Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Love on the Brain

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood is about Bee, who got a job at NASA as a neuroscientist. But her excitement is tempered, when she hears that she has to work with Levi, who despises her. When strange things happen at the lab, Levi steps up and helps Bee. Soon they both realise that they have a lot in common.

After already loving some of Ali Hazelwood's book, I was excited to get my hands on this book. I absolutely love to read about women in STEM. You can see that Ali Hazelwood writes from own experiences. The short author's note at the end of the book gives insights in why the topics addressed in the book are important to the author. I love that. As a going-to-be teacher I share Hazelwood's opinion on standardised tests. I loved the movement that was started in the book.

At the moment, I am fully into enemies-to-lovers books. I can't get enough of them. I immediately fell in love with Bee's style. The hair colour, her clothes - she's a legend. She faces a lot of struggles. Being a woman in STEM is not easy at all. I love how calm she remained when faced with misogynistic comments. I probably would have exploded. Levi gives Bee a lot of credit and defends her if needed. Both did not have the best start, which mostly was because of miscommunication. Their chemistry was okay. I honestly hoped for more. I also expected more spice. Most side characters did not grab my attention. I would have loved to read more about Lily and Penny. They are the sweetest.

This book was not as good as the other two books I read by Ali Hazelwood, but I enjoyed it a lot. I read it in one go. I started the book at midnight, only wanting to read one chapter. The next time I was checking the clock it was past three in the morning. Well, I did not get a lot of sleep, but it was worth it. Can't wait to read more books by Ali Hazelwood!

Content Warnings

katiecoconut21's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed Love on the Brain, perhaps even more than The Love Hypothesis, which was introduced me to the contemporary romance genre and the amazing author Ali Hazelwood.

I just want to start by saying that the characters are so entirely lovable, and have complex relationships that I feel better mirror real life. After all, the whole driving force behind Levi working on the Sullivan helmets is because

of his friend who passed away, and he wants to honor his family by finishing the helmets

. Coincidentally, these complex relationships led Guy to

threaten Bee's life

, but more on that later.

Additionally, I enjoy Bee's narration, letting the readers in on various inside jokes that STEM women often relate to. As a female mathematician, I definitely do. It can get a little confusing, as there are random switches from first to third person, but I was able to get over that with a little re-reading here and there.

This book was a series of misunderstandings (as most romances are), but after we get over the initial hurtle that

Levi does not hate Bee, but is in fact, madly in love with her

and that

Bee did not marry the shit-stain, cheating Tim

, the misunderstandings become less central to the plot as focus shifts to

Bee learning to trust and accept love again

.

I feel like a huge critique some might have of Love on the Brain is how Bee did not realize that

her Twitter friend Schmac is Levi

before the end of the book. While I figured this out pretty much instantly (why else would the author introduce the madly in-love male character Schmac that Bee gets along with exceptionally well, unlike her Camel Dick nemesis Levi), I would like to point out that in Bee's situation, it is unlikely I would have made that discovery until later. The Internet is huge, and any coincidences could be exactly that, coincidences. So, keep that in mind before judging Bee for not figuring it out sooner.

Now, onto the scenario when

Guy pulled a gun, and threatened Bee into killing herself

. I get that we need a climatic moment, but this was way overboard for me. The jump to

Guy going to kill Bee

was a lot for me to process, partially because I felt it was really extreme, especially for his reasons.

Anyway, I loved this book, and found myself so immersed that I couldn't stop reading. I really recommend it!

Content Warnings

witcheep's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is very predictable: from the begining alone I could guess the ending for Bee and Levi (

and the knotting of their present, past and online identities

) accurately, though there were a few unexpected twists along the way.

"If nice means being alone, then so be it."
"I can give you nice. I can give you better than nice. I can give you everything."

This doesn't mean that I wouldn't have enjoyed the book — the opposite is true, actually. I wanted to know how the truth would unfold and how the relationship would gradually evolve from assumed hatred to something much warmer. I had to consume this book as fast as possible, it fit my current mood for reading perfectly: the book offers such a warm and fuzzy romance read with just the right amount of turmoil.

Content Warnings

hjb_128's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

mimiisbooks's review against another edition

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It's awful. It was alright for the first two thirds, the chemistry was starting to get a bit good and they were kind of cute together. What ruined it for me is the strange psudo-perspetive switch, am I reading Bee's, Marie's or Levi's perspective? And when they had sex the pacing completely changed and all of a sudden it feels like Ali Hazelwood is rushing to the next sex scene.
I don't know is it because I'm a lesbian, I'm too young or this is genuinely a terrible book.

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