My next book that I have loved this year is Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood. So, I am kind of obsessed with all things NASA. I am a very big fan of the Apple tv show, For All Mankind. I LOVE Emma Barry's historical romance series, Fly Me To the Moon, which focuses on astronauts and other people involved in space. Well, add Love On the Brain to my to re-read list. Ali Hazelwood won me over instantly with The Love Hypothesis so to say I was thrilled and excited to read this book would be a massive understatement. I was EXCITED. Like Taylor Swift putting out a new album level of excited. Fortunately for me, my excitement turned out to be good.

Levi and Bee are two big science people looking to make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, they butt heads big time at NASA. Bee and Levi are in a love-hate style relationship and sometimes this trope works for me big time. This case? Definitely worked. I enjoyed their chemistry and even their miscommunications that made me want to bang my head sometimes. There is something very sexy to me about this style of relationship but it definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. I also love all the pink on the cover.

I want to thank the publisher for giving me access to early galleys of these books and for not yelling at me every day via email when I didn't have a review ready. I am very, very rusty at writing at this time.

When I was asked to review this book, I was beyond excited! I haven’t read anything by Ali Hazelwood before but I was well aware of her STEM romance bestseller, The Love Hypothesis. I have The Love Hypothesis on audiobook as well as a hard copy and have been meaning to read it. Then I saw this one was coming out and I instantly added it to my review calendar because I just KNEW I would love this book!

I love that the author features women in academia and STEM, I mean there really isn’t anything out there like that and when you throw in a hot romance with book and science nerds I think you really have something that stands out. The Love Hypothesis has gotten a TON of hype over the last year and why not? It’s hot new and sexy. Hazelwood has really found a niche genre here and I was so excited to check out this latest book so I could experience the craze for myself.

I also saw that so many early reviews just loved this book. I read some of the early reviews on Goodreads and the closer I got to summer the more excited I was to read this one. I love romance novels in the summer and with the smart and STEM-y-ness of this book, it was sure to be a quick read for me and one that I would enjoy while I was on vacation in Arizona. I mean all of those early reviews couldn’t be wrong right?

Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.

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? (summary from Goodreads)

Review

It turns out, I loved the idea of this book much more than the actual book though. I love that the author featured women in STEM but there was something about this book that absolutely put me off very early on. The dialogue started out smart, snappy, and very modern. I felt like the author was capturing the modern woman really well, but then eventually the novelty wore off and I found it distracting. Bee was supposed to be this highly intellectual scientist and the way she spoke just came across as juvenile and silly almost. I wanted to love Bee’s character but she just came across as just too much and not in a good way. I had a hard time relating to her and struggled to believe how smart she was when there were elements of her character that just didn’t jive with who she was supposed to be. I simply had a hard time with her all around and found that I couldn’t connect with her character at all.

I also discovered that I don’t like science. I want to love science and I want it to be sexy and something that gives readers the feel of something new and exciting in the romance genre but for me I felt lost in the science and I had a hard time tracking the significance of the science in the story. I wanted to love it and I wanted to be happy that STEM was being explored as an actual believable romantic setting but to be honest I struggled. I do still feel that this series really offers something new and special for readers and so much the better if readers find something to love in the STEM romances but for me personally it didn’t work. That’s not to say that it won’t work for someone else because I still feel like this series and others like it are bringing something new and fresh to the romance genre but just for me it wasn’t my thing. I did learn a lot about Marie Curie which was probably the best thing about this book for me.

So maybe this book wasn’t for me. Could it be for you? YES! I think there is a lot to enjoy in this one for the right reader. Enemies to lovers romance—check, smart heroines—-check, a modern plot—-check. I am still going to read the author’s other book, The Love Hypothesis, as I am not ready to give up this author as a ‘not for me’ just yet. I was invested enough in the book to read it through until the end, but did I love it, decidedly NO however one disliked book doesn’t mean that I write the author off all together, in fact I feel like I need to read her other books to see if I like them better before I make a final decision about reading future books by this author. For now though this book came in at a 2 star for me.

Book Info and Rating

Kindle Edition, 368 pages

Expected publication: August 23rd 2022 by Sphere

ASIN B09JSDVS8Y

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 2 stars

Genre: contempo romance, romance

I requested Love on the Brain the second it hit NetGalley, and begged publishers for it as soon as I could. It goes without saying that it was hugely anticipated for me, after The Love Hypothesis was one of my absolute favourites of last year. The second release after a debut like that is a pretty tall order and I'm so sad to say this book didn't live up to the expectations at all. I listened to the 3 novellas Ali Hazelwood released over the last few months and none of them really hit the spot for me either, which is so heartbreaking.

Love on The Brain was almost hard to read for the first 40% or so, because the beginning was mostly just Bee talking about being a woman in STEM, Marie Curie, and a lot of science talk that went over my head and didn't interest me, if I'm being honest. Let me say that I LOVE women in STEM books, I haven't read one I haven't loved yet, but this one felt like it was trying to hard to prove something. I also didn't fully fall in love with or believe the chemistry between Bee and Levi until things really took off. I found there were a lot of similarities between Love on the Brain and The Love Hypothesis, which felt really unoriginal for me.

What I did love was a lot of the side characters, the powerful women, and the cute romance - even if it was wildly predictable. Although I found the 'twist' a little interesting let's say, for the genre of book, I did think this part was fairly original and added an element to the story. Overall, I'm still going to recommend it but I'm not going to shout about it.

I will start by saying that I buck conformity and refused to read The Love Hypothesis, no matter how many times Ali Hazelwood’s cute cover popped up in recommendations in my fyp. I couldn’t help it; I’ve been burned too many times before (I’m looking at you, Zodiac Academy and Normal People.)

Begrudgingly, I opened Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood to fulfill my reviewer duties – no more, no less.

So imagine my surprise when I start getting to know quirky, adorable Bee and think, “I like where this is going.” It wasn’t just all the tropey goodness:

~enemies to lovers
~forced proximity
~second chance romance

It was also the awkward hotness of Levi, and the utter cuteness of who they started to become as a couple.

And, please, don’t get me started on the sexytime, because Levi Ward is bringing the 5🚨 hotness like it’s his damned JOB.

Bee’s intelligence, self-awareness and general spunk all won me over as my kinda main character, and I found her both vulnerable and believable. Levi’s devotion was both heart and panty-melting. Join me, won’t you, and read the following quote:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go too far.” “You don’t understand, Bee.” A small smile. Our foreheads touch, his skin warm against mine. I really, really want a kiss from this man. I want it bad enough to burn. “You can’t go too far.” “Then why . . . ?” His eyes flutter closed. His lips move closer. “I’m terrified that you won’t go far enough.”

ALI HAZELWOOD. LOVE ON THE BRAIN
I mean, come on, the sexiness is overpowering!

If you haven’t yet picked up Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood because you’re a fool like me, make good choices.

Oh I wanted to love this one so much, but I just didn't. I was one of many who absolutely adored The Love Hypothesis, which highlighted so many important aspects of STEM and I enjoyed the fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes, because of the way Ali Hazelwood emphasized the unfair biases that impact women in STEM. However, with Love on The Brain, I found myself so incredibly irritated by the Bee's self-doubt and incessant list of growing insecurities. I wanted her to be bold and brave, but instead she constantly second-guessed herself and defaulted to what others thought of her, and worse, what she imagined people thought of her. This vivacious woman with bright hair lacked the sassy personality to go with it. As the book progressed, her self-doubt grew old. The way she put down her physique was really off-putting to me. I know we all battle. with kind self-talk, but this read as toxic to me.

Levi's character on the other hand was endearing for me. I enjoyed his gruff personality and the ferocity he brought to his job. Levi was prideful and passionate about how work and strove for workplace equality and not because someone taught him within the pages of the book, but because it was all part of his character all along.

Bee's love for Marie Curie was one aspect of her character that I really enjoyed and her online personality was a nice touch within the plot. Ultimately though, this wasn't for me at all. I think I may need to go re-read The Love Hypothesis now or Lessons in Chemistry!

A sincere thank you to Berkley Romance and Penguin Random House for the #freecopy and the opportunity to review this title through NetGalley!

3.5 rounded up

This was a bit of a ride! After all the hype from Ali Hazelwood's first book left me a little underwhelmed, I went into her sophomore novel with a little more hesitation. And for the most part, I was proven wrong. It still read like fanfiction, but I think that's okay! Some repetitious language and repetitious misunderstandings, mostly. And if you did not know the entire trajectory of this love story within the first chapter, you are probably completely new to this genre, and that's fine too. Bee was a curious heroine, and even though I skimmed some of the more science-y paragraphs, I was captured enough by Levi that I finished this book as soon as I humanly could. Did Hazelwood truly encapsulate Houston? Nah, not really. But I don't really read the romances for the descriptions of cities. If you loved The Love Hypothesis, this second title will not disappoint! If you were on the fence like me, I do think this STEM-centric read is worth a try.

3 stars

When Bee accepts a job on a project with NASA, she doesn’t realize that her co-lead will be her graduate school nemesis: Levi Ward. But Bee is optimistic, she can absolutely work with someone who hates her. Until a week into the project none of her equipment is ordered, she doesn’t have lab access, and the staff begin to ignore her. That’s when she approaches Levi and realizes there’s more to the situation than she already knew.

The Love Hypothesis was one of my favorite books last year, I gave it a five star rating and review. I’ve even read all of Hazelwood’s novellas and enjoyed them thoroughly. So I went into Love on the Brain thinking it would be a home run when it really was just more of a bench warmer of a book. I liked Bee as a main character even though she kind of had pick-me girl vibes, and Levi was a great grumpy hero. But the plot lacked cohesiveness for me and the pacing was all over the place. I found it very easy to set this book down and not return to it for days.

All of that would have been fine, except for one thing. I love that we are seeing more women in STEM and more stories centered around it: but I am not a science girl. Like I don’t want to say I’m dumb, but science was always one of my worst subjects in school and reading about complicated scientific processes, I was bored out of my mind/confused. Like we get it, there’s science in this book. But I didn’t understand most of what was happening and it really took away a lot of my enjoyment of this book. I found myself skimming a lot over the technical aspects and I think I missed out. All of this an then an overdramatic climax at the end of the book bumped it from 4 stars down to 3 for me.

I will say I think this book is going to be a hit and incredibly successful, lots of people are going to love reading it. But it just wasn’t for me. And it won’t stop me from reading anything else by Hazelwood in the future.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I think that a lot of people who liked The Love Hypothesis will also enjoy this book! I also liked the women in STEM representation and I found Bee to be more willing to stand up for herself and I liked that about her character. I also definitely loved Levi over Adam (sorry Adam!).

I did struggle through the first half of the book to be honest, but I think the second half was worth it! I do also agree with some of the people who have pointed out that it is very similar to Love Hypothesis, especially in certain plot points. Overall I still enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a romance story with a strong female in STEM, Love on the Brain is your book. You will learn a lot about Marie Curie and STEM workplace situations. I’d say this is kind of an enemies to lovers story, definitely a workplace romance where the workplace just happens to be NASA. At a certain point, I felt like the romantic conflict was a little repetitive but other parts of the plot kept the story moving along. I liked that there was a sort of mystery to solve and I became really invested in the success of their project. If you’ve read Ali Hazelwood, you know that she writes open door romance and she doesn’t hold back the spice in this one. If you like nerdy romcoms with steam, you’ll enjoy Love on the Brain.

Thank you to Berkley romance for a digital ARC and a #gifted physical book and to PRHAaudio for a free audiobook.

This book was everything I was hoping for, and then a whole lot more. Funny, sexy, clever, and just so deeply endearing - the kind of book you just want to hug. I adored Bee to bits and pieces. She's someone I'd love to have as a friend. Levi is the squishiest, most scrumptiously darling cinnamon roll ever, and yet at the same time he's compellingly sexy. And Rocio - there are no words for Rocio. She may well be my favourite character in the book. This is going to become a beloved comfort read for me. A truly smart, warm-hearted romcom - it definitely ticked all my boxes!

Ali Hazlewood has done it again! I didn’t think it was possible for her to top The Love Hypothesis but OH MY GOD I was so wrong!! I might like Love on the Brian more than The Love Hypothesis if I’m being honest.

Read if you like:
- grumpy sunshine
- enemies to lovers
- cinnamon roll male lead
- “it’s always been you”
- women in STEM

Can’t recommend this enough

I was very excited to read this new story from Ali Hazelwood since I really enjoyed TLH. That was such an experience. However, Love on the Brain felt like a chore to read. I tried twice, and by the second time, it still wasn't working out and I've decided that it isn't worth continuing if I'm not feeling it anymore. Unfortunately, this is a DNF.

Ali Hazelwood really loves writing stories about little women and big strong men, and if that's your thing, you'll love her books, but for me, I can only read one before I'm good, and that book was her debut. Ali is lovely, her writing style is entertaining, but I think I need something less aggressively straight to captivate me at the moment.

If you're looking for something to read after Love Hypothesis this is it. Ali Hazelwood does it again and writes a fun romance with strong female characters. This book is lighthearted but can also make you scream at the book for the characters to see the obvious. Then again that's a part of the fun knowing what is going to happen and seeing how it gets there. This book got me hooked and now I am reading all of Ali Hazelwood’s novels.

*I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

4 out of 5 stars. If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it.

This was a fun, science chick book. I'm really enjoying that this genre seems to be gaining steam to show women and girls that science is a possible path (and could include love!)

After dealing with Bee Königswasser's uptight, poplar opposite grad school nemesis, Levi Ward all through grad school, Bee is happy that she'll never have to interact or see him again and she can focus on changing the world one life-changing neuroscience project at a time. But 5 years late when they both get tapped to co-lead a project for NASA they are put into the same routine from grad school - Levi detesting Bee and Bee disliking Levi while trying to let it not get the best of her and focus on the work. But with the more time they spend together, the detest the Bee thought was coming from Levi might actually be someone else working against them. Maybe their mutual hatred for each other might be a whole other emotion.

After The Love Hypothesis huge success, I was so curious to see how Ali Hazelwood's next novel would hold up but I was so surprised by how much growth they've shown in their sophomore novel. If you like TLH you'll love Love on the Brain too!!

I think the biggest issue, I wouldn't say in a necessarily bad way, with Love on the Brain was that there was a good bit of similarities to THL, at one point there was almost the exact conversation from THL. However, I still found this book worked out some of the kinks I had while reading THL.

Would only recommend to purchase for large libraries with high-circulating romance sections. This book checks-off the woman in STEM box, and that's about it. Truly one of the most unlikeable female leads I've ever read. Bee is the worst. Whiny, unobservant, obnoxiously arrogant, dismissive of others feelings, easy to offend, stubbornly ignorant, hyper focused on the inequalities of women, all while demeaning the feelings and contributions of cis white men. Why do we need to tear down men in order to build women up? For someone who so obviously sees nothing of worth in men, I’m curious why she’s attracted to one that embodies the physical masculine ideal? A shame, because when Bee is not being obnoxious, the banter between leads isn’t half bad. The underlying bitterness just ruins this book. Cannot recommend to purchase.

*thank you Penguin Random House & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*
2.75 Stars

If you really loved this book, scroll away this isn’t for you.

This book was enjoyable to a certain degree but it pissed me off. So let me make a list of what I liked and what I didn’t:

What I liked:
- Levi! for me he is better than Adam. So protective, tall , cat lover , Star Wars lover and hot.
- Girl boss in stem. I loved and I loved the science talk so much it was entertaining. The focus on intelligent, brilliant women is great!
- Rocio! My love. I aspire to be her. She is so funny and a mode.
- The spicy scenes were good and much better than TLH

What I didn’t like:
- Bee is very quirky. She reminds me of Jess in new girl with her rambling and awkwardness. However it was too much to the point that I found her very irritating
- Explain to me HOW Levi and Bee have chemistry as friends but not as a “couple”????? The math isn’t matching.
- a lot of cringy things were said. At some points (maybe even more than some) I felt that the editor needed another editor to check their work because I was baffled how some scenes are written in the book.
- It’s a lot similar to the love hypothesis. The “angst”, the miscommunication trope, the characters. Basically self-plagiarism.
- What is the obsession with the MMC being tall and built like a mountain? Did I had to be mentioned many times ?? “
- From chapter 20 till the end was completely out of place and was weird. The big plot twist ? Come on that was dumb.

I came to the conclusion that Ali Hazelwood’s books are not for me. They are all the same. As much as I enjoyed the book there were many things I didn’t enjoy that’s why I settled on 2.75 stars. If you are a fan of TLH and Ali’s other works, then you might enjoy this book more than me.

I loved this book! It didn't go above and beyond like The Love Hypothesis did, but man oh man did I swoon while reading this book.

Levi is a dream guy, he is sweet, smart, caring, and honestly perfect. I loved Bee so much and loved her sass throughout the pages. The tension between her and Levi was out of this world and the sarcasm between the two is what I live for. The dynamic between the two really came to live inbetween the pages of this book. The romance was stellar and I loved the geeky side to both of them and this book!

I really loved the side characters as well and I will forever be a fan of full fledged side characters who mean something in the book. Side characters are just as important as main characters. Rocio was one of those characters who I just absolutely adored.

While I didn't fall head over heels for this book like I did with The Love Hypothesis it was still such a great romance!

It's amazing, I love every second of this book to bits, it's funny, relatable , I love the tension between Levi and Bee, Rocio it's iconic and it's just *chef kiss*