📚Insider book club: ‘Star Wars’ fan fiction becomes quirky romance novel

Hi, my name is Penny and I do not like romance novels. I really, really do not like romance novels. I don’t like romance movies either.

That all being said, we’re going to talk about “The Love Hypothesis,” a romance novel by Ali Hazelwood.

“The Love Hypothesis” is a fake-dating story that focuses on Olive Smith and Dr. Adam Carlson. Olive is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, and she wants to prove to her friend that she is over her ex and is once again dating - so she lies about going on a date. But, when her friend spots her, Olive freaks out and kisses the first man she sees, Dr. Adam Carlson (a very normal thing to do). Olive explains the situation to Adam, and the two decide to “fake date” in order to hopefully get their own weird ulterior motives out of it and to totally not fall in love with one another in the process.

Easy enough, huh?

The fun thing about this book is that it’s actually published fan fiction. Hazelwood originally wrote this as “Star Wars” Rey/Kylo Ren fan fiction. And, it reads like it.

While the book goes back and forth about just how self-aware it wants to be about just how tropey it is, it really is just trope after trope — fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, they even make a joke about a hotel room that only has one bed. So, it feels very familiar to those of us who spent our middle school years on Fanfiction.net.

One thing that I will say is pretty cool about this book is the author. Dr. Ali Hazelwood actually has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. I think her perspective on science academia helps the book feel a little more rooted in reality… and less like a Reylo fanfiction.

But it still does feel like a Reylo fan fiction.

Apparently, a lot of her books take place in academic/lab settings, as a part of her goal to tell stories that show that science nerd girls deserve cheesy rom-com love too.

This book is definitely not something I would reach for on my own. I read it as a part of a book club I am doing with a college friend of mine, but in some ways, I am glad I read it, if for no other reason than just because it’s published fan fiction.

Everything aside, if you want a sugary sweet, simple romance novel about an awkward girl, her annoying friends, her tall mean fake boyfriend and way too much pumpkin spice latte discourse, I do recommend it for you.

I probably won’t be reading anything like it any time soon.

What did you think of “The Love Hypothesis?” Are you reading anything fun? Do you have any romance recommendations that don’t suck? Let me know! Email me at pdelacruz@wkmg.com.

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