The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Every year, as our Summer Reading Challenge gets closer and closer, I find myself increasingly stressed and therefore less likely to read. But once the challenge starts, the stress eases, and I find myself reaching for the fluffiest of books as a little treat (though, to be honest, I find myself reading fluffy books all the time, and there's literally nothing wrong with that). Enter The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.

Olive Smith is a Ph.D. candidate in biology, studying at Stanford. After a few tepid dates with fellow grad student Jeremy (and after seeing how well he hit it off with her best friend, Anh), Olive breaks things off, and lies to Anh about dating someone new, just so Anh will take a chance with Jeremy. So when Olive spots Anh at the lab late one night when she is supposedly on a date, Olive does the only logical thing - she kisses the first guy she sees. Except she realizes that she kissed Dr. Adam Carlsen, who is not only a professor, but also a well-regarded scientist and researcher, and the reason why half of her fellow grad students either have nightmares or drop out before graduation. When Olive apologizes and explains the whole lying-about-dating thing to Dr. Carlsen, he shocks her by suggesting that they keep the ruse going. As time progresses, Olive begins to realize that Adam isn't as horrendous as he seems. Even worse, she catches feelings, feelings that threaten to explode the more they get to know each other...

This one hits some of my favorite romance novel tropes, like fake dating and forced proximity, with a secret softie of a male main character who would do literally anything if it meant Olive would be happy, though she obviously doesn't realize it right away. Even though I pretty much knew how the story would end, I was more than happy to go along for the ride. I wouldn't have minded a little more spice, but the amount we got was fitting to the story. It does have a third-act breakup, which is becoming one of my least favorite romance novel tropes, but I can forgive it since I loved everything else. There is a good reason why Ali Hazelwood's books have become instant bestsellers, and I look forward to reading more by her!