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A review by sientobrie
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I did enjoy this book, it was one of those where you stay up all night just to finish it. The plot flows pretty smoothly, the inital slow burn aspect leads into a more drastic plot point that Olive has to overcome, though there isn't much content after these events occur. Once resolved, the plot just kind of dissipates, we don't hear too much about the main characters other than a nice little epilogue. It made me a little sad to leave them so soon! The characters are lovable, abiet mostly cliche, and it did feel like Olive was a self-insert. However that isn't rare in the romance genre!
On the other hand, this book delt with things strangely. Olive was portrayed as a woman who knew what she wanted and would do anything to get it. Yet, by the end of the book, she found herself relying fully on a man. The themes of female empowerment sprinkled throughout are worthless when all her problems are resolved by her love interest. It felt quite weird to me. Don't get me wrong, she had moments of a brave, hardened warrior, but she wasn't consistent throughout.
Something I absolutely loved about this book was the postgrad academic setting. Laboratories are so neglected in any fiction, nevermind in romance! It was a lovely change of pace.
Overall, this book was enjoyable when not taken too seriously. It was written to be mostly light hearted, whimsy and silly (in a good way!) and it did have my head in my hands and my feet kicking in joy (sorry). I just wouldn't take the themes too close to heart, and I would probably reccomend you look for any fanfiction about the characters if you would like any post-gettogether fluff!
P.S. there is a sex scene. It's very detailed, but skippable.
On the other hand, this book delt with things strangely. Olive was portrayed as a woman who knew what she wanted and would do anything to get it. Yet, by the end of the book, she found herself relying fully on a man. The themes of female empowerment sprinkled throughout are worthless when all her problems are resolved by her love interest. It felt quite weird to me. Don't get me wrong, she had moments of a brave, hardened warrior, but she wasn't consistent throughout.
Something I absolutely loved about this book was the postgrad academic setting. Laboratories are so neglected in any fiction, nevermind in romance! It was a lovely change of pace.
Overall, this book was enjoyable when not taken too seriously. It was written to be mostly light hearted, whimsy and silly (in a good way!) and it did have my head in my hands and my feet kicking in joy (sorry). I just wouldn't take the themes too close to heart, and I would probably reccomend you look for any fanfiction about the characters if you would like any post-gettogether fluff!
P.S. there is a sex scene. It's very detailed, but skippable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual harassment