The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Other than watching movies with her friends and going running, Olive Smith spends all her time in Stanford’s biology lab. A third year Ph.D. student, Olive wants her friend Anh to date her ex-boyfriend Jeremy. To convince Anh that she’s completely over Jeremy, Olive impulsively kisses hot and grumpy professor Adam Carlsen, then convinces him to fake-date her. Olive is Canadian, and has no remaining family other than her grad-student friends. A fear of public speaking has her questioning if she can make a career in academia. Adam, who also enjoys running, is known for his blunt evaluations of his students, and has a reputation for rudeness. He is nothing but kind to Olive, and is happy to fake-date her for his own reasons, usually on weekly coffee dates, though he can’t stand the smell of pumpkin spice lattes. They are in different departments, so dating is allowed. When forced to share a room at a conference in Boston, things heat up, and Olive struggles with how to handle another professor’s harassment. Witty, snarky banter enlivens this engaging romantic comedy written by a female neuroscientist. Hazelwood’s Love on the Brain is the top Library Reads pick for August, and another book is scheduled for January. Readalike authors include Talia Hibbert, Denise Williams, Jen DeLuca, and Suzanne Park.

Brenda