I enjoyed Love On The Brain, but not as much as The Love Hypothesis! I found Love On The Brain to require a little more suspension of disbelief, and the characters are basically the same but in a slightly different font. I don’t want to spoil too much though!

Here’s the tropes, or at least what I remember of them: Enemies-to-lovers, academic rivals, miscommunication tropes, a sudden protective streak, best sex of your life.

Love On The Brain officially hits shelves in August. I remain a Hazelwood fan and am excited to see what she brings out next!

When a woman learns to lean into her own power and trust herself, it is a beautiful thing. Bee is getting a chance to prove her worth on a NASA mash up project, but the lead on the other side... a guy who just doesn't seem to like her. Levi, the guy, gets really nervous around Bee because, of course, he's actually head over heals. This story is more than just getting over the barriers and discovering a connection that's been there all along - it is also a wake up call to being authentic, chasing your dreams, and not compromising. Also, STEMinist is my new favorite word. Gotta get that on a t-shirt.

I just feel like it’s important to note that I read this book in less than 24 hours.

Is it basically The Love Hypothesis in a slightly different font? Yes.

Is it infinitely better than The Love Hypothesis in every way? Also yes.

This book is genuinely laugh out loud funny and so romantic . I really enjoyed every character in this book and that NEVER happens for me. This book is single POV from the FMC, Bee, POV but her POV is so funny and all over the place I genuinely didn’t mind. Levi is the perfect love interest in every way (obviously) and oh so big.

Could the steamy scenes have been a little more fleshed out? Probably. Could the ending have been a little less rushed? Yes. Could Levi not be a literal exact replica of Adam? Sure.

But this book was fast paced, funny, witty, sciencey, and just plain fun. The perfect summer read. 4 ⭐️

Okok this was cuuuute! These two were so cute. Just like the author’s other works the story takes place in a STEM setting. I kind of missed the University setting but I also appreciated that the story was about two working professionals. They seemed a little older. I believe they are in late 20s or early 30s. Bee is an amazing leader in her field of neuroscience. I loved seeing her as this team leader and it provided moments to talk about the microaggressions she receives despite being well-respected AND the project lead.

It’s fairly obvious that Levi really liked Bee for a very long time. Ali Hazelwood really hits you on the head with all these very obvious clues from the beginning. At first, I found this a little annoying because I like seeing the attraction on both ends develop but Levi grew on me. Even if I wanted to shake both of them to force them to stop assuming the other knows what they’re thinking. The miscommunication trope is strong in this one. I really hoped we could get a bonus chapter or epilogue in Levi’s perspective because I’m soft for characters who yearn for another (I mean, Gilbert Blythe is my OG book boyfriend). I want to be in his head and know what he’s thinking and feeling when he looks at Bee!

As Bee and Levi start to work more closely and a friendship develops, they became just the sweetest and wholesome pair. The banter and companionship between the two felt genuine and really had me rooting for them to finally get together. And when they do, it was just perfect!

The ending kind of takes an odd turn, with some unrealistic events happening. But it’s quickly over and we jump to the epilogue where the two are enjoying life and love.

P.S. My biggest pet peeve when it comes to this author’s works is the constant reminders of how large/big the guy is compared to how small/tiny the girl is. That was still present in this but maybe slightly less than Love Hypothesis.

This book was basically The Love Hypothesis with different character names. The characters weren't as likable, especially Bee, with her numerous false assumptions concerning Levi's feelings toward her. It got old very fast and it went on for the entirety of the book. Olive had similar flaws but Bee was just exasperating to the point where I wondered what DOES Levi see in her? This author has a bad habit of taking very brainy women scientists and giving them absolutely no common sense. Also, I got tired of the overuse of trademarks. Overall, this wasn't terrible but it was basically the same plot as TLH and not nearly as entertaining. I liked the cats the best. On another note, I used to live five minutes from NASA and you cannot see the Houston skyline from JSC. 3 stars because it was fairly well written and I think if you enjoyed the author's first book you will probably enjoy this one, unless you are looking for something completely different. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

What I love most about this book - as I did with the Love Hypothesis - is how faithfully Ali Hazelwood portrays academia and science; specifically, what it's like to be a woman in STEM. It's even more prominent in this book, and I immediately feel such a kinship with Bee and the other characters. It's almost visceral, this sense of belonging. Having attended a predominantly male STEM school it's all so, SO familiar.

I loved the You've Got Mail -esque premise, and greatly enjoyed watching it play out. It is inevitable from the beginning what will happen, but it's the journey that's the important part in this story. In such a story, everything hangs on the characters. Her characters feel so real, so very human and alive. And the precision with which she skewers certain types of people in STEM is astonishing. I was wholly invested for every moment of the story.

The sex scenes were decent, I think. Not the best I've ever read, perhaps, but then I'm not really a good judge of sex scenes, since I'd honestly prefer it if they all disappeared and tend to skim them. I have a feeling that a lot of people will really like them, and that's what matters. They were different than a lot of the ones I've read before which is something.

It's clear that Ali Hazelwood is very keen on the small woman/hulking dude dynamic which... is not my thing. But again, I'm pretty sure a lot of people will really enjoy it. I personally appreciated Levi's sensitivity and wit and general decentness more. Contrary to Bee's initial impression of him, he's definitely the sort of guy I would want to get to know. Similarly, I really want to get to know Bee. And Rocio and Kaylee and Reike (even though she's only present through phone calls). And Lily and Penny... basically everyone. They're unique and chaotic and quirky and charming and just... the sort of people you would want to know and have in your life.

Sometimes when I'm reading I find that the characters' struggles aren't really relevant to me, or sometimes not even plausible. Not the case here. I was with these characters every step of the way and firmly on their team through all their struggles and joys. And that is one of the things I love most about reading romance, and why this became an instant favorite.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an e-arc for review.

adored Love on the Brain and Levi might be one of my new favorite book boyfriends! Bee is starting a consulting position at NASA as a neuroscientist—the only problem is her co-lead Levi, her tall-dark-and-handsome nemesis from grad school. There were some parts of this book that felt very predictable, but even with those elements, I just loved it. It’s sweet and steamy and the banter is amazing. I loved the depth of Bee—she’s unique and strong but also inwardly sensitive and looking for a place to belong, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field. Her struggles felt so relatable and wonderfully portrayed. I loved her honesty and strength and convictions. And sweet, sweet Levi! He’s all shy and broody and just wonderful. I loved watching them connect and get to know each other. I see a lot of correlations to Christina Lauren’s The Soulmate Equation in these two. Ali Hazelwood writes so beautifully—her writing just connects so much and it’s so engaging. I didn’t want this enemies-to-lovers romance to

1.5⭐️

I would’ve enjoyed this a lot more if I hadn’t ever read The Love Hypothesis. Reading such blatant self-plagiarism that Hazelwood apparently thought anyone familiar with her work would be too stupid to notice was honestly a slap in the face.

We’re getting what I liked out of the way so I can rant because trust me when I say the bad outweighs the good.

I really enjoy Bee’s sense of humor and the way Ali Hazelwood writes New Girl-esque ramblings in her dialogue. The way Hazelwood writes awkward yet casual rambling is always very delightful to experience- especially when it feels so natural and honest. On top of this, I respect her commitment to reflecting the subtlety in the misogyny and discriminatory practices within academia and the STEM field.

And now onto everything else- first and foremost, Ali Hazelwood overuses the hell out of adding the trademark symbol onto stuff in the name of humor. Every other Chapter™️ had a stupid name or attempt at a Joke™️ that had this stupid Symbol™️ and it was only kinda Funny™️ the first time it was used and never again.

But it seems that being heavy-handed with an element is just up Hazelwood’s alley because in top of unfunny and overused jokes, the You’ve Got Mail elements got old very quickly and the longer it went on, the more idiotic and ignorant Bee came across. It’s so difficult to believe that our main character is actually intelligent when she ignores what’s so painfully obvious at every turn.

Oh! And did I mention how small Bee is and how HUMONGOUS AND STRONG Levi is? She’s very small and he’s very big.

In spite of how moments felt copy and pasted from The Love Hypothesis, the smut was good. I may get pissed off at a lot of what Ali Hazelwood pulls and I feel very confident that I have no desire to read another book from her again but she writes good smut and I’ll give her that.

I think I have a new favorite author. Ali Hazelwood does it again with another perfect book. I devoured it in just two days.

Bee is a brilliant neuroscientist who hasn't gotten a chance to show the world what she can offer... Until she gets the offer of a lifetime to work at NASA on a top priority project. The only problem is she's co-leading with her nemisis from school, Levi.

This book has EVERYTHING. It's a hilarious enemies to lovers office romance. The characters are deeply loveable. There's drama! There's excitement! And, maybe most importantly, there's steam 🥵

This book definitely lived up to its predecessor and we got even more spicy scenes this go round. I can't wait to really add this book to my library when it comes out in August. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

I loved this author's previous book, but this one did not do it for me. After 2/3 of the story, I decided not to finish as I really wasn't enjoying the characters and it felt too similar (but not as good) as the first book.

I saw another reviewer mention the author's focus on body stereotypes, and I wanted to second this- the emphasis on the smallness of the female characters and the large and super built frame of her eventual love interest was too much for me.

My guess is this book may appeal more to a younger audience, but it didn't work for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and look forward to giving this author another try next time!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis - with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school - archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it's her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?"

I want to someday be a "purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe!"

*3.5 stars

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this book is millennial humor galore and i honestly don’t know how to feel about it. it’s bringing me back to the “don’t talk to me before my morning coffee” 😜 #ilovefood live laugh love era but i can understand when i am not the books desired audience, so im interested to see what actual millennials think of this book! however, the amount of times the trademark symbol was used to make a joke almost made me DNF the book (example: Cute Boy™, Hot Guy™, etc). it was too much, im sorry 😭

as far as how much i liked it as a sequel to the love hypothesis, i didn’t enjoy this one as much but i had a lot less problems with it, if that makes sense? i felt like the love hypothesis was weirdly fetishy with the size difference situation but this book was not as weird about it! it felt a lot more normal.

i also liked the love interest a LOT more in this book (he was pretty great), but i’m unsure about the main character. she was a great character but her inner dialogue could get a bit much sometimes (this could also be because i was reading it late at night, while my brain was tired, and bee’s exuberance was overwhelming because of that fact). and while the ending was a bit unrealistic, i kind of found the dramatics of it super entertaining, it really felt like something out of a wattpad story (but i mean that in a good way for once!!)

i do have to hand it to this book for how it brought up the disadvantages that people from marginalized communities deal with in the work place (and in general). this book makes multiple really great points about double standards and discrimination that i really appreciate being included (and it wasn’t just about white women for once!!).

As a science teacher, books that involve STEM, especially WOMEN in STEM, are always a must read. Love on the Brain is an amazing story about Dr. Bee Konigswasser and her amazing opportunity to lead a brain mapping project at NASA. She and her team will be mapping the brain in order to create a helmet for astronauts. She cannot be more excited about this opportunity until she finds out she will be co-leading with her nemesis, Dr. Levi Ward. Once she arrives, absolutely nothing is ready for her. It's like she is being set up for failure and she is sick of it. Of course Levi is only making everything worse. With some collaboration, Bee and Levi are able to get started on the project, but are they successful? Why don't you read it and find out !!!!
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My favorite about this book was Bee. She was a strong, funny, charismatic character who made you wish she was your best friend. This book was such a great read, from the science aspect, to the banter, to the relatable characters. I loved this book so much!

Ali Hazelwood is back with another charming, brainy, sexy rom-com that is sure to be the next BookTok and Bookstagram darling!! In her sophomore novel, Hazelwood really amps up the science AND the steam! There will be lots of comparisons between Love on the Brain and The Love Hypothesis, especially because they are similar in some ways, but I enjoyed this one more!

In Love on the Brain, we go behind the walls of NASA to get a different perspective of women in STEM beyond academia. We have Bee – our whip-smart, quirky, take-no-STEM Lord-prisoners heroine who lands a career-defining opportunity to co-lead a project for NASA called BLINK, which uses neuroscience to engineer special astronaut helmets that stimulate parts of the brain to help astronauts perform better in space. When she learns that her co-lead is none other than Levi - her tall, dark, handsome, brilliant archnemesis from grad school, she knows the stakes just got much higher. On the path to scientific discovery, love gets in the way – but will Bee be able to look past the wonders of the human brain and learn to trust her heart?

I loved Bee and seeing the world through her eyes with the first person narration. She is hilarious- both in her own head and when she banters with Levi and her Research Assistant, Rocio. There were even a few fourth wall breaks which made me feel more a part of her world. The chapter titles which connect Bee’s emotions to the different parts of the brain was SO clever – I absolutely love how Hazelwood kept science a central part of this story even when we weren’t focused on her work for BLINK.

Levi (aka Adam Driver, again – and I’m more than ok with that!) is such a great love interest. He is sexy, broody, and a bit grumpy, but is never mean or cruel. There are no toxic traits here and I found that so refreshing. He is mature, grounded, and completely authentic to his wonderfully brilliant Star Wars and cat-loving true self.

I’ve seen the romance described as “enemies to lovers” but I think it’s more of a drawn out, slow burn miscommunication trope. I thought it worked well here though thanks to a modern day You’ve Got Mail subplot that has some of my favorite dialogue in the whole book. At times I did find myself getting frustrated with Bee’s constant self-deprecation and by the second half of the book it started to feel a bit tedious. Also I don’t think the steamy scenes did anything to improve the love story, and the level of spice felt a bit forced and made the scenes feel choppy. It was very graphic without really showing any of the tenderness or emotion that was growing between these two, so I thought the writing here could have been better.

Overall, this was such a fun, light romance with a quirky, lovable cast of characters, an interesting scientific premise, and an insightful look at what women face in the STEM workplace and community. I think fans of The Love Hypothesis will love this book, even if there are some similarities. I rated it 4.5 stars, but am rounding it up to 5 based on the sheer joy I experienced while reading this book!

Thank you to @NetGalley, @BerkleyRomance, and @HeyItsCarlyRae and @HeyItsCarlyRaeBookClub for this ARC!

Ali Hazelwood writes characters that I would love to meet and want to be friends with. The chemistry and tension between her main characters is amazingly well written. Both Love on the Brain and her first book, The Love Hypothesis, are books I will be re-reading soon.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood is another one of her cute fun and sexy rom-com novels. We meet our heroine, Bee Konigswasser, who is a neuroscientist; who follows the life of Marie Curie (the mother of modern physics). Bee is considered a brilliant scientist, and is offered a job to co-lead a neuro engineering project, BLINK for NASA. BLINK deals with transcranial magnetic stimulations to work on for astronaut helmets! As excited as she is, Bee is not thrilled to be working with her old nemesis, who is the co-leader, but Bee knows she needs to put aside their past to be able to work together.

Levi Ward, our hero, is very cold when he sees Bee, as they were not friends at grade school; Bee always thought he hated her. During Bee’s first day, she accidentally falls, and it is Levi who saves her; but now her equipment is not available, the people working for Levi are ignoring her. What is going on? After a short period, Bee will learn from Levi that their overall boss did not want her be part of their project, as they wanted their success to be their own. But with help from Levi, they do convince the boss, that they need Bee’s amazing neuroscientist’s ability.

A slow burn enemy to lover’s romance begins, as Bee learns that Levi never hated her back in the past; as his feelings were quite the opposite. With each passing day, Bee sees Levi becoming an ally, backing her up, seconding her ideas to management; and the chemistry between them heats up. I really loved Bee and Levi together, as they made a great couple, with so much sizzling chemistry between them.
Love on the Brain was an interesting plot, with engineering and science working together; even though I did not understand a lot of what they were doing. Which did not matter, as this a fun, cute romance, not to mention wonderful banter between our couple. Some of the secondary characters were very good, and even at the end there were some surprising developments.

What follows is a fun, sexy and entertaining rom-com, with a fabulous couple, excellent secondary characters, great banter, as well as sexy. Love on the Brain was so very well written by Ali Hazelwood. I wholly suggest you read Love on the Brain.

Positive:
I love Bee, she's a delight to read! Her sarcasm and expressions are so fun and silly! And I love the level of hate she has for Levi at the beginning of the book, it's quite enjoyable to read, honestly.

Levi is very adorable and you can tell he cares so much about Bee, much like Adam in The Love Hypothesis. There are a lot of similarities, between the two books, and I still enjoyed her second novel a lot, but I hope her next one will be more different my I hope she will take on a different trope.

I really liked the link to Marie Curie. It gave the book a little something special!

Negative:
What's up with alllll the same tall muscular dark hair men with enormous penises? 🤦🏻‍♀️
Even the guy in Under one Roof looks like that! I'm annoyed. And the one in Stuck with You is the same but with blond hair (gasp!)
Like okay maybe that's what you're attracted to, author, but get over it. We don't care about you, we care about your MC. MCs that are obviously all tiny as hell btw.

I know it's hard to avoid miscommunication in contemporary romance, but it's not THAT hard. This book is full of it. And it's quite annoying. When most of your conflict is built on miscommunication, it gets frustrating.

I can't say much without spoiling, but it's like she'll do everything she can to make the characters avoid telling each other something important, but it's just not credible. And she stretches it for far too long. And not just for one thing, but several. If it hadn't been painfully obvious since page one, it wouldn't be as frustrating, but it is, so, epic UGH.

All in all, I did enjoy this book, and I do think people should read it and will enjoy it, but I hope the author will put more effort into writing something different, and also stop being lazy with the miscommunication.

Ali Hazelwood did it again! I loved The Love Hypothesis and Love On the Brain did not disappoint. No spoilers.
Bee and Levi met in Grad school and by all appearances…did NOT get along. Flash forward—both are going to be working at Nasa on a project (BLINK) to design an astronaut helmet that aids in attention. Levi is the head engineer and Bee is his co-lead as the neuroscientist.
The brain science lingo was entertaining, and the women in STEM side of things enraging but realistic. The side characters were likeable and funny. Levi is my new book boyfriend.💕 Pure rom-com fun.

Okay, so I loved The Love Hypothesis and was so excited about Ali Hazelwood's newest full-length novel. I'll say right off that bat that I didn't love it as much. The ending was a little too out there for me and one of the steamier scenes put me off a bit, but there was still a lot to like her. Dr. Bee Konigswasser is a neuroscientist working for the NIH who gets picked for a pretty amazing grant project that's a collaboration between the NIH and NASA to design helmets for astronauts that will help them from a neuroscience perspective. The only snag is that her co-director on the project is her grad school nemesis, engineer Levi Ward. He refused to work with her and barely spoke to her during grad school, and he seems to be falling into the same habits this time. The characters are definitely similar to the two mains in the Love Hypothesis, but there were enough differences that it didn't feel like just the same story retold. I liked the side characters here as well, and the fact that Bee has a secret identity as the famous anonymous academic Twitter handle @WhatWouldMarieCurieDo, and the very realistic academic politics being portrayed, and the romance overall worked for me. I think that, in the end, there was just a little too much going on and just a sudden huge infusion of drama that I wasn't expecting.

It was... fine. If I were to compare it to The Love Hypothesis, I'd say I may have enjoyed this one more but in the end, I don't think it will be one that will stick with me or I'll be jumping to recommend when the sea of romances is so vast.

I really enjoyed the sheer amount of Feminine Rage (TM) expressed by Bee in dealing with the inherently penis-shaped world of research. I think many readers will get joy out of that because it is so relatable and seeing characters fume about it and call their male colleagues out about it (not to mention the sheer swoony-ness of an MMC backing the FMC up... which let's not unpack that this minimum amount of human decency is even swoon worthy...

But in the end, the romance was grossly predictable (which isn't always a downside but felt a little too on the nose) and the pacing still felt a bit off for me; not to mention I don't think it stood out as unique enough from TLH - the only major difference is there is more consent (yay for progress!) And the height difference trope was a bit too in my face to not feel a bit icked out.

I can't say this is "bad" but also not entirely memorable for me. If someone where debating between which of Ali Hazelwood books to read I'd definitely choose this one. I possibly would have liked it more had I not read TLH.