Good addition to the series. I enjoyed the story and the characters were relatable. I haven't read the main book, but I did enjoy the stories that go along with it.

I enjoyed this book just like i did the first, however i did find the overall plot to be similar to the first which made this book average

"Love on the Brain" follows Bee, a neuroscientist who goes through life asking, “What would Marie Curie Do,” has just gotten the opportunity to work on a new collaborative project with NASA, her dream job. The only caveat? She’s set to co-lead the project with her grad school archnemesis Levi Ward.

I really wanted to like this but from the first few pages alone this book was already off to a rough start. This is my first Ali Hazelwood book so I can’t speak to the similarities in her other works but the writing here is just not good. The dialogue comes across as so juvenile and cringe for characters meant to be in their 30s and the characterization only heightens this because of how immature and childish the two leads act. The sex scenes in this left much to be desired and the random 3rd act conflict made me roll my eyes. I just don’t think this is a book that should have ever left Wattpad.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Happy to say that this book does NOT suffer from the curse of the sophomore novel! I loved the characters, the story, and the romance even more in this one than The Love Hypothesis.

Ok, now when is the next book coming out? I need more women in STEM romances asap!

I will say that I liked the first book better. Though the writing is still great in this one, the characters fell flat for me and I felt myself getting bored. The pacing just didn't work for me.

In Love on the Brain, Ali Hazelwood gifts us with all the humor, sweet, gushy feels, and science-y goodness we all deserve. Once I warmed up to protagonist and chairwoman of the Marie Curie fan club Bee, I was all in. She's sweet and intelligent, friendly and secretly fierce. Of her many excellent qualities, I felt an overwhelming desire to befriend her because she 1) says that Love Island is an underrated show, 2) objects to a universal category of sexy men (she can join in on my rants every time I write a review where I need to put that reminder out there), and 3) wants to feel safe and stable in a world that isn't made for that. She grew up an orphan, bounced around with her twin sister to different households. Where her sister thrived, Bee became desperate for a home and a routine. Now, she's a badass neuroscientist who just got a placement on a joint NIH/NASA team with the only caveat being that she has to co-lead the project with Levi Ward, a man who was known to despise her the year they overlapped in grad school.

The romance between Bee and Levi seems like sunshine and grump but it's more so sunshine and lovestruck-dumb. I wouldn't classify it as enemies-to-lovers because the basis of their tension is a protracted case of miscommunication. This is one of the rare examples of that trope that works for me because external factors conspire to make these communication breakdowns occur. From a lying, manipulative ex to an unhinged saboteur, Bee and Levi are up against a lot. There's also Bee's fear of abandonment to contend with once things start to heat up between them. Luckily, Levi is exactly what she needs. Hazelwood never fails to write heroes who dazzle me with their competence, loyalty, and intense devotion. And Levi's pining is *very* swoony. 10/10 would recommend his drunken DMs extolling Bee's virtues. He gives Bee what she needs and manages to be a standup, decent guy in ways that shouldn't be hard to find yet somehow ARE.

You might think this is all wonderful enough to pick up the book already (go right ahead) but WAIT THERE'S MORE. My favorite part in the whole book was side character and emo queen Rocío. As Bee's research assistant, she gives big April from Parks and Rec energy, sprinkling in deadpan delivery of depressing information with the deadpan delivery of wacky, macabre tidbits to keep her audience on their toes. She gets a sapphic romance with an Elle Wood aficionado, an attempt at becoming La Llorona's successor, a plot to overthrow the establishment (by bringing down grad school entrance exams), and several attempts to both claim and rebel against the only slightly older Bee as her "mother."

People, this book is a freakin delight. Ali Hazelwood retains her crown as one of my all-time faves. As always, thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review!

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

The latest romance novel from Ali Hazelwood was a pleasant read, but unfortunately it didn't bring anything new to the table. The story felt like a rehash of the author's debut, with similar characters and plot points. If you're a fan of Ali Hazelwood’s and enjoyed their debut novel, you'll likely find this book to be a satisfying read. However, if you're looking for something fresh and innovative in the romance genre, this might not be the book for you.

I loved Ali Hazlewood's first book, but this book just felt like it was a plagiarized version of TLH. Not a fan really.

Ali Hazelwood is so popular on booktok right now. So, I felt pressured to pick one of her books up. While wandering the library, I saw Love On The Brain on the new releases shelf and impulsively decided that would be the one I tried. Hazelwood's Love On The Brain is a romantic comedy featuring the hate to love trope. It is about Bee Konigswasser, a scientist who specializes in neurostimulation and works for the National Institute of Health. She gets put on a project designing helmets that have neurostimulators and is sent to Houston to work with NASA. Unfortunately for her, her mortal enemy Levi is also on the project from the side of NASA. And well, things keep going wrong. However, Bee suspects she may have an ally in Levi. Oh and also, when she's not doing amazing science things, Bee runs a twitter account for women in STEM called whatwouldmariedo - as in what would Marie Curie do.

On the whole, I found Ali Hazelwood's Love On The Brain to be enjoyable. I liked the parts that talked about how hard it is to be a woman in STEM. The hate to love trope appeals to me. I was able to figure out some twists very early on. One thing I would have liked would have been chapters from Levi's point of view -- I think that would have added to the story. Overall, this was a cute book. Will I remember it forever? No. But, I liked the time I spent reading it -- was a pleasant way to spend my hours.

{Book Review} Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Thank you @berkleyromance for the review copy!

After loving her debut novel—who couldn’t love a low key Kylo Ren and Rey inspired romance?!—I was so excited for LOVE ON THE BRAIN and it did not disappoint!

While I do think Ali Hazelwood has a specific style of romance and characters she likes to write about, it didn’t bother me. I love the modern day miscommunication because it reminds me of historical romance in the best way. Levi and Bee’s dynamic from zero talking to a tentative friendship to, of course, love was very fun to read and felt very organic.

I adored Levi’s background and history and one thing I wish we had more of was a slightly deeper development of Bee’s insecurities. It was believable and well done but I feel like a deeper delve into her emotional landscape could have pushed this into women’s fiction in the best way but that’s just me!

The STEM element was fascinating even though I understood approximately zero of the technicalities, I loved the discussion of women in STEM and I also though the topic of the GRE and it’s merit was incredibly interesting and on point. What sets Hazelwood apart for me from other writers is her foundation of science and peripheral topics that gets the reader thinking and I absolutely cannot get enough of this.

If you’re a little nerdy with a lotta romance in your heart, you need this book!

I loved this enemies-to-lovers read about two smarty-pants scientists and their attempt at working together, even with angst from the past. Lovable characters, a great story line, and spicy romance make this an excellent, fun read.

So, before we begin this review, I want to let you all know that I have given 4 stars to The Love Hypotesis when I first read it in 2022, so I was really excited to read another STEMinist novel by Ali Hazelwood, especially since I wasn’t the biggest fan of Under One Roof, one of her short stories in the anthology she came out with last year (which I am going to finish in the next few days and review for you, stay tuned *evil laughter*).
Now, I understand the pressure of coming out with something new that can meet your readers expectations, especially if your debut became one of the bestselling romances of the year, went viral on every social media platform and was all everyone was talking about.
This does not mean that you should take your first novel, change a few details, make everything more and call it a day. If Olive was clueless, Bee is literally blind. If Adam was big, Levi was possibly even bigger. If the misunderstandings and miscommunication in the first book were over the top, in the second one they are so excessive they became unbelievable.
It wouldn’t have been a bad book, were it not from the same author of The Love Hypotesis. It was too similar for me, but I see it actually worked, because a lot of people ended up loving it as much as the first one, if not more. So, bravo Miss Hazelwood anyways.
Honestly, I don’t have many complaints and I don’t know what to say. The characters weren’t bad, they were just a bit annoying, but then again, more so because they were copies of Olive and Adam than anything else.
Same goes for the plot, it wasn’t a bad plot, just unoriginal. And I don’t mean unoriginal for the genre, because I am not looking for anything grounbreaking when I decide to pick up a romcom, I want fluff and distraction. But it was like reading TLH all over again, and if I wanted to do that, I own a physical copu and I could have done just so.
The writing style was just as smoot and quick to fly through as the other works by this authors I’ve read so far, which also means that I am not even annoyed at this book, because it was an easy read, and God knows I needed that while I was sick with the flu.
Overall, it wasn’t a book I can say I hated. However, I would still recommend The Love Hypotesis over this one. Read the classics, they say, and TLH is just classic romcom. If I had to make a metaphor, I’d say Love on the Brain was the sequel to a beloved movie that came out years later and was just a bad copy of the original. Just like Mary Poppins Returns felt in comparison to Mary Poppins (with the difference that I hated that sequel with a burning passion).
I am very curious to finish the anthology and then to read Love, Theoretically later this year, because I want to see if Ali Hazelwood ever writes something different. I am also really curious to read her YA debut, since I don’t like the way she writes sex scenes, and there should be none in a young adult romance.
Let me know what you thought about this book if you’ve read it, and which of Ali Hazelwood’s book you liked more (or if you hate them all, I want to know)!

🧠Love on the Brain
Author: Ali Hazelwood ( @alihazelwood )

🥰: Huge thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

👩🏾‍💻: This book is everything you could want in a romance! I absolutely loved #thelovehypothesis and as a Science teacher I knew I had to read this one asap.

This novel is about Dr. Bee who suddenly gets her dream job which is to work alongside engineers in NASA to create helmets for Astronauts. When she realizes she will be working alongside her college nemesis, Levi, she’s less than pleased, but I was definitely pleased with the situation 🤣 Levi was a great grumpy hero and with the banter came an amazing romance that slowly builds and gets very steamy 🔥😍

💛Recommended if you enjoy:
•Girl bosses
•Warm, fuzzy reads
•Workplaces between rivals

⚠️TW: Death, sexism, sexual harassment, firearms, & sexual content.

I really wanted to love this, but I just couldn't get into it. the writing and plot felt really juvenile. I did love that it highlights women in STEM, but that was really the only thing I liked about this.

STEMinist readers assemble! Finding love can feel like reaching for the stars, but for two brainiacs working at NASA, it’s not so far fetched. Romance is around the corner and nearing your orbit in this infectious romcom about two star-crossed rivals, scientists, nerds, and ultimately lovers.

In "Love on the Brain", Bee and Levi are nemeses forced to collaborate on a groundbreaking project that could launch Bee’s career and bolster Levi’s position. Although they haven’t seen each other since grad school, the tension between them is still insufferable and at times intoxicating. Unbeknownst to each other, they might have much more in common that they’d be comfortable admitting. Untangling the misunderstandings that have wound there way into their personal and work relationships, may result in feelings and revelations much more complicated and overwhelming than they anticipate in both the lab and the bedroom.

Ali Hazelwood’s charming wit had me blushing, laughing, and swooning for the chemistry she’d created between Bee and Levi. By the end of the novel, the main characters had me simultaneously falling in love and ready to call them bestie. This novel was nerdy catnip for my sappy silly heart. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth and Darcy, Ali Hazelwood’s protagonist are modern, lovelorn, sharp-witted, and humorous.

"Love on the Brain" is a RomCom must-read!

love hazelwood and enemies to lovers and extra smart leads, and this was it! I also liked the side stories happening

I LOVED The Love Hypothesis when I read it, and I had really high hopes for Love On the Brain. I think the concept for LOTB was so fun, I love a NASA set, STEM romance. But I didn’t love the characters quite as much as I did in Love Hypothesis. I think this is one story that I would have loved more if it had been duel POV. Levi’s character would have been great to hear his POV. I will say I didn’t love the ending and how the mystery played out/who the mystery villain was. This was a solid fun read, but not one I would want to reread. 3-3.5 stars

True to form…a typical Ali Hazelwood book! Smart, funny, sexy. Loved it! Ali has cornered the steminist romance market and I’m here for any and every one of her books!

I absolutely adored The Love Hypothesis and enjoyed Love on the Brain. Ali Hazelwood's ability to write about smart women and the men who love them (well, eventually, they do) is perfection for me. Bee & Levi each have their own quirks, so I connected with them so much. So many books nowadays have these perfect characters, which are often not believable, but Levi and Bee were, dare I say, normal. They are enemies to lovers, sorta. They aren't really friends but maybe not enemies either - rivals, one might say.
Their rivalry, then friendship, then more was fun to watch evolve.