Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Love Hypothesis

Fabulous, show-stopping, never-been-done-before (by that I mean done at least a million times but not in this way). I love a good man-pines-over-a-girl-who-has-no-idea-the-depth-of-his-feelings-for-her moment. Grumpy × sunshine. All the fun things.

Also, also, women in STEM. What a novel concept (not really, but its nice to see it in the romance genre, or ANY genre, but I digress).

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ellie_girl2929's review

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challenging emotional funny informative slow-paced

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

5.0

Probably the best book I’ve ever read most def recommend. One of my top three books I’ve read so far. Very detailed book and when I finished reading I immediately wanted to reread the book.

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cecilie26's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5

It’s a really nerdy(in the good kind of way) and totally loveable. If you want a sweet but kind enemies to Lovers Vibe but not quite enemies either, but something in between? This is the book. It has the sunny and broody romance.

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stardustdreamer's review

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funny lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

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chainsiren's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

5.0

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wackzo's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

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annick's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Third read in two months. It’s so cute and spicey and romantic. And the 2022 bonus chapter is spicey. (Adams POV of ch16)

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mx_sunshine's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

My opinions:

Adam and Olive are white. As the romantic leads, they are naturally the focus of this book. But they were also the only characters to be developed.
The diverse characters (BIPOC and LGBTQI+) were side characters and were developed as needed by the plot.
There was a strange amount of emphasis on Adam wearing a Henley. I feel like he’s got a cartoon character closet of endless Henley shirts.
I found it a bit weird that a comment from a stranger shaped a major life decision but I guess that happens.
I dislike the names Holden, Malcolm, and Jeremy. It felt like names were picked from a baby name shortlist rather than chosen to fit the character.
I’m very opinionated but I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and I loved the story. As unrealistic as it all was, I loved the reasons the characters stared fake-dating. It felt unique for the trope.
I love their relationship, I love how they cheered each other up.
I love how Olive described Adam’s presence. It was so comforting to read and it was sweet how that developed.
The dialogue is so good!! This book made me laugh so many times. Olive is really funny.
Speaking of natural dialogue, Tom’s rant was not it. It felt like an amalgamation of one-liners. And it didn’t make sense for his smart and cunning character to give up so much of himself in that moment.
Also the “3 points” Holden reveals in answer to Olive’s question felt a bit forced. It was the longest conversation they’d had and it was just the perfect amount of information to further the plot.</ spoiler>
I liked how the absurdity of situations were balanced by discussing the tropes as they were portrayed. It showed that this story did not need to be taken seriously.
But I loved how the book did take itself seriously at important moments such as the consequences to harassment.
I loved the environment. It was really fun to read about a romance in academia and I felt like a learned a lot about that world.
I loved how Adam was consistently kind to Olive. It made me realise that I prefer the friends to lovers trope rather than enemies to lovers.
I loved how Adam always checked in with Olive. But I feel like it was a bit one sided as she rarely asked if he was okay. I did appreciate how they both valued consent.
I liked how they consistently communicated throughout sex. It was really nice to read about them checking in with each other and emphasising that it is okay to change your mind. In saying that, I hated how Adam brought Olive’s hand to his crotch to feel his erection. I felt like that was kind of gross. And it was weird how he kept rubbing himself while asking for consent… like I get the author is trying to point out consent isn’t “unsexy” and doesnt “kill the mood” but there’s gotta be a better way to handle that. It honestly read as if he was getting off on her uncertainty.</ spoiler>

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