the love hypothesis total chapters

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | A Grumpy-Sunshine STEM Romance We All Deserve

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Pub Date: September 14, 2021 by Berkley Romance

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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.

This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission through qualifying purchases.

Content Warnings: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Misogyny, On-page sex

I received an advanced review copy from Penguin Random House International and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Initial Thoughts 🧠

I recently learned that this book was originally a Reylo fanfic on AO3. This goes to show that fanfic writers are truly the unsung heroes in literature.

Okay, I’m having a disclaimer before anything. I’m not a fan of the Rey/Kylo Ren (Reylo) pairing, nor am I a fan of Adam Driver. But I hope Reylo fans and I would agree that The Last Jedi is the best movie in the sequel trilogy . 😉

But here’s the thing, I really found The Love Hypothesis amazing ! It’s a cute STEM rom-com between a grumpy professor and a timid ball of sunshine Ph.D. candidate that will surely hit all your sweet spots!

It Started With A Kiss 💏

In an attempt to convince her friend, that she’s over her ex, Olive kisses Dr. Adam Carlsen. That kiss turns into a fake dating contract that includes Wednesday coffee dates, smartass banters and some SPF slathering action. Surprisingly, Adam agrees for his own reason: to get enough funds for his research. So Olive convinces Anh that she’s over Jeremy and Adam secures his research grant . It’s a win-win! Except when feelings get involved, things get a little bit messy.

At first glance, this seems like a professor-student relationship but the technicalities were tackled in the book. So the tl;dr version is Olive isn’t a student/advisee of Adam so we can at least rule out the power dynamics for them. Besides, it seems like Adam was a little indifferent from the start like the true grumpy cat he is. I love how the book pokes fun at different tropes both for the story and the characters. Okay, actually it was Olive doing the poking 😂.

Speaking of Olive , is it possible to fall in love with a character from page one? Because that’s exactly what I felt about her from the moment she puts on expired contacts 🤣. Even with her timid personality, she managed to be a ball of sunshine to complement Adam’s brooding and grumpy personality. Her insecurities and impostor syndrome really resonated with me. She was just too damn relatable .

I also enjoyed the small moments they shared slowly opening up to each other. And the little tidbits showing Adam truly cared about Olive were just super kilig-inducing! Although, the story was generous enough to give us clues that Adam actually likes Olive, and as it turns out he’s secretly in love with her! PLEASE CAN IT GET MORE KILIG?????? 😍😍😍

Also Read: Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

Idiots in Love

Since we’re on the kilig topic, can I just say how delicious (for a lack of a better term) and gratifying the romantic scenes are in this book? It started with the little things like the coffee dates, playful banter, their support for each other, up to the hot steamy action!

Calling back at the “poking fun at the tropes” earlier, and one of the tropes I love is the famous “there is only one bed” and I love how it played out in this book! I feel like I’m running out of words to fully express my undying love for Olive and Adam. I just really enjoyed their mutual pining. Mostly from Olive but as I mentioned earlier, there were enough cues for the readers to conclude Adam’s feelings.

Also, I’d like to highlight the demisexual rep in the book. Olive is demisexual and I love that explored open conversations about it. This was actually the first time I’ve read a book with a character that identifies as demi, so that was really refreshing for me!

The execution, even if there was the dreaded miscommunication, was truly amazing!

Women in STEM 🧪

As a STEM graduate, STEM romance is something I’m always on the lookout for and this was the main selling point. I love seeing women rise and succeed in this field, but alas, we can’t always get rid of the ignorant misogynists. I think Hazelwood made a really compelling take on the issue of misogyny, gender inequality, and sexual harassment in The Love Hypothesis.

Olive and Adam’s miscommunication and 3rd-act break-up stemmed from this. And as much as I was annoyed, I understand where Olive was coming from. It’s the hard truth women face every day in their careers. So it was definitely satisfying to see how the offender was handled in the story.

Overall Thoughts 💡

The Love Hypothesis really deserves all the hype ! And for sure, it’s going to be one of the best books I’ve read this year!

The story was well-paced, the writing style was entertaining, and the characters were well fleshed-out , including the minor ones. I wish I could forget this book just so I could read it again for the first time. I really had a great time reading this book! 🥰

Do I recommend it? Hypothesis: The probability that I will say hell yes is 100%!

If you’re looking for more STEM Romances, check out Six Delos Reyes’ Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ali Hazelwood  is a multi-published author–alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Goodreads | Facebook

Looking for The Love Hypothesis Bonus Chapter?

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Let’s Chat! 💬

Have you taken a ride to The Love Hypothesis hype train yet? What are your favorite STEM romance books?

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omg wait this sounds so cute!!!!

KATE IT REALLY IS!!! I hope you get to read it!

Really enjoyed reading this book! Great review, by the way! ☺️ I really need to know what the next book is about 😆

Check Nick @ Infinite Limits of Love’s interview with Ali Hazelwood! She posted an excerpt for the next book!

I have heard SO much about this book and I’m so excited to read it and your review has me even more hyped for it???

Ahhhh! It’s truly worth the hype!! I hope you enjoy reading this, Jayati!

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The Love Hypothesis (Review, Recap & Full Summary)

By ali hazelwood.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a delightful rom-com about a fake relationship between a biology Ph.D. student and a professor.

In The Love Hypothesis , Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. candidate who shares a kiss with a handsome stranger in order make her friend think that she's in a relationship. She's horrified when she realizes the "stranger" is Dr. Adam Carlson, a prominent professor in her department who is known for being a hypercritical and moody tyrant.

She and Adam each have reasons for needing to be in a relationship, and they agree to pretend to date for the sake of appearances. Of course, as she gets to know Adam, it's only a matter of time before she starts feeling something for him, and it becomes clear that her little experiment in fake-dating just might combust...

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

Three years prior, Olive Smith talks to a guy when she's in the bathroom fixing her contacts (and can't see) after her Ph.D. candidate interview. She tells him about her passion for her research. She doesn't catch his name but remembers the conversation distinctly and wonders about the guy she met.

In present day, Olive is a biology Ph.D. student researching early detection methods for pancreatic cancer. She kisses a guy randomly in order to trick her best friend into thinking she's dating someone (so that her best friend Anh won't feel bad about dating Olive's ex). That guy turns out to be Dr. Adam Carlson , a young, handsome and highly-respected tenured faculty member in her department. He's also known for being hypercritical and moody.

Meanwhile, Adam's department chair is worried that he's planning on leaving for another university and has frozen some of his research funds. So, Adam he agrees to pretend to be in a relationship with Olive in order to give the impression he's putting down "roots" here, in hopes they will unfreeze the funds.

As Olive and Adam fake-date, they get to know each other. Olive sees that Adam is demanding and blunt towards his students, but not unkind or mean. Olive confides in him about her mother getting pancreatic cancer, which is why she's doing her research.

Olive soon realizes that she has feelings for Adam, but she's afraid to tell him. When he overhears her talking about a crush, she pretends it's about someone else. Olive also hears someone else refer to a woman Adam's been pining after for years and is surprised at how jealous she feels.

In the meantime, Olive needs more lab space and has been talking to Dr. Tom Benton for a spot at his lab at Harvard. When Tom arrives in town, it turns out he's friends with Adam. Adam and Tom are friends from grad school, and they have recently gotten a large grant for some joint research that Adam is excited about. After Olive completes a report on her research for Tom, he offers her a spot in his lab for the next year.

Olive and Adam's relationship continues to progress until they attend a science conference in Boston. Olive's research has been selected for a panel presentation, while Adam is a keynote speaker. There, Olive is sexually harassed by Tom, who makes advances on her. When she rejects him, he accuses her of someone who sleeps around to get ahead. He also says that he'll deny it if she tells anyone and that they won't believe her.

While Olive does finally sleep with Adam at the conference, she soon tearfully breaks things off since she doesn't want to complicate things with Adam's joint research project with Tom. Adam is also in the process of applying for a spot at Harvard.

Olive is certain no one will believe her about Tom until she realizes that the accidentally recorded the conversation where he made advances and threatened her. Meanwhile, Olive's roommate Malcolm has started seeing Dr. Holden Rodriguez, a faculty member who is a childhood friend of Adam's. Olive and Malcolm turn to Holden for advice, who encourages them to tell Adam about the recording. He points out that he thinks the main reason that Adam is considering a move to Harvard is because Olive is supposed to be going there.

Olive finds Adam and shows him the video. He is incensed at Tom and reports it to their faculty. When Adam returns from Boston, he reports that Tom has been fired. Meanwhile, Olive has been reaching out to other cancer researchers for spots at other labs, and she's gotten promising responses. Olive tells Adam that she loves him and that she never liked anyone else. Adam admits that he remembered her from the day he met her in the bathroom and that she's the one he's been interested in for years.

Ten months later at the anniversary of their first kiss, Olive and Adam re-create the kiss to mark their anniversary.

For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary .

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Book Review

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood came out a few months ago, and I didn’t really pay much attention to it. However, people seem to really be enjoying this book, and after reading The School for Good Mothers , I was really in mood for something light and fun.

In the Love Hypothesis, Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. student at Stanford who ends up fake-dating a young and handsome tenured professor in her department. All the usual rom-com shenanigans ensue.

The Love Hypothesis is an unapologetically cheesy rom-com novel — with an upbeat attitude, meet cutes, fake-dating tropes, etc. — but it’s also a genuinely fun and often funny book. It hits a lot of familiar notes if you’re familiar with this genre, but somehow Ali Hazelwood has arranged them in a way that ends up being delightful and entertaining.

The book is super melodramatic at parts, uses so many tropes I couldn’t even list them all here if I was inclined to do so and is predictable in the way that rom-coms are always kind of predictable. That all said, I still had a fantastic time reading it and it flew by.

This is a short review because honestly it’s not that complicated to explain that this book is super cheesy and super fun.

Read it or Skip it?

If you like “chick lit” and rom-coms, you should definitely look into this book. I tend to be a little hypercritical of books in this genre, but I really enjoyed The Love Hypothesis . I found myself smiling and chuckling quite a bit as I read it.

This book is a straight-up cheesy rom-com — it is funny, melodramatic and fun as hell. I thought it was great.

See The Love Hypothesis on Amazon.

The Love Hypothesis Audiobook Review

Narrated by : Callie Dalton Length : 11 hours 8 minutes

I listened to about half of this on audiobook. I think the audiobook is solid. The narrator is easy to listen to and does a good job with it.

Hear a sample of The Love Hypothesis audiobook on Libro.fm.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of The Love Hypothesis

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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.

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The Love Hypothesis Kindle Edition

• Print length 383 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Berkley
• Publication date September 14, 2021
• File size 3306 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
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About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved..

Chapter One

Hypothesis: When given a choice between A (a slightly inconveniencing situation) and B (a colossal shitshow with devastating consequences), I will inevitably end up selecting B.

In Olive's defense, the man didn't seem to mind the kiss too much.

It did take him a moment to adjust-perfectly understandable, given the sudden circumstances. It was an awkward, uncomfortable, somewhat painful minute, in which Olive was simultaneously smashing her lips against his and pushing herself as high as her toes would extend to keep her mouth at the same level as his face. Did he have to be so tall? The kiss must have looked like some clumsy headbutt, and she grew anxious that she was not going to be able to pull the whole thing off. Her friend Anh, whom Olive had spotted coming her way a few seconds ago, was going to take one look at this and know at once that Olive and Kiss Dude couldn't possibly be two people in the middle of a date.

Then that agonizingly slow moment went by, and the kiss became . . . different. The man inhaled sharply and inclined his head a tiny bit, making Olive feel less like a squirrel monkey climbing a baobab tree, and his hands-which were large and pleasantly warm in the AC of the hallway-closed around her waist. They slid up a few inches, coming to wrap around Olive's rib cage and holding her to himself. Not too close, and not too far.

It was more of a prolonged peck than anything, but it was quite nice, and for the life span of a few seconds Olive forgot a large number of things, including the fact that she was pressed against a random, unknown dude. That she'd barely had the time to whisper "Can I please kiss you?" before locking lips with him. That what had originally driven her to put on this entire show was the hope of fooling Anh, her best friend in the whole world.

But a good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while. Olive found herself melting into a broad, solid chest that showed absolutely no give. Her hands traveled from a defined jaw into surprisingly thick and soft hair, and then-then she heard herself sigh, as if already out of breath, and that's when it hit her like a brick on the head, the realization that- No. No.

Nope, nope, no.

She should not be enjoying this. Random dude, and all that.

Olive gasped and pushed herself away from him, frantically looking for Anh. In the 11:00 p.m. bluish glow of the biology labs' hallway, her friend was nowhere to be seen. Weird. Olive was sure she had spotted her a few seconds earlier.

Kiss Dude, on the other hand, was standing right in front of her, lips parted, chest rising and a weird light flickering in his eyes, which was exactly when it dawned on her, the enormity of what she had just done. Of who she had just-

Fuck her life.

Fuck. Her. Life.

Because Dr. Adam Carlsen was a known ass.

This fact was not remarkable in and of itself, as in academia every position above the graduate student level (Olive's level, sadly) required some degree of assness in order to be held for any length of time, with tenured faculty at the very peak of the ass pyramid. Dr. Carlsen, though-he was exceptional. At least if the rumors were anything to go by.

He was the reason Olive's roommate, Malcolm, had to completely scrap two research projects and would likely end up graduating a year late; the one who had made Jeremy throw up from anxiety before his qualifying exams; the sole culprit for half the students in the department being forced to postpone their thesis defenses. Joe, who used to be in Olive's cohort and would take her to watch out-of-focus European movies with microscopic subtitles every Thursday night, had been a research assistant in Carlsen's lab, but he'd decided to drop out six months into it for "reasons." It was probably for the best, since most of Carlsen's remaining graduate assistants had perennially shaky hands and often looked like they hadn't slept in a year.

Dr. Carlsen might have been a young academic rock star and biology's wunderkind, but he was also mean and hypercritical, and it was obvious in the way he spoke, in the way he carried himself, that he thought himself the only person doing decent science within the Stanford biology department. Within the entire world, probably. He was a notoriously moody, obnoxious, terrifying dick.

And Olive had just kissed him.

She wasn't sure how long the silence lasted-only that he was the one to break it. He stood in front of Olive, ridiculously intimidating with dark eyes and even darker hair, staring down from who knows how many inches above six feet-he must have been over half a foot taller than she was. He scowled, an expression that she recognized from seeing him attend the departmental seminar, a look that usually preceded him raising his hand to point out some perceived fatal flaw in the speaker's work.

Adam Carlsen. Destroyer of research careers , Olive had once overheard her adviser say.

It's okay. It's fine. Totally fine. She was just going to pretend nothing had happened, nod at him politely, and tiptoe her way out of here. Yes, solid plan.

"Did you . . . Did you just kiss me?" He sounded puzzled, and maybe a little out of breath. His lips were full and plump and . . . God. Kissed. There was simply no way Olive could get away with denying what she had just done.

Still, it was worth a try.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.

"Ah. Okay, then." Carlsen nodded and turned around, looking vaguely disoriented. He took a couple of steps down the hallway, reached the water fountain-maybe where he'd been headed in the first place.

Olive was starting to believe that she might actually be off the hook when he halted and turned back with a skeptical expression.

"Are you sure?"

"I-" She buried her face in her hands. "It's not the way it looks."

"Okay. I . . . Okay," he repeated slowly. His voice was deep and low and sounded a lot like he was on his way to get ting mad. Like maybe he was already mad. "What's going on here?"

There was simply no way to explain this. Any normal person would have found Olive's situation odd, but Adam Carlsen, who obviously considered empathy a bug and not a feature of humanity, could never understand. She let her hands fall to her sides and took a deep breath.

"I . . . listen, I don't mean to be rude, but this is really none of your business."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded. "Yes. Of course." He must be getting back into his usual groove, because his tone had lost some of its surprise and was back to normal-dry. Laconic. "I'll just go back to my office and begin to work on my Title IX complaint."

Olive exhaled in relief. "Yeah. That would be great, since- Wait. Your what?"

He cocked his head. "Title IX is a federal law that protects against sexual misconduct within academic settings-"

"I know what Title IX is."

"I see. So you willfully chose to disregard it."

"I- What? No. No, I didn't!"

He shrugged. "I must be mistaken, then. Someone else must have assaulted me."

"Assault-I didn't 'assault' you."

"You did kiss me."

"But not really ."

"Without first securing my consent."

"I asked if I could kiss you!"

"And then did so without waiting for my response."

"What? You said yes."

"Excuse me?"

She frowned. "I asked if I could kiss you, and you said yes."

"Incorrect. You asked if you could kiss me and I snorted."

"I'm pretty sure I heard you said yes."

He lifted one eyebrow, and for a minute Olive let herself daydream of drowning someone. Dr. Carlsen. Herself. Both sounded like great options.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. It was a weird situation. Can we just forget that this happened?"

He studied her for a long moment, his angular face serious and something else, something that she couldn't quite decipher because she was too busy noticing all over again how damn towering and broad he was. Just massive. Olive had always been slight, just this side of too slender, but girls who are five eight rarely felt diminutive. At least until they found themselves standing next to Adam Carlsen. She'd known that he was tall, of course, from seeing him around the department or walking across campus, from sharing the elevator with him, but they'd never interacted. Never been this close.

Except for a second ago, Olive. When you almost put your tongue in his-

"Is something wrong?" He sounded almost concerned.

"What? No. No, there isn't."

"Because," he continued calmly, "kissing a stranger at midnight in a science lab might be a sign that there is."

"There isn't."

Carlsen nodded, thoughtful. "Very well. Expect mail in the next few days, then." He began to walk past her, and she turned to yell after him.

"You didn't even ask my name!"

"I'm sure anyone could figure it out, since you must have swiped your badge to get in the labs area after hours. Have a good night."

"Wait!" She leaned forward and stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He paused immediately, even though it was obvious that it would take him no effort to free himself, and stared pointedly at the spot where her fingers had wrapped around his skin-right below a wristwatch that probably cost half her yearly graduate salary. Or all of it.

She let go of him at once and took one step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"The kiss. Explain."

Olive bit into her lower lip. She had truly screwed herself over. She had to tell him, now. "Anh Pham." She looked around to make sure Anh was really gone. "The girl who was passing by. She's a graduate student in the biology department."

Carlsen gave no indication of knowing who Anh was.

"Anh has . . ." Olive pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear. This was where the story became embarrassing. Complicated, and a little juvenile sounding. "I was seeing this guy in the department. Jeremy Langley, he has red hair and works with Dr. . . . Anyway, we went out just a couple of times, and then I brought him to Anh's birthday party, and they just sort of hit it off and-"

Olive shut her eyes. Which was probably a bad idea, because now she could see it painted on her lids, how her best friend and her date had bantered in that bowling alley, as if they'd known each other their whole lives; the never-exhausted topics of conversation, the laughter, and then, at the end of the night, Jeremy following Anh's every move with his gaze. It had been painfully clear who he was interested in. Olive waved a hand and tried for a smile.

"Long story short, after Jeremy and I ended things he asked Anh out. She said no because of . . . girl code and all that, but I can tell that she really likes him. She's afraid to hurt my feelings, and no matter how many times I told her it was fine she wouldn't believe me."

Not to mention that the other day I overheard her confess to our friend Malcolm that she thought Jeremy was awesome, but she could never betray me by going out with him, and she sounded so dejected. Disappointed and insecure, not at all like the spunky, larger-than-life Anh I am used to.

"So I just lied and told her that I was already dating someone else. Because she's one of my closest friends and I'd never seen her like a guy this much and I want her to have the good things she deserves and I'm positive that she would do the same for me and-" Olive realized that she was rambling and that Carlsen couldn't have cared less. She stopped and swallowed, even though her mouth felt dry. "Tonight. I told her I'd be on a date tonight ."

"Ah." His expression was unreadable.

"But I'm not. So I decided to come in to work on an experiment, but Anh showed up, too. She wasn't supposed to be here. But she was. Coming this way. And I panicked-well." Olive wiped a hand down her face. "I didn't really think."

Carlsen didn't say anything, but it was there in his eyes that he was thinking. Obviously.

"I just needed her to believe that I was on a date."

He nodded. "So you kissed the first person you saw in the hallway. Perfectly logical."

Olive winced. "When you put it like that, perhaps it wasn't my best moment."

"But it wasn't my worst, either! I'm pretty sure Anh saw us. Now she'll think that I was on a date with you and she'll hopefully feel free to go out with Jeremy and-" She shook her head. "Listen. I'm so, so sorry about the kiss."

"Please, don't report me. I really thought I heard you say yes. I promise I didn't mean to . . ."

Suddenly, the enormity of what she had just done fully dawned on her. She had just kissed a random guy, a guy who happened to be the most notoriously unpleasant faculty member in the biology department. She'd misunderstood a snort for consent, she'd basically attacked him in the hallway, and now he was staring at her in that odd, pensive way, so large and focused and close to her, and . . .

Maybe it was the late night. Maybe it was that her last coffee had been sixteen hours ago. Maybe it was Adam Carlsen looking down at her, like that. All of a sudden, this entire situation was just too much.

"Actually, you're absolutely right. And I am so sorry. If you felt in any way harassed by me, you really should report me, because it's only fair. It was a horrible thing to do, though I really didn't want to . . . Not that my intentions matter; it's more like your perception of . . ."

Crap, crap, crap.

"I'm going to leave now, okay? Thank you, and . . . I am so, so, so sorry." Olive spun around on her heels and ran away down the hallway.

"Olive," she heard him call after her. "Olive, wait-"

She didn't stop. She sprinted down the stairs to the first floor and then out the building and across the pathways of the sparsely lit Stanford campus, running past a girl walking her dog and a group of students laughing in front of the library. She continued until she was standing in front of her apartment's door, stopping only to unlock it, making a beeline for her room in the hope of avoiding her roommate and whoever he might have brought home tonight. It wasn’t until she slumped on her bed, staring at the glow‑in‑the- dark stars glued to her ceiling, that she realized that she had neglected to check on her lab mice. She had also left her laptop on her bench and her sweatshirt somewhere in the lab, and she had completely forgotten to stop at the store and buy the coffee she’d promised Malcolm she’d get for tomorrow morning. Shit. What a disaster of a day. It never occurred to Olive that Dr. Adam Carlsen— known ass— had called her by her name.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08T6XN4FP
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (September 14, 2021)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2021
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 3306 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
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About the author

Ali hazelwood.

Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

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Customers say

Customers find the book witty and fun to read. They also describe the story as captivating, compelling, and diverse. Readers find the characters relatable, dynamic, and vulnerable. They describe the book as cute, sweet, and a bit spicy. Customers also mention the book blends scientific curiosity with matters of the heart.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book readable. They mention the banter is good, incredibly witty, and light-hearted. Readers also appreciate the humor and wit. They say the story moves quickly and the word vomit thoughts are beyond hilarious.

"...I liked the friend group and the amount of humor and nuance in the writing . And let's speak a moment about the cover...." Read more

"...This is cute and sweet. It’s cheesy , but it knows that it is, and I think that makes it all the better.Olive is adorable...." Read more

"I loved this book! It was sooooo good ! This was my first time reading something by this author, and I am totally in love...." Read more

"...something up it hits them upside the head but when it does it was well written and the scientist can be just as passionate and romantic as..." Read more

Customers find the story relatable, captivating, and compelling. They say the author does a wonderful job of creating a diverse romantic read. Readers also mention the characters are relatable and believable. They describe the book as an easy and fun read.

"...So yeah, calling all geek-girls, this is a great romance book and I will definitely be reading more of the author's work in the future." Read more

"...is probably not going to be everyone’s favorite FMC but she’s dorky and believable ...." Read more

"...This is a great story , and I definitely recommend giving it a try." Read more

"...And it is definitely a love story. The romance is central throughout , with a light, fresh feel that gets richer and deeper as the story progresses...." Read more

Customers find the characters relatable and dynamic. They appreciate the vulnerability and depth of the characters. Readers also say the science references help add depth to the characters and offer good conversation fillers.

"...Still, Ali creates such great, complex characters that even when I didn't relate, I CARED...." Read more

"...I really love her writing style. The characters were super smart but not so smart that everything went over my head.I just loved Olive...." Read more

"...'s writing style is witty, charming, and engaging, and her characters are lovable , relatable, and full of personality...." Read more

"...Loved the academia with the romance. The characters felt easy to relate too , the writing style is top tier Ali, I really enjoyed reading this book!" Read more

Customers find the book cute. They say Adam is cute, the illustrations are amazing, and the voice is vivid and distinct.

"...And let's speak a moment about the cover. The Illustrator is amazing and honestly, her cover is what sold me to take the leap and buy the book...." Read more

"... Adam is cute . I really wish this was dual POV. I would LOVE to experience the pining and brooding that I know was going on in his head. But alas...." Read more

"...Well, it's all pretty great, actually. This has such a vivid , distinct voice that I am very much looking forward to whatever's next from..." Read more

"Okay, so not my favorite Ali book. It was cute tho. I read it in two sittings.I’m always down for a fake dating story...." Read more

Customers find the book sweet, with a nice bit of spice. They also love the banter and chemistry between Olive and Adam.

"...This is cute and sweet . It’s cheesy, but it knows that it is, and I think that makes it all the better.Olive is adorable...." Read more

"...This book does contain spice . I would say 2.5 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers...." Read more

"FINAL DECISION: This book is fun and light, like cotton candy . Even the "serious" storyline is really fluff because it lacks complexity...." Read more

"I love how the story unfolds, spice is there but minimal ...." Read more

Customers find the chemistry in the book tangible right from the start. They also appreciate the academic setting and nerdy references to science and research. Readers mention the book is entertaining and educational at the same time.

"...I felt the world of academia was well established as it was shown, not told...." Read more

"...Tall, academic , and sweet… he’s what dreams are made of..." Read more

"Please read because the chemistry is undeniable !!" Read more

"..." is a delightful and charming romance novel that combines scientific curiosity with matters of the heart...." Read more

Customers find the book heartwarming, funny, and tender. They say it gives a great sense of the hardships and adventures of graduate students. Readers also mention the book is sweet, fun, and slightly depressing.

"...The sex scene felt both hot and yet in some moments awkward , tender, and exposing (making it feel all the more real)...." Read more

"...It's a slow burn romance with one incredibly intimate and dynamic love scene - the intimacy and emotional connection are the shining stars here...." Read more

"...Olive had was so real that Ali makes it relatable and shows the real emotions and struggles that comes with it. Definitely a good read! 💯..." Read more

"...She is so selfless ...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention they love it, while others say it's painfully mundane.

"...A perfect summer romcom. This was easy to read and I finished it very quickly ...." Read more

"...The runtime is a bit longer than I'd like (11 hours), and I found it difficult to listen to the narrator's voice at a faster speed...." Read more

"...it’s a super fast read , b) it’s highly addicting, and c) Adam and Olive’s relationship/banter is the best...." Read more

"...On the other hand, this book have a lot of unrealistic situations , if you read this book don’t look for real things or amazing book to read, it is..." Read more

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Love Hypothesis Summary & Study Guide

The Love Hypothesis

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

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.

If you would like to read a list of content warnings for The Love Hypothesis (warning for mild spoilers), please click here . 

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The Love Hypothesis

Description.

Now see Adam pine for Olive in a special bonus chapter! The Instant New York Times Bestseller and TikTok Sensation! As seen on THE VIEW! A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021 When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. 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.

• Ali Hazelwood - Author
• Callie Dalton - Narrator
• Teddy Hamilton - Narrator

OverDrive Listen audiobook

• ISBN: 9780593457580
• File size: 341686 KB
• Release date: September 14, 2021
• Duration: 11:51:50

MP3 audiobook

• File size: 341731 KB
• Duration: 11:57:43
• Number of parts: 12

OverDrive Listen audiobook MP3 audiobook

Fiction Romance Humor (Fiction)

Publisher: Books on Tape Edition: Unabridged

OverDrive Listen audiobook ISBN: 9780593457580 File size: 341686 KB Release date: September 14, 2021 Duration: 11:51:50

MP3 audiobook ISBN: 9780593457580 File size: 341731 KB Release date: September 14, 2021 Duration: 11:57:43 Number of parts: 12

• Formats OverDrive Listen audiobook MP3 audiobook
• Languages English

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The Love Hypothesis

48 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-13

Chapters 14-15

Chapters 16-19

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Different Types of Intelligence

Through the representation of academia , Olive’s difficulty to parse her emotions, and the differences between Olive and Malcolm , The Love Hypothesis shows how there are different types of intelligence. Olive, Adam, and others within the Stanford community possess intelligence, as evidenced by the fact they work in academia. Many of Olive’s thoughts about her experiment show how she understands the material and is always seeking new information with which to supplement what she already believes. Tom’s insults in later chapters reveal just how intelligent Olive is. While Tom also possesses a level of intelligence to remain in the field, even if that intelligence is only enough for him to copy and add to the work of others, his jealousy and view of Olive as a threat shows just how intelligent her thought processes are.

Related Titles

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The Love Hypothesis

The tiktok sensation and romcom of the year, ali hazelwood, with an exclusive new bonus chapter... from adam's pov based on the available information and the data hitherto collected, my hypothesis is that the further i stay away from love, the better off i will be. 'contemporary romance's unicorn: the elusive marriage of deeply brainy and delightfully escapist.' christina lauren, new york times bestselling author of the unhoneymooners, ali hazelwood's latest novel, love on the brain is out now..

Helpful Book Guide: The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters List and Review

Posted on Published: July 27, 2023  - Last updated: October 23, 2023

Categories Book Guide , Spicy Chapters

What are The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters? Well, this guide is for you! Though this book is not very spicy, it is still my responsibility to squeeze out the spiciest The Love Hypothesis spicy chapters possible for you. It’s also a book I recommend with the ‘who did this to you” trope!

Table of Contents

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

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.

The Love Hypothesis Review

The Love Hypothesis is a captivating and heartwarming romance that delves into the complexities of academia and love. The story revolves around Olive Smith, a dedicated PhD student, and Adam Carlsen, a charming and cocky professor. Both characters are beautifully crafted with depth and vulnerability, making them relatable and endearing to readers.

The romance between Olive and Adam is a slow-burn delight, filled with moments of vulnerability and tenderness that will leave you swooning. Their undeniable chemistry and emotional connection create an engaging and satisfying love story. The witty banter between the two adds a delightful touch to their interactions.

Ali Hazelwood’s writing is both engaging and emotionally resonant, effortlessly drawing readers into the world of academia and scientific research. The novel’s exploration of the characters’ hidden depths and vulnerability adds layers to the story, making it a truly captivating read from beginning to end. “The Love Hypothesis” is a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and well-developed romance that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

books like the Love Hypothesis

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.

She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.

Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.

But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.

This book was cute to read! Also have the only one bed trope and enemies to lovers (of course).

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

She can never be his…but he’s taking her anyway.

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until  her.

Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.

Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defences until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she’s his.

His princess. His forbidden fruit. His every depraved fantasy.

Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she’s suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies—and treacheries—of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can’t have.

Her bodyguard. Her protector. Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom…and doom them both.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA.

A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win.

No exceptions.

Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.

When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.

The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

He hates her…almost as much as he wants her.

Gorgeous, cocky, and fast on his way to becoming a hotshot doctor, Josh Chen has never met a woman he couldn’t charm—except for Jules f**king Ambrose.

The beautiful redhead has been a thorn in his side since they met, but she also consumes his thoughts in a way no woman ever has.

When their animosity explodes into one unforgettable night, he proposes a solution that’ll get her out of his system once and for all: an enemies with benefits arrangement with simple rules.

No jealousy.

No strings attached.

And absolutely no falling in love.

Outgoing and ambitious, Jules Ambrose is a former party girl who’s focused on one thing: passing the attorney’s bar exam.

The last thing she needs is to get involved with a doctor who puts the SUFFER in insufferable…no matter how good-looking he is.

But the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes there’s more than meets the eye to the man she’s hated for so long.

Her best friend’s brother.

Her nemesis.

And her only salvation.

Theirs is a match made in hell, and when the demons from their past catch up with them, they’re faced with truths that could either save them …or destroy everything they’ve worked for.

Twisted Hate is a steamy enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers romance. It’s book three in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Abou t The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

A typical billionaire romance that is quite popular. It’s one of the more famous ones of the genre, especially on Kindle Unlimited.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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?

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time.

Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart. 

Romance between a sunshine fashionable “it” celebrity girl with grumpy sea sailor local. Bright cheerful icon x cold ordinary sailor combo meal.

The Love Hypothesis Spicy Chapters

As many readers may know (especially romance book readers), oftentimes we like to seek out book tropes and read romance books that include the book tropes we usually like and the book tropes we want to read at the moment. It’s what drives a lot of book recommendations and is a common way we seek out books to read. If you are a reader who is interested in:

• Tracking tropes that you have already read
• Tracking tropes that you would want to read in the future
• Collect original trope ideas that you came up with (and haven’t come across before)

Then this book trope reading journal is perfectly made for you!

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Home > Books > Corporate Social Responsibility - A Global Perspective

Mind the CSR Gaps in Corporate Acquisitions

Submitted: 14 May 2024 Reviewed: 14 May 2024 Published: 15 July 2024

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.1005740

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Corporate Social Responsibility - A Global Perspective

Muddassar Sarfraz and Kashif Iqbal

To purchase hard copies of this book, please contact the representative in India: CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. www.cbspd.com | [email protected]

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This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility considerations in corporate acquisitions. We illustrate how the difference in environmental and social performance between the target and acquirer prior to a deal influences the acquirer’s subsequent changes in these aspects post deal. By analyzing a large dataset of M&A transactions in the U.S., we find a positive impact of the pre-deal gap on the acquirer’s post-deal improvement in environmental and social performance. Our findings will support the learning theory of merger integration. Overall, our study highlights the significance of corporate social responsibility in major firm transactions and the pivotal importance of learning and capability transfer in the M&A integration process.

• corporate social responsibility
• environmental
• stakeholder orientation
• acquisitions
• merger integration

Author Information

Zhenyi huang *.

• University College London, United Kingdom
• University of Sydney, Australia

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected] and [email protected]

1. Introduction

As public awareness grows, there is a rising focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) or a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, garnering more interest from both academics and finance practitioners. A recent research from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) [ 1 ] reports that the size of the impact investing market stands at $1.16 trillion in assets under management in 2022. Impact investment is growing significantly and showing strong momentum despite COVID-19 disruptions. To attain the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, much effort has been collectively made across the government, institution, and public levels. In the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023, COP28, funding climate change initiatives was a major focus for national and industry leaders. At the company level, firms are actively driving sustainability efforts in their corporate investments to foster positive environmental and social development, aiming to serve all people and the planet. In the academic literature, research indicates a strong association between a company’s ESG standards and various facets of firm performance and corporate characteristics [e.g., 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. While there has been a stream of literature examining the impact of corporate governance, our study here focuses on the two relatively less explored dimensions, namely the environmental and social performance of firms. Specifically, we investigate the impact of pre-deal target and acquirer performance in the merger integration process, and how this contributes to shaping the post-deal environmental and social standards of the acquirers.

2. Hypothesis development and related literature

Research has demonstrated that a firm’s environmental performance significantly affects its financing costs [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], risk management practices [ 13 , 14 ], and stakeholder engagement [ 15 , 16 ]. Scholars have also explored the relevance of a firm’s social behavior to its business performance [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. This study extends current research on firms’ environmental and social policies by examining their impact in the context of mergers and acquisitions, a significant form of corporate investment. Deng and Kang [ 21 ] illustrate that acquirers with stronger CSR practices generate greater shareholder wealth in M&A transactions, aligning with stakeholder value maximization theory. Previous studies, such as those by Bereskin, et al. [ 22 ], Alexandridis, et al. [ 23 ], utilize a firm’s CSR as a proxy for corporate culture and find that similarities between acquirer and target firms lead to more successful integration processes. More recent studies further explore the CSR in relation to the various aspects of M&A transactions, demonstrating the significant importance of this concept [ 24 , 25 , 26 ].

Engaging in merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions stands as a significant corporate strategy for fostering firm growth [ 27 ]. Nonetheless, although merger synergy is typically anticipated upon announcement, it frequently falls short of delivering on its operational and financial objectives in the post-transaction phase [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. While various factors influence merger outcomes, the matter continues to be a subject of ongoing research in the finance and management literature. Post-merger integration has been recognized as a pivotal determinant of M&A success [e.g., 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].

According to the learning theory of post-merger integration, specific firm attributes, such as cultural disparities and corporate governance capabilities, can create opportunities for sharing resources and transferring knowledge, thus facilitating learning and value generation [e.g., 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. In Wang and Xie’s study [ 41 ], they illustrate that the gap in corporate governance quality between the acquirer and the target fosters synergy creation, consequently enhancing the wealth derived from the deals. While corporate governance is a fundamental aspect of firm attributes, the environmental and social dimensions of ESG have received less attention in the existing literature, particularly concerning their impact on M&A transactions. As post-merger integration affects multiple areas of firms’ attributes following deal completion, both acquirers and targets undergo consolidation in various aspects of their operations and policies, including environmental and social practices. A comparative advantage in the environmental and social performances holds the potential for dissemination and adoption throughout the merged entity. For instance, the target’s advanced pollution control infrastructure, which aids in reducing environmental penalties, could be extended across the entire firm following deal closure.

Therefore, we posit that a disparity between the target and acquirer in environmental and social practices presents learning opportunities, contributing to improving the acquirer’s performance in these areas post deal, thus embracing a “best of both” approach.

Hypothesis 1: A gap in environmental performance between the target and acquirer prior to the deal has a positive impact on the acquirer’s subsequent change in environmental performance post deal.

Hypothesis 2: A gap in social performance between the target and acquirer prior to the deal has a positive impact on the acquirer’s subsequent change in social performance post deal.

3. Data and variables

3.1 sample and data.

To conduct our empirical investigation, we utilize a dataset comprising 306 completed transactions announced between 1996 and 2012, with environmental and social data available up to 5 years after the deals were finalized. The acquirers and targets in our sample deals consist of U.S. public firms.

To analyze the environmental and social performance of firms, we obtain the ESG data from the KLD database, which has been widely cited and used in corporate social responsibility research. Our investigation focuses on how the disparity in environmental and social performance between target and acquirer firms before a deal influences the changes in the performance of those dimensions for the acquirer in the post-deal stage. We use the environmental and social data from the KLD database and measure this gap as the disparity between the target and acquirer firms’ environmental and social scores in the year before the deal announcement. This metric allows us to evaluate the target’s performance relative to the acquirer’s in each transaction, thereby providing a proxy for the target’s relative superiority in environmental and social performance, which could hence offer a learning benefit through capability transfer in a deal.

In this study, our focus lies on the outcome variables which entail the changes observed in the acquirer’s environmental and social performance post deal. For each transaction, we calculate the acquirer’s change in its environmental and social scores, comparing data from the year preceding the deal announcement to 3–5 years after the deal finalization, thereby examining longer-term effects, in line with the well-documented observation that M&A integration is a long-term process, which typically takes years to complete Renneboog and Vansteenkiste [ 35 ]. Thus, our analysis of the acquirer’s environmental and social performance changes during the three to five years following deal completion sheds light on the integration dynamics in these domains during the post-deal phase of the combined business entities. Furthermore, we explore the spectrum of subcategories of environmental and social performance to delve deep into the deal’s impact on these dimensions with greater detail. To isolate the marginal effect of the pre-deal gap on environmental and social outcomes, we include a comprehensive set of controls for the relevant firm and deal characteristics as well as industry and year fixed effects in our empirical models. The detailed definitions and explanations of all variables are demonstrated in Table 1 .

Variable definitions .

This table provides variable definitions and corresponding data sources. CRSP refers to the Centre for Research in Security Prices, SDC refers to the Thomson Reuters Securities Data Company, and KLD refers to the Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini environmental, social, and governance (ESG) database.

3.2 Descriptive statistics

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics for the environmental and social variables used in our empirical analysis. Panel A outlines the summary statistics of the gaps in environmental and social performance between target and acquirer firms prior to deals, which serve as our key independent variables of interest. The mean environmental and social gap in our sample is −0.467, with the minimum gap observed at −9 and the maximum at eight. This indicates that, on average, targets exhibit lower environmental and social scores compared to acquirers prior to deals. For a detailed breakdown, the mean environmental gap between targets and acquirers in our sample stands at −0.294, while the mean social gap is −0.173.

Variable descriptive statistics.

This table reports the summary statistics of the key environmental and social gap variables and outcome variables used in our empirical tests. The number of observations, mean, standard deviation, min, 5th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, 95th percentiles, and max are reported from left to right, in sequence for each variable.

Panel B presents the statistics of the outcome variables, which illustrate the changes in acquirers’ environmental and social scores during the three to five years following deal completion compared to their respective benchmarks before the deal announcement. These variables serve as the key dependent variables of interest in our regression analysis. Over the three-year post-deal timeframe, acquirers exhibit an average improvement of 1.131 in their overall environmental and social scores. Specifically, the mean improvement in environmental scores is 0.562, while the corresponding average change in social scores is 0.569. Upon comparing changes over the three to five years post-deal period, we observe an increase in the magnitude of environmental and social score improvements for the acquirers. The extent of change in these scores demonstrates a consistent increase from three to five years post deal, indicating that the integration of environmental and social standards into the acquirers’ business operations is a gradual process, with its effects progressively reflected and becoming more pronounced in the long-term post-deal phase.

4. Empirical results

In this section, we present the empirical findings on the outcome variables related to the acquirer’s change in environmental and social performance in the post-deal stage.

4.1 Univariate tests

To explore the influence of the pre-deal environmental and social gap between the target and acquirer on the acquirer’s ES performance change in the post-deal stage, we commence by conducting univariate tests to examine this relationship.

Table 3 illustrates the univariate analysis conducted through the two-tailed t-tests. We partition our sample into subgroups based on positive and negative ES_Gap (Panel A), E_gap (Panel B), and S_Gap (Panel C), respectively. Within each subgroup, we examine the trends in the acquirer’s environmental and social performance changes during the three to five years post-deal completion relative to their pre-deal standards.

Univariate test on the environmental and social gap.

This table reports the univariate tests of the impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental and social gap on post-deal acquirer change in environmental and social performance. Panel A reports the statistics for the environmental and social gap. Panel B reports the test on the environmental gap. Panel C reports the results on the social gap. The p-values from two-tailed t-tests are presented in the last column for the positive versus negative gap subgroups. *, **, and *** denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level, respectively.

In Panel A, we note that the positive ES_Gap subgroup exhibits a change in the acquirer’s environmental and social performance over three years of 1.438 in score magnitude, whereas the negative subgroup shows a change of 0.990. Additionally, the disparity between these subgroups widens over the three to five-year post-deal period, reaching statistical significance at the 1% level for the five-year difference. Therefore, the univariate test suggests that transactions featuring a positive ES_Gap tend to lead to a more substantial enhancement in the acquirer’s post-deal environmental and social standards. In Panel B and Panel C, the subgroups are constructed based on the pre-deal target-acquirer E_Gap and S_Gap, respectively. Here, a similar pattern emerges regarding the post-deal change in the acquirer’s environmental and social performance as observed in Panel A, where subgroups with positive pre-deal gaps tend to result in a significantly larger magnitude of post-deal change in the respective performance metrics.

Therefore, our univariate tests reveal a positive relationship between the pre-deal target-acquirer environmental and social gap and the subsequent change in the acquirer’s performance post deal. Given the observed pattern in the univariate analysis, we advance to explore this relationship using a more comprehensive multivariate framework in the following section, incorporating diverse firm and deal characteristics in the analysis for robustness.

4.2 Environmental gap

To assess the impact of M&A deals on a firm’s environmental performance, we conduct a multivariate ordinary least squares regression analysis using our sample of M&A transactions. In Table 4 Panel A, we present OLS regressions that investigate the effect of the pre-deal target-acquirer relative environmental (E) gap on the acquirer’s subsequent change in environmental performance, measured over the 3–5 years following deal completion. To isolate the marginal effect of the pre-deal environmental gap, we incorporate controls for the relevant deal and firm characteristics, while also incorporating year and industry fixed effects across our regression models to ensure robustness in our tests.

Change in post-deal environmental performance.

This table reports the ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions of the impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental gap on post-deal acquirer change in environmental performance. The dependent variable is the acquirer change in environmental scores from the year before announcement to 3, 4, and 5 years post-deal completion. Panel A presents the impact on the overall environmental performance. Panel B presents the impact on the major categorical environmental performance. The key independent variable of interest is the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental gap in the year before the announcement. We report p-values in parentheses. *, **, and *** denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level, respectively.

The empirical results consistently show positive coefficients for the pre-deal environmental gap, with strong significance at the 1% level across all three test models under different three to five years post-deal timeframes. According to the results in column (1), a one standard deviation increase in the pre-deal environmental gap between the target and acquirer is associated with a 0.57 increase in the acquirer’s three-year post-deal environmental score change. Given that the sample mean for the three-year post-deal change in the acquirer’s environmental score is 1.161, this represents a 49.0% increase in the acquirer’s Δ E (−1, +3) for an average deal in our sample. Therefore, the positive relationship between the pre-deal environmental gap and the subsequent change in the acquirer’s environmental performance is both statistically and economically significant, providing strong support for our Hypothesis 1. Hence, our results demonstrate a learning benefit and capability transfer between the target and acquirer in the field of environmental performance during the post-deal period.

We then delve deeper to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the various subcategories within the environmental dimension to explore the factors contributing most significantly to such capability transfer benefits. In Panel B, we focus on three main aspects of environmental performance, namely climate change, environmental regulation, and product impact on the environment, which have the most data availability in the three-year post-deal period. We employ the same set of control variables in the regressions as in the previous panel. The test results illustrate that the pre-deal target-acquirer environmental gap’s marginal impact is strongest in the acquirer’s change in climate change performance, followed by environmental regulation. This finding aligns with the escalating public awareness of climate change issues, particularly in the wake of multiple occurrences of extreme weather disasters, alongside the tightening of environmental regulations globally. Consequently, firms are strongly motivated to seize every available opportunity, especially through significant corporate actions such as M&A deals. Such deals provide companies an opportunity to boost their environmental performance, thereby meeting the various regulatory requirements and addressing the heightened ESG expectations of their investors.

4.3 Social gap

We next explore the effects of deals on a company’s social performance. In Table 5 Panel A, we provide the results of the ordinary least squares regressions that assess the impact of the pre-deal target-acquirer relative social (S) gap on the acquirer’s subsequent change in social performance, measured over the 3–5 years post-deal completion. To ensure the robustness of our tests and isolate the marginal effect of the pre-deal social gap, we incorporate controls for relevant deal and firm characteristics as well as year and industry fixed effects across all regression models.

Change in post-deal social performance.

This table reports the ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions of the impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal social gap on post-deal acquirer change in social performance. The dependent variable is acquirer change in social scores from the year before announcement to 3-, 4-, and 5-years post-deal completion. Panel A presents the impact on the overall social performance. Panel B presents the impact on the major categorical social performance. The key independent variable of interest is the target-acquirer pre-deal social gap in the year before the announcement. We report p-values in parentheses. *, **, and *** denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level, respectively.

The empirical findings, as presented in Panel A, consistently demonstrate positive coefficients on the pre-deal social gap, with strong significance at the 1% level across all three models over three to five years post-deal timeframes. According to the results from column (1), a one standard deviation increase in the pre-deal target-acquirer social gap is associated with a 0.70 increase in the acquirer’s social score change three years post deal. Given that the sample mean for the three-year post-deal change in the acquirer’s social score is 2.016, this represents a 34.5% increase in the acquirer’s Δ S (−1, +3) for an average deal in our sample. Therefore, the positive impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal social gap and the subsequent change in the acquirer’s social performance is both statistically and economically significant, providing strong evidence supporting our Hypothesis 2. This finding demonstrates the capability transfer and integration between the target and acquirer in the domain of social practices during the post-deal period.

We then proceed to conduct a detailed analysis of the subcategories within the social dimension to explore the aspects that contribute most significantly to such improvement in the company’s social performance. In Table 5 Panel B, we examine four main areas of social performance over the three-year post-deal period, namely community, human rights, employee relations, and product. To ensure consistency, we include the same set of control variables in the regressions as in the previous table panel. The test results show that the marginal impact of the pre-deal target-acquirer social gap strongly influences the acquirer’s improvement in product and employee relations. This suggests that acquirers prioritize managing employee relations during the integration stage to enhance employee satisfaction and job performance after deal completion. This finding aligns with the importance of integrating corporate cultures from the two previously separate entities in the post-deal stage. In addition, our findings indicate that acquirers utilize the social gap to improve their product performance, which includes aspects such as product quality, innovation, product safety, etc. Our results demonstrate that acquirers make deliberate efforts to boost their product performance to achieve operational gains and financial benefits for shareholders and customers in the post-deal stage. Moreover, a significant effect is observed in the community category, indicating that the learning and capability transfer of social practices through M&A integration generate positive externalities for the broader society and stakeholders.

4.4 Environmental and social total gap

Furthermore, we investigate the impact of M&A deals on the overall environmental and social (ES) performance by aggregating the two dimensions into a combined measure. Table 6 presents the ordinary least square regressions, examining the effect of the pre-deal target-acquirer environmental and social total gap on the acquirer’s subsequent post-deal change in its aggregate environmental and social performance. The dependent variable is the acquirer’s change in ES performance over the 3–5 years following deal completion relative to their pre-deal standard. To ensure the robustness of our analysis, we control for the relevant deal and firm characteristics in the tests and also include year and industry fixed effects across the models.

Change in overall environmental and social performance.

This table reports the ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions of the impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental and social gap on post-deal acquirer change in overall environmental and social performance. The dependent variable is the acquirer change in environmental and social scores from the year before the announcement to 3, 4, and 5 years post-deal completion. The key independent variable of interest is the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental and social gap in the year before the announcement. We report p-values in parentheses. *, **, and *** denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level, respectively.

Table 6 demonstrates that the test coefficients of the environmental and social gap are consistently positive, with a strong significance level of 1% across the models over three to five years post-deal windows. Based on the findings from column (1), a one standard deviation increase in the pre-deal target-acquirer environmental and social gap corresponds to a 0.71 increase in the acquirer’s ES score three years after the deal. Considering that the sample mean for the three-year post-deal change in the acquirer’s ES score is 2.492, this increase in the acquirer’s Δ ES (−1, +3) for an average deal in our sample amounts to 28.3% of the sample mean. Therefore, the positive impact of the target-acquirer pre-deal environmental and social gap on the subsequent change in the acquirer’s ES performance is both statistically and economically significant, thereby validating our test results from the previous sections.

Our findings offer important practical implications in the field of M&A integration. A pre-deal discrepancy in environmental and social performance between the target and acquirer indicates different strengths and weaknesses in their respective practices in these areas. This difference provides the acquirer with valuable opportunities to potentially learn from the target and incorporate its effective practices and resources into the merged business through post-deal integration. For instance, environmentally sustainable policies, such as waste management, previously implemented solely by the target, can now be extended and adopted across the combined business following the deal completion. Essentially, the pre-deal environmental and social gap represents an opportunity for the acquirer to boost its overall environmental and social performance after the deal.

The potential benefit of improving overall environmental and social performance could be a motivating factor behind the acquirer’s choice of target. Our research on the learning and capability transfer between firms engaged in M&A deals, stemming from the pre-deal disparity in target-acquirer capacities, builds upon the work of Wang and Xie [ 38 ], who explore the impact of capability transfer in the domain of corporate governance. Therefore, our study extends the scope of corporate social responsibility literature and illustrates that the learning benefit between targets and acquirers can be achieved through disparities in the wider ESG fields.

5. Conclusions

This study examines the impact of the corporate social responsibility gap in company acquisitions. We explore how disparities in environmental and social performance between target and acquirer firms affect the acquirer’s subsequent change in these dimensions in the post-deal stage. Our findings illustrate that a pre-deal gap in environmental and social performance between the target and acquirer positively impacts the acquirer’s performance in these fields after the deal. Our results support the learning theory of merger integration, demonstrating that the pre-deal environmental and social gap provides an opportunity for the capability transfer of those practices during the post-deal phase. This allows for the adoption and implementation of best practices from both sides across the combined business to achieve optimal performance.

In conclusion, our study contributes new insights to the corporate social responsibility literature and provides important implications for firms making major corporate investment decisions, such as M&A. Our empirical findings on learning and capability transfer in merger integration emphasize the importance of target selection and stakeholder orientation, and hence highlight the significance of actively improving corporate social responsibility in firms’ management.

In this research, the scope of the study is focused on the United States as the world’s largest capital market with the highest M&A deal volume for observations. For future work, the analysis could be extended to a global context, considering the different regional cultural, legal, and institutional frameworks. Hence, our study sheds light on future research to further investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility and M&A in a broader context.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard creative director answers all of our important questions and some less-important ones: "I am a Final Fantasy 10 diehard; I love the Sphere Grid"

Interview | "This game is definitely going to some degree feel like an end to a chapter," says BioWare's John Epler

Somewhere roughly in the middle of my several-hour hands-on with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I was politely tapped on the shoulder and brought in front of John Epler, creative director for the upcoming game. After introducing myself, I pestered him for nearly 20 minutes about everything I could possibly think of – from what a Dragon Age game even is nowadays, to how the team appeals to new and returning players alike, and yes, Final Fantasy 10's Sphere Grid. (I swear it's relevant, please don't leave.)

Despite the somewhat jarring nature of being pulled directly from a high-intensity RPG into a significant interview, I like to think I managed a fairly coherent line of questioning with a backbone of "how" and "why" with the occasional "what" thrown in for good measure. I'm pretty sure I might have even accidentally come across as confident. Epler, for his part, certainly was.

In an effort to fully highlight his answers about all things Dragon Age: The Veilguard , as well as my totally excellent questions, we're running the interview as a full-on Q&A. It's not going to satisfy anyone's deep, personal need for niche lore – I did also try to get him to speak about Harding's weird magic, for all the good it did me, in a bit that ended up on the cutting room floor – but it should add tasty context to what the developers were trying to do, how they got to where they are now, and even perhaps what the future of the franchise has in store.

The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard – The Big Preview This month, we're diving deep into one of our most anticipated RPGs of the year. To find all our coverage, visit the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Big Preview hub .

From past to present

GamesRadar+: The Dragon Age games specifically are built on the backs of, at this point, decades worth of choices and consequences. When you're looking at making a new game, how do you square all of that?

I spent nearly 7 hours playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard and would like to spend 100 more in this RPG right now, thank you very much

John Epler, creative director for Dragon Age: The Veilguard : One of the great things about Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and this wasn't actually the reason we did it, but it was convenient is… we're Northern Thedas now, so a lot of decisions that you had made in Southern Thedas that are hugely important for Ferelden, for Orlais… Who's the Divine doesn't actually matter that much once you get to Tevinter, because they've got their own branch of the Andrastian religion. They've got a Black Divine.

So that's part of it, but the other is just finding those choices that we actually feel we can do something meaningful for and never invalidating the player choice. That's the key –  we may not always reference your choice, because it may not have an actual impact on the story that you're telling right now, but we're never gonna be like, "And that thing you did never happened." So it's a balancing act, for sure, because again, we want to make sure that we respect player choices, but also we need to make sure that our games don't get so complicated we're basically building the game six times each time we build it.

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Dragon Age: Origins is a vastly different game than what Dragon Age: The Veilguard is and will be, right, naturally occurring over this time. But what makes a Dragon Age game a Dragon Age game in 2024?

I think Dragon Age, all the way back to Origins, has always been about the characters. Dragon Age: Origins obviously had a fairly significant cast of companions. You had Leliana, Morrigan, Sten, Alistair, Oghren, Wynne… and that's always been at the heart of what makes Dragon Age. Dragon Age is characters and choices that matter, that have an impact on the world.

So in the case of both Origins and The Veilguard, we want to make sure that you feel like you are impacting the world around you, but also impacting the people around you in a much more personal way. And I think that's been true of every Dragon Age game; it was true of DA2, it was true of Dragon Age: Inquisition, true of The Veilguard, and is true of Origins as well.

Getting into character

That said, The Veilguard. I mean, it's The Veilguard , right? There's a very clear emphasis on the party. Dragon Age: Inquisition has the Inquisitor on the front of the cover; you've got everybody showing up here for Veilguard. When was that decision made to really hone in on the characters like that?

Pretty early on, honestly. We really wanted to make this about the companions. When we built Inquisition, when we built Trespasser, the thing people talk about the most – they don't talk about necessarily Corypheus and the tear in the Veil. They talk about their experience with Dorian, they talk about their time with Iron Bull, they talk about Cole, and, I mean, they talk about – let's talk about the elephant in the room – they talk about Solas and how much his character arc influenced them, how much they care to either kiss him or punch him. There's other options, but those seem to be the most common.

And so from the beginning, we wanted this to be a story about the people around you, about the companions. It especially started coming together once the companions were actually built, and we realized we wanted to build these characters for – one of the things people talk about the most, and it wasn't necessarily a massive choice, but the mission [in Dragon Age: Inquisition] where you go with Iron Bull to save or to let the Chargers die, people talk about that all the time. And when people talk about even the critical path like Halamshiral, they talk about the companions. The way that Solas had to deal with the racism of Orlesian society and things like that. It just felt like a natural focus for us.

It also lets us tell a story, I think, in a way that ultimately ends up being more interesting and "characters not causes" has been kind of our watchword for the series. Plight of the Wardens, what's happening with the elves – interesting enough, but if you don't have a face to attach that, it's hard to make people care as much. But once you put a face, once – again, talking about Solas – once the elves become represented or what happened to the elves becomes represented by this character that you love or hate, it becomes a lot more interesting.

How did the team decide, "OK, these are the characters we're going with, these are the factions we're going with?" Because there are a bunch that are not represented. And obviously we could sit here and list for hours the returning characters who we have not seen and who are not companions.

For characters and companions in particular, it comes down to, what does the story need in this moment? What kinds of characters? And, more importantly, what kind of characters are we as a team, as a whole, interested in building? It's funny, because some of the existing factions, the Grey Wardens existed before. And when we were talking about Davrin, it was like, "OK, we want to make a Grey Warden, what's an interesting story to tell about a Grey Warden?" And talked a little bit about Assan and that.

But other characters – Bellara existed before there was a Veil Jumpers faction. Originally she was going to be strictly a Dalish character. And then we were like, "OK, the Dalish have a great story, but also Solas has been letting raw magic back into this world. Things are going weird in Arlathan. What about a faction that their purpose is to try to contain this spread of this raw, ancient magic?"

We drew a lot of inspiration there from Roadside Picnic, Annihilation, kind of that weird reality type of fiction. But the faction then became, OK, what does that mean? What is the character of Bellara? As a Veil Jumper, how does she impact the world? How is she affected by the story of Solas, but also the story of Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, who've now emerged, and are now targeting the world. If you're an elf, especially if you're a Dalish elf, that's gonna be a bit of a bit of a mind screw, because those are your gods, and now they're out. So what does that story look like?

Them's fightin' words

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's gameplay as compared to Dragon Age: Origins is vastly different, but not so vastly different from Inquisition, which was not so vastly different from Dragon Age 2. It has continued to evolve, and here and now, it feels very "action RPG." What do you see that brings to the game as opposed to going the Baldur's Gate 3 route?

For us, a lot of what it brings to the game is making you feel like you are Rook, making you feel like you inhabit this world, making every motion, every button press do something meaningful in the world. Because, again, this is a story that is as much about Rook as it is about the companions, and we want you to feel like you're playing through this story.

Previous games, because of technological restrictions, we had to do a lot of this through cutscenes. I'll use Siege of Adamant as a great example in DAI. That was a big cutscene sequence, and you played through the very tail end of it, and part of that was we just couldn't make it work as a gameplay sequence. Now that we can, we want you to feel it, and part of that is giving you that much more immediate control, making those motions matter, making every move matter, while still also allowing that tactical layer, that strategic layer of, what abilities do I choose? Who do I use when? Pause and play through the combat wheel.

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you've got people like me who've played the whole series who are coming in very knowledgeable about everything that Dragon Age is and was. But then you're also absolutely going to get people who were not old enough to play a Dragon Age game the last time one came out. How do you introduce those people to this world?

Dragon Age: The Veilguard devs "try to avoid the idea of there being a single canon," and they'd rather ignore your choices in the previous RPGs than undo them

Honestly, it's a big fantasy world with a spectacular story. And I think, as you see in the trailer that we released, there's a lot of stuff there that if you're a Dragon Age fan, you're like, "Oh, wow, I know who that is and what that is." But if you're not, it's a big fantasy spectacle. Obviously, Baldur's Gate last year; fantasy is big right now. House of the Dragon, people love Rings of Power.

But on a more design-focused level, it's a lot about making sure that if we're introducing unfamiliar concepts early on, we're pairing them with concepts you may be a little bit more familiar with. For example, "Evanuris" is a word that, if you're not a Dragon Age fan, means literally nothing. But so for the first few hours of the game, any time you see "Evanuris," we're also saying "elven gods" so you understand that, "OK, these two concepts are linked."

It's about – I describe them as capital letter words – trying to avoid, at least in the first few hours, using exclusively capital letter words, and making sure that players who are new to the franchise and new to the games can kind of get a sense of, "OK, know what these things are and what these concepts are," while also allowing players like yourself who've been with this for a long time, those moments of recognition, those moments of even being able to feel a clever occasionally like, "Oh, I know what's gonna happen, because I know how these two concepts work here."

I've heard, to talk about the proper noun problem, it's like Tolkien can get away with that, but everyone else, you need to be very careful.

Tolkien can get away with it, because Tolkien will write like 18 paragraphs describing a proper noun, and I say this as a massive fan of Lord of the Rings, I've watched the movies multiple times. I have the books, I've read the books more times than I can count. But he can do it because, again, when you go into a Tolkien book, you're expecting a lot of prose and a lot of exposition. A game's a little bit different. You can't make a 40-minute title scroll at the beginning of your game to explain all your proper nouns.

Skills as far as the eye can see

It was really funny to open up the skills menu and see the vast Sphere Grid-style upgrades. Obviously I feel like there's this kind of push and pull about just like, adding extra numbers to things, right?

Funny enough, that was one of the things that we wanted to make sure we got away from. Because sometimes you'll get a skill tree, and it'll be like, choose this skill for one more damage. We wanted to make sure that any numbers that were in there were at least meaningful enough to show up in your play, but also allow you to play the class very differently based on how you spec it up.

It's funny you say Sphere Grid, because when they showed me – like, it's the Sphere Grid, and I am a Final Fantasy 10 diehard; I love the Sphere Grid. Getting that opportunity to kind of build your character out, especially as you move towards the specializations. Rogue is a great example. "I'm much more of a ranged player," so you start speccing towards Veil Ranger.

My absolute favorite, I mean it changes all the time, but right now my absolute favorite is the [Spellblade] in the mage class. And what I love about that one is just, if you're an Antivan Crow and you're a mage, how does that work? And like that is our answer to that question. No, you're not gonna stand on a rooftop like 20 meters away throwing fireballs, you're gonna get in close and shank them, but you're gonna have magic to shank them with.

What do you hope people take away from Dragon Age: The Veilguard when they are able to play?

Honestly, I hope people take away the companions. I also hope people take away the idea that there's a lot more stories to tell in Thedas, there's a lot going on. This game is definitely going to some degree feel like an end to a chapter, but it's the beginning of a new one as well. I just think… seeing those companions, seeing how they interact with the world, and falling in love with Thedas all over again, or in a lot of cases for the first time.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is set to release on October 31, 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. If you're looking for something to hold you over until then, you could always check out some of the top games in our ranking of the best RPGs .

Rollin is the US Managing Editor at GamesRadar+. With over 16 years of online journalism experience, Rollin has helped provide coverage of gaming and entertainment for brands like IGN, Inverse, ComicBook.com, and more. While he has approximate knowledge of many things, his work often has a focus on RPGs and animation in addition to franchises like Pokemon and Dragon Age. In his spare time, Rollin likes to import Valkyria Chronicles merch and watch anime.

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