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.

Oh no... I had such high expectations (and low-key fears) about Ali Hazelwood's second and much-anticipated read. Absolutely none of them were met... This quirky stem-romance was so cringe it was unreadable for me from only two chapters in. So disappointing! The plot was unoriginal and not nearly as lovable as The Love Hypothesis. I wanted to be drawn into Hazelwood's familiar writing style, but I could not relate to the MC whatsoever, and was even turned off by her attitude oftentimes. Oh well!

I absolutely loved this! Such a good enemies to lovers trope and such fun being in Houston at the space center!

Ali Hazelwood is fast becoming someone I will continue to read. I finally read The Love Hypothesis last week, and when I saw Love on the Brain on NetGalley, I could not request it fast enough. I only had to wait a few days and the request was approved.

LOTB is almost like TLH but a litter more zanier. But as TLH was in third-person POV, LOTB was first person, which was a bit refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I do not necessarily mind reading third person POV, for me, first person POV I can really get into the main character's mindset. And before you ask, it is only the heroine's POV only. Yes, I know we are so use to getting both perspectives, but not having the male MC's POV here does not deter how he feels about the female MC.

I not going to give to much away, but what I do love is the banter, her great relationship with her twin sister (albeit via phone), her love for all animals, her awesome dynamic relationship with her RA, Rocio (Rocio, who hurt you girl, lol). But most of all her interactions with Levi.

Let me say that this is another slow burn, but when the sexy times do come into play, these two nerdy hotties, do get hot and dirty.

My only request as a reader is that when and if the author decides to write another rom/com that it isn't another enemies-to-lovers or what the female MC would perceive as an enemy in the male MC. Otherwise, it would seem to repetitive to have the same type of book over and over, just my opinion anyway.

Thank you Net Galley and Berkley for the advanced copy of another great book by Ali Hazelwood.

Once again Ali Hazelwood has out done herself with Love on the Brain! Everything about this book was good, from a strong female lead to the grumpy handsome male lead to a spicy romance!! I honestly could not put it down, it had a nice balance of being spicy but also having a good storyline. I am for sure going to be buying this book when it comes out.

I read The Love Hypothesis and immediately knew I needed to read all of Ali Hazelwood’s books. Despite the fact that I am not a Star Wars (or Adam Driver) fan, nor do I know anything about science, that book (and her subsequent novellas) are so much fun to read. So when I got an email offering an e-galley of this one, I jumped at the chance.

Bee and Levi are such a fun pairing. I love a good enemies to reluctant friends to lovers and this delivered perfectly. They had great chemistry and I enjoyed their back and forth. The side characters were fun too - particularly Rocío, who reminded me so much of April Ludgate from Parks and Rec.

There were some parts I found more than a little unbelievable but I’m happy to suspend belief for a good story, and this was that.

Fantastic! I loved this book so much. It was everything I wanted as a follow up to Love Hypothesis and blew my already high expectations out of the water. I am so happy I get to sell this book to customers coming into my store soon. Ali Hazelwood is going to be a name in romance for a long time, and this book proves it.

I definitely had fun with this book, and laughed a bunch throughout. I think it is definitely another solid book by Hazelwood.

There were parts though that while cute the first time (or two) weren't as cute by the 5th (or 10th) time. I did get this as an ARC, and there's no guarantee that all of the little quirks will be in the final book.

As the reader it was also very easy to spot some things that I think were a little too *wink wink nudge nudge did you get it?* so that was a little much also.

Overall, cute book, glad I read it. I'll probably reread it at some point eventually also bc it is cute!

Thank you for the advance reader copy!

I couldn’t wait any longer to read Ali Hazelwood’s new release! She writes women in STEM plus falling in love so well. Bee reunites with her grad school nemesis Levi, who seems to be a jerk but actually really likes Bee. There is also a sort of You’ve Got Mail thing going on between Bee and her unknown Twitter friend! While there is a bit of science talk in this book it didn’t take me out of the story too much. The one thing that bothered me was that there seemed to be a piece that wasn’t resolved regarding Bee’s secret Twitter identity, but either I missed it or it will hopefully be fixed in the final copy. If you liked The Love Hypothesis, I’m sure you’ll love this one too!

Okay, so I have some conflicting feelings about this book. Overall, I liked it. I enjoy Ali Hazelwood's writing style a lot; it's super fun and makes you want to keep reading. I like the story that she lays out as well, academic enemies (but not really) who have to come together to work on a project of a lifetime. And I'm such a sucker for the trope of she thinks he hates her but actually he likes her so much that he doesn't know what to do about it so it comes off as hatred. Love it, it's like a drug for my romance reader brain.

So why is this 4 stars instead of 5? Well, here's the thing: I like this book better than I liked The Love Hypothesis. If I had to pick between the two, this is the one I would revisit and the one I would recommend to people. My problem is that the relationship dynamic here is basically the same as it is in The Love Hypothesis. I feel like I'm reading the same characters picked up and dropped into an alternate universe. And here's the thing, I know Hazelwood comes from a fanfiction background, and I LOVE fanfiction. I am an avowed fic lover and write plenty of my own. I love taking characters and just putting them in different situations and seeing them fall in love over and over again -that's what I go to fic for. It's not necessarily what I go to books for. I'm not sure it's that big of a deal in the long run, to be fair, just a little disappointing. It's certainly not going to keep me from reading more from this author, I just hope that future books don't hold the same issue.

I adored Love on the Brain - I thought it was 10x better than The Love Hypothesis and that is truly saying something!

Another compulsively readable romcom about a quirky woman in STEM who is completely clueless about the tall handsome man scientist who pines after her. I devoured it, just like The Love Hypothesis. Hits all the right notes - nerdy, steamy, science-y, and a little evil villain-y!

When Bee finds out she'll be working with her arch-nemesis Levi, she isn't sure she made the right move. But once Levi starts opening up to her, she sees a completely different side to him and they quickly bond and form a delicious relationship! Heavily written around STEM and science (Bee's hero is Marie Curie!), this rom-com is sure to satisfy every contemporary romance need you could think of having: humor, tension, romance, spicy sex, and friendships, too! Add in a small mystery and thrilling ending and you got yourself a 5 star read!

I haven't read any of Ali Hazelwood's books before but I will now! I absolutely devoured this book. It was slow for me at first, there is a lot of science and Marie Curie talk thrown at you in the beginning, but it cools off and becomes a great romance. I loved it!

If you're already a fan of "The Love Hypothesis," you should love this book, but if you've also read all the STEMinist novellas in between, the whole "a lot of men in STEM are condescending mansplainers and/or pigs" might start to wear you down after a while. (If I was an older teenager reading these books, I might even be turned off to a STEM career, knowing what I might face. The Neanderthals that still exist in this realm, of course, would love that.) But on top of being an enemies-to-lovers story (SO my jam), the STEM angle remains an interesting trope, one that addresses a real life wish of some women in STEM to find love in the middle of their time-crunched careers, with a partner who agrees she has every right to be there as much as men are.

You quickly see all the plot points coming down the pike--one being, of course Levi never hated Bee, but quite the opposite; other plot points involving internet personalities and project saboteurs are quickly sussed out. But we're here for it, and we wait for all the big moments, steamy as well as heartbreaking. And I do mean steamy, even dirty (if certain things were too much for you in "The Love Hypothesis," there's a moment here that might be on that level).

I see one more book coming down the pike but can't think of whose story it might be.

Bee is a neuroscientist who just landed her dream job working alongside NASA engineers. Just one little hiccup… She’ll be co-leading this project with Levi Ward. Someone Bee remembers from grad school, and they’re not fond memories at all. She’s always felt he despised her from first sight, for some unexplainable reason.🤷‍♀️

So how will the two work together? Can they put their feelings aside and start anew? Perhaps if they give each other a chance they may actually find common ground.

I just loved Bee’s character! So quirky and yes, perhaps a bit nerdy too! Her purple hair and obsession with Marie Curie… it all made for a distinctive, fun character!

The chemistry was spot on with just the right amount of heat!🔥

A cute addition to the STEM themed books by Ali Hazelwood. Looking forward to more!

A buddy read with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing

Bee + Levi

Let's start with a bad NASA pun: Houston, we have a tiny little problem!
Bee's professional dreams have just come true: she's co-leading a new neuro-science project at NASA. But the word CO-leading is the problem. Her co guy is her grad school nemesis Levi. Levi with the dreamy green eyes and the hot body. And Levi who - for whatever reason - hates her.
WWMD?
What would Marie (Curie) do?
Let's find out!

LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN ...

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ADORABLE!

This was such a sweet and quirky and science-y and just adorable and beautiful romance.
Bee and Levi are so perfect for each other. Like really perfect. 100% match perfect. But they don't know it! Ugh! Poor Levi has been in love with Bee for so many years and she always thought he hated her - still does. Too cute!
But now they have to work together and they kind of start being friends.

I just really loved reading this.
We get so many adorable and funny moments. And Lots of vegan and cat and Marie Curie moments - Bee is a HUGE Marie Curie fan (maybe a tiny bit too much?)!

Perfect STEM romance with the perfect cover - can't wait to get more from Ali!
GIMME! And also please someone at Netflix - put these books on my TV asap!

► LOVE ON THE BRAIN was such a sweet + funny + sparky + vegan + Marie Curie-y + cats-y + brainy + just adorable NASA Rom-Com. With even some mystery and excitement thrown in!
I adored it! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Levi - he'll be sold out in no time!

I was so excited to get his book because I was low key obsessed with The Love Hypothesis last year. So when I saw Ali Hazelwood wrote another novel I had to have it.

The quick summary is Bee, a neuroscientist, gets her dream job as a leader on a project at NASA. The kicker is she has to co-lead with her grad school emesis, Levi.

The high lights of this one are you get another hunky science nerd to drool over. Levi’s character is very similar to Adam from TLH, which I’m sure a lot of people won’t like but I’m all for Adam 2.0. He loves Star Wars and cats and works at NASA..what more does a girl need 😅

The book is written from Bee’s POV and while she does go on some funny tangents whether spoken or thought, she can sometimes feel immature. There’s a scene where she meets a cat and starts to tell it cat jokes and while I’m sure it was supposed to come off as cute and endearing it reminded me of something my 8 year old niece would do.

There’s a little plot twist thrown in at the end that I enjoyed and helped make it different than a lot of other romance books I’ve read.

Overall this is a quick, cute read with some quirky jokes mixed in. Butttt I can’t end this review without mentioning that you will know everything about Marie Curie and her life after finishing this whether you ever wanted to or not. 🧪

Oh I have been WAITING for this one! Hazelwood delivers another fun and flirty romance with a heaping of smart capable women in STEM. Dr. Bee Konigswasser is a neuroscientist who vents about the sexism of STEM on Twitter as @whatwouldmariedo. When she is given the opportunity to work with NASA on a massive project, she's over the moon...until she sees her co-leader is her past nemesis, Levi Ward. Levi, the guy who couldn't stand to be in a room with her, who undermined her confidence and who absolutely hated her. But working with Levi reveals he might have never hated her at all.... Recommended for collections that serve adults and contemporary romance.

I liked it but it didn’t give what I thought it was supposed to give🥲

Our protagonist is Bee - a Marie Curie fangirl - who has got the chance to work at NASA on a dream project but her grad school nemesis(or so she thinks!) Levi is going to be co-leading the project with her. Which would suit her just fine but when Bee arrives at NASA, none of the equipment she requested is ready and lots of things go wrong, and on top of that, she's being threatened with removal from the project.

Levi reminded me a lot of Adam from The Love Hypothesis. He's awkward, very tall, good-looking enough to rival Adonis... you get it. However, I can't say anything more about him.

What I liked: Bee and Levi have good chemistry and the sex scenes are written pretty well. I liked the slow-burn and the crazy twist in the end. Unfortunately, the list of things I didn't like is longer. If Bee and Levi are supposed to hate each other, there's none of that. I would have loved to see some argument initially or literally anything that would put the 'nem' in 'nemesis'. The fact that Levi and Bee are supposed to hate each other is all told to us and is based on an assumption Bee made. Another thing is that Levi goes to therapy because of his family but during a family dinner, when there was a chance to see some character growth from our boy, it wasn't there.

Overall, if you’re looking for a rom-com that takes place in a STEM environment then I would recommend you pick this up.