The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.75/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Fake dating

➮ Professor x student (not in a class)

➮ STEM romance

➮ Grumpy x sunshine

➮ BIPOC FMC

Synopsis

Olive doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. Like any biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor. Olive is floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep a secret and be her fake boyfriend. When a science conference goes haywire, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding abs. Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Best Quote From the Book

“I'm starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. Being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole."

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

Two notable side characters end up in a gay relationship. Said relationship is totally accepted and even celebrated. While minor, their representation is very positive. In addition, Olive considers herself demisexual. This part of her identity is explored within the story and shapes her view on romance. 

My Thoughts

This is my first dive into Ali Hazelwood's books and I can say with passion that I was not disappointed. This book wonderfully balances comedy, science, and romance in such a way that kept me entranced from beginning to end. 

Hazelwood does an excellent job of covering the challenges involved with being a BIPOC woman in science. Olive struggles to be taken seriously and constantly has to prove herself worthy of being in the field with many white older men. This book provides the depth of day-to-day challenges that help make the representation worthwhile and rewarding. This book is excellent at the concept of being a mirror for some and a window for others. (If you have not heard of this concept let me know and I will gladly explain it in more detail).

The tension Hazelwood is able to create feels palpable. I truly adored the moments when Olive and Adam were forced together. Their passion and chemistry (pun intended) worked so well. By the end, they became a functioning couple with communication and all. Seeing the moments where Anh encourages them to act lovey-dovey was incredibly hilarious. Particularly the sunscreen scene (I seriously almost listened to that one twice). 

Every character in this book was fantastically written. From best friends to the antagonist, they all contributed to the plot and entertainment value of the story. I wish I could've seen even more of them and how their presence and meddling impacted things for the fake couple.  

The one area I thought was lacking was more of Adam's feelings. At first, he was not particularly expressive so it was hard to get a read on how he felt. There is a lot of getting to know Adam with everything except for how he feels about things. 

This book had way more actual plot than I was expecting. As I was listening to the audiobook I kept assuming I must be near the end because so much had already happened but no. There was more! I love that Olive and Adam had to really go through some trials and tribulations to get to the point where they knew they needed to address everything.  

One of my favorite parts was the great roasting of Tom by all of the characters. I found myself quite literally laughing and fist-pumping because all of it was so well-deserved. I won't dive into why he is so unlikeable but trust me, he absolutely is!

This book does contain open-door spice. That said, it can be skipped without missing anything particularly important to the plot. 

Overall, this is one of the top romances in my eyes. While not quite at the level of giving me that 5-star feeling, I highly highly recommend it. All of the characters are fantastic and there is so much plot for readers to immerse themselves in. It is also genuinely funny a lot of the time which adds to the appeal!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Mental and physical health rep (OCD, celiac, dyslexia, autism)

➮ BIPOC rep

➮ Curvy FMC

➮ Enemies to lovers

➮ Ex-best friend

➮ LGBTQ+ rep

Synopsis

Bradley Graeme is a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine. Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Her followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption. These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. When Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad. Forced to work as a team, these two teens trudge through their messy past. This adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship? 

Best Quote From the Book

“Even if neither of us ever did anything interesting in our entire lives, it wouldn’t matter. You don’t need to be special or significant to have value. You’re just important, always, and people either see that or they don’t. They either love you, or they don’t."

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

Bradley identifies as bisexual. This is positively represented and all characters are supported. It is not overly focused on but does impact him as a character.

My Thoughts

You name any kind of representation category and this book has it. BIPOC rep, LGBTQ+ rep, mental health rep, and more! I love how Hibbert wanted to have a truly diverse cast of characters. Thankfully this representation didn't feel like an obligation or something to earn brownie points with underrepresented communities. 

I love the chemistry between Bradley and Celine. It is so legitimately funny. I was laughing out loud at work multiple times while listening to it. Particularly the scene in which they are having a full-blown conversation with a tree. It really just spoke to their characters. Hibbert does an excellent job blending comedic moments with more serious moments. 

Celine and Bradley have a dynamic with justifiable depth. It makes sense why there is some discomfort they share and a level of awkwardness. With things getting so twisted in their past, they both have a chip on their shoulders. They actually work through it and learn how to effectively communicate with each other. It provides a good example of how people can discuss and work through things to build an encouraging relationship. 

Bradley is one of the most genuinely supportive characters I have read about. He wants the world for Celine and it is so sweet to see. He is also shaping up to be an excellent communicator. He is a high contender for a good book boyfriend. He is actually healthy and pulls his weight in their relationship in every form it takes. 

I liked seeing them have to go through challenges together during the survival course. It was clearly a long-established program. The one thing I felt was missing from the story was more about the history of the program. If it is really so important and illustrious, that should be tapped into. 

Overall this was a cute and clean romance and lots of comedy. I want to give Hibbert all of the awards for fantastic representation and naturally flawed characters. I have already recommended this book to a few people, and I stand by this recommendation. 

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

3/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Best friends to lovers

➮ Queer bipoc disabled MC

➮ Summertime

➮ Lesbian relationship

Synopsis

Andrea is a teenager dealing with cerebral palsy, coming to terms with her LGBTQ+ identity, and realizing she has feelings for her best friend. Andrea and her best friend Hailee are hoping to cross off everything on their Best Summer Ever list. As Andrea navigates summertime adventures with her ever-growing feelings, she struggles to maintain balance.

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

This is by far the best LGBTQ+ representation among the books I have read this year. The main character Andrea identifies as bisexual. Her crush Hailee identifies as lesbian. Both of them go through the process of coming out and coming to terms with how their lives will change because of coming out. In addition, another one of Andrea's friends is a trans guy and serves as an example of someone out and proud. If I remember correctly, there is also an additional friend of Andrea's who has lesbian parents. I highly appreciate the varied representation this story provides. It does well at portraying the fears young people experience when they are discovering their sexuality. I do wish there was at least a little representation of people whose coming out stories are not perfect. 

My Thoughts

I listened to this book as an audiobook and admittedly, that may have diminished my experience. Personally, I found the voice used for Hailee to be quite grating and honestly sound like Hailee has been a long-time chain smoker despite being in high school. It really diminished from my ability to relax and take in the story because I was so distracted by her voice. 

Other than that, I find the drama and conflict to be very middle school and immature. Instead of a story about high schoolers, it feels like rising seventh graders. Instead of having the mind to talk things out or at least use the resources they have, it is just a lot of back and forth. 

I feel a bit bad given this is my first rather harsh review of a book. I wish I enjoyed the experience much more than I actually enjoyed it. This book got as high of a review as it got because I do not like to tank reviews for books with excellent representation if it was simply not my favorite. If not for the representation this would easily be a 2.5 stars. If the story were more unique and realistic for the target audience it would've been a much better reading experience. 

If you can get past the immature-feeling drama and overall juvenile feel, I recommend supporting a queer bipoc author who provides excellent representation. I admire Brown's accomplishment of getting more inclusive stories out into the world. I would consider this book better suited to a middle-grade audience than a young adult audience.