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A review by jnestwd
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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
3.5
Of the three of Ali Hazelwood's books that I've read, this one was my favourite.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into it based on the mixed reviews, but in my view, Love on the Brain had the most compelling plot that was driven by a decent mix of character development and storyline.
In all honesty, Ali's female lead characters are almost always the same but with a different name and slightly different quirks. But I felt much more drawn to Bee who had a lot more self-assured confidence and wasn't afraid of her own sexual desires. It was a good change of pace from the usually, almost annoying, uncertainty her other female leads tend to carry.
The trade off seemed to be that Levi, the male lead, took on those tendencies instead.
Of all Ali's male leads, Levi was sadly, my least favourite. I wished there was a hotter build of sexual tension in the first third of the book, and I felt Levi to be the most two-dimensional of all.
There wasn't as much character development either and it was disappointing to leave the arc of his messed up family unresolved.
We're introduced to Levi's family about three-quarters of the way through the book and it's meant to demonstrate why he acted so badly towards Bee in grad school and how far he's come since. But I felt there was a missed opportunity to circle back to the story of his family. There were loose threads around why his mother and brother behaved differently away from his father and what that would look like.
I also wished we could have explored Levi's decision to seek therapy to unpack his childhood, to understand what the catalyst was that lead him there.
Levi had the most potential of all of Ali's male leads as a complex character with an interesting story arc that ultimately remained untapped and unresolved.
That brought the overall score down for me to a 3.5 from what would have been a 4.5.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into it based on the mixed reviews, but in my view, Love on the Brain had the most compelling plot that was driven by a decent mix of character development and storyline.
In all honesty, Ali's female lead characters are almost always the same but with a different name and slightly different quirks. But I felt much more drawn to Bee who had a lot more self-assured confidence and wasn't afraid of her own sexual desires. It was a good change of pace from the usually, almost annoying, uncertainty her other female leads tend to carry.
The trade off seemed to be that Levi, the male lead, took on those tendencies instead.
Of all Ali's male leads, Levi was sadly, my least favourite. I wished there was a hotter build of sexual tension in the first third of the book, and I felt Levi to be the most two-dimensional of all.
There wasn't as much character development either and it was disappointing to leave the arc of his messed up family unresolved.
We're introduced to Levi's family about three-quarters of the way through the book and it's meant to demonstrate why he acted so badly towards Bee in grad school and how far he's come since. But I felt there was a missed opportunity to circle back to the story of his family. There were loose threads around why his mother and brother behaved differently away from his father and what that would look like.
I also wished we could have explored Levi's decision to seek therapy to unpack his childhood, to understand what the catalyst was that lead him there.
Levi had the most potential of all of Ali's male leads as a complex character with an interesting story arc that ultimately remained untapped and unresolved.
That brought the overall score down for me to a 3.5 from what would have been a 4.5.