There’s something sad about January.
I’ve felt it–this icky sadness–since I was a child, a feeling that almost makes me anxious towards the end of the year because I dread its arrival. Is it post-holiday blues? Seasonal depression? A reaction to the sudden need to make the new year that has been thrust upon me “the best one yet”? Perhaps. Either way, this year has been no different, and maybe its effects were made even worse due to the current state of the world and the dreaded “c” word.
But self-awareness is one of my many talents, and so I armed myself accordingly with my favorite things (black tea, candles, warm, fuzzy blankets, and essential oils) and of course–books. I immediately knew what genre I wanted to pick from. Nothing warms me more than a good romance novel–and a romantic comedy to boot. Luckily, the messy tower of books next to my bed that I lovingly call my TBR (to-be-read for those not in the know) had a few to choose from. The lucky winner was The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a novel I had been meaning to read for months now.
The Love Hypothesis was published just last autumn to much fanfare. If you are in any online book space (booktok, booktube, bookstagram), you probably have already heard of it. I think a lot of the initial press centered around the fact that this novel originally was a Reylo fanfic. (Once again, for those not in the know, Rey and Kylo Ren are characters from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. The romantic pairing has been dubbed “Reylo” by shippers.) The Reylo ship has brought much controversy to Star Wars’ door, and while the two kiss at the end of The Rise of Skywalker (spoiler!), some people still do not consider the couple canon or reject it due to its ‘toxicity.’ As someone who has an unhealthy obsession with the enemies-to-lovers trope and a redemption arc of any type, I’m pro Reylo. I could pontificate for paragraphs as to why, but I think this Youtube video by Joe Brennan entitled “Reylo: A Complicated History” says it better than I ever could:
The female protagonist and Rey’s counterpart of the Love Hypothesis, Olive, and her hero, Adam (aptly named, might I add–Adam Driver plays Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the movie) are two academics at Stanford University. Olive is a P.h.D. candidate researching pancreatic cancer after losing her mom, her only family and tether, years ago. Adam is a young, hotshot professor with a reputation for making people cry from his harsh criticism and rigorous standards. When Olive ropes Adam into fake dating her for a very romcom-ish reason, the two slowly start to fall for each other. And it’s glorious. There’s banter. There’s grumpy/sunshine goodness, personified by Adam’s love of black coffee and Olive’s obsession with pumpkin spice lattes. There’s a shared hotel room. There’s the classic he doesn’t like me/she doesn’t like me misunderstanding. There’s steaminess.
And yes. For those weary from the news, and the cold, and the limited amount of sunlight, there’s a happy ending. And a happy ending is sometimes all we need at the beginning of a new year.
Listen to the latest She Happily Reads podcast episode and hear more of my thoughts here:
She Happily Reads 