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readwithdes's review against another edition
2.0
I really had to get my thoughts together for this one. I was super excited for this one because I wasn’t a fan of The Love Hypothesis and wanted to give this author another shot, but I’ve just come to the conclusion that these books are not for me. I get that Hazelwood wants to highlight problems for women in academia, but it’s literally the only personality trait for the heroine. The white feminism is prominent. It’s like she forgets underrepresentation of other marginalized groups in STEM still exists. The only problem Bee has is that she’s a white woman in academia. I get that the STEM field is male (white) dominated and misogyny exists, but villainizing every man except the LI was a bit excessive.
Also, why do I need to be reminded every other sentence how petite and teensy weensy Bee is that she barely takes up space, and how tall and enormous Levi is and how he just takes up so much space?? I was rolling my eyes at the amount of times a reference to their size was made. And we can’t forget that she is so smart yet ✨so quirky✨ she gives very much manic pixie dream girl. Bee and Levi are literally Olive and Adam 2.0 only way less fun to read about. Someone said that everything The Love Hypothesis is, Love on the Brain is but more, and that person couldn’t be more correct. It’s just a much more intense version. Think same characters, different fonts.
I usually prefer books written in first person because to me it provides better insight to the MC’s thoughts and feelings, but I didn’t like Bee at all so it was hard to get through. The miscommunication between Bee and Levi (mostly Bee) was so annoying and unnecessary. For two people with PhDs, they were not very smart, operated solely on presumptions, and were immature at times. The decisions Bee made?? Common sense would have prevented almost all of her problems. A few chapters in, I knew where this book was headed and it could have been cute, but it just didn’t work in my opinion. The spice was VERY good, and that was a saving grace. They most definitely could have been friends with benefits as I didn’t feel any tension or chemistry.
The other problem I had was the “diversity.” The side characters are stereotypical and exist solely to check boxes and after much thought, this was my problem with The Love Hypothesis. For instance, there is a queer couple and a Hispanic side character and I guess this was supposed to be representative of the entire LGBTQ+ community and BIPOC because of the references that were made.
The neuroscience is HEAVY throughout this and overpowers the romance. And if you didn’t know anything about Madame Curie before picking this up, you’ll be her connoisseur afterwards. With all that being said, I really wanted to love these books
but I’m not sure I’ll be reading any more of Hazelwood. It’s a quick read so that’s a positive.
I really tried not to compare but long story short, if you loved The Love Hypothesis, you’ll probably like this one (slightly less or more idk) because the two are VERY similar.
Also, why do I need to be reminded every other sentence how petite and teensy weensy Bee is that she barely takes up space, and how tall and enormous Levi is and how he just takes up so much space?? I was rolling my eyes at the amount of times a reference to their size was made. And we can’t forget that she is so smart yet ✨so quirky✨ she gives very much manic pixie dream girl. Bee and Levi are literally Olive and Adam 2.0 only way less fun to read about. Someone said that everything The Love Hypothesis is, Love on the Brain is but more, and that person couldn’t be more correct. It’s just a much more intense version. Think same characters, different fonts.
I usually prefer books written in first person because to me it provides better insight to the MC’s thoughts and feelings, but I didn’t like Bee at all so it was hard to get through. The miscommunication between Bee and Levi (mostly Bee) was so annoying and unnecessary. For two people with PhDs, they were not very smart, operated solely on presumptions, and were immature at times. The decisions Bee made?? Common sense would have prevented almost all of her problems. A few chapters in, I knew where this book was headed and it could have been cute, but it just didn’t work in my opinion. The spice was VERY good, and that was a saving grace. They most definitely could have been friends with benefits as I didn’t feel any tension or chemistry.
The other problem I had was the “diversity.” The side characters are stereotypical and exist solely to check boxes and after much thought, this was my problem with The Love Hypothesis. For instance, there is a queer couple and a Hispanic side character and I guess this was supposed to be representative of the entire LGBTQ+ community and BIPOC because of the references that were made.
The neuroscience is HEAVY throughout this and overpowers the romance. And if you didn’t know anything about Madame Curie before picking this up, you’ll be her connoisseur afterwards. With all that being said, I really wanted to love these books
but I’m not sure I’ll be reading any more of Hazelwood. It’s a quick read so that’s a positive.
I really tried not to compare but long story short, if you loved The Love Hypothesis, you’ll probably like this one (slightly less or more idk) because the two are VERY similar.
mcalvano's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
dibs999's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the neuroscience in this book! It was a fun vacation cutey read
overbookedmama's review against another edition
challenging
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment
finglishknits's review against another edition
4.0
* ARC received via NetGalley *
Another couldn’t-put-it-down read from Ali Hazelwood!
There’s definitely some similarities with The Love Hypothesis, which might be a tad boring to some readers, but it didn’t really bother me - I do quite enjoy a trope when it comes to romance.
Another couldn’t-put-it-down read from Ali Hazelwood!
There’s definitely some similarities with The Love Hypothesis, which might be a tad boring to some readers, but it didn’t really bother me - I do quite enjoy a trope when it comes to romance.
torturedpoetslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I cant help it, I fell head over heels in love with this book
candacemressler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
chocorb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
im surprised i liked this so much
valkyovaemma's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as the love hypothesis but the thrilling ending was great.
The strat of the book romance wise was quite slow however.
The strat of the book romance wise was quite slow however.
keygen14's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5