Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

142 reviews

isfantasi's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Minor: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

jrae_miller's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Medical content, Sexism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, Animal death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

rebakesl's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

The first 20% of this book dragged PAINFULLY, to the point where I wondered if this was going to be the one and only Ali Hazelwood book I would DNF because of all of the rambling and uninterrupted misogyny was frankly painful HOWEVER once it picked up (around 21-22%), I was hooked and barely put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death, Gaslighting, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Cursing and Animal death

jaynovara's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Minor: Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Animal death

bakergirlsbooks1999's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Sexual content

atamano's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

harvsgiraffe's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Infidelity

jkyx's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Car accident, and Toxic relationship

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Gun violence

Minor: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Animal death

katiecoconut21's review

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide and Gun violence