OH MY GOD. If I never got to read anything other than Ali Hazelwood’s books for the rest of my life, I would simply die a happy woman.

I thought, there is no way this one will be as good as The Love Hypotheses, but shooooooot I think I love it more!!

I think I highlighted more quotes in this book than anything before. I haven’t been reading too much romance lately, but there’s just something to be said about a book that can make you laugh and feel all at the same time. Nobody in writing makes me laugh like Ali Hazelwood. She is genuinely funny. The best kind.

<b><I>”There’s someone in my corner. A guy who loves Star Wars, and is too tall for space, and will take care of a kitten for half his life.</I></b>

Gosh, I’m still swooning over these two. A super special work thing with lots and lots of miscommunicated feelings between two past connected lives leads for lots and lots of angsty juiciness.

There’s just so much that I loved about this book, I could spoil the whole thing right here right now. I’ll be shouting these books to anyone who asks for recommendations for a long time to come!

PS. My husband is gonna be super jelly when I tell him I read a book where they work at NASA. We’ve been there and that made it even more great for me! *all the heart eyes*

Here's the thing- I always love Ali's contemporary romance books. Same as The Love Hypothesis. Except, that's the problem- it's actually not any different. Same smart woman, same man who has loved them all along, same miscommunication that could easily have been cleared up much earlier. Same complicated ex/friend issues. Same forumalic plot lines and just a plug in of a different male and female name. Quirky woman, moody man, science. Got it. That's what we're going to get.

So, why the five stars? Cause even though it's a copy paste plot and character it's still so readable and enjoyable. Did I get unreasonably frustrated by the overused and drug out miscommunication-yes. Did I hate seeing a talented writer stick to a formula-yes. Did I still enjoy it...hell yeah, I did. I just REALLY hope we see something different in her next book. Women in STEM are fantastic but my goodness, switch it up a little. And also....does EVERY male love interest have a d*ck so big it's nearly impossible to f*ck him? I mean, come on. He can be big without literally struggling to take him. Just saying.

Lovers of Hazelwood's first book will love this next Steminist novel. A smart, purple-haired heroine with a fear of commitment who randomly passes out when overwhelmed? NASA as the backdrop? What's not to love? I did want a little more from Levi's character, but overall an enjoyable read!

I read this in a single day, just a couple of hours really. Overall, I enjoyed it. I gave it 4 stars, but it's probably closer to 3.5 for me. I just tend to go up on the star count rather than down. Since it's been so long since I wrote a review and I don't want to have any spoilers I am going to start with what I liked/didn't care for.

Liked:
* The 2 MC's are great. I did like Bee, Levi was better. I sort of loved him!
* The STEM setting is interesting to me in that I know nothing about it, but still find it somewhat fascinating.
* The steam factor in this one is high....surpassing The Love Hypothesis by a mile.
* Bee's hair and her overall appearance and how it seems to defy what is expected of her in the field she's in.

Didn't care for:
* The repeated reminders of misogyny in the STEM field. I know it's a HUGE problem, and I think Hazelwood is tackling that well most of the time in these books, but for some reason it seemed overdone in this one.
* Bee's obsession with Marie Curie. It probably shouldn't have annoyed me as much as it did....
* All of the TM coined words/phrases. (Maybe this is something that will change post-editing, but I have a feeling it won't.)
* It was very predictable. Like almost no surprise with any of the twists to the point that some of them seemed wholly unnecessary.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book. Did I like it more that The Love Hypothesis? No. In fact, it's so similar to that book in terms of content, even the main characters initial meeting is similar. Maybe that's why it was so predictable... There were certainly enjoyable moments, but there were also some very cringey ones.

Love on the Brain was a witty and reflective sophomore novel by Hazelwood, and I love how she can weave academic politics with the plot and romance within her novel.s.

What is it about?
Our main character, Bee, is a Doctor in neuroscience at what fills like a dead-end job until she applies for a NASA project. Where literally every scientist wants to be, but the kicker is, what thought she would be leading the project until Levi Ward- someone from grad school that never made her feel welcome- becomes her co-lead on the project. We have a natural miscommunication troupe that at times can be frustrating but the romance and fireworks go off when Bee and Levi become honest and open with one another.

My thoughts
I think fans of the Love Hypothesis will thoroughly enjoy this book. I did enjoy Bee's inner turmoil in wanting to settle down and have a stable life because, in the past, she couldn't have that opportunity (and definitely something I can relate to as we are entering a recession) I liked how in this sophomore novel we are able to have closure on the online interactions with our character that I felt lacking in the first book.

If you are looking for a man who is helplessly in love with his IT GIRL and a woman who couldn't be none the wiser then pick this up

I was so so mad at myself for not believing The Love Hypothesis hype and knew I couldn’t make the same mistake with this one, so I requested this as soon as I saw it.

Folks, Ali Hazelwood has done it again. This was AMAZINGLY FUN. Didn’t know how it would compare to TLH but wow it was such a lovely book! It’s currently 4:30am because I started this last night and legit could not stop reading. I find Hazelwood’s writing style to be incredibly hysterical and charming, and I really loved Bee. Levi took a bit longer to warm up to, but by halfway through you’re in love with him.

These books are just a complete joy to read. Like, absolutely DELIGHTFUL. Weirdly, they’re filled with tropes I tend to dislike (especially miscommunication, which was a common theme throughout both TLH and this) but I have so much fun that I find I do not care. I really enjoyed the storyline in this one too!

Hazelwood has definitely cemented herself as an author I will definitely be picking up again. I especially loved the cat lovers spotlight in this one (cats ruleeeee) and I enjoy all of the science-y facts I get to learn about! Just SO SO much fun!

Well, I think Ali Hazelwood is becoming an auto-buy author for me because we're now 2 for 2 where I have purchased my own copy before finishing my ARC. Another book where I was squealing internally the whole time. I couldn't help falling in love with Bee, the Marie Curie-obsessed, tattooed, pierced, funky hair-colored neuroscientist who is co-leading a dream project with NASA by day and running an anonymous Marie-Curie-themed, STEM-patriarchy-smashing Twitter account by night. Of course, Levi couldn't help falling in love with her, either-- almost a decade earlier as grad students sharing an advisor. As a result of his military family upbringing, Levi couldn't exactly articulate his feelings for Bee, and it came across as pure hatred. MAJOR UNREQUITED LOVE + ENEMIES TO LOVERS, PEOPLE!!!! Ooooh, this was so many different catnips all in one, and I'm so sad it's over. Did I mention the cat who is hiding in the NASA facility that Bee names Felicette and Levi doesn't believe exists?? BRB, might just reread this one right away....

A fantastic follow up to The Love Hypothesis. I liked Bee, the main female character, a lot. Normally the enemies to lovers trope is not for me, but the way it was done in this book worked well.

Love on the Brain is a workplace romance between two rivals who are now co-leading a project together at NASA...with a You've Got Mail twist 😉

Ali Hazelwood is really good at setting up her story and characters in a way that builds your anticipation from the very first chapter. Once again, I was hooked from the very beginning, simply dying for Levi and Bee to reunite. I don't want to compare this book too much to The Love Hypothesis, but there are some parallels here and there because both stories are set in the STEM world.

There's also some delicious unrequited love on Levi's side which makes his interactions with Bee that much more exciting to read. Of course, Bee is completely unaware that Levi is in love with her. I don't know about you, but I just love the fresh scent of a pining hero 😏 If you loved Adam, then you are most likely going to love Levi as well. In fact, Levi is a lot more talkative than Adam, so I feel like I know him as well as I know our narrator, Bee.

There's a solid set of supporting characters, but oh my goodness, Bee's research assistant is supremely annoying. Her humour was just not for me. I kept rolling my eyes whenever she showed up. The hero and heroine were both great, but I couldn't bring myself to be interested in the supporting characters.

I really enjoyed Levi and Bee and I loved their development from so-called nemeses to friends to lovers. The plot is interesting, even though the science and engineering stuff went right over my head. But it's okay, I just know that their work is super important for astronauts 😂 The final conflict was majorly stressful, so major points to the author for actually making me question how the heck everything would be resolved. The climax was a bit too dramatic for me, but the epilogue was perfect!

I will honestly read anything Ali Hazelwood publishes. I love her brand of romantic comedy and I can't wait for her next book!

This was a fun fast read. I loved her first book more but still find her writing to be fun and love the stem part of this the most. Will continue to read her books

I just wanna start off by saying, tiktok is not ready for Levi and Bee. Y’all loved Adam and Olive? You’re gonna love Levi and Bee even more!

The book is so addictive, I did not want to put it down. Everything in this book is so loveable, the banter, the characters, the settings). So many tropes in this that I love seeing too. Ali’s writing is so captivating, I love everything about it.

A big fat kiss to Levi, Booktok is going to eat you up and so am I.

OMG Bee and Levi where such a blast! I loved this book. I don't know what it is about Ali Hazelwood's writing but this is my second 5 start read of one of her books. The writing is witty and funny. There are dynamics in this story that is unexpected. It didn't feel like your typical enemies to lovers book. I really enjoyed this one and it definitely will not be my last.

SO sweet and cute and spicy! A great follow up to the Love Hypothesis. This is sure to be another bestseller for the author.

In Ali Hazelwood's 'Love on the Brain', neuroscientist Bee Konigswasser temporarily relocates to Houston to develop cutting-edge technology for NASA. The project requires her to collaborate with her former grad school classmate and nemesis, Levi Ward. They clash over miscommunications, tense co-leadership, and mysterious mishaps that wreak havoc both minor and major in their results. In a development shocking only to our heroine, these frictions spark into a hot romance.

Here we've got tropes on tropes: enemies to lovers, he loved her all along, and a 'You've Got Mail'-ish case of mistaken online identity. There are few surprises in this novel, but the characters keep it interesting. Tattooed all over and hair dyed purple, off-beat Bee persistently shines a light on issues that challenge women in STEM fields; Levi is a sigh-worthy example of allyship and emotional self-awareness; and research assistant Rócio is great for goth girl lolz. With steamy sex and a heart-squeezing love story, 'Love on the Brain' is a perfect follow-up to Hazelwood's first novel, 'The Love Hypothesis'.

Bee Königswasser is about to start a new job position with NASA, which is all she's ever wanted after everything she's been through (stupid Tim and Annie the backstabber). Her motif is to always take care of situations the way Marie Curie would, and if Curie says to take on this neuroengineering project without no doubt, then Bee absolutely will. But what happens when her co-lead is none other then Levi Ward, the dude who hated every aspect of Bee back in grad school? How can Bee work with someone who hates her guts, when till this day Bee does not know what she did wrong? Bee has accepted Levi as an enemy ever since, and flash forward many years later, she sees him in the lab and notices how attractive he's become. But, an enemy will always be an enemy. As the two put their hatred feelings aside and start to work together on the astronaut helmets, different feelings start to form. As a female in the STEM field, Bee has dealt with dominant white men putting her down and not allowing her to accomplish her goals just because of her gender. But she realizes Levi is an ally when it comes to their workplace, and the way he stands up for her and supports her makes her see him under a different light. As the two start to connect more and form a stronger team, chaos starts to form at NASA. Bee starts dealing with missing equipment, protocols being messed around, and other forms of chaos. Bee learns she's got to listen to her heart and figure all this out, but how can she do that when Marie Curie never did? Personally, I loved Bee and her purple hair. Finding someone who is extremely intelligent in science, and who loves dying her hair and being creative, is not something you usually read about. I love the gender challenges that were explained in this novel when it comes to the workplace, especially when it is a female killing with a stem career. That coworker that both Levi and Bee work with, named Guy, needs to honestly chill and get a life. BUT LEVI, WE LOVE A HOT MATH GEEK. Okay I'm done. Go read this book.

Loved it! Ali Hazelwood is a generational talent. No one else is writing like her. Very, very few people even could.

Sexy Vegans, Twitter drama, Brain science, and NASA politics mix together to create the perfect STEM-inist Romance that is sure to bring you to your knees!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, all the opinions stated below are my own. Many thanks to Ali Hazelwood and her publishing team for allowing me to read this novel!

If you loved The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood like most of the world did, then this second novel will NOT disappoint.

Bee Konesswager’s life is a mess, even though she’s a well-respected brain scientist, she was forced to take a horrible job with a misogynist boss after her ex-fiance and ex-best friend were caught doing the horizontal mambo. But FINALLY there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of her dream job working on a brain stimulation helmet for astronauts to use in space.

There’s only one problem… The guy leading the project also happens to hate her guts.

Cue tall, dark, grumpy Levi who looks like a model, believes in enthusiastic consent, and can’t seem to do anything right according to the quirky and outspoken Bee. That is, of course, except for everything. Because as much as Bee wants to hate Levi… she just can’t help admitting that he’s actually kind of… perfect.

I was hooked by page two and in love with Levi from the moment he typed “I wish.”

There is so much to love about this book that it’s hard for me to narrow down what I actually want to spend time waxing poetic about in this review. A problem I rarely have. Ali Hazelwood really hit gold when combining women in STEM, feminism, men who understand consent, and the free expression of sex and ideas. STEM-inist Romance is on the rise and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. Thank God, because this is a genre of Romance that I can’t seem to get enough of.

I want to talk about something that I think will get a bit of flack from audiences and that is how at times things between Bee and Levi seemed ‘too perfect’ and ‘too coincidental’. This is true, just like in The Love Hypothesis when she explored the ‘fake dating’ trope there are times when the two main characters fit into each other’s lives a little too easily. But, part of what I find charming about Ali Hazelwood’s books and Love on the Brain in particular, is the fact that it uses well-known romance tropes and doesn’t shy away from them. Can they be a little cheesy? Sure. But they also give me the warm fuzzies and I’m not complaining about it.

All of the characters in this novel were realistic and well-rounded. Rocio, specifically, I absolutely adored. I love that Bee was a mentor to her, but just accepted her for all her weird quirks and oddities without a second thought. Never once did she try to change her or warn her to change herself in order to ‘fit in’ to the status quo. Rocio didn’t have to be nice or likable to earn respect or friendship and this was a powerful theme for me during the reading of this novel.

Last, but definitely not least, let’s talk about sex.
This book has more ‘spicy’ scenes than The Love Hypothesis but they aren’t gratuitous. As with her first novel, Ali Hazelwood did a really remarkable job of balancing consent, realism, and emotion. This wasn’t just sex for shock value, but the natural progression of a very realistic relationship.

It’s my favorite thing in the world to read about characters who not only feel real, but feel like friends. These characters were familiar to me, and their story wrapped up in a way that had me grinning for days. The only regret I have is that I read it too quickly, in nearly just one sitting, instead of slowing down and savoring it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ali Hazelwood for GIFTING me with the ARC!!

What a cute ride! What delightful banter! What a sexy romp!! In some ways, I enjoyed this even more than The Love Hypothesis... but in other ways, it made me really angry... In still other ways... it made me feel still other things...

I'm cutting/pasting those sex scenes and saving them for rainy days!

Levi... you marvelous marvel of a human being, if things don't work out with what's-her-face, I will be there for you!

Ali Hazelwood writes good sex, and she KNOWS how to write good MMCs, but I feel she really tripped up on the FMC in this one.

What I loved about Bee, I love unequivocally: she championed women, no matter what. But what I disliked about her, I hated with a passion. Namely, two specific instances and two general, major annoyances. Now... to be fair, most of the things I hated about her never made it out of her mouth, but they made me really angry this was a first person narrator book. I did NOT want to be in her head.

The first specific thing, when Bee was cruel to Levi about believing in relationships, even if in her own head: Have you ever been left behind? I want to ask him. Have you ever lost it all? Do you know how it feels? Because it doesn't sound like you do.

How about, instead of assuming, like an asshole, Bee talks to Levi like an adult?

The second specific thing, when Bee was cruel to Levi about bashing his family, again, even if only in her head: At least you have a shitty family to hold on to,

Who are you to imply Levi is being ungrateful or untruthful if you haven't even seen how shitty his family truly is, Bee?? Again, she kept this to herself, and I am supremely sorry to anyone who lost their parents at a young age, but sometimes family sucks big floppy donkey dick and you can't guilt-trip someone into feeling like they should be grateful because 'at least they have family.' As it turns out, Levi might as well not...so... there's that. Just shut your brain about someone else's journey.

The first general MAJOR annoyance: OH EM GEEZY THE MAN-HATING!!! Every other page was another quote about how awful men are. Don't get me wrong, a goodly number of them suck, but a lot of them are great, and Bee pretty much refused to admit that any of them were good.

You know who usually bashed my work when I was actively in science?

Women.

She didn't even really acknowledge how amazing Levi was. He was unbiased, he was supportive of women, he always gave her credit, he championed her, and instead of acknowledging that he was a credit to his sex, she constantly blamed "Sausage Referencing," a phenomenon in which men will only agree with or support a woman if another man endorses her first. She just turned it around into more man-hating.

She even made several references to how if the project failed, Levi's career would be fine but hers would not be, but she didn't acknowledge that maybe this was because Levi had been at it FIVE YEARS LONGER THAN SHE! In this specific instance, Bee also had a really shitty supervisor, but still, her career would have taken a hit because she was not as advanced in her career, not just because she was a woman. You can't only blame ONE thing.

The second general MAJOR annoyance: HOLY SHIT the sheer amount of times Bee told Levi he despised her!!! I mean, does she realize she was attempting to gaslight him?? She was doing it very poorly, but, she was doing it. I won't even get into the miscommunication trope because Ali Hazelwood has never attempted to hide her tropes. She wears them proudly like a badge of honor, like the forced proximity thing, the You've Got Mail thing, the miscommunication thing. These are her things... thing. I mean... I will not hold it against the book but 100% brag that I knew EXACTLY what was going to happen at about the 4% mark. If not the 0% mark.

I don't care, because it's the journey, ya' know?

Journey's have sex in them, and that's why I was here.

At the end of the day this one didn't impress me as much because the book was hardly about the science, and it was hard to care about Bee's personal journey, even while she was championing women, because she equally bashed men at every other turn.

I'll probably still buy it, it was too cute, and super sexy. Great effort Dr. Hazelwood!!

1.5/5
requested this after having a Not Bad! time reading the love hypothesis, but this one doesn't measure up. falling into derivatives (bee and levi are just olive and adam in a different font), hysterically cringeworthy humor, and odd commentary about generational gaps (we know bee is a millennial; you don't need to tell us again), love on the brain had all of the love hypothesis' ridiculous rom-com plot points with exponentially more reason for irritability.

firstly, i think that switching to first person was a detriment. while it allowed hazelwood's distinct voice to shine through and gave bee more characterization, it amplified all the tired traits of 2000s rom-com leads: blistering self-deprecation; catastrophic pessimism; the implicit i'm-not-like-other-girls distinction. what were supposed to be endearing quirks ended up being more reasons to dislike the main character, and having her narrate the entire story could be kind of bothersome sometimes — it heightened the heteronormative character designs (levi is big. huge. ginormous, even. he has a masculine scent and rippling pectorals. bee is small, itty-bitty, and you'll be sure to be reminded every 3 pages), accentuated the painfully millennial humor, and reinforced a general insufferable vibe in the book.

trying to implement race and gender-consciousness was commendable, i guess, but it often backfired for me. there's this one point were bee says "I was initially a bit distrustful of him — his bio says 'he/him,' and we all know how cis men on the internet can be," and it just came off as strikingly ignorant: pronouns don't indicate anything about cisness! while i can appreciate the fact the hazelwood attempts to be more inclusive, some of the times — many of the times, actually — it felt like an overstep or misstep on her part.

one of the most glaring issues, aside from everything else, was the plot: it was laughably predictable. perhaps it's because it's so similar to the plot of the love hypothesis, but having the stoic man pine for years after his unassuming muse should only be recycled, well, zero times. it was visible that levi was schmac, noticeable that all of his aloofness was due to his Irrepressible Male Urges, and exasperatingly discernible that he's had the hots for bee ever since grad school. also, miscommunication? it only works if it's done well, and in this book, it wasn't.

the only thing that i doubt anyone could have seen coming was the moment where guy whipped out a g*n and attempted on bee's life, which was utterly jarring and ridiculous to the point where i almost wanted to stop reading right then and there. bringing weapons to a rom-com tussle was never something i anticipated, which, i guess, points for being unexpected?? never let them know your next move.

anyway, i can see how this book might work for some people — if you really like marie curie facts, for example, you'd love it — but this was just not it for me. it gets an extra 0.5 stars for being an extremely quick, light novel (even if i didn't necessarily enjoy all of it); i did need a break as finals week approaches.

This was a super cute sequel to “The Love Hypothesis” and I think I actually may have even preferred it to the first! Clever, cute, and a fun read.