” here. Because that was exactly what started playing in my head the second Adam hit Tom with “Stop harassing my girlfriend.”

But putting my growing Adam obsession aside for a moment, Olive now has to write Tom a report on the progress she’s made with her research so far and based on that he will make a decision. Good for Olive. So now Olive obviously has a lot of work to do. But fear not of course the book still finds plenty of opportunities for the fake dating to continue. One of them being a talk that Tom gives at Stanford. The room is packed to the brim. Adam plus some other professors are also attending. Anh and Olive somehow manage to end up next to Adam. And since Anh thinks they are dating she asks Olive to do her a solid and sit on Adams lap, so that she has a bit more space. Oh yeah. I am so smirking right now. Is Olive uncomfortable at first? Sure. But Adam agrees and that is all that matters in the end. Because lo and behold. Olive starts to feel super comfy and she gradually melts into him. This makes me so happy.

And after the talk we are blessed with the next fantastic fake-dating moment. Due to the large crowd attending the talk there is also a long line of cars trying to leave. And one of them breaks down. And Adam fucking Carlsen just rolls up his sleeves and pushes the car aside. And once again I am smiling like an idiot. And once again Anh – unbeknownst to herself – plays matchmaker for our fake couple. Because she tells Olive that after this impressive stunt her man deserves a kiss. And so Adam and Olive share their second kiss. Argh. I’m screaming. This is too good. Yes, I know it’s barely more than a peck, but it’s still too perfect. What would we have done without Anh. Best wingwoman. Completely without realizing it, of course.

And Anh really does step up. Though she is super unaware. Because just a few days later she once again is the reason for another smirking moment. It’s the faculty picnic. Olive and her friends are attending. So are the professors. Some of them started a game of Frisbee. And since it is a very hot day most of the men playing took off their shirts. Guess who’s one of them. Oh yes – Adam Carlsen. And he is shredded! Gosh, I wish I were as lucky as Olive. Stumbling across a super hot dude, who has amazing character and offers to play my fake boyfriend. I’d also accept real boyfriend. But you know, semantics. Anyway. Olive and her friends proceed to apply sunscreen, because Anh is afraid, they’ll all get skin cancer. And I’m right there with her. Never miss out on your sunscreen Bookdragons! You’ll only regret it once it’s too late. And Anh just proves that point, when she remembers that people with freckles are more likely to get sunburned. And since Olive has freckles she dumps a large amount of sunscreen into her hand, demanding to apply it. But the amount is far too much and when Olive asks what she should do with the rest, Anh simply calls over professor Carlsen. Because since he is Olive’s boyfriend, she can simply use the rest of the sunscreen to put it on Adam. Honestly, Anh deserves an MVP award for this.

Once Olive is done applying the sunscreen Tom turns up and ruins the moment. He asks Olive if she can send him the report sooner, since he and Adam made great progress on their own project and will be leaving for a week at Harvard in a couple of days. Since Olive really wants the place in his lab she agrees, though the earlier date means that she will have to pull all-nighters.

During one of those all-nighters Olive goes to the restroom to get a bag of chips. Only to find that the last bag has already been taken. When Olive looks at the twix and whispers that she wishes it were the bag of chips instead she hears a voice from the dark, offering her the chips. Turns out the thief was Adam. So Olive joins him on the sofa, eats the chips and the two of them get into some deep talk. Olive tells him about her mother and how she got into foster care. Which is something she never really talks about. And she actually cries a bit during this conversation. And Adam just listens, offering her a tissue and tells her that it is okay to talk about it. Honestly, can this man get any better? And also, how low is the bar these days? They get into lighter conversation after that and Olive proceeds to ask if this fake relationship is really better for Adam than just getting a real girlfriend. And just when Adam looks at her like he’s finally about to say something important they are interrupted.  Fucking Jeremy (Olive’s ex who is now dating Anh. At least the fake dating worked out on that front). But the moment is broken and they both get back to work.

Olive manages to get the report ready on time. Tom invites her over to Adam’s to talk about it and Olive actually gets the spot at his lab. Atta girl. We love it when hard work pays off and it gets recognized. Adam offers to drive Olive back to campus. And with that we get another really cute scene named Fluchella. It is the annual flu shot day at campus and Olive tells Adam to go with her. And would you look at that? Adam is afraid of needles. And Olive handles this with exactly the right level of respect and humor. But in the end, she still gets him to get the shot with her.

After that the two of them start texting and Olive catches herself smiling at her phone like an idiot (much like me reading the book) and this is when she realizes that she has got it bad for Adam. Finally! How could you not? This man is perfect! Anyways. She texts Malcolm and asks for an emergency meeting. They meet at the campus Starbucks and she tells him that she has caught feelings. But what would a romance book be without a bit of drama. Let’s see how good your memories are, Bookdragons. Where do Adam and Olive meet for fake-dating Wednesday? And now guess what day it is, when Olive tells Malcolm about her feelings. Exactly. So naturally Adam overhears the conversation. And now we get to something that I am not a huge fan of. Miscommunication. Instead of being honest Olive panics and tells Adam that she wasn’t talking about him. Adam believes that and thinks that she still has feelings for Jeremy. He even offers to end the fake dating. Obviously Olive doesn’t want that. She tells him to keep the ruse up. But before she can tell him why they are interrupted by Dr. Rodrigues. He also works at the university and just so happens to be Adam’s childhood best friend. So naturally the three of them get into a conversation. Olive learns that Dr. Rodrigues (first name Holden, to which I will refer from now on) is not a fan of Tom Benton though she doesn’t get to know why. They talk a bit more but then they have to part ways and Adam leaves for Boston.

Whilst Adam is out of town, Olive realizes just how much she has gotten used to having him around and how much she misses him. Adam, meanwhile, seems to be thinking about her just as much. He keeps texting her and even sends her a picture of a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, saying he wishes she were there. Honestly, this melts my heart. And once again, it also reminds me just how low the bar really is. Olive also runs into Holden and he tells her that he is so happy that Adam asked her out. Because Adam has been taking about ‘this amazing girl’ for years. This leads Olive to believe that Adam is secretly in love with another woman. Honestly Bookdragons, how do none of these people see sense? And how do people like the trope ‘miscommunication’ so much? I personally can’t stand it. But whatever. Olive gets distracted when she gets an email that her abstract got accepted as a presentation for the upcoming conference. Olive is less than thrilled. Public speaking is basically one of her worst nightmares, but backing out isn’t really an option anymore. Malcolm and Anh help her calm down but they also drop some other news on her. Originally they all planned to share a room for a conference. Well not anymore. Anh stays with Jeremy and Malcolm stays with some other friends. Why, you may ask yourselves? Well Anh thought that Olive will share a room with Adam, since they are a couple. Anh, Anh, Anh, obliviously doing the Lord’s work.

Because of course once Adam is back from Boston and hears about this he offers to actually share the room with Olive. Yes! This can only be good. He also helps Olive to prepare for her presentation and promises to be in the audience. So, what can go wrong?

Exactly, a lot. Well good news first. Sharing a room is not a problem, so there’s that. But whilst at the conference Olive and Adam figure out that he in fact won’t be able to attend her presentation since he is the keynote speaker and has a presentation at the same time. Olive says it’s fine since she’ll record her presentation anyway, he can listen to it afterwards. The presentation itself also goes well for Olive, which makes me really happy. And Tom Benton also is there and listens to it since they are on the same panel. But here Bookdragons, is where things go downhill. Because after her talk, when the audience is gone Tom stays to talk to Olive. And then he shows his true face. He is an absolute asshole! He starts to degrade and sexually harass Olive, making it very clear that he only accepted her in his lab because he’s expecting her to fuck him. This made me rage so bad. I wish I were in the room with Olive to smack this man into another universe. Sadly I wasn’t. I am glad though that Olive had enough strength in her to block his advances and even tell Tom that she will tell Adam about this. Sadly though, he tells her to go ahead and questions her whether he will believe her or his close friend. He also threatens to steal Olive’s research. And I can’t stress enough how utterly disgusted I am by this man!

Olive grabs her things and practically runs back to her hotel room, where everything finally catches up with her and she breaks down crying. And that’s exactly how Adam finds her. And Bookdragons, when he sees her, his eyes go dark and he simply asks, “What happened?”. Oh yeah, I am squeaking/screaming again. I know the situation is serious, but I just love when that happens in a book. But of course Adam then rushes to her and tries to wipe her tears away. And when Olive at first doesn’t want to speak about it he does something amazing. He makes her laugh. Gosh, my heart. How are fictional men so amazing? Of course he circles back and tries to figure out what went wrong. And Olive actually tells him. Well… almost. She admits to being called a bad scientist and that people think she only got the presentation because of Adam. She just doesn’t tell him, that Tom said those things. But I’ll take it for now. Adam encourages her to file a complaint, but he also doesn’t push her, when she says she doesn’t want to.

And once Olive calmed down, he tries to distract her and takes her out for dinner. And he doesn’t bring it up again, simply accepting her boundary and the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Prime example of perfect behavior. People out there, take note.

Once they are back at the hotel Olive’s mood has improved massively. And Bookdragons, it’s finally time. We get spice. And my oh my, was the spice amazing. I won’t go into too much detail, because I think this is something to just enjoy. I will only say, that it’s one of my favorite spicy scenes in romance. Not because it is particularly wild or kinky. But it is just so beautifully executed, the right amount of steamy and toe-curling and just overall so great that it is just easy to re-read it over and over again and enjoy it every time. Ali Hazelwood – amazing work, no complaints!

The next day Olive wakes up alone, since Adam is already off to do work for the conference. She meets Anh and Malcolm and they tell her that Malcolm has slept with Holden and the two of them are now going on a date. Later on in the day Olive does something though, that breaks my heart. She ends things with Adam. She did enjoy their night together, but she still believes that he is in love with another woman. And since she does not want to stand in their way she ends their fake dating agreement. Adam the fool just accepts this. Honestly, I was hoping for a bit more fight here. But it’s all right the book is still great without it.

Olive spends the next day in her room. After some hours of rightful despair, she starts to focus on work and prepares a mail for her professor, asking her to introduce her to other labs for the coming year and sending her the recording of her presentation. Whilst she is about to do this, Anh and Malcolm show up. And when Olive is skipping through the recording, she accidentally jumps straight to the part of the recording, where Tom starts to degrade and harass her. Naturally Malcolm and Anh are shocked when they hear it and Olive once again starts crying. But this time her friends are there to support her and talk reason. Throughout this conversation Olive also finally tells Anh that she has been fake dating Adam. In an attempt to figure out what to do now Malcolm suggests that Olive should talk to Holden about it, since he knows Adam best. And so she does.

She does not tell Holden what happened but based on his reaction, he has a picture. He also tells her that he never liked Tom because he assumes that he has been manipulating Adam’s work during university but could never prove it. And I just have to point out that I loved how Holden behaved throughout their conversation. He never pressured Olive into telling him what happened, nor did he make a decision for her whether she should tell Adam. Instead, he gave her the right tools to make that decision herself. One of those was to point out how much Adam cares about Olive.

And so Olive makes the brave decision to go ahead and tell Adam. She even goes so far as to interrupt an interview he has with the Harvard committee (because he’s considering transferring there, since he thinks that Olive will be there next year). When Adam sees her at the restaurant, he immediately drops everything, goes to her and asks if she’s okay. Tom interrupts them though. But Olive – and I am so proud of her for doing that – starts playing the recording. And Adam fucking explodes! Oh yeah. Hell I am here for it. Not only does Adam explode he also casually drops the l-bomb! Bookdragons, it is happening! And of course I will share this fucking fantastic quote with you: “’I’m going to kill you’, he gritted out, little more than a growl. ‘If you say another word about the woman I love, if you look at her, if you even think about her – I’m going to fucking kill you.’” God, is anyone else hot right now? I certainly am. Adam Carlsen, why don’t you exist in real life?

Anyhow. Adam promises to take care of this and then take care of Olive (hot once more). And so he does. Tom gets fired. Serves him right. Once back in Stanford he and Olive go on a double date with Malcolm and Holden and after the date the two of them finally talk about what has happened. Olive also admits that she pieced together that Adam was The Guy from the bathroom. And I am very happy to report that the book ends with Olive saying the magic words: “Ik hou van jou, Adam”. If you haven’t read the book, do your homework and figure this one out. If you have, you know why my heart melts.

We also get an epilogue set ten months later, with Adam and Olive officially being a couple as they recreate their very first kiss. And that is that my fellow Bookdragons.

Now, this was a very easy five star read for me. I knew it whilst reading it for the first time and re-reading it only proved it. There are so many cute moments that made me smile, giggle or whisper “he remembered” with adoration that I just couldn’t help but mark this as one of my all-time favorite romance books. And I am thrilled about the movie adaptation coming up. And I pray they don’t fuck it up. But if they do it right, I’m pretty sure I’ll have a new feel-good movie.

This wasn’t just another fake dating romance. It reminded me why this trope became one of my favorites in the first place. Because beneath all the banter, the hilarious misunderstandings and the chemistry, it’s really a story about feeling safe with someone. About finding a person who sees you, believes in you and quietly stands by your side. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of romance I’ll never get tired of reading.

So if you like romcoms and easy reads, this book is definitely for you! And if you read it and didn’t know already, there are two bonus chapters out of Adam’s POV. I can recommend them. So, let me know if you are as obsessed as I am and if we can form an anti-Tom alliance. Looking forward to your comments, Bookdragons!