The 5 books you should read after watching the Love Hypothesis movie

If like me you love a good rom-com then you’ve probably read and watched The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood already. The movie stars Reinhart and Tom Bateman on Amazon Prime. It was very reminiscent of the early noughties films.

After finishing it, you’re probably wanting to read the book it’s based on, or you’ve read the book and now want to read something with a similar vibe. I’ve created a list of five romantic comedy novels that are either science-based or involve fake dating like we see in the movie.

Standouts for me are The Kiss Countdown, which follows a fake dating romance between a struggling event planner and an astronaut. Funny Story is the one I think I liked the most. While it isn’t set in the science world, it does have fake dating and Emily Henry always writes the most fun and realistic novels.

All listed below are great in their own ways.

In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

Blurb:

Nothing can rain on Quincy Monroe’s parade. She’s a woman in STEM with a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences, the host of a successful online weather show, and has one million followers on her meteorology Instagram.

Quincy has spent endless hours forging her path in this male-dominated field, becoming one of the best in the industry. And with a new job opportunity, nothing can derail her success. Except for the ill-timed arrival of Sebastian Dunn.

Sebastian is her best friend’s brother, her long-suffering academic and professional rival, and a flashy TV weatherman from New York City that everyone swoons over. Everyone but Quincy.

Over a scorching Florida summer and record-breaking hurricane season, Sebastian and Quincy are forced into close proximity. Setting aside their grudges to chase storms and stay alive is one thing, but can they weather the inevitable collision of their hearts?

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton

Blurb:

Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to be evicted.

The last thing she needed was to run into her ex and his new girlfriend at her favourite coffee shop. Panicked, Amerie pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met. He plays along – for a price.

Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a plan: for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent’s doting partner. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house.

What Amerie doesn’t plan for is Vincent’s gravitational pull.

While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he’s exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she’ll settle for the safe life – or shoot for the stars.

Love On the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Blurb:

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.

But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Blurb:

Jess Davis is a numbers genius, but when it comes to love she’s had to accept there is no magic formula. Juggling a mathematical career with raising her hyper (but adorable) seven-year-old Juno, it’s not surprising that her love life is. . . non-existent. Juno has a hunch that her mum would find the perfect man if she stepped out of her comfort zone – but Jess barely has time to make her daughter’s lunch, let alone put thought into dating. And when yet another date ends in disaster, she’s prepared to give up on love for good.

But then she hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new matchmaking company that claims to find you the One using a DNA equation. Suddenly, love doesn’t seem quite so far out of reach . . .

Until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena, and this man is 100% not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess, who is just about making ends meet, is in no position to turn it down. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the ‘Diamond’ pairing that could make GeneticAlly a fortune, Jess begins to realise that there might be more to the scientist – and the science behind a soulmate – than she thought.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Blurb:

Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story. That is until it became the prologue to his actual love story with his childhood bestie, Petra.

Which is how Daphne ends up rooming with her total opposite and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles.

As expected, it’s not a match made in heaven – that is until one night, while tossing back tequilas, they form a plan.

And if it involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course.

Because there’s no way Daphne would start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex . . . right?

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What did you think of The Love Hypothesis movie? Let me know in the comments. I’m also on Instagram, Twitter and Threads – @bookwormgirl_24