This book surpassed my expectations from the beginning, and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot since I’ve read some bad reviews. But, what can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic, and this book was exactly my cup of tea. But, there was something else apart from the entanglement that I loved, and it was the fact that Olive, our main character has such an impressive career path. I think this is one of the few books in which a woman is dedicated to the scientific field. Even though the author only gives us an overview of this environment, it creates a unique background for the book.
However, there are other things I did not like about the story, especially talking about Olive’s character. For instance, how she would still question her value even after she was rewarded for her accomplishments. But, this is a perspective that is influenced by my own personality. Knowing this, I’ll try to keep this review as unbiased as I can.
Author
Ali Hazelwood is the author of this story, and even though she was born in Italy, that is not the only place where she has lived. Hazelwood was also in Japan and Germany before moving to the U.S to pursue her Ph.D. in Neuroscience. This explains why the parts of the book in which she describes academia seem extremely accurate. Further, she just became a professor and likes to binge-watch series with her husband.
Overview
The book follows the life of our main female character, Olive Smith, who is a third-year P.h.D. candidate, whose research is focused on the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In the first few pages, we also get to know Adam Carlsen, a young professor at Stanford and one that many students hate for being a cruel critic.
These two characters quickly get into trouble when Olive decides to kiss Adam in the middle of a hallway out of the blue. Why? Is she out of her mind? The answer is, yes. Plus, this is not the last impulsive thing that she does throughout the book. The reason behind this rash action was that Olive wanted to convince her friend Anh that she had moved on from her ex so she could date him.
In a crazy turn of events, Adam agrees to be her fake boyfriend, a situation that actually benefits him since he needs to convince the committee that he is staying at the university to get the funds for his investigation. As all fake romances, they put a deadline on this charade, a month. Enough to let Olive’s friend develop her relationship with her ex and the date on which Stanford release its budget.
Everything seems simple enough, but there were a couple of things they didn’t calculate. Such as how much the rumour of their ‘relationship’ will spread and how convincing it would be.
Even knowing their romance is fake Olive, can help but wonder if Adam might feel something else for her. In a world, she has created with lies Olive falls into her own trap. Now, that she knows she is in love with Adam, how can she keep this charade? Is someone going to be there when she falls? Is her life truly better without love, without Adam?
Personal Thoughts
Writing this review a week after reading this book I start noticing a lot of things that bother me regarding this narrative. Yes, we did have a smart, beautiful, accomplished female character. However, all of that gets lost when she starts doubting her value and only believes in herself when Adam validates her. This might be something the author didn’t think about, but it is a small detail that has a big impact on the story.
I feel this one was similar to those romcoms in which the clearly beautiful woman doesn’t know how much she is worth until a man notices her. I need to clarify this is only my perspective which is biased by my own way of thinking.
Apart from this regular thematic around the book, the excuse for their fake relationship, for me was a little dumb. Now, it would be more believable if the characters were teenagers, but in here they are all adults, so it doesn’t fit. Further, the main reason to do this was to help Olive’s friend Anh. But, once Anh starts dating Olive’s ex we barely get any information about them.
Don’t get me wrong the story is truly captivating but when you start reviewing it all the flaws inevitably come out. One thing that I surprisingly liked was Adam. Chapter after chapter we get more details of this man’s personality and is impossible to not let your heart fall in love with him.
Overall, I liked the book but is it my favourite? No. Are there better romance books? Yes. Is this a harsh perspective? It probably is but is only my opinion.
Plot & Structure 7/10
Let’s start with the structure. The book is chronological which makes it easy to follow and even when we get some memories from the main characters the reader doesn’t get lost. I did like that at the beginning of each chapter the author left us a small clue a hypothesis of what we could expect.
For the plot, I’ve already outlined all my thought above, but to sum it up my problem with the plot is the way women are portrayed. In this book, the man is clearly the knight in shining armour while Olive is waiting to be rescued. I think we need to do better as a society and stop publishing this type of story. Without this small detail, the book could be a 10 out of 10.
Character Development 8/10
The only characters that get developed in the book are Olive and Adam. I understand why the author did this since the story is about them. But, I would have liked to get more from the characters that surround them, such as their best friends.
Adding this information would give the story more context, plus the reader will get an inside perspective of the characters aside from their fake relationship. However, I should accept that when it comes to the pair, they do fit. When we look at Olive’s and Adam’s personalities is clear why they should be together.
Dialogue 10/10
I know I have criticized many parts of this book, but the dialogue is the only part that is impeccable. I specifically love when we get an inside perspective into Olive’s mind and her crazy logic. Plus, when it comes to Adam the dialogue is where we truly see his personality shine. Reading what Adam said, I know that the author carefully crafted his words, and I’m extremely thankful for that.
There are some quotes from this book that are so special and deep. This is what makes me think that the next book we get from Hazelwood would correct the flaws I’ve noticed. Plus, I do acknowledge that, as in any career, authors need time to grow and develop their craft.
Unanswered Questions 10/10
There are no holes in this book which is something good because at least the plot is not incomplete. We do get the whole scope of the story from beginning to end. I think what makes it so easy is that this is a simple book which follows only two characters and a love charade we’ve heard a million times.
Voice 7/10
As I said above, I did like the book, but unfortunately, I must say that Hazelwood’s voice does not seem fresh. I feel like this is a story I’ve read a thousand times but with different characters. I do rescue the fact that she introduced a female character with a profession that is unusual in YA. But, I think she needs to find her voice, something that makes her stand out from the rest. Yes, she is a bestselling author but is that a surprise with this type of plot? We often see this is what the audience craves. However, that doesn’t mean its new.
Is it a good novel? Yes, it is. Could it be better? Definitely.
Personal Note
I do get why many readers love this story, but being a book lover myself I think we need to think more about the type of plots we are seeing in bookshelves. Ask ourselves, is this truly unique or just another twist of a classic?
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