REVIEW: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

In Love on the Brain (Love Hypothesis #2) by Ali Hazelwood, Still riding the high from being chosen as the lead on a new NASA project, cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Bee Königswasser begins making plans in her head for her stay in Houston. Then it all starts to unravel. She’s notified that her graduate school arch-nemesis, Dr. Levi Ward, will be co-leading the project with her. The man who couldn’t wait to be rid of her and who found the sight of her appalling. Her, cute-as-a-button Bee! How the mountain of a man disliked her on sight yet could burrow under her skin like no one else is a mystery. And she has the sinking feeling that she’ll once again have to prove her worth at every turn. Thank goodness Bee has the example set by her role model, Marie Curie, as inspiration.

‘I step into the office and immediately halt, dumbstruck by the most extraordinary sight I have ever laid my eyes upon.
Dr. Levi Ward. Is. Smiling.’

Upon her arrival, things go from bad to worse for Bee when her lab isn’t set up for her to work and Levi doesn’t even deign to respond to her emails. As far as she’s concerned, it’s game on. She’s going to make the project a success so she can secure the career opportunities she’s worked so hard for. And Bee won’t let Levi get in her way. But then things slowly start to change. And while she’s not sure she’ll ever call him a friend, Bee and Levi actually begin to compromise at work. He even comes to her rescue–twice. But she won’t be fooled by his rugged good looks or the witty repartee they now share considering how badly she’s been burned before.

‘He stares down at me as though I own him. As though his future hangs from my hands. As though everything he’s ever wanted, I hold it within me.’

Utter perfection. Love on the Brain stole my heart, expanded my mind, made me laugh out loud, and had me falling in love with not only Ali Hazelwood’s writing all over again, but with a whole new set of amazing characters.

His voice is rich and deep in my ear. “There is no other neuroscientist I’d want to do this project with. Not a single one.”

I truly am so in love with Ali Hazelwood’s writing. Fairly obsessed with it, actually, after reading this standalone sophomore release in the Love Hypothesis series. Love on the Brain was a delightful mix of academia humor by people I’d so want to hang out with, had scorching hot love scenes, perfectly placed pop culture references, and a romance that was sexy–as well as being years in the making. It was also a charming novel that kept me reading *well* past my bedtime and forgoing exercise, social media checks, and possibly even forgetting to brush my hair. (Oops! I should apologize to my husband for that scary sight! lol) Was it worth the hit to my rest and hygiene? Absolutely.

While this was told from our awesome heroine Bee’s POV, I think readers will love both main characters, even if we didn’t get first-hand insights into Levi’s thoughts. Because, seriously, Bee and Levi were the best. They were brainiacs with a terrific sense of humor who were flawed in relatable, likable ways, and just soul-deep *good* people. The enemies-to-lovers aspect still worked in their case where Levi and Bee were former colleagues with some bad blood between them who were now (sort of) competing while working on the NASA project. And the supposed animosity made their conversations as memorable as they were hilarious.

It was cute as all get-out with some adorably awkward moments mixed in as Bee, in all her glorious feminist feistiness, navigated the Boy’s Club she was thrown into. It wasn’t overdone. But she got her point across and proved she deserved to be there on her own merit. Levi’s role in everything, well… Let’s just say that looks could be deceiving and there was a whole lot more going on in his brilliant, lovely mind than the project. To me, he became a swoon-worthy hero who made a huge impact on Bee’s life in many ways. Same goes for Bee–she stood up for Levi and became his person amongst the chaos in his world. I have no idea how Hazelwood will be able to top this duo but I absolutely can’t wait to read whatever comes next!

QOTD: Miscommunication and lack of communication were fairly big factors here–although it added to the comedic side of this romance. Can you think of any books you favor that use this element?

Book Info:

Publication: August 23rd 2022 | Berkley | Love Hypothesis #2

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?