Books Like The Love Hypothesis: 6 Romcoms to Read Next

The Love Hypothesis hit a sweet spot: a smart STEM heroine, a grumpy hunk, a fake-dating setup, and banter that crackles right up to the swoon. Ali Hazelwood understood that the tropes work because they work — the pleasure is in watching two clever people resist the obvious and lose. So the books that satisfy Love Hypothesis fans share that recipe: a juicy trope, sparkling dialogue, slow-burn tension, and a heroine worth rooting for.

Here are six romances that deliver, each with what it does best. If you flew through Olive and Adam’s story, this is where to go next.

The Hating Game — Sally Thorne (the enemies-to-lovers gold standard)

Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game is the modern enemies-to-lovers benchmark, and a must for Love Hypothesis fans. Two executive assistants wage war across their desks while the tension between them becomes impossible to ignore. The banter is razor-sharp, the slow burn is exquisite, and the chemistry is exactly the kind that made you root for Olive and Adam.

Best for: the enemies-to-lovers banter and workplace tension.

Beach Read — Emily Henry (the smart, swoony slow burn)

Emily Henry is the reigning queen of the smart romcom, and Beach Read is the perfect entry — two rival writers, neighbours for a summer, challenge each other to swap genres and fall for each other in the process. It balances genuine wit and emotional depth with the swoon, the upgrade pick for readers who want a little more heart with their banter.

Best for: witty, emotionally rich slow burn.

People We Meet on Vacation — Emily Henry (the friends-to-lovers ache)

A second Emily Henry, because she’s that good at this. People We Meet on Vacation follows two best friends and their annual trips, slow-burning the will-they-won’t-they over years. It’s the friends-to-lovers pick, full of banter and yearning, ideal for readers who love the tension of two people who clearly belong together circling the obvious.

Best for: the friends-to-lovers yearning and great banter.

The Spanish Love Deception — Elena Armas (the closest fake-dating match)

For the fake-dating trope specifically, Elena Armas’s The Spanish Love Deception is the nearest match to The Love Hypothesis. A woman recruits a grumpy colleague to pose as her date at a wedding, and the slow thaw between them delivers the same tropey, swoony, banter-driven pleasure. If the fake relationship was your favourite part, start here.

Best for: fake-dating and grumpy-meets-sunshine chemistry.

Red, White & Royal Blue — Casey McQuiston (the witty forbidden romance)

Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue brings the enemies-to-lovers banter to a charming, high-stakes setup: the First Son of the United States and a British prince, sworn rivals who fall hard. It’s funny, warm, and impossibly swoony, with the same clever-people-falling-in-love energy Love Hypothesis fans adore.

Best for: witty banter and a high-stakes forbidden romance.

It Ends with Us — Colleen Hoover (when you want more feeling)

If you want romance with higher emotional stakes, Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us trades the romcom lightness for something far more intense and dramatic. It’s a different register — emotional and heavy rather than purely swoony — but it’s the natural next stop for readers ready to feel everything.

Best for: a more emotional, dramatic kind of romance.

How to choose your next read

Pick by what you loved most. Enemies-to-lovers banter? The Hating Game. Smart, swoony slow burn? Beach Read. Friends-to-lovers yearning? People We Meet on Vacation. Fake-dating? The Spanish Love Deception. Witty forbidden romance? Red, White & Royal Blue. More feeling? It Ends with Us.

For more, browse our romance collection, and start with whichever trope you can’t resist.