Ali Hazelwood is a trending author writing under a pen name in the contemporary romance genre. The author's specific niche is in "academic romance," portraying social circles within academia and professional fields stemming from the author's claimed background as a neuroscience PhD and professor.
"The Love Hypothesis" was recommended to my significant other by a labmate, and we (she, a cogsci postdoc; I, a tissue engineering researcher) have shared the experience reading aloud to each other.
As she said, "It would be forgivable if it were well-written fiction that didn't portray academia accurately, or if it were accurate to academia but awkwardly written."
As a piece of contemporary romance, it is Kylo Ren/Rey fan-fic with superficial characterization. The entire vocabulary of the female lead Olive consists of "Yep." and repeating herself in affirmation, while the male lead knows only to repeat her dialogue questioningly. Every point of romantic progression relies on contrivance, such as jeering from friends to kiss or the "need" to lap-sit in a crowded lecture hall.
As academic fiction, the only elements of academia present are the power hierarchy between the love interests and occasional technobabble to inform the audience which characters are "smart." Research, teaching, or any other aspect of academic life is absent except in throwaway vague lines about what occupies a character's day. Even these few allusions are oddly out-of-touch, such as frequent violation of biohazard hygiene and the male lead apparently shattering contaminated glassware across the room in front of students as a display of frustration. For all the main character's impostor syndrome or reported brilliance by other characters, her research project is of no relevance and poorly defined.
In a premise rife with ethical violations (faculty-graduate student relationship in same department, PDA in professional settings), the improbability of the romance could have possibly been justified by the appeal of the taboo. Instead, the story makes a near-revolting premise feel more boring than a middle school romance. Neither character has the emotional intelligence nor willpower to engage, so the two lame-ducks bob along in a series of unbelievably contrived scenarios forcing them into intimate space as they comment awkwardly. Despite being 25 and 32, neither character seems to have any prior relationship experience or romantic agency: they stumble oblivious to basic social custom like aliens reenacting an AI-generated script.
Even if it were simply Reylo fanfic on Wattpad without the tacked-on "scientist" fantasy, it would read poorly in comparison to its competition.