Well, I'm going to wear the Unpopular Opinion Hat on this one. I was excited to read more from Hazelwood after utterly loving the Love Hypothesis; but I admit some simultaneous reluctance that crept on me after all the novellas. Those were short enough that I didn't feel the need to critically examine them, and they cut to the chase with the romances and were largely entertaining.

This...is not. I'm not sure if I read the same book as everyone else or people are just blindly five-starring for affection's sake and the other books, but oh my gods. I could not bear the protagonist, and seeing as we're in her head, the entire story filtered through her juvenile, frankly agonizing POV, well, it didn't bode well. She's immature, unbearable, and...vegan. That worst-kind of vegan. And she mentions her hero Marie Curie just incessantly. There's a magnet on the fridge she talks to when she's not masquerading as a Marie Curie twitter account that gives advice. It was all just too much and prevented enjoyment of anything else about the book.

My very-much-humanities-student brain found the STEM content bearable in the other books because it felt...presented more accessibly, and I enjoyed the characters. This book was the opposite. There's other stuff, too. The protagonist meets a cat and immediately starts a bizarre verbal avalanche of dad jokes aimed at the cat? Like she's aware she's "on camera" and narrating the book? What even. And then there was a frankly tasteless, offensive reference to La Llorona as some sort of feminist icon ghost that, according to other reviews, keeps coming up. What the? No sensitivity reader on this or what?

I feel shellshocked at how bad this was. I'm not sure if they're cutting back on editing or what's going on, but it feels like no one reined in anything questionable in this book. A solid debut guarantees nothing, I guess.

I'm sad it's over. Truly, honestly, sad.

Ali Hazelwood is an absolute rockstar who creates characters you can't help but fall in love with. Bee is top five book girlfriends for me. She's hilarious, gah, is she funny. Some of the things she thinks are spit-your-drink-out funny, snort when you laugh hysterical, and of course smiling like a fool at a book (or kindle, we aren't picky). Levi is totally book boyfriend material as well. I just really loved Bee. #girlcrush
This story did not go the way I thought it would, not once did I anticipate anything that happened. So many things are happening that it's a constant state of 'what in the world is Bee gonna do now'? I loved every second. I wouldn't change a thing, the supporting characters? Loved them. The plot? Loved it. The smut? OH MY GOD I LOVED IT.

I can't recommend this one enough. It's enemies-to-lovers, a nerdy scientist determined not to fail, and a hunky engineer who just wants his love requited. If Love on the Brain isn't on your shelf, I highly, highly suggest you put it there. Pre-order the thing. You need it, I promise.

Thank you Berkley, in partnership with NetGalley, for an advanced ARC. This review is being left voluntarily, all opinions are my own.

Words cannot express how much I loved this book! But I’m writing a review, so I’ll have to try my best to articulate just how amazing this book is. Love on the Brain has it all–it’s hilarious, relatable, heart-warming, and a little angsty. I absolutely adored Dr. Bee Königswasser so, so much. She’s a neuroscientist who’s brought on to co-lead a NASA/NIH project. And her co-lead is Levi Ward, her nemesis from grad school.

I absolutely love the author’s use of reader’s double vision throughout the story. The book is told entirely from Bee’s point of view, but that doesn’t mean that we, as the reader, don’t know exactly what Levi is thinking. This isn’t a spoiler, because it’s obvious right from the beginning, when Bee is outlining her past interactions with him. She thinks he hates her guts, but it’s clear to the reader that his feelings are quite the opposite…

Just like with The Love Hypothesis, this book is chock-full of scientific and nerdy references. I ate all of them up! In this book, Bee’s assistant is a goth who is obsessed with the macabre, so on top of getting hilarious scientific references, we get little snippets of history and legend, including the curse of La Llorona.

The author provides a witty and timely commentary on misogyny in STEM throughout both the narrative and the plotline itself. For instance, she talks about “Sausage Referencing” being when a man validates a woman’s opinion, and only then do the other men respect and/or believe that woman’s opinion, regardless of her level of expertise or the level of expertise of the man doing the Sausage Referencing. Hilarious and oh, so accurate.

This is definitely a ten-star read for me, but since five is the highest that my rating system goes, I’m going to have to settle for giving this five stars!

While I wasn't as in love with it as I was with the love hypothesis, I really enjoyed this book by Ali Hazelwood. It made me laugh out loud and the banter between our two leads were top notch!!

This was everything. I loved this book so incredibly much. It was a delight from beginning to end. The banter, the quirkiness, the tension... I didn't want to stop reading, yet I wanted to savour it at the same time! If this one isn't on your radar yet, be sure to include it! Without doubt the best romance of 2022.

One of the easiest 5 star ratings in a while. It’s flipping bombastic Much love for Levi too!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
God, I love brilliant writers. They tell a story in such a way that you cannot stop reading. Nothing droll or boring. Just loaded with enough nerdiness and whimsy that you are sucked in from the beginning!

This is a romance but we have to get their back story and feel all of that insecurity we had in school all over again. How did they meet? Why does Levi hate her? What happened to Bee that added such huge anxiety and stress to her life?

This is an enemies to lovers story and I could not put it down. The author’s excellence in her character development is truly a delight. I love the interactions and banter between all of them – fun and a bit wacky too. Even the self chatter was amusing.

Simply put, Love on the Brain is a delightful story that should not be missed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book, provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Where do I start? I wasn't expecting to fall in love when I started this book, but here I am. I'd give this book 10 stars, if I could. The chemistry between Bee and Levi was off the charts, and while the true feelings were painfully obvious, it was FUN watching as everything unfolded.

The story follows Bee, a plucky, purple-haired, tattooed, pierced scientist forced to work with her grad school nemesis, Levi, on a career-defining project as a combo venture with the NIH and NASA. From the start nothing is going right. Levi saves Bee from being crushed in a freak accident, equipment isn't delivered, files go missing, a test run goes dangerously wrong. Bee feels like everyone and everything is out to get her. Could Levi really be sabotaging their project?

I'm trying to keep this an non-spoilery as possible. Bee and Levi's backstory (both their collective backstory and their individual backstories) are told bit by bit through the book, and we get to learn about their past relationship (or the lack thereof) and how it shaped their relationship at the beginning of the book. The mystery woven through the book without it overwhelming the story was a great touch and created the conflict needed to fuel, well, everything.

Like I said, 10 stars. All the love. I can't wait until this book releases in paper form. I'm definitely buying a copy.

thank you to Berkley Publishing Group via Netgalley for this free e-arc.

this book is unbelievably good. like, butterflies-in-my-stomach-happy-dance-stay-up-until-3am good. as much as nothing can beat the love hypothesis, this gave the same vibes but was it's own story. my theory that Alizelwood is actually a romance-novel-god has been reaffirmed.

This was absolutely <i>delightful.</i> There is no better feeling than when an author’s second book lives up to the expectations set by the first.

Bullet points because I’m too excited to make sentences!!

- <b>The characters!!</b> Quirky, fun and down to earth. This book isn’t as side-splittingly hilarious as The Love Hypothesis, but equally endearing.

- <b>The STEM!!</b> Once again we venture into the world of studies, grants, bureaucracy, and cutting edge breakthroughs, navigating your career forward while trying to avoid interpersonal icebergs. Just *chef’s kiss.*

- <b>The angst!!</b> This was my favorite part of the book. So I had figured out the main plot within the first couple chapters, but did that make it any less fun? Absolutely not. So watching Levi’s online alter ego pour out his soul to Bee’s online alter ego - that may have been the most romantic thing I have ever read. And then the hotel scene where the truth comes out and he realizes she never married Tim (<i>fuck</i> Tim). And…well I could go on, but you really need to read the book 😆

- <b>The spice!!</b> Signature Ali levels of hotness, but in this book we get 300% more of it 👀

This is a new comfort read for me and I’m definitely buying a hard copy when it officially releases. Thanks so much to Ali, Berkeley and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for my thoughts!!!

Even though it’s predictable, the charm leaps off the page in Ali Hazelwood’s sophomore title. It’s fun, nerdy and sexy and I can’t wait to read more from her!

So I really think that Ali Hazelwood is a goddess among people who could write a PHONE BOOK and I would happily read it in one sitting/ Seriously, who gave her the right to be so good at grumpy/sunshine trope??? I adored this book, if you couldn't already tell.

My new favorite Ali Hazelwood novel! A neuroscientist joins a NASA project only to discover her co-leader is the grad school student who absolutely hated her. Or did he? Yep, it's got a similar sort of mistaken-enemies-to-lovers story to The Love Hypothesis, but other aspects were different enough that it doesn't feel like the same story rewritten. Bee is a neuroscientist and Levi is an engineer working at NASA, where they're creating a prototype for a helmet that will enhance astronaut brain function. It was a really fun and cute story-- right up until the last 10%. At that point, right when you think it's too late for the s*th to hit the proverbial fan, things get very stressful, very fast. I think those last few chapters probably took a year off my life. I'm not mad about it exactly, but it did come out of the blue in a way I wasn't expecting! Otherwise, a really fun, predictable read.

I will admit I was hoping for some more ace / demi rep but no such luck. Still a really fun romance.

It’s fun, adorable, and just the right notes of quirky without being cliche. We’re presented with another smart and strong heroine with vulnerabilities but damned good determination. The STEM-centered, well, everything, is portrayed exactly as you would hope and crave. The hero is broody and sexy but never pushy. And it gets seriously smexy, the author turned up the heat.

My only criticisms are the obvious similarities between these characters and The Love Hypothesis, they weren’t quite different enough. BUT it’s still a great formula and honestly didn’t bother me much. I did get a little irked by how long the first third of the book and the non-communication went on for. There were too many moments when I just went “can you two speak plainly already?!”

Still, Bee and Levi created some fun reading time and sexy moments, as well as being in a unique and educated setting. I enjoyed it.

* I received a free early e-arc from the publisher via netgalley

No surprise there, but I just ate this book up in less than two days, I couldn’t stop reading. These characters, the romance, the laugh out loud moments and the fuzzy feelings this book gave me has me in a chokehold. Last year the Love Hypothesis was one of my favorites, so I was obviously screaming when I got my hands on this early copy. I didn’t know if Love on the Brain can top the feelings I got from TLH, but let me tell you it certainly did. It was even funnier, sexier and more romantic. I also loved how this book was written in first person, I definitely prefer that to third person. Bee was such a fantastic main character and her chemistry with Levi from the beginning was unbelievable…I love a good workplace enemies to lovers romance, it always gets me. The side characters also made this book the perfection it is, Rocíó was my absolute favorite side character, her funny comebacks always made me smile.

All in all, if you loved The Love Hypothesis then you’ll definitely love Love on the Brain, so do not hesitate to preorder it now. And if you like a good grumpy and sunshine, enemies to lovers workplace romance with a lot or nerdy jokes then this one is for you as well, you won’t regret preordering it.

Thank you so much for PRH International for providing me a free copy to review

Taking off one star for the sheer amount of times it's mentioned how tall/large/big/huge/towering Levi is

Taking another star off for all the times Bee said that Levi couldn't possibly love her, he hated her, she was ugly, etc etc when she very clearly describes herself as the opposite and Levi told her 14839205x he didn't hate her.

It was just very repetitive and I couldn't handle the miscommunication. Sometimes it wasn't even miscommunication...Levi would blatantly tell Bee the truth and she would be like 'not possible he's being cruel'

Also did not like the very adventageous plot twist at the end. I liked that character and it really didn't make any sense. The kind of drama felt wrong in this type of rom-com

Ali Hazelwood has done it again and omg people are going to devour this novel!

STEM? Check
Marie Curie references? Check
Enemies to lovers? Check
Steam and spice? Check

This made me laugh out loud and root so hard for Bee and Levi.

Here’s a blurb from the jacket copy:

“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.”

This is SO much fun, and it will fly off the shelves, so preorder today! I’ve got a preorder in for a physical copy- I loved it that much.

Obviously, this is a five star read, and will keep romance fans talking for months to come.


**Many thanks to #NetGalley and #BerkleyRomance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. My gushing opinions are my own.**

Ali Hazelwood does it again. An engrossing read where the realistic and heartfelt journey of a woman in STEM, and her arch enemy come together for a project for NASA. Bee Königswasser comes to realize that Levi Ward's apparent abhorrence of her is not all that it seems. Working against the clock to beat a team in the private sector, late nights and tight quarters force them into companionship in order to achieve their mutual goals. This book is steamy and engrossing, a quick and delightful rom-com read.

3.2/5

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the chance to review Love on the Brain.

To start, yes, I have read The Love Hypothesis- and yes, I was a big fan- and YES, that is why I was so eager to request Ali Hazelwood's newest novel.

There was a lot of improvements in characterization and just pacing in general, compared to the last book. So that was a plus. However, I realized I just couldn't like Bee and Levi like I did Olive and Adam- and ultimately, I realize that it's because I was reading the first book as a Star Wars fanfiction. Somehow for me that made it all the much better.

More positives:
-Back in a STEM environment, whoop whoop.
-Some well written steamy scenes
-Nice comedic relief

Negatives:
-Almost felt like "Same sh*t, different story" so to speak
-really, a lot of it almost felt like I was reading TLH again
-I couldn't connect with the main couple, and therefore had a hard time caring about what they did and didn't do

Not bad. I'm not a romance connoisseur, but I think fans will enjoy this one.

I love that Bee lives her life by the "What Would Marie Do?" tenet - what would our feminist forebears do in the situations of silencing and patriarchal thinking we deal with each day? She does definitely take it to superfan levels, but can we really blame her?

Bee is a wonderful example of a strong and independent woman who continues to advocate for her worth, even when accosted by the scientist she believed hated her all through grad school... who didn't actually hate her in grad school. Levi is a fantastic gentle giant type hero - physically massive, but with the epic nerd level of "do not know how to talk to girls" affliction. Their pairing of grumpy-sunshine, silent-bubbly, body mod-buttoned up made this a joy to read! Yay for Stem-inist romance!

love Love LOVE. This is a must read romance book!!! As soon as it comes out!! Get it!!! You will not regret it!!! It was so cute and while it was pretty predictable at times it was written in such a great way that putting the book down seemed impossible. ❤️❤️ 10/10 would read again.