The Love Hypothesis
During this vacation I just want to read lots of books and engage myself in productive activities. I am now done with my semester exams and have plenty of time. I will definitely be reading more, Insha'Allah. Recently, I completed a novel that was on my to-be-read list for 2023:
The Love Hypothesis novel by Ali Hazelwood. It’s a contemporary romance novel. The story is about a fake-dating relationship between a professor and a student.
The story follows Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University who does not believe in love and long lasting relationships. To convince her best friend Anh , she fakes a relationship with a handsome stranger . Olive just immediately kisses the first man she sees in the lab hallway, who happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, a young, brilliant, and notoriously grumpy professor.
Throughout the book, Adam is described as big, tall, broad shouldered and having six-pack abs, dimples and black hair that falls over his eyes. He is also afraid of injections. Olive is beautiful but she doesn’t notice it herself because she was passionate about her research and was always afraid of public speaking. Olive and Adam’s have an eight-year age gap, Olive being 26 and Adam 34.
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Well, Adam Carlsen for his own reason agreed to continue this fake relationship. Every Wednesday, they date at a café near their lab in order to show their colleagues that they are in a relationship. This fake relationship benefits Adam as well, as it helps him appear more settled and committed, which is favorable for securing his research funding. Despite his intimidating reputation, Adam proves to be supportive and kind, challenging Olive’s initial perceptions of him.
As Olive and Adam spend more time together, they engage in various “fake relationship” activities, such as attending events and spending time in each other’s company. During this time, Olive begins to notice the softer sides of Adam’s personality, including his sense of humor and his genuine care for her well-being. Ph.D. students often describe Adam as antagonistic and unapproachable, however he shows his caring, loving, positive and protective side to Olive only…Ugghhh what a personality.
Everything was going so well. When Anh was around her, she forced her to do cheesy things that Olive wouldn’t imagine of doing ever in her life like applying lotion on Adam’s big body and sitting on his lap and what more. As they start spending a great time together, the line between fake and reality begins to blur, and Olive develops genuine feelings for Adam. So, she lies to Adam ,saying she likes someone else and she wanted to break up but things eventually get resolved.
Olive faces numerous challenges in her academic career, including skepticism from peers and superiors. One notable antagonist is Tom Benton, a former friend of Adam’s and a senior scientist who becomes increasingly interested in Olive’s research. Tom’s interest soon turns predatory, and Olive must navigate his unwelcome advances while maintaining her professionalism. One day, she got an email to present her research but, she was afraid of public speaking, she initially refused. However, Adam comforts her that you can do it and she did it.
The climax of the story occurs at a conference where Olive presents her research. Here, she faces not only the professional pressure of her presentation but also a confrontation with Tom, who tries to manipulate and verbally abuse by calling her untalented. In a moment of courage and determination, Olive stands up to Tom, supported by Adam, who reveals his true feelings for her. In the resolution, Olive and Adam confess their love for each other, moving past their misunderstandings and insecurities. Olive’s confidence in her abilities and her relationship with Adam grows stronger. All their hypotheses and experiments worked out well in the end and got positive results without any error type I or II.
I personally recommend this novel to anyone who loves to read rom-com. So, if you are looking for such type of books, start with this one “The Love Hypothesis”
— — Nabiha Ghulam Rasool Memon — —
