ellaraeread's reviews
42 reviews

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Whenever I had to put it down, I looked forward to picking it back up. I loved how strong and smart the FMC, Olive, was, as well as her relatable inner dialogue. I also loved the MMC, Adam, and how he’d “burn the world” for Olive, (I LOVE that trope). I especially appreciated the scene near the end where he defended her in every sense of the word—IYKYK
I also really loved Olive's self-awareness when it came to romcoms. The occasionally breaking of fourth wall for inside jokes with the reader, such as the "only one bed" trope was both funny and refreshing.
One thing I struggled with was connecting with Adam. Since the book is told only from Olive’s POV, Adam’s quiet and intense nature made it hard for me to understand what he was thinking. I’m glad we eventually got some insight into what made him tick, but I really wish we’d been able to hear some of his inner thoughts earlier on.
The part of the plot that bothered me was where the author placed the spicy scenes. To explain without giving too much away: the spicy scenes happened nearly directly after something traumatic happened to Olive. She’s crying in Adam’s arms, trying to decide whether to confide in him about what happened. As he comforts her, the tension between them escalates into an intimate situation. This sequence felt jarring to me because, as a reader, I was still processing the traumatic event and stressing about whether Olive would share it with Adam. The sudden shift to a spicy scene felt like a jump scare and gave me some whiplash. I think the pacing could have benefited from more space between these two types of scenes to give the emotional weight of the trauma more room to settle.
That said, I really appreciated the way Olive eventually revealed what happened to her with Adam. Her decision to and how she opened up to him and others was both brave and powerful.
Lastly, I know this is a bit of a trivial critique, but I’m not a fan of the book's cover. I wish the faces were less detailed, especially because Adam doesn’t look anything like how I imagined him.

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The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

- Tbh… I was bored😬. This book is nearly 400 pages and I was never excited to pick up it back up. I’m not one to DNF a book unless it triggers me so I pushed through, but I really disliked it most of the time.

- I didn’t connect with any of the characters (except Caz and Meep. If they were the main character I think my rating would be a bit higher…)

- Speaking of characters, the main character made me want to bash my head into a wall. Ok, that’s dramatic, but she was so socially dumb. I could see that the author liked to play into the fact that she’s never really had friends, but man it drove me crazy.

- Overall the book was pretty predictable, but again, somehow the characters were infuriatingly oblivious. The second half of the book was somewhat more interesting than the first half to me.

- I also feel that the author shoved all the “adventure/action” (I put it in quotation because there wasn’t much) into the last 100 pages. Probably because she realized the book was getting wayyyyy too long.

- I did like the love interest. If your love language is acts of service then this boy is for you. Don’t expect much romance though because it took them 270/370 pages to finally kiss.

All in all this one is going into a little free library by my house… hopefully to be found, read and treasured by the right reader :)

Content Warnings