Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Love Hypothesis

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

480 reviews

chelseasofia's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

Ok, on the one hand this book was fun, had great STEM and science rep (which I know zero about but was delighted by the specificity of it all - it’s refreshing to see characters so knowledgeable in their field of work), and I really liked the characters and their growing relationship. They really *cared* for each other and were thoughtful about each other’s feelings and boundaries. It was fairly well written (not a ton of weird overly explanatory anxiety ridden character thoughts, only a few sprinkled hither and thither) and it did not feel like a chore to read (high bar I know).

On the other hand, I am tired of a few things that are still very popular in romance: the tall guy/short girl thing, likewise the repeated wonderment about how BIG he is (ok, I get it, a couple mentions would have been enough though), and the fact that two very intelligent people can’t make the logical conclusion to not pile on lie after lie, or that sacrificing yourself for the imagined happiness of someone else by continuing those lies is somehow “real love”, please. Also the miscommunications that don’t really make sense. Also the *ridiculous* ways that they’re forced to get closer in public (via Olive’s friend pressuring her) was just kinda dumb/not fully developed. I love tropes but let’s try and inject a little reality?

I did have to keep reminding myself that these people are in their 20s and not experienced at relationships, being honest with others about their feelings, or even with themselves. I know I didn’t tell someone I loved them when I was that age, so I guess I’m just over some of this stuff because I’ve read it a lot, and I’m old (sarcasm).

I did like Olive but I wished she didn’t have to be so unsure and tentative for so much of the book. And (spoilers?) when a big awful thing happens I wanted to scream at the way she was just going to push it down and try to continue as if nothing had happened. I guess that just means that I cared for the characters. But also, the big awful thing was really over the top, done by a capital-V Villain and it came completely out of nowhere. People who are abusers and manipulative don’t really go this hard this fast, do they? I wanted it to be a little more nuanced. But then again, maybe people are really this brazen and awful in academia. It did make for a great conclusion of the story later on.

The thing I liked most was them slowly becoming friends and coming to really care for each other in such a lovely way. And it all led to the one sex scene which was both tender and hot, with lots of good communication, plus the demisexual rep. Worth it. 🔥🔥🔥

Content Warnings

alliekc1010's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted 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

4.25

i will always love reylo

Content Warnings

microbemom's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful informative reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

jenmaysiereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

2 out of 5 stars

‘The Love Hypothesis’ isn’t the worst book I’ve read courtesy of booktok, but it isn’t the best.

Hazelwood’s debut follows third-year Ph.D candidate Olive Smith, whose disbelief in lasting romantic relationships gets her in hot water when she panic-kisses a young hotshot professor in a bid to convince her best friend she is over her ex.

The professor in question is Adam Carlsen, well-known at their university for his bad attitude and rigorous scientific dedication. To her utmost surprise, Adam offers Olive an opportunity — to help keep Olive’s charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend in exchange for helping him convince their department he’s here to stay. But when a scientific conference gone wrong draws them closer together, Olive’s carefully calculated theories on love are thrown into chaos and she begins to wonder if her hypothesis on love may need to be put under the microscope.

As former fanfiction writer myself, I have to respect Hazelwood’s game for getting her Star Wars fanfic published and having it become a New York Times Bestseller. Despite the initial struggle of having to seperate this story from the ship it’s inspired by (as I am a Reylo hater), I still kinda ate this book up.

The writing style of this is very readable. The prose isn’t flowery nor particularly lush, but it also feels decently edited in a way that many rom-coms of late have been lacking. It’s highly digestible and made for a really quick, fun read which is exactly what I was after.

There are for sure some cringe moments — I’m pretty sure the description of Adam fitting Olive’s entire breast in his mouth (yes, the entire thing) mid sex-scene almost made me catatonic. Likewise, the scene in which Olive had to sit in Adam’s lap in a crowded lecture hall made me physically recoil given the characters were in a professional work setting. But it’s fun regardless of these moments.

The trope of ‘grumpy-sunshine’ rarely works for me unless it’s subverted in an interesting way, so the odds were stacked against ‘The Love Hypothesis’ from the beginning.

Likewise, as much as I am self-described slut for the ‘fake dating’ dynamic, contemporary romance books often seem to miss the mark with it more and more. In ‘The Love Hypothesis’ it felt like a contrived and immature method of getting the two main characters in close proximity — Olive’s excuse of needing to fake date Adam purely so her friend will date the guy she likes, is flimsy at best and annoying at worst. A lack of communication between characters is my pet peeve in books like these, particularly when it feels as immature and pointless as it does here.

Similarly, ‘fake dating’ is at its best — in my opinion — when nobody beyond the two main characters knows it’s fake. This dynamic raises the stakes of the fake relationship, causes a tension and a trust to build between the two protagonists that feels palpable. Personally, I find ‘fake dating’ in rom-coms to not really work as well as it ought too.

The cause of my lower rating stems from, what I feel, is the unnecessary inclusion of a sexual assault plot point. Personally, I’m not entirely sure why books purported as rom-coms insist on including scenes of sexual assault/harassment that are never properly addressed. While ‘The Love Hypothesis’ is not as bad as other books that share this feature, I still came away from the novel wondering why that sequence was necessary.

Sexual assault is hard to write about and have conversations about in general, but even more so when the book is attempting to be a feel-good, lighthearted romance and keeping everything surface level. It really does a disservice to such an important topic. If you’re going to include healing from sexual abuse trauma in a romance novel, it should not be used as a plot point to drive forward a contrived conflict.

As such, I feel I cannot give this book a higher rating — even though I did mostly enjoy my time reading it.

On a more personal note, this book also makes mention of a mother passing away of cancer which is something due to my personal circumstance I’m rather sensitive about. Prior to coming across it in the book, I’d never heard mention of this facet of the story so coming across it organically without anticipating it was rather an unpleasant surprise. However, this is mostly a me thing and I don’t begrudge the book for the inclusion this but I’d be remiss to think that didn’t put a damper on my enjoyment.

All this to say, while ‘The Love Hypothesis’ was not a smash hit for me; I definitely can see the appeal and it’s one of the stronger ‘booktok romances’ that I’ve tried.

Hazelwood is an author who I’m certain I will be revisiting.

This one just didn’t go the distance for me.

Content Warnings

shlymiller's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

I just couldn’t get past the premise of this book and the few scenes that absolutely were not okay conduct between a professor/student.

This book explores themes of sexual abuse, academic pressure, women in STEM, and the demisexual experience in a good way, but there were just parts of the story that felt gross and I couldn’t get past.

Definitely a romance, definitely fanfic-ish.

Content Warnings

petite_madeline's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

All of Ali Hazelwood's books are a must-read for me! I always devour her stories and have a great time, so this book was no exception!

You'll love this book if you love:

STEMinist romance
Grumpy, broody MMC with "you hurt her, you die" energy
Fake dating

There is definitely a noticeable formula to Hazelwood's books: A bubbly and witty woman in academia is placed in forced proximity with a colleague who she initially hates then learns to love. Then cue a second man who she trusted but turns out to be a vile despicable person to turn her life upside down. But, of course, things turn out great in the end.
I love it! Sometimes, it's comfortable to read a book and know where it's going without knowing where it's going at the same time. And, as they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it!
I wonder if, perhaps, my affinity for Hazelwood's books come from the fact that I initially started really getting into romance through fanfiction. There's something familiar, cozy, and nostalgic about that fanfic feel that just hits right for me.

Content Warnings