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A review by estherhuang
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
1.0
1.5/5
requested this after having a Not Bad! time reading the love hypothesis, but this one doesn't measure up. falling into derivatives (bee and levi are just olive and adam in a different font), hysterically cringeworthy humor, and odd commentary about generational gaps (we know bee is a millennial; you don't need to tell us again), love on the brain had all of the love hypothesis' ridiculous rom-com plot points with exponentially more reason for irritability.
firstly, i think that switching to first person was a detriment. while it allowed hazelwood's distinct voice to shine through and gave bee more characterization, it amplified all the tired traits of 2000s rom-com leads: blistering self-deprecation; catastrophic pessimism; the implicit i'm-not-like-other-girls distinction. what were supposed to be endearing quirks ended up being more reasons to dislike the main character, and having her narrate the entire story could be kind of bothersome sometimes — it heightened the heteronormative character designs (levi is big. huge. ginormous, even. he has a masculine scent and rippling pectorals. bee is small, itty-bitty, and you'll be sure to be reminded every 3 pages), accentuated the painfully millennial humor, and reinforced a general insufferable vibe in the book.
trying to implement race and gender-consciousness was commendable, i guess, but it often backfired for me. there's this one point were bee says "I was initially a bit distrustful of him — his bio says 'he/him,' and we all know how cis men on the internet can be," and it just came off as strikingly ignorant: pronouns don't indicate anything about cisness! while i can appreciate the fact the hazelwood attempts to be more inclusive, some of the times — many of the times, actually — it felt like an overstep or misstep on her part.
one of the most glaring issues, aside from everything else, was the plot: it was laughably predictable. perhaps it's because it's so similar to the plot of the love hypothesis, but
the only thing that i doubt anyone could have seen coming was the moment where guy whipped out a g*n and attempted on bee's life, which was utterly jarring and ridiculous to the point where i almost wanted to stop reading right then and there. bringing weapons to a rom-com tussle was never something i anticipated, which, i guess, points for being unexpected?? never let them know your next move.
anyway, i can see how this book might work for some people — if you really like marie curie facts, for example, you'd love it — but this was just not it for me. it gets an extra 0.5 stars for being an extremely quick, light novel (even if i didn't necessarily enjoy all of it); i did need a break as finals week approaches.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
requested this after having a Not Bad! time reading the love hypothesis, but this one doesn't measure up. falling into derivatives (bee and levi are just olive and adam in a different font), hysterically cringeworthy humor, and odd commentary about generational gaps (we know bee is a millennial; you don't need to tell us again), love on the brain had all of the love hypothesis' ridiculous rom-com plot points with exponentially more reason for irritability.
firstly, i think that switching to first person was a detriment. while it allowed hazelwood's distinct voice to shine through and gave bee more characterization, it amplified all the tired traits of 2000s rom-com leads: blistering self-deprecation; catastrophic pessimism; the implicit i'm-not-like-other-girls distinction. what were supposed to be endearing quirks ended up being more reasons to dislike the main character, and having her narrate the entire story could be kind of bothersome sometimes — it heightened the heteronormative character designs (levi is big. huge. ginormous, even. he has a masculine scent and rippling pectorals. bee is small, itty-bitty, and you'll be sure to be reminded every 3 pages), accentuated the painfully millennial humor, and reinforced a general insufferable vibe in the book.
trying to implement race and gender-consciousness was commendable, i guess, but it often backfired for me. there's this one point were bee says "I was initially a bit distrustful of him — his bio says 'he/him,' and we all know how cis men on the internet can be," and it just came off as strikingly ignorant: pronouns don't indicate anything about cisness! while i can appreciate the fact the hazelwood attempts to be more inclusive, some of the times — many of the times, actually — it felt like an overstep or misstep on her part.
one of the most glaring issues, aside from everything else, was the plot: it was laughably predictable. perhaps it's because it's so similar to the plot of the love hypothesis, but
Spoiler
having the stoic man pine for years after his unassuming muse should only be recycled, well, zero times. it was visible that levi was schmac, noticeable that all of his aloofness was due to his Irrepressible Male Urges, and exasperatingly discernible that he's had the hots for bee ever since grad school. also, miscommunication? it only works if it's done well, and in this book, it wasn't.the only thing that i doubt anyone could have seen coming was the moment where guy whipped out a g*n and attempted on bee's life, which was utterly jarring and ridiculous to the point where i almost wanted to stop reading right then and there. bringing weapons to a rom-com tussle was never something i anticipated, which, i guess, points for being unexpected?? never let them know your next move.
anyway, i can see how this book might work for some people — if you really like marie curie facts, for example, you'd love it — but this was just not it for me. it gets an extra 0.5 stars for being an extremely quick, light novel (even if i didn't necessarily enjoy all of it); i did need a break as finals week approaches.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.