Review: I read 'The Love Hypothesis' so you don't have to

This is what happens when Wattpad hits the book store shelves.

I heard about 'The Love Hypothesis' on TikTok and thought "I need to see what all the fuss is about". Based on the complicated love story of space daddy (Kylo Ren) and his sexy scavenger (Rey), this fanfiction follows third-year PhD candidate, Olive Smith, who finds herself faking a relationship with the brooding and mysterious Professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen, to convince her best friends she has moved on from her last crush and so Adam convinces the University he will not leave his current position. We have seen the "fake relationship" trope many times before and we always know how it is going to turn out, but let's dissect all the in between bits of this Ali Hazelwood novel. Spoilers ahead.

The very creatively named Professor, Adam Carlsen was written just how I expected. I did get bits of Kylo Ren from his character so it was easy to visualise the story. Starting off so sexy, dark, and mysterious then he begins to open up into his 'Ben Solo' type ways. He definitely wasn't much of a tortured soul but I think it would of been a little impossible to incorporate weapon arming, father killing, and 1v1 combat with his girlfriend in a Stanford University setting without the police being called. In one chapter of the book, you have Adam playing frisbee with his shirt of and I thought "would Kylo Ren do that?", then I remembered in The Last Jedi (2017) he literally force facetimed Rey with shirt off and his pants up to his boobs which made me laugh out loud because I couldn't get the image out of my head. Overall, Adam was written quite true to how I think Kylo Ren would exist in a normal everyday setting.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Olive, on the other hand. Reading from her point of view was so insufferable because she was so annoying. I don't think Hazelwood could have written more of a basic character. There were times when I was reading and I would say out loud, "is the girl fucking stupid?". I felt like I was in a time machine and was transported back to 2014 Tumblr. Olive's whole personality was pumpkin spice lattes and I am not saying that ironically. From her basic Starbucks orders to her silly knee length socks she would wear, she just made me cringe. In one part of the book, Olive confronts Adam about him being hard on his students and he explains that he doesn't want to allow space for mediocre scientists, and I thought to myself "that's so fair King, you are just doing your job", Olive's response? "Well, fuck you, Adam". I had to put the book down and breathe for a minute after that. Throughout the book, there were some really nice and romantic moments between them that reminded me of the original love birds from the movies, but then the writing for Olive was so immature that it was hard to imagine that she was 26 years old. In Star Wars, Rey is such a strong and courageous character and I felt none of these attributes made their way onto the page. Olive came across as so inferior and submissive to Adam, it would've been nice to see her treat herself as an equal to him rather than being so insecure.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017

Despite the disappointing writing for Olive's personality. I liked how the book incorporated deep background stories for both Adam and Olive and keep strong side character presence throughout the story, it definitely added believability. The diversity of sexualities and ethnicities portrayed also made for a more interesting story and it didn't feel like these characters were tokenised either. 'The Love Hypothesis' covered some deep subjects such as death, misogyny, and sexual harassment which are very real topics that people have to face everyday. Hazelwood's ability to incorporate these themes into the storyline without them feeling forced is something that not all writers have down pat. Seeing Adam and Olive discuss their trauma was a very tender moment and as the reader, you are really rooting for them to figure out their qualms and end up together.

Now, let's get into the smut. For this cutesy book to jump into some seriously heavy X-rated content felt really out of place. Regardless, I was still reading with my jaw on the floor because, Jesus Christ, some of the things written had me literally screaming with disbelief.

There were also moments where I really cringed, mostly on Olive's behalf again, because she was written so immaturely it made the whole thing feel so unsexy at times. Adam went between being soft and gentle to "you don't know what I fucking want" which kept catching me off guard and leaving me with my eyes bugging out my head. I haven't read a lot of smut before but this was just wild. Hazelwood definitely didn't hold back on the details and hats off to her for going all in like that. It was extremely entertaining but it didn't feel entirely believable.

As expected, the storyline was predictable and ticked off every rom-com cliché. For example, Olive is sexually harassed by Adam's co-worker and long time friend which did pull at my heart a little bit because he was a nasty, awful human being. But instead of telling Adam, she pretends that nothing happened and her and Adam must end the "relationship" so he can live his life peacefully without knowing of this truth. And I just thought, "for fuck sakes... tell your man so he can knock this guy out and y'all can be together, happily ever after". Of course, luckily she had this harassment filmed and ends up bringing it to light but it just felt like a complete waste of time beating around the bush. Halfway through reading, I actually realised that the plot is very similar to Pretty Woman (1990), but I love that movie so I couldn't dislike the book because of this. In the end, the two love birds end up together and of course, you are happy to see it because who doesn't love a happy ending?

Overall, this novel was super cheesy but I was definitely entertained. I believe the writing could have been improved, especially with Olive's character. Additionally, the sex scene should've flowed into the story a bit nicer but in whole, I enjoyed the read. It is definitely a romantic comedy that isn't particularly fantastic but you also aren't expecting a Jane Austen level read which allows your expectations to be easily met. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, I think that only a certain few groups of readers would fully enjoy this novel. So, if you are massive Reylo stan or a lover of cheesy clichés then 'The Love Hypothesis' is for you. If not, your life will remain unchanged giving this one a miss.