I absolutely loved this. The dreaded miscommunication trope is used properly, at the beginning of the story. The development of their romance is well-paced and believable. When we finally do get to a physical relationship, it is hot. The villain twist is scary. The stakes are high. The only gripe I have is our leading lady was extremely aloof regarding the hero's feelings, but I still found it understandable, and having the hero break down why she is that way was a nice touch. We've got a pro-therapy message, and sweet supporting characters. As a person with epilepsy, I'm always pleased to see the disorder represented positively and enjoyed this subplot. Add in a love for cats and Star Wars, and how could you go wrong? There were a few details here and there that reminded me of her debut, but they felt like coincidences. I enjoyed this book more than her debut, which I adored, and am adding Ali to the auto-buy list.

I think I loved the love hypothesis just a little bit more. This definitely served some angst and had a great academic plot and sub flf romance but it also felt like there was a bit of a lack of build up and it just happens. I love that bee grows into being confident though and Levi helps her with that. If you loved the love hypothesis odds are you will love love on the brain. A great academic romance novel that fans are sure to pick up.

I devoured this in two days I was so excited to read it. And God did it live up to the hype! Full disclosure I am a HUGE fan of The Love Hypothesis so I really was already biased in favor of this one, but it was so heartbreakingly sweet and cute that it was enough to make me a fan of Ali Hazelwood for life!

I was pretty excited to grab this ARC after more than mildly enjoying The Love Hypothesis. However, this book did not cut it for me. I really doubt I would have even finished it if not for getting an advanced copy and feeling obligated to review. In all honesty, I hate-read my way through the majority of this novel. I"m going to try to limit any spoilers, but beware, this review will not be pretty.

First of all, Love on the Brain definitely read like the younger, less popular, version of The Love Hypothesis. The characters felt recycled and brought all of the worst parts of their Love Hypothesis counterparts to Love on the Brain. Adam and Levi? Both "asses," both so super tall 🙄, both unrealistically crushing on a girl for years without knowing anything about her, hell, they even both wear the same black Henley shirts. Olive and Bee? Both super QuIrKy, body-obsessed, skinny, petite, so smart but tHeY dOn'T kNoW iT. It wasn't fun to feel like I was reading the same characters from The Love Hypothesis, just in a different story. (Side note, there were even two lesbian side characters in a similar vein to Holden and Malcolm in the LH, who I actually enjoyed and wished there was more of. But it also just felt like Hazelwood threw them in for representation this time while still mainly presenting a heteronormative, sexist relationship).

Second. I really can't stand how body-obsessed Hazelwood seems to be. The readers are CONSTANTLY getting reminders of Levi's hotness, his height, how BIG he is (if you know what I mean...), and Bee's petiteness. I saw a lot of this in The Love Hypothesis as well, but it just felt really intense in Love on the Brain. Some examples:
- Levi is so tall. Like SO TALL. He's the tallest person Bee has ever seen. So tall.
- He also has biceps. BICEPS! Oh my god, look at his biceps. Such big biceps busting out of his shirt. Biceps.
- Bee: "I can't believe I'm having sex with someone with a six-pack." 🙄🙄🙄
- Bee is 5'0 exactly, and petite, and we get reminders of this so much throughout the book. Like how she sleeps in a twin bed (at 28 years old), wears shirts that she's had since middle school (at 28 years old), and pretty much every time she and Levi have sex we're reminded that she's so small for his big c**k.
- Bee waxes her chuncha every month. No, that's not a word I made up, it's in the book. She's a 28-year-old neuroscientist but she's too immature to say mons pubis.
It also just really annoyed me how much time and effort was spent on explaining to the reader how vegan she and Levi are. Like that's fine, be vegan, but when it's paired with the obvious body obsession, it comes across as shame-y. ALSO, of course, she hates exercise. Why would a naturally petite and skinny vegan need to exercise?! Bee's entire physical appearance just screams fat-phobia and infantilization of female bodies and it disgusted me to be perfectly honest.

So now let's talk about Bee's personality which I equally hated. She comes across as really stubborn and childish. She insists to herself and out loud throughout the entire book that Levi hates her, even when presented with contrary evidence. She gives him the silent treatment after he decides to do something in his own department because he didn't get her permission first???? (Which he doesn't need because it's his department). AND THEN when he breaks the silent treatment by apologizing, she doesn't accept it until he apologizes in the way she wants him to. Eventually, I just started reading everything she says and does as really immature. She's supposed to be a grown-ass woman who's smart enough to have obtained multiple degrees, but she doesn't read that way at all.

Now the romance. As I've mentioned, the trope in this novel is the "enemies to lovers." Except they never were enemies, Bee just assumes things that aren't true. Which is understandable...in the beginning. But, when things begin to change and you start to see another side to a person, wouldn't you just, I don't know, communicate? Ask questions? Believe what's being said to you? Well, not quirky Bee. She justifies every romantic action of Levi's by saying it's not real. They're just friends, but not even friends because he HATES her. He has to hate her because that's what she's decided and she can't change that. It became so absolutely grating that if I wasn't scared to break my Kindle, I would have thrown it across the room. Here's an example to show you just what I mean:
"It's not a date.
But if it were--which it isn't--it would be the best date of my life.
Of course, because it's not a date, the point is moot.
But, if it were.
Though it's not.
Even when, I must admit, it almost feels like one."

Do you...do you see what I mean? And this mental back and forth happened A LOT. I really hated her by the end of the novel.

Okay so now let's talk about the women in STEM aspect and how there was still actually a lot of misogyny and sexism in this book. If the goal of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain are to encourage more women to be in STEM, they're doing a terrible job, but this book especially. Bee isn't a particularly likable character (as I've already established), but she's also not someone I would want my daughter to look up to. She is presented with two tough situations, one at the beginning of the novel, and one at the end. Both times, she wants to pack her bags and give up, and it's not until a man saves her that she decides it's worth staying. Not to mention that she literally faints, like, a lot, and Levi is there to save her each time. Does that not scream Damsel in Distress? The sex scenes also just disgusted me. She takes directives and does exactly what Levi wants/tells her to do. I literally wanted to throw up, I'm not kidding, during the scene where she is forced to swallow his cum. He calls her a "good girl," tells her that she's "built to do this, built for me." I just, I don't know a stronger word for disgust. Loathe maybe? Abhor? Detest? All of those are what I felt.

Conclusion? Levi and Bee both need extensive therapy to resolve their childhood and adult trauma surrounding relationships. The whole book was a case study in attachment theory that wasn't adequately resolved. I would even venture to say that Levi and Bee are trauma bonded. (Case in point, Levi begging Bee to stay and saying that he didn't even need her to admit to herself that she loves him. Broke my heart, poor man needs help).

If I could give this book zero stars I would, but I'll give it one if just for the fact that I learned that Marie Curie's notes are radioactive and kept in a lead box in France and can't be opened until the 3500's. That was the most fascinating paragraph in the entire book.

I never thought Ali Hazelwood could out do herself when it came to THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS, yet here we are. LOVE ON THE BRAIN did just that. my 4.5 rating does not come up often. When it comes to my rating system I normally stick around 4 stars - reserving 4.5 or 5 to books that I cannot stop thinking about. LOVE ON THE BRAIN is one of those books.
This book is a rom com masterpiece. It has so much love and life to it from the first page to the last. I’m an academic, and I love seeing women in such a field find love when they are also pursuing a dream in higher fields. Ali does such a good job of this, especially because she explores the marginalised fields - STEM being a huge one. Bee has to deal with such a hard time, always being put down or her ideas being discounted because she is simply a Woman. yep - this still happens in 2022 - every single day.
Seeing that Levi has been in love with Bee since the beginning was beautiful. Some of the plot points were very obvious from the beginning, yet this did not discount the beautiful story of Bee and Levi. I adored their love story and found myself so happy as I closed this book. On top of that, I loved all of the side characters. If I had to think of one negative, it would be the Guy storyline ending - it was a bit, overdone if that makes sense? I didn’t think the book needed it.
It is rare for Authors to have such a superb followup - and ALI DID THAT! I cannot wait for the next STEM Rom Com adventure!

This book is a romantic masterpiece. It was so full of life and humor and swoon-worthy, slow burn romance. The grumpy x sunshine trope is one that Ali Hazelwood excels at writing. It was as good as, if not better than, her debut, The Love Hypothesis.

I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I nearly consumed it in one sitting and found the main character oddly enduring. She's not perfect, highly quirky, and rather than making me annoyed, these elements made me love her. There were a few times I wanted to shake her in her failure to communicate, but her past history made it understandable as to why she was reserved. I love the science elements included in this book, and how it weaves through the story. The sexual scenes were a bit over the top, but I didn't hate them. The main love interest is not too exciting, and a little weirdly specific (massively makes me think Adam Driver), but the strong focus on the main character makes it cute.

This book has: archenemy brilliant scientist coworkers who really, really hate each other, Marie Curie love, a vengeful ghost, questionable astronauts, and a cat who may or may not exist. It is warm and charming and adorable but also steamy, funny, and heartfelt. The romance was so sweet and enjoyable, but I equally adored the more serious elements of this book and how they were addressed. Characters deal with inequality in STEM and higher education and the main character has such a longing for home and stability that she runs the risk of missing out on the love and life that she deserves. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, loved spending time with the characters, and cried happy tears at the end of it.

This was a super cute romance focusing on women in STEM. Nice! I will say it felt very similar to Hazelwood's first novel, but that's ok! I liked the first one and I liked this one too. The side characters were fun, there was bit of a mystery, and a nice STEaMY romp towards the end. Overall fun!

Love on the Brain is such a good follow up to The Love Hypothesis. I found myself laughing out loud during several parts. I loved the quirkiness of all the characters. I can not wait to read the next book in the series.

I picked up this book because I did quite enjoy The Love Hypothesis. The first 75% of the story was extremely compelling. I enjoyed the characters and their banter. It had a lot of tropes in romance books that I like reading. However, there were some instances at the end that took down my star rating a bit.

“As long as you’re civil and fair at work, you can dislike away. Loathe me up. Abhor me to the moon. Detest me into the unknown.”

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood is just delightful. I loved the set up of the rivals-to-lovers with plenty of classic misunderstandings, miscommunication and tropey goodness. I wasn’t expecting the “You’ve Got Mail”/“Shop Around the Corner” trope but it was done so well with the social media aspects and a great surprise. The continuation of a STEM type setting like in her previous novel, The Love Hypothesis, really works for me.

I had to take breaks while reading so I didn’t burn my way through it in one go—it was that good. Bee is exactly the kind of main character I love, plucky and smart and just a little bit dumb when it comes to love. Levi’s harsh on the outside, soft on the inside persona is my favorite kind of love interest. Love on the Brain is everything I love in a romance. Ali Hazelwood is becoming an auto-read author for me. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for the eARC!

Ali Hazelwood is back, and honestly, this couldn't come fast enough for me. I really enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, and Love on the Brain did not disappoint.

Bee and Levi are the epitome of mistaken communication enemies to lovers trope, and it's very well balanced. Bee is a struggling (professionally, and personally) neuroscientist who has been granted a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for NASA research and development. The only catch is having work with Levi "Wardass" Ward who seemingly despises Bee for reasons she cannot discern. Bee holds her own in trying to get her project up and going, even if Levi is determined to put up roadblocks at every avenue.

Once some truths come to light, Bee learns that Levi is very much in her corner, and is always ready to pick her up in every sense. Levi helps Bee face some personal and professional challenges that will be defining for them both.

First, thank you, thank you, thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of Love on the Brain by the amazing Ali Hazelwood. I loved the author’s debut novel, The Love Hypothesis, so I couldn’t wait to read more of her work, specially once I found out her next book would be another STEM romance. Love on the Brain is too good for words, I was blown away by the story, the characters, the dialogue, everything! I felt so many things (the whole spectrum of feelings) while reading this book, and for me that’s what made it such a great story.

This book was so good! Everything I expected and more.

My one critique was the overuse of Marie Curie- I learned more about her than anything else in the book and while I enjoyed how it all related, I wanted more- I wanted more leading you to Guy’s revenge, more from Bee and the rest of the cast. Hell I even wanted more of Boris. I loved this so much but I coulda done with another direction in terms of the Marie curie stuff.

I have now read two whole Ali Hazelwood books and now I would give her my firstborn for the third. The way that this woman has a chokehold on my every thought since I was lucky enough to get The Love Hypothesis as an ARC. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW THIS WAS GOING TO GO. I LOVED ADAM SO MUCH. I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE HOLDING UP.

LOL though. Big idiot status over here. I couldn't get enough of Levi. Let me be abundantly clear, I hate the miscommunication trope, but Levi? He can do whatever he wants. I'll accept it all. This big, loveable, giant of a man was so obsessed with Bee from the very beginning and you CAN SEE IT UNFOLD, EVEN WHEN BEE IS DESCRIBING MOMENTS WHERE SHE THINKS HE HATED HER MOST. I truly just can't stop yelling. This was everything I needed it to be and more.

I don't have any negative thoughts. I loved every second of it. Ali, your sex scenes are superb. Thank you kindly, forever.

I loved everything about this. Bee is quirky, funny, and I want to be her friend. Even though I could see from pretty early on how the story would unfold, I enjoyed reading and following along as Bee stubbornly refused to see what was happening.

Right off the bat, if you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, you will enjoy this. It was full of entertaining characters, women in STEM, and the most love drunk, romantic at heart, cinnamon roll of a hero. I will say, if you did NOT enjoy the miscommunication aspect of the first one, be prepared as it is portrayed (albeit not as heavily) here as well.

One of the biggest things I loved about followup was getting that look inside of Levi’s head without the story actually being dual POV. The one thing I missed in the first was getting that male perspective (shoutout to AH for Adam’s POV chapter - you a real MVP) - you as the reader gets a glimpse inside of Levi’s mind, though unbeknownst to Bee, and I almost loved that more than an actual dual POV - it would have eliminated that tension that was building.

I thought that Bee’s internal dialogue was really funny, and her and Levi’s relationship was adorable. They really got to be together for a bit of this book and watching Levi slowly teach Bee how to love again was the sweetest thing ever. You really get a personality from everyone in this book, something I slightly struggled with in book one - absolutely every character had something to offer and no one was bland at all. The side characters gave us the comedic relief exactly when we needed it.

All that being said - you really have to go into this with the suspension of disbelief; this. is. fiction. There will be moments in this that will have you saying “well that just wouldn’t happen” (the last 1/4 of the book) and sure, maybe that would be the case but again, <u>this is fiction</u>. The way parts of this were written definitely will appeal to younger people (my 32 year old ass does not compute sometimes), and it almost gave off an immature/childlike vibe - primarily Bee’s thought process as well as Levi’s “alphaness” (she would swoon at him doing literally the bare minimum).

Ultimately, I had a great time reading this. I had a smile on my face the whole book even with the couple of negatives aspects.

Be prepared for lots of Star Wars references, vegan main characters, LGBTQIA+ rep, fainting & epilepsy rep, & some sweet sweet lovin’.

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking it felt like sinking into a warm bath. Comforting, relaxing, and fun. I grinned almost the entire time I read this book (which I read in about 24 hours thanks to a well-timed snow storm).

Hazelwood's second STEM romance is the story of Bee, a neuroscientist, and Levi, an engineer. Bee and Levi crossed paths for one year in grad school, and everyone knew it: Levi hated Bee. She could never figure out why, but all of the evidence was there. So when the two of them are paired together on a high-profile, career-making NASA project, it seems like a nightmare. When Bee's involvement in the project seems sabotaged, her suspicions immediately turn to her grad school nemesis. Of course, not everything is as it seems.

If you love a romance between a colorful and loud MC and a stoic and quiet romantic interest, this book is for you. Many of the tropes were recognizable, but that only made it all the more enjoyable. It felt like you were in on a secret that the character's didn't know yet, rooting for them before they even knew there was a them to root for.

Definitely recommend to any romance reader, even if they don't have a clue about anything science related.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of Love onn the Brain by Ali Hazelwood. After reading The Love Hypothesis, I could not wait for her next book. I'm so glad that it did not disappoint; Ali Hazelwood once again blew it out of the park! I love her characters, their depth, and her storylines. It makes me want to throw on a lab coat and do some science. Now I'm back to waiting for her next novel.