Book Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Publisher: ‎ William Morrow
Publication Date: May 16, 2023
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable. 

June and Athena are authors who first became friends at Yale. Athena became the new it girl in publishing with a massive book deal for her debut. June’s first book was a total flop. When Athena dies in a tragic accident, June steals the manuscript for Athena’s next book, The Last Front, and passes it off as her own. The Last Front is a novel about Chinese laborers during World War I. It becomes a huge best-seller, prompting people to ask if June, a white woman, should be profiting off a story about a painful time in Chinese history. Not long after that, June is publically accused of plagiarizing Athena’s work. The lies are spinning out of control, social media has turned against her, and June has deluded herself into thinking she’s more responsible for the success of The Last Front than Athena.

Yellowface is a send-up of systemic racism in the publishing industry. June is completely oblivious to her white privilege in a forehead-smacking way. I was shaking my head at her the whole time. She actually thinks it’s harder for white writers and that Athena’s being Asian played a big part in her success. Kuang does not spare the agents or publishers either. Even though this book is satire, I don’t think it’s too far from the truth.

There is a thriller aspect to Yellowface also. Someone claiming to be Athena is stalking June online and June thinks she’s actually seen Athena at one of her book signings. I found it suspenseful and gripping. I was surprised by the ending which I think was perfection.

Highly recommended.

Audiobook Review: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Narrator: Lauren Graham
Publisher: Simon  & Schuster Audio
Release Date: March 01, 2022
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

Katy’s mother Carol was her best friend and perfect in her eyes. When she dies, Katy is awash in grief. She decides to leave her husband and take the trip to Positano, Italy that she and her mother had planned. While there, she runs into thirty-year old Carol. How is that possible? She and Carol become friends and Katy learns a lot about Carol’s life that they never talked about when she was alive.

I chose this audiobook simply because Lauren Graham narrates it. I went in blind. I was surprised by the magical realism element but I went with it. It was a clever way for Katy to learn about her mother’s past. I enjoyed the story but the prose got a little repetitive – like every food was described as delicious. Overall, it was an enjoyable listen. I think the narration made me like it more than if I’d read it in print.

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Book Review: White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao

White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better by Regina Jackson
Publisher: ‎ Penguin Books
Publication Date: November 1, 2022
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen.

It’s no secret that white women are conditioned to be “nice,” but did you know that the desire to be perfect and to avoid conflict at all costs are characteristics of white supremacy culture? 

As the founders of Race2Dinner, an organization which facilitates conversations between white women about racism and white supremacy, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao have noticed white women’s tendency to maintain a veneer of niceness, and strive for perfection, even at the expense of anti-racism work.

In this book, Jackson and Rao pose these urgent questions: how has being “nice” helped Black women, Indigenous women and other women of color? How has being “nice” helped you in your quest to end sexism? Has being “nice” earned you economic parity with white men? Beginning with freeing white women from this oppressive need to be nice, they deconstruct and analyze nine aspects of traditional white woman behavior–from tone-policing to weaponizing tears–that uphold white supremacy society, and hurt all of us who are trying to live a freer, more equitable life.

White Women is a call to action to those of you who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy. Your white supremacy. If you are in fact doing real anti-racism work, you will find few reasons to be nice, as other white people want to limit your membership in the club. If you are not ticking white people off on a regular basis, you are not doing it right.

I read a lot of anti-racism books and I learn something from every one of them. I’ll never know it all and accepting that is important when doing anti-racism work. I learned a lot from this book. I especially appreciated the section of this book about white feminism and how it is actually holding up white supremacy. That is one topic that I didn’t know much about. There are also sections on micro aggressions, schools, color-blindness and more.

I originally checked this book out from the library but I liked it so much I bought a copy. I know it’s one that I’ll read again and again, taking in more information each time.

Highly, highly recommended for all white women. (If the title makes you uncomfortable, you need to read it for sure.)

Book Review: The Mutual Friend by Carter Bays

The Mutual Friend by Carter Bays
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

From the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious and thought-provoking debut novel set in New York City, following an unforgettable cast of characters as they navigate life, love, loss, ambition, and spirituality—without ever looking up from their phones
 
It’s the summer of 2015, and Alice Quick needs to get to work. She’s twenty-eight years old, grieving her mother, barely scraping by as a nanny, and freshly kicked out of her apartment. If she can just get her act together and sign up for the MCAT, she can start chasing her dream of becoming a doctor . . . but in the Age of Distraction, the distractions are so distracting. There’s her tech millionaire brother’s religious awakening. His picture-perfect wife’s emotional breakdown. Her chaotic new roommate’s thirst for adventure. And, of course, there’s the biggest distraction of all: love.

From within the story of one summer in one woman’s life, a tapestry of characters is unearthed, tied to one another by threads both seen and unseen. Filled with all the warmth, humor, and heart that gained How I Met Your Mother its cult following, The Mutual Friend captures in sparkling detail the chaos of contemporary life—a life lived simultaneously in two different worlds, the physical one and the one behind our screens—and reveals how connected we all truly are.

The Mutual Friend was a funny, yet scarily realistic look at how much social media and the internet control our lives and distract us. I chose it because it’s written by the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother and I love that show.

Alice Quick posted on Facebook three years ago that she was going to medical school. It’s time for her to bite the bullet and actually study for and take the MCAT. After all, tons of people liked that post. But there are so many distractions, like making the perfect Spotify playlist for when she is studying. Her new roommate Roxy, who has the attention span of a gnat and her nose permanently in her phone, is not helping. She is always twisting Alice’s arm to go to a party or somewhere else.

There are a lot of supporting characters too. It’s one of those books where you know they all end up being tied to each other in one way or another even though it doesn’t seem like it at first. The connections the author made between them were really clever. The internet is a small world!

This book was my book club’s May selection and it got mixed reviews. A couple of us – like me – loved it. Others thought it was too slow. I thought it started out slow but drew me in as I kept reading. I could totally relate to Alice and Roxy – I have a social media addiction that I’m constantly fighting. TikTok is my latest obsession! I’m glad I put my phone down long enough to read this book.

Recommended.

Audiobook Review: You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn

You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn
Narrator: Kal Penn
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: November 02, 2021
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

The star of the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, and Designated Survivor recounts why he rejected the advice of his aunties and guidance counselors and, instead of becoming a doctor or “something practical,” embarked on a surprising journey that has included confronting racism in Hollywood, meeting his future husband, and working in the Obama administration, in this “incredibly joyful and insightful” (Kiefer Sutherland) memoir.

You Can’t Be Serious is a series of funny, consequential, awkward, and ridiculous stories from Kal Penn’s idiosyncratic life. It’s about being the grandson of Gandhian freedom fighters, and the son of immigrant parents: people who came to this country with very little and went very far—and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in the raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie Van Wilder…or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country’s first Black president.

“By turns hilarious, poignant, and inspiring” (David Axelrod, New York Times bestselling author), Kal reflects on the most exasperating and rewarding moments from his journey so far. He pulls back the curtain on the nuances of opportunity and racism in the entertainment industry and recounts how he built allies, found encouragement, and dealt with early reminders that he might never fit in. He describes his initially unpromising first date with his now-fiancé Josh, involving an 18-pack of Coors Light and an afternoon of watching NASCAR. And of course, he reveals how, after a decade and a half of fighting for and enjoying successes in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to take a sabbatical from a fulfilling acting career for an opportunity to serve his country as an Obama White House aide.

Above all, You Can’t Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. The book “is insightful, funny, and instructive for anyone who’s ever grappled with how they fit into the American dream” (Ronan Farrow, New York Times bestselling author), and demonstrates that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. And okay, yes, it’s also about how Kal accidentally (and very stupidly) accepted an invitation to take the entire White House Office of Public Engagement to a strip club—because, let’s be honest, that’s the kind of stuff you really want to hear about.

You probably know Kal Penn best from his starring role in the Harold and Kumar movies. You were probably as surprised as I was when it was announced that he had taken a role as an advisor in the Obama administration. After reading this book, I’m not surprised at all.

The first part of the book is about how Kal got his start in Hollywood and oh my gosh, the overt, unabashed racism and sexism he encountered was astounding. I know the entertainment industry can be racist and sexist but I thought people perpetuating it were a little more subtle about it. But no – like the producer who told Kal he doesn’t hire “chicks” because he doesn’t want to deal with possible sexual harassment lawsuits. Instead of maybe just controlling himself and not being a jerk? Or the producer who said Joseph Gordon-Levitt would never get a job because he was too Asian. Said this to Kal, who is, hello? Also Asian! Kal was not afraid to call out people who treated him poorly. Most of the time, he doesn’t use names but I bet you could figure out who they were if you tried hard enough.

The next part of the book was about Kal’s time in the Obama administration, which totally makes sense to me now. He was taking an international studies course through Stanford at the time. He was a surrogate for Obama during the campaign and learned a lot so when Obama was elected, he applied for a job. He truly did get it on merit, not because he’s a movie star. His role was not symbolic, he actually made important decisions.

One thing that I thought was odd was that he didn’t talk about being gay at all, other than to briefly mention his first few dates with his finance Josh. Apparently, this book was the first time he publically stated that he’s gay. Since he wrote about his parents struggling with his decision to pursue a career in the arts instead of medicine or engineering like most Indian children, I thought he would also write about how they felt about his sexuality. I mean, it’s none of my business but I just thought it was a pretty big part of his life to leave out since he writes about other personal stuff.

He reads You Can’t Be Serious himself and I think that made it extra funny. He has a conversational style that was really engaging. Highly recommended.

Pride Month Book Review: The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Publisher: ‎ G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: May 30, 2023
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, Marielle and Alec were best friends at Berkley. When Alec dies before graduation, the rest of them make a pact that they will all have living funerals. That is, when one of them is needing support, they will call on the rest of them to gather for their “funeral.” That way, they get to hear all of the nice things their friends have to say about them versus waiting until their actual funeral when they would not be able to benefit from hearing them.

For instance, Marielle called the group together when she was going through a divorce and Craig’s funeral was because he was having some serious legal problems. Now Jorden has called them together but no one is sure why.

The friend group in The Celebrants is made up of friends who don’t actually do a very good job of keeping in touch in between funerals, but once they get together, they pick right up where they left off. I think we all have friends like that. You love them but sometimes life gets in the way.

Like The Guncle, The Celebrants is the perfect blend of humor and heartbreak. Steven Rowley is now on my automatic buy list for sure. Highly recommended.

Other books I’ve reviewed by Steven Rowley:
Lily and the Octopus
The Editor
The Guncle

(I received a complimentary copy of The Celebrants for review.)

Book Review: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Publisher: ‎ Harper Wave
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.

What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.  

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.

I’ve always been intrigued by cults and wondered why seemingly normal, intelligent people join them. Cultish explains how language has a lot to do with it. Each cult has its own language. A good example of this is Scientology with their “pre-clears” and “Thetans” and whatnot. Members feel special because they are in the know. They have been chosen to learn this special language that not everyone knows.

What I found most eye-opening is the chapters on multi-level marking companies (MLMs) and workout organizations like CrossFit. They both use the same language strategies that cults do. Some might argue that they are cults or at least as the book title says, cultish. Having been briefly part of an MLM myself, I can attest that they used every single ploy that Montell outlines in that chapter.

Cultish was a fascinating look at cults and their language. What I learned stuck with me and I think about it often.

Highly recommended.

Audiobook Review: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Narrator: Jennette McCurdy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: August 09, 2022
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Even though I didn’t know who Jennette McCurdy was (iCarly was way after my time), I heard so much buzz about this book, I had to read it. I’m so glad I did. Jennette reads the audiobook herself with an eerie detachment that made me want to keep listening. She is unflinchingly honest about what she shares and I imagine some detachment was necessary to keep from breaking down while reading it.

Her childhood was basically ruined by the hands of her narcissistic mother. Her mother had breast cancer when Jennette was very young and played the cancer card whenever she could to manipulate situations to her benefit. As a child, Jennette wanted to do everything she could to keep her mom happy. So that meant when her mom announced when Jennette was seven-years-old that Jennette was going to become an actress, she went along with it even though it made her nervous and uncomfortable. She taught Jennette how to be anorexic, setting her up for a lifetime of disordered eating – so she could stay small and young looking to get better acting jobs. She did a lot of other disturbing things too, like washing Jennette’s hair in the shower until she was eighteen years old – saying that Jennette didn’t know how to do it properly.

Because Jennette didn’t know any different, she doesn’t realize she was being abused by her mother until after her mom dies of a relapse of cancer. I totally get the title, even though it’s morbid sounding. I don’t know that she would have been able to get out from under her mother’s control without her death – at least not for a good long while.

Whether you’re a Jennette McCurdy fan or not, I’m Glad My Mom Died is a memoir worth reading.

Highly recommended.

Audiobook Review: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Narrator: Chanel Miller
Publisher: ‎ Penguin Audio
Publication Date: September 24, 2019)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral–viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.

Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways–there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.

Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

Chanel Miller is the woman that Brock Turner raped behind a dumpster while she was unconscious. The case sparked a national outcry when Turner was sentenced to just six months in the county jail. Chanel’s eloquent victim statement went viral, eventually leading to the recall of the judge that presided over the case.

Chanel reads the audiobook herself, which made listening to it just that much more heartbreaking and personal. Before I started, I wondered how she could get a whole book out of what happened – I was thinking there would maybe be enough material for a long magazine article. Boy, was I wrong. I was truly stunned by the amount of time she had to take out of her life to prepare for trial. It took over three years. During that time, she was also dealing with the trauma of the rape itself. There was no way she could hold down a job. I found myself wondering how any victim carries through with a rape trial – it takes a lot of time and energy.

One thing that surprised me was that Chanel became an amateur stand-up comedian as part of her healing journey. I looked for a clip online but I couldn’t find one – I’m really interested in seeing her act. I wonder if she’s still performing. I did watch a clip of her being interviewed by Trevor Noah on The Daily Show and was impressed with her sense of humor.

Chanel does a great job of pointing out how prevalent rape culture is. For instance, the focus of most “unbiased” news articles was on how Turner’s life would be impacted and wasn’t it a shame. Very little was about the impact on Chanel’s life. And Turner’s father said something like, “Brock shouldn’t be punished for the rest of his life for 20 minutes.” That made my stomach turn. No wonder Turner was so entitled as to think he could have his way with someone just because she was passed out.

Know My Name is an unflinchingly honest, important memoir. Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

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.

Olive, a biology Ph.D. student needs to convince her best friend Anh that she has a boyfriend. Anh is very interested in Jeremy, who Olive went on a couple of dates with but is not interested in at all. Despite Olive’s telling her to go for it with Jeremy, Anh refuses to break girl code. One night in the lab hallway, Olive sees Anh out of the corner of her eye and grabs the nearest guy and kisses him. That guy turns out to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, who is not only the most sought after professor in the department, he’s also the department’s biggest jerk. Even so, somehow, Olive convinces him to keep up the charade of their romance.

I’m not a huge romance reader but I’ve been hearing so many good things about this book, I had to check it out. And you guys were right! I love that the female protagonist has brains. It reminded me a little of Lessons in Chemistry in that it showed just how hard it is for women in STEM. Of course, that book took place in the 1960 and The Love Hypothesis is set in the present day. Not much has changed, unfortunately. Adam was a great character. He and Olive had palpable chemistry. I loved his sense of humor and his hidden sensitive side. I want him to be my fake boyfriend!

There is one spicy scene and it’s a doozy but my favorite part was actually not spicy and was towards the end- when Olive goes to the restaurant where Adam is having dinner with the Harvard faculty. I was swooning for him and had to reread it.

The Love Hypothesis is a cute take on the fake dating trope. I liked that the characters occasionally acknowledged that Olive’s situation was straight out of a rom-com – kind of giving a wink to the reader. This was the perfect summer read. Highly recommended.