Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - the Love Hypothesis

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

28 reviews

meggs1005's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Where to begin with this book? I bought The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood sort of on a whim after hearing just about every romance reader I follow fawn over it and seeing a tiktok video about how the main character is demisexual. That right there had me sold because I rarely see acespec characters in mainstream romance books. Shortly after that I learned the story originally started as a Reylo fanfic and that had me even more interested. Now, don’t misunderstand; I was never a Reylo shipper. I was firmly in the camp that Rey and Ben Solo were separated siblings like Luke and Leia and that’s why they had such a strong connection. I was wrong, but a girl can dream, right?

I devoured this book in less than 3 days. I think I started it after midnight on January 2nd, read a few chapters, went to sleep, woke up, read all day, stayed up ‘til 4:30 am on January 3rd, read even more, and then finished it around 4 pm on January 4th. I could not put this book down. It’s been a good while since that has happened and I’m glad I’m starting the year off strong. The banter in this book is frankly TOP TIER. (Yes, the all-caps is necessary.) It had me smiling from ear to ear, grinning like a doofus, laughing out loud, and biting my lip to try to contain my joy. The fluff factor is spectacular. TLH combines my favorite things: fake-dating, grumpy-meets-sunshine, and forced proximity. I’m not always fond of an age-gap romance, but this was done in a way that it wasn’t predatory or creepy in my opinion. It does have a professor/student relationship, but Olive isn’t Adam’s student and they made sure their fake relationship wasn’t going to be breaking any Stanford ethics guidelines.

Throughout the book we see Olive talk about how she’s doesn’t experience sexual attraction unless it’s with someone she knew and trusted deeply and that was something she had only recently figured out. This was the first time I had ever seen a demisexual character talked about in such a way that wasn’t a big deal. There’s a bit of acephobia from Olive’s best friend Anh a bit later in the book, which, as an ace person myself I know all too well. We don’t get Adam’s point of view at any point during the book (which is a total shame), but from the way he talks/acts, and what we learn from his childhood best friend Holden, it seems that Adam may also be demi. Which, total win for me and my ace ass. I loved seeing bits of myself represented in a character in a romance book because I’m so very often not the target demographic as a sex-repulsed ace.

The writing style had me hooked from the very beginning. It was easy to follow and the story felt natural. You can tell that the author is a science academic herself and that she really knows what she’s talking about. My only complaint is about some of the word/descriptor choices during the sex bits, but that’s generally my complaint with all romance books so far.

I absolutely love how Adam begrudges Olive her choices in coffee-like beverages and food. You can tell that he’s really besotted with her, even from early on in the book. The way that he lovingly calls her a smart-ass and how she calls him an old man (34 really isn’t that old). I loved everything about it.

I would rank this pretty low on the spice factor, though chapters 16 and 17 were definitely steamy. One thing I will say that sets this apart from the other handful of romances I’ve read is Adam made sure he had Olive’s enthusiastic consent every step of the way. There was even a point where he said something along the lines of “I know you said yes before, but you can absolutely change your mind at any point in this process.” I really vibed with that. At one point he could tell that Olive was really not having a great time with what he was doing, so instead of forcing things he changed course to get her more relaxed. I really don’t see that often; especially when one of the people involved was so inexperienced like Olive was. That made me love Hazelwood and her writing even more. Making me wish I had my own Adam Carlsen in my life. (Don’t get me wrong, my partner is fabulous. But sometimes you just want to be the main character in a romance novel falling for the tall, dark, and brooding love interest who is definitely modeled after Adam Driver/Kylo Ren.)

I cannot sing my praises about this book enough. I absolutely adore it and already want to give it a reread. That really says a lot.

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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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kayladaila's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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allylig's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I thought this book was fine… it had a lot of elements that I enjoyed, and one that I really didn’t.

Some things I enjoyed were how Olives sexuality was described and expressed. I think it would be nice if it was explicitly stated that she was ace/aro-spec, but her relationship to sex and sexuality was incredibly relatable. I also enjoyed the secondary characters and how they played into the main relationship and helped them.

I’m never a huge fan of teacher/student relationships, even if their professional/educational relationships isn’t direct, but I think it was done pretty well and I think the author allows for some knowledge that this isn’t what the “norm” should be, despite having 2 relationships end this way by the end of the book.

ALSO: this is so dumb but about halfway through I realized that I was going to be bored after Olive and Adam hooked up, and I was. That wasn’t great.

The premise was pretty good, and I think that the relationship was fine. I do think it was quite predictable, but it is a romance novel.

Overall, I thought this book was just ok to me, but it was a nice, quick read.

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valeria_gzz's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5 STARS. I LOVED IT, like I said this book made me so giggly and made me scream from how cute it was and just AAAAHHH. I love it and I want to reread it ASAP.

This had one of my favorite tropes (not fake dating), where the lead has always liked the main character but they finally have a chance to do something about it. AH it’s SO CUTE.

Adam said some stuff that I thought his character wouldn’t really say during the sex scene but it was just like 2 or 3 sentences so I’ll let it slide. HOT DAMN THOUGH I didn’t know reading about putting sunscreen on someone could be so hot 🥵

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cordeliadarkles's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

One of my top five romances of the year.

I hadn't read a book with characters in STEM and I was definitely missing out.

Olive was such a brilliant, selfless, and kind protagonist. I loved her from page one and on. Her narration is the icing on the cake for me. She is funny, cheeky, and sunshine all year long. Her dedication to her job, and love for science is admirable.

Adam is our very brooding (yet caring,) very expressionless love interest with a very black wardrobe. At first, I enjoyed him a fair amount, but as I learned more about him, those feelings were enhanced. Much like Olive, I admired his love for science.

This book was quite addictive and light to read. I loved the balance between romance and Olive's journey as a woman in STEM. I can't wait to see what else Ali Hazelwood has in store for us!

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llamita's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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