Thank you Berkley Romance for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up really enjoying Love on the Brain...but I have a lot of thoughts that go with it. Was it a cute rom-com? Yes. Do I recommend it? Yes. Will I read everything Ali Hazelwood writes? Obviously...why would you ask me that.

BUT...in my humble opinion, Love on the Brain was pretty much The Love Hypothesis 2.0. Between both books, I can't tell Bee and Olive apart. Nor could I tell Levi apart from Adam. Both sets of characters from both books are cut from the same cloth (i.e. they were both Reylo fanfic originally). And honestly, that's FINE but it made for a deja-vu like reading experience.

My main criticism of LOTB is that I predicted the entire plot for the rest of the book by the end of chapter 2. We don't get Levi's POV in this story yet I knew exactly how he felt. There was no sense of mystery and that kind of bugged me. Yes I know all rom-coms have an HEA but that's not the point.

Also, our MC Bee was so obtuse about Levi having feelings for her I wanted to smack her through my kindle. I'M SORRY BUT YOU ARE A LITERAL NEUROSCIENTIST FOR NASA...I KNOW YOU'RE A NERD BEE BUT YOU ARE ALMOST 30 YEARS OLD. YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN SOMEONE HAS A CRUSH ON YOU. WE'RE NOT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ANYMORE. *sigh*

Anyways, the steam was great. I just wish LOTB stood out a little more from Ali's other work and other romances I've read. Not life changing but would still recommend.

Ali Hazelwood write the cutest romantic comedies ever! I love the characters, specifically the Nerdy Darcy-esque men. I have the least scientific brain ever, but I love the academia setting of this series. I will definitely be returning to this book as well as the first for warm and fuzzies

Wow Ali Hazelwood really really loves writing about women in STEM and I REALLY enjoy reading about female protagonists in this field, it was great in The Love Hypothesis and it was great again here. Did this have the grumpy/sunshine trope again? Yes. Did I love it? YES. It’s a fun trope to read, and it’ll be a bad day when I stop enjoying it as much as I do. Bee and Levi were just so sweet together and I was entertained watching their dynamic unfold. I’m not sure if I liked this as much as TLH but it was a fun read nonetheless.

Love on the Brain was so wonderful. I think I enjoyed it even more than Love Hypothesis.

I loved Levi and Bee. Bee especially was just such a great character. She was so smart and warm, and I respected her. I loved how real she was and how she had insecurities even though she knew how intelligent she was. Oh, and Levi! He is the perfect romantic lead. He believed in Bee and was her biggest fan the whole time.

I loved that this story had a bit of mystery too. While the main focus was Bee and Levi, there were also some very entertaining side stories. I thought Love on the Brain was just a little more fun.

These books mean so much to me. Growing up as the daughter of a woman in STEM, I love how they shine a light on the sexism women face every day. And while Hazelwood doe it in an endearing way, I do hope the readers understand this happens!

We received this ARC in exchange for a whole and honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing us to read this ARC.

Bee Königswasser is given the ultimate opportunity. To prove herself as one of the leading neuroscientists on a new project that NASA is working on. She is excited to finally prove her worth until she finds out that she will be working with her worst nightmare. Levi Ward. Once Bee arrives at NASA it is made very clear to her that she is not welcome. With equipment not arriving, emails going missing, and meeting invites being lost she begins to fight for her right to be there with her biggest advocate LEVI! As these two put aside their differences it is soon apparent that love may very well be on the brain for both of them.

Overall we rated this book about 3.5 stars. It left us as readers wanting more. This was the first full Ali Hazelwood novel that we have read and having not been impressed by Below Zero but hearing the hype for The Love Hypothesis, we were excited to give this a try.

This book felt like it had a good idea but it wasn’t fully fleshed out. This book was built to be the classic miscommunication trope. However, the miscommunication could have been solved with a few clicks on the internet or just having a conversation with anyone who knew Bee prior to her arriving at NASA.

There was a whole plot about her secret online identity that felt like it served no purpose. It was easy to figure out who she was really talking to the whole time, which it was still unclear if we were supposed to know who it was and that this was a tongue in cheek writing or if it was supposed to be an actual surprise.

We found both Bee and Levi to be very one dimensional characters who needed a little more depth to them to make them fully fledged out characters.

As readers we can see where this book appeals to a lot of readers but overall, it wasn’t our cup of tea.

If you would like to hear us talk about this book in more in depth please check out our podcast channel on Spotify or apple podcasts. We are Justonemorepage podcast. This episode will be going live on 8/28/2022.

You can find all of our socials at this link as well:. https://linktr.ee/JOMPage

Not my usual style of book, but I know several customers who will eat this up! I liked her Twitter account but wish there was more about the helmet innovation.

“The real villain…is loss. Grief. The intrinsic transience of human relationships. The real villain is love: an unstable isotope, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay.”

A STEMinist rom-com where a scientist is forced to work alongside her nemesis—with explosive results.

Woohoooo for another fabulous women in STEM book from Ali Hazelwood, who is now an absolute auto-buy author for me. I absolutely adored The Love Hypothesis! And this one, while maybe not quite as awesome, was still an enjoyable read full of nerdy science and engineering talk, smart as hell women, and sexy sexy love making.

My only gripe, and it’s a small one, is the sheer number of times the word vegan was in this story. I get it. They’re vegan. Ugh. But I digress. I loved this story and would buy a pack of greeting cards if she wrote them. Keep these awesome, sexy, and smart female empowerment stories coming!

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LOVE ON THE BRAIN is the first book that I’ve read by Ali Hazelwood. Although a bit predictable, I found this to be a quick, enjoyable, rom-com.

Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy…
-Academic settings
-Women in STEM
-Workplace romance
-Nemeses-to-lovers
-Witty banter

I loved The Love Hypothesis so much, and I wasn't sure this would be as good.
I was wrong, I loved this even more. I felt a little more in touch with these characters. And I really fell in love with Schrödinger. Levi also stole my heart when compared to Adam Carlsen.

I really was hoping this one would redeem Hazelwood for me, but I quit reading around the 20% mark. I adored the Love Hypothesis but I found Love on the Brain to be lacking. We were never given a chance to forget how enormous Levi is, as we are reminded at least twice a chapter of his large stature. We’re also never given a chance (at least not in the first 5 chapters) to like Levi. I found the “hero” to be completely insufferable, rude, callous, unprofessional, and sometimes downright mean. I didn’t believe anything would make me feel differently and it was painful to read.

Funny, romantic, but also a scathing commentary on the struggles of women in STEM, this book is a quick, entertaining read. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a steamy love connection, and women to cheer for!

I enjoyed Hazelwood’s first novel- STEM women need more attention. Love on the Brain is another women in STEM rom-com novel with some great twists!

Bee loves Marie Curie and neuroscience. Taking a job working with NASA would be a no-brainer to her…except when Levi Ward is involved.

I loved the miscommunication that comes out of this trope. The innocence of Bee and her perspective of college with Levi. I equally love Levi’s patience with Bee, how his actions weren’t at all what Bee thought they were, and did I mention how patient he was?? Also, his dedication to the project he and Bee were co-leaders on- such a beautiful moment for his friend.

The Twitter side conversation was just chef’s kiss perfection. I suspected it right away and truly enjoyed watching that play out.

I enjoyed the ending and its surprise twist- it definitely came out of left field!

There was only ONE line that was cringe worthy…if you read it you will know it and it made for GREAT book discussions afterwards! LOL

Another great women in STEM rom-com novel by Ali Hazelwood- she’s becoming the queen of this genre.

Bee Königswasser, a neuroscientist, is beyond thrilled when she lands her dream job working on a neuroengineering project at NASA. That is, until she finds out her grad school nemesis, Levi Ward, is working on the same project. Will they be able to put aside their differences or will their project crash and burn?

This book was utterly adorable, witty, and swoony! I loved Bee and her Marie Curie obsession! And Levi was just amazing! Their chemistry was seriously off the charts! Even though I didn’t understand all of the science speak, I was fascinated by the descriptions of the astronaut helmet project they were working on at NASA. I’ve always been intrigued by space and astronauts! I thought the “You’ve Got Mail” vibes were super fun too! There were unfortunately some parts that made me cringe, but overall, I really loved this delightfully quirky enemies to lovers STEMinist romcom!

Release Day Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (3.5 stars— many thanks to @berkleypub and @netgalley for a free ARC)

I wanted to love this book so badly!

It was fine, decent, ok — but it didn’t give me all the feels or sweep me off my feet with charm like The Love Hypothesis did.

I think part of the let-down is that Hazelwood’s debut felt fresh and unique, but after reading that, Love on the Brain, and the novellas, it seems safe to say she’s not branching out from her original formula. This was a lot like reading TLH without the magical fall atmosphere and campus setting.

That said, the characters are cute enough and I chuckled several times. And I really liked the You’ve Got Mail-inspired part of the story.

Hazelwood also continues to draw attention to biases in academia and STEM, this time using academic Twitter as a plot device, and I found that to be fairly engaging and enlightening.

Love on the Brain was one of my most-anticipated books of the year — and if it’s one of yours, just keep your expectations in check. While I thought The Love Hypothesis was something special, Love on the Brain was more of an average, run-of-the-mill romcom.

Definitely still read it — just don’t expect it to capture your heart in quite the same way Adam and Olive and their love story did.

Before I started this book, I was thinking to myself, "There's absolutely no way that I'll love this book as much as I loved The Love Hypothesis. I mean, just no way. Inconceivable. 

I'm an idiot. I don't want to say that I loved this one more--but I also don't want to say that I didn't. 

I feel like Bee and Levi, as a couple, were just--Ungggg. SO well done. The chemistry--before there was even an acknowledgement of feelings--was off the charts. The banter, the wittiness, the pining of Levi.

Just every part of this story was addicting. Even the side characters brought an incomparable awesomeness to this book. I am sincerely hoping that the author just keeps going in this series. 

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. My review will be live, at the link given, on 8/31/22--as part of a blog tour.

This book was super cute and light. Overall I really enjoyed it but it did get a tad slow in some places. Looking forward to more by her!

This was a highly anticipated release for me because I loved The Love Hypothesis so much, and Love on the Brain follows the same formula: quirky woman in STEM + grumpy, dark-haired, large hero have undeniable chemistry but let themselves get in the way of their relationship.

What I liked:
- unputdownable, quick read
- hilarious writing
- enemies to lovers banter
- supportive female friendships
- passionate characters

What I didn’t like:
- too similar to TLH (Levi and Adam are the same person)
- “I’m mean to you because I love you”
- excusing ALL of Levi’s toxic traits
- Bee’s willful obliviousness & immaturity
- emphasizing the physical over emotional relationship
- the spicy scenes 🫣

I overall enjoyed this book and flew through it, which is not an easy thing for me to do at the beginning of the school year!

Bee is a neuroscientist called in to work on a neuroengineering job for NASA, a dream job, the only drawback is working with her nemesis, Levi Ward. Levi made it clear that he didn’t like her, avoiding her at all costs back in grad school, but Bee isn’t going to let that stop her from taking the job.

I absolutely loved The Love Hypothesis last year, so I was eagerly looking forward to Love on the Brain. It was fun being in Bee’s quirky brain, her internal monologue had me laughing at loud a bunch. Levi was a sweety, too. They bonded over Star Wars, cats, (I’m a big fan of both, too!) and more! I was totally on board for them to get their misunderstandings from the past sorted out since they clearly were meant to be together, which took a little longer than necessary, IMO. They were a cute couple, and it was a fun read. If you were a fan of The Love Hypothesis you’ll enjoy Love on the Brain, too!

Thank you @berkleypub @berkleyromance and @netgalley for the free #gifted e-copy! Love on the Brain is available now.

Another STEM romance, this time an #enemiestoloversromance between a neuroscientist and an engineer. Bee is so excited to get chosen to work on a new project at NASA, until she finds out that the person she is leading with is none other than her nemesis from college, Levi. But does he really hate her as much as she thinks he does?

Spoiler alert: no, he doesn’t. Shocking, I know.

There’s also 2 cats (one real and one potentially imaginary), fainting, brain stimulation, Twitter alter egos, Marie Curie, lots of sexual tension, and a good amount of well written steam.

Loved it. I loved Bee's individuality, and her banter with Levi. I was giggling several times, and even there were some serious undertones, they were handled well. The last few chapters were so good, I neglected several responsibilities to finish reading the book!

Thank you Berkley for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Let me say this first: if you loved her first one and thought wow I would love to read this exact book in a different setting but also the same—this book is for you!!!

I’m going to try to be nice. I think there are some things going for this book, I really do. But are those things for me? No.

Let’s start off with THIS IS ALMOST THE EXACT SAME BOOK!!!! I get that it sold and there’s the hype, but ???????? I like tropes and HEAs, but I need some variety.

Like if sunshine-grumpy enemies to lovers with a small naive friendly fmc and LARGE painfully introverted mmc is not your exact want again then this book isn’t for you.

Moving on, I do appreciate that we have STEM characters written by a woman in STEM. That’s great. But as a woman in the tech side of STEM working with only men this book is a little 🫣😬😬😬. Honestly I feel like it does the environment a disservice by making the misogyny so blatant and borderline unbelievable.

I also have issues as to how the characters are written. If Bee is supposed to be this outgoing friendly character how in the world does she not continue to try to make Levi her friend?? Like that would be goal # 1 to annoy him into friendship? Also how do you just walk away from so many important convos JUST IN TIME TO MISS EVERYTHING???

I did find the writing to be easy to follow and fairly engaging. It’s a lot of internal dialogue. Some of which is entertaining and a lot of which is cringe. I appreciated the Marie Curie moments. Truly the highlight of the book.

Side characters were better than the first by actually being present, setting was neat, the neuroscience was beautifully done. The romance was better than her first book too.

All in all I can’t bring myself to recommend it. I mean maybe borrow it? But I can’t say to go out and buy it🫣. Maybe that’s just me.

Great for those who LOVED The Love Hypothesis or like Christina Lauren.