Confessions of a Book Stalker

“We could go to a real Japanese restaurant. I am very happy to pay for however much sushi you want to eat.” “But will it move around me?” He shook his head. “I take it back: you are a disturbingly cheap date.”

Ali Hazelwood

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope. 

MY THOUGHTS:

I loved this as much as Adam Carslen is tall, and you know how tall he is (if you don’t I advise you to figure it out). What a sweet and funny romcom that indeed lived up to the hype it’s receiving.

WHAT I LIKED:

– Olive is adorable in a totally clumsy way. That sweet girl that talks way too much in stressful situations. I found her incredibly funny.

– The amount of tropes in the book: romance in the workplace, age-gap, professor student, fake dating. All of these tropes were written perfectly.

– Adam is a feared professor. Students almost have panic attacks just thinking of him grading their works. I loved how this huge, serious and feared character interacted with Olive. Even he couldn’t resist that funny and sweet girl.

– The inclusion of serious themes like the struggle of being a woman in the workplace and sexual harassment. Heavy themes that were really important to balance the story.

– The story is set in academia. Never read any romcom in this world set and found it really interesting and different.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

– I found the professors a bit juvenile. I mean, do professors talk like that in front of students nowadays? Didn’t seem very professional (even though they aren’t their students, I think the professionalism must remain).

CONCLUSION:

I will definitely re-read this book eventually. I think I will add it to my ‘comfort read pile’. Not worth 5 stars in my opinion, but is indeed a solid 4. Really recommend it.

THIS BOOK STALKER CONFESSES:

PLOT: ★★★★

CHARACTERS: ★★★★

WRITING: ★★★★★

COVER: ★★★★

OVERALL: ★★★★