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?

Review

Love on the Brain felt like an Ali Hazelwood book in a bad way. What I mean is that most of the criticisms that I have seen regarding the author are validated within this story. The main character is a small, quirky, colorful, STEM woman who has a strong dislike for her big, dark, and moody counterpart. However, unbeknownst, he secretly likes her and is unable to voice that. And oh no, now they are forced to work together. Nothing about this story felt original. Although this story might have been written prior, the new releases are much stronger.

This one lacked depth, and unfortunately, the love story couldn’t save it. The supporting characters felt more exciting than the main characters. I didn’t care for Bee’s voice and Levi felt uninteresting. There was a real missed opportunity with withholding his POV. I think that would have given him depth.

This should not be categorized as an enemies-to-lovers. The entire tension of their romance heavily depends on several miscommunications. And neither of them are enemies.

Final Analysis

Love on the Brain might be the weakest book within Ali Hazelwood’s catalog. The main characters and their romance are quickly overshadowed by far more interesting characters. This book was plagued with awful miscommunication between the leads and the same formulaic structure that Hazelwood is often criticized for.

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