When I can find a book that combines my love of STEM and romance it is like finding a unicorn. And that is what The Love Hypothesis was. And don’t forget to add in the fake dating trope, which in my opinion makes any story a winner.

Olive, our loveable biologist, in someways reminds me of me as a woman in a STEM field. Always unsure of herself and always worried about what other people think about her. I have to note that this book did a great job of addressing what it is like to be a woman in STEM, something that I haven’t found in many other books.

And then we meet the broody Adam, who is at times seems a lot like me in male form. Doesn’t like anything and only wears black. Actually we differ in one area, I love a good sugary coffee beverage. I also love that Adam is hard on his students, for a good reason, even if none of them understand the reason. He wants them to be better and is doing it in an objective way, even if he does come off as a bit of an ass. I can say I had many professors like that in college, one of them even said to our entire class that if we couldn’t pass the class we should drop out of engineering. Not the best thing to say to a sophomore in college. I remember the shock and conversations after that class with my friends, thinking it was so odd that he would say that. In hindsight I get it, but it was painful in the moment so I can sympathize with Adam’s students for not loving him all the time.

As the “relationship” between Adam and Olive progresses I think that Adam actually falls first, and Olive takes a bit longer to get there. And in typical fashion, Olive thinks is a bad idea to tell the truth. And why I love this story (and all fake relationship tropes) the truth comes out. And in this case it came out because of the a typically man in STEM who thinks that women are incapable of having good ideas on their own. I got warm fuzzies when Olive went to tell Adam the truth when he was at his interview dinner. He was her night in black armor.

This book will be one I will go back too multiple times I think when I need pick me up, or to remind me that I am worthy of my job in STEM. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for this read.