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A review by shesgotstories
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
5.0
"If there is one thing men hate more than a smart woman, it's a smart woman who makes her own choices when it comes to her own sex life."
I had a hard time believing ARC readers' reviews regarding how Love on the Brains was even better than The Love Hypothesis, but after reading it, I have to agree. It was absolutely incredible and easily a new favorite of mine.
If there's anything Ali does perfectly, it's writing spot-on STEM representation, especially from a woman's perspective. The misogyny and double standards that exist in STEM are frustrating and seeing how she has her characters face it is always so inspiring and reassures me that it is always okay to stand up for yourself to ensure you get what you rightfully deserve. You can certainly see Ali's personal experience with neuroscience shine in this book and it makes for such a fun and incredible read.
While the whole "hulking male" and "tiny female" dynamic Ali is known for IS getting a little old, in this particular book the plot and characterizations were done well enough to where it didn't feel as repetitive as it did in the novellas and it didn't bother me as much. Would I like to see some variation in statures in future books? Of course. But altogether this book worked well in the end.
I loved the characters in this book and the added sapphic storyline alongside the main one. I adored Levi as a love interest and I love that he absolutely worships her. The little Twitter storyline for Bee was a lot of fun and really helped her personality shine. And that one DM from Schmacademics? *Swoons*. Seeing both her in-person and online personas was a lot of fun and overall Bee in general was such a fun yet brainy character.
The writing was once again great and made for a fast read as I was so enamored with the story. I loved all the nerdy and witty banter (bonus points for the Elon Musk diss because he's currently gentrifying and destroying wildlife habitats in my community) and all the Marie Curie references were cute. While the book could have done perfectly fine without the She Who Must Not Be Named reference, at least there was an acknowledgment of how Harry Potter is not welcoming for all. Still, let's leave those references in the past as there is plenty of supportive nerdy communities and fandoms out there to use instead.
Overall, this is easily one of my favorite reads for the year. I love that positive STEM representation for women is becoming a large part of the book community and how inspiring it is. I can't wait to see what Ali has up her sleeves next!
I had a hard time believing ARC readers' reviews regarding how Love on the Brains was even better than The Love Hypothesis, but after reading it, I have to agree. It was absolutely incredible and easily a new favorite of mine.
If there's anything Ali does perfectly, it's writing spot-on STEM representation, especially from a woman's perspective. The misogyny and double standards that exist in STEM are frustrating and seeing how she has her characters face it is always so inspiring and reassures me that it is always okay to stand up for yourself to ensure you get what you rightfully deserve. You can certainly see Ali's personal experience with neuroscience shine in this book and it makes for such a fun and incredible read.
While the whole "hulking male" and "tiny female" dynamic Ali is known for IS getting a little old, in this particular book the plot and characterizations were done well enough to where it didn't feel as repetitive as it did in the novellas and it didn't bother me as much. Would I like to see some variation in statures in future books? Of course. But altogether this book worked well in the end.
I loved the characters in this book and the added sapphic storyline alongside the main one. I adored Levi as a love interest and I love that he absolutely worships her. The little Twitter storyline for Bee was a lot of fun and really helped her personality shine. And that one DM from Schmacademics? *Swoons*. Seeing both her in-person and online personas was a lot of fun and overall Bee in general was such a fun yet brainy character.
The writing was once again great and made for a fast read as I was so enamored with the story. I loved all the nerdy and witty banter (bonus points for the Elon Musk diss because he's currently gentrifying and destroying wildlife habitats in my community) and all the Marie Curie references were cute. While the book could have done perfectly fine without the She Who Must Not Be Named reference, at least there was an acknowledgment of how Harry Potter is not welcoming for all. Still, let's leave those references in the past as there is plenty of supportive nerdy communities and fandoms out there to use instead.
Overall, this is easily one of my favorite reads for the year. I love that positive STEM representation for women is becoming a large part of the book community and how inspiring it is. I can't wait to see what Ali has up her sleeves next!