Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Love Hypothesis

Quick little read with nothing really objectionable. I would have liked more interactions between the two main characters but what we did get was cute.

Content Warnings

al_exposition's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

spotify link for a playlist of songs that fit olive and adam <3: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5oekY5WK7fmgFJm8mK9fDt?si=Y8aRX-PJRoeiKLZhKxbfIw&pi=u-Wf7Tx9enTfmu

disclaimer: i'm just a girl!

wow... i genuinely loved this book so much more than i thought i would. to be so real, i went in with low expectations because of all the tiktok hype, but i'm so glad that i read it.

plot points and my opinions:

your why

the fact that we open up with olive talking to ~mystery man~ about her why for wanting to go to graduate school?? that was toooo good imo. i think it hits extra hard for me because i literally am in graduate school, and because a lot of my internal monologue when thinking about what to do for my future has just been "well why do i want to do this??" and it's genuinely a tough question to answer. for me, im in grad school because i need to be in order to get a job. but i've also asked myself this question in relation to other things as well, so that personal connection immediately got me hooked.

their banter + plot progression

if there's smth i love between main leads, it's their mf BANTER! the little inside jokes they have and the way their communication gradually became more friendly and fun felt so natural and not rushed
speaking of pacing, i LOVE that we dived into the plot asap. i m tired of 100 pages of context like - we got so much of olive and adam's characterization in the first 20 pages, but then also throughout the book. again- the pacing was so good where we got information about each character in an organic and need-to-know-basis kind of way (the ending was a littleeee rushed imo but that's fine)
lord how i love that they communicated when they had their first disagreement

[that thing]

tom. woof this was tough. on one hand, i appreciated it being there because it's a horrendous reality that when trying to advance your career as a woman, there are men who will use their power to coerce and force you into giving them sexual favors. but on the other hand it's like - did i miss a tw? i feel like i missed a tw because no way they the author dropped in sexual harassment sans-tw.
- aspects about this plot point that i genuinely liked:
  honestly tom's monologue about how people wouldn't believe her and that her accomplishments were only because of adam...? that HURT to read but it was so well written like even EYE got gaslit.
  - the depiction of olive's turmoil about it. being scared that nobody would believe her, that it would ruin adam's future, and most importantly: HOW HER FRIENDS REACTED. reading how malcom and anh reacted. i cried. i crode. i crew. they were so supportive in the way that they needed to be, and they made sure to reassure olive that they would be there for her every step of the way. and they were. idk i just love the scene of them all huddled together.
    top 5 scenes in the book imo
- aspects about this plot point that i wanted to die at:
  other than the fact that it happened... adam's reaction. LKSADJFLAKSJDFLASDK JUST- HIM SCREAMING OUT "THE WOMAN I LOVE" AND BEING AN ALPHA MALE ABOUT IT. AT HIS JURASSIC AGE... yeah... and then olive having to step in and be like "it's me!!! this isn't u!!!! he isn't worth it !!!!!" oh lawrd i can't it's cringe central but yk what yolo dolo man.

representation

olive being demisexual <3 like ik it's not explicitly said in the text but come on yawllll iykyk and i knoww. i really like the representation sprinkled throughout the book like where malcom is queer and anh is a poc who cares about uplifting women in stem.
were someee of the depictions of these two stereotypical? just a tad like malcom being sassy and anh's main character arc being about her women in stem journey. like ik they were more than those things, but they felt central to their character. meanwhile, olive being demisexual was secondary to her actual research. does this make sense? anyways, this is the main reason why my rating got knocked down a little bit.

misc:

hehe,,, strangers to
single-sided crush
to mutually beneficial fake dating to miscommunication to
double single-sided crushes
to lovers to ~lovers~ to strangers to lovers to MY FAVORITES!!!

dear isabella (if you're reading this since ik ur a goodreads fein): you're soooo sick and twisted for gifting me this book. but it was SO GOOD and i think i read it at a perfect time in my life. honestly, if i had read this in 2023 i think i might've crashed out but i love it as a 2025 reader OKAJSDFOAISJDFO

Content Warnings

jstarshine16's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

xinawebb's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

sirpandacat's review against another edition

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emotional

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

ellaraeread's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Whenever I had to put it down, I looked forward to picking it back up. I loved how strong and smart the FMC, Olive, was, as well as her relatable inner dialogue. I also loved the MMC, Adam, and how he’d “burn the world” for Olive, (I LOVE that trope). I especially appreciated the scene near the end where he defended her in every sense of the word—IYKYK
I also really loved Olive's self-awareness when it came to romcoms. The occasionally breaking of fourth wall for inside jokes with the reader, such as the "only one bed" trope was both funny and refreshing.
One thing I struggled with was connecting with Adam. Since the book is told only from Olive’s POV, Adam’s quiet and intense nature made it hard for me to understand what he was thinking. I’m glad we eventually got some insight into what made him tick, but I really wish we’d been able to hear some of his inner thoughts earlier on.
The part of the plot that bothered me was where the author placed the spicy scenes. To explain without giving too much away: the spicy scenes happened nearly directly after something traumatic happened to Olive. She’s crying in Adam’s arms, trying to decide whether to confide in him about what happened. As he comforts her, the tension between them escalates into an intimate situation. This sequence felt jarring to me because, as a reader, I was still processing the traumatic event and stressing about whether Olive would share it with Adam. The sudden shift to a spicy scene felt like a jump scare and gave me some whiplash. I think the pacing could have benefited from more space between these two types of scenes to give the emotional weight of the trauma more room to settle.
That said, I really appreciated the way Olive eventually revealed what happened to her with Adam. Her decision to and how she opened up to him and others was both brave and powerful.
Lastly, I know this is a bit of a trivial critique, but I’m not a fan of the book's cover. I wish the faces were less detailed, especially because Adam doesn’t look anything like how I imagined him.

Content Warnings

toastyghosty13's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

3.75

This was a lot better than I expected it to be since I am usually not a fan of anything contemporary or anything where the main genre is romance (unless it is scifi/fantasy). I really liked Olive as a main character and Adam was funny with how quiet and awkward he is. The only thing I knew about Ali Hazelwood before reading this was that a lot of her work is alternate universe fan fiction of Rey and Kylo Ren. I probably would not have noticed that on my own but it makes a lot of sense.

I really enjoyed this book and binged it pretty fast. I was left wanting more and immediately moved to another book of hers after and binged that too. I will definitely be reading more of her works in the future! I like that it is something I can relate to, being in a STEM field myself, which gave it the element that I need to maintain interest in more contemporary things (something that gives the characters a factor that is more than just normal ass people doing stuff, like how Icebreakers is all hockey players or Heist Society is professional art thieves).

I am planning on reading more of these books whenever I have that romance itch :)

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noellegrace8's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense 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

3.5

This was a good read! The characters have a black-cat-golden-retriever thing going on. This book depicts some issues I wouldn't otherwise be informed about - academia politics in the science profession. I liked watching it play out, and I loved getting to know Olive's background along the way. Her project is interesting. I also liked Adam's emo-ness, as well as the two side-characters Malcolm and Holden. And the demi/sapio representation with Olive!

This being said, there wasn't a terribly detailed plot line; it's mostly just a PhD student trying to get through her program while also navigating her past experiences as well as her current relationships. Additionally, there were many times I wondered why Olive didn't just say no to some things Ahn asked of her during the fake dating, especially because Olive didn't seem the type of person to be pushed around. I also found a few too many similarities between this book and the only other Ali Hazelwood book I've read: Love, Theoretically. I got a little tired of hearing about how the female lead couldn't read anything on the male lead's face, some of the cheesy dialogue or circumstances, about the tallness, washboard abs, and dimples of the dudes, and the best female friend who is kind of loud/obnoxious and pretty much only present to further the lead's story. I also would liked to have seen some more communication between the main couple before they moved along with their relationship, because there was a lot of lying involved initially. And, as just a nit-picky thing, I hate that some of the characters say "Ol." To me, it just doesn't sound like an organic nickname and is too phonetically similar (when you're listening to an audiobook) to Ahn's name.

I love a book that can make me cry, and the aftermath of the incident with Tom did just that. It is worth noting that what happened with him in the book could be a trigger for some people. It was jarring, although well-written.

Finally, while I've heard this began as a Reylo fanfic, I really don't see much of a connection to their story. Olive in particular is nothing like Rey. Adam is merely an indistinct shadow of Kylo. And to be honest, Adam just doesn't have much character at all.

I give Callie Dalton 4/5 ⭐ . She very much has a Valley Girl voice, which is a sensory frustration for me. She can sometimes be a tad overdramatic in her reading efforts, but also, her male voices are quite good.

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