I enjoyed Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis so went ahead and got this one.It’s another mostly light romance in a science environment. Bee is a neuroscientist who is thrilled to get a job on an exciting project at NASA. Until she finds out that her co-leader is Levi Ward who she is certain has hated her since grad school. It’s got pleasant characters in an interesting setting and a predictable enemies to lovers story. There’s also a cat named Schrödinger. An enjoyable book that was perfect to read during the busy holiday weeks. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

Sweet, horny and very very nerdy. So good. ( )

Cute enemies-to-lovers science nerd book. I enjoyed this while on vacation and found myself wanting more of her books (though they are all kind of similar). This is a cute book for what it is—a light read that will remind you of a cute Hallmark movie. The book is science-heavy, which I very much appreciate. Is it literary genius? No, but it's a damn cute book that will have you grinning from ear to ear! ( )

It was a fun book. Very similar to the Love Hypothesis. While I prefer the Love Hypothesis story, I do like the characters in this one slightly more. They just make more sense to me. It was a quick and easy romance read. ( )

Read this directly after reading The Love Hypothesis. I didn't like this one as much. The main characters seemed to have some of the same issues. I get the ending in the fact that the author needs something to make the MC's complete change of mind make some sense but it did seem a little out of place for this type of book. ( )

It was a good read overall, quite easy to get through and the pining was great. Wish it has more possessive or claiming tropes. ( )

This one may have been more successful for me? I had zero expectations and though I had a lot of irritation while reading it, in the end, it was just breezy and fun?

Nothing too deep here or in the book but that suited me today. ( )

I think this is my new favorite Ali Hazelwood book! I might be a bit biased but I will always love a book with a FMC shorter than 5’1 and MMC taller then 6’2” (some of us were just never meant to be astronauts). Like her other books, Love on the Brain had a cast of quirky fun characters who need to get out of their own way in order to find love. In this book, a scientist is forced to work with her grad school arch-nemesis on a project for NASA. But things don’t start off well and Bee believes that Levi might be up to his old tricks. Is he trying to undermine her or is there something more going on??? You’ll have to read to find out.

Although many of the plot points where predictable, it was still a funny rom-com with compelling characters. I do think the ending seemed a bit rushed and I wanted a bit more of the after, but I still think this was a solid read.

Read if you like:
🧠romantic comedies
🧠women in stem
🧠enemies to lovers
🧠miscommunication tropes ( )

This was fine, I guess, but I really don't think I'll read another by Ali Hazelwood any time soon, if ever. As other reviewers have pointed out this is essentially a rewrite of "The Love Hypothesis," which I also thought was just fine. I'll wait for a book that treads new ground before I revisit this author. ( )

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. (Bookline)

Una nueva comedia romántica situada en la NASA en la que una científica se ve obligada a trabajar en un proyecto junto a su archienemigo... con resultados explosivos.Bee Knigswasser se rige siempre por un código muy sencillo: ¿qué haría Marie Curie? Si la NASA le ofreciera liderar un proyecto de neuroingeniería, un sueño hecho realidad después de pasarse años malviviendo con las migajas del mundo académico, Marie aceptaría sin dudarlo. Obvio. Pero la madre de la física moderna nunca tuvo que codirigir ningún proyecto con Levi Ward.A ver, Levi no está nada mal: es alto, moreno y tiene una mirada de lo más penetrante. Pero Levi dejó muy claros sus sentimientos por Bee en la universidad: es mejor que dos enemigos trabajen cada uno en su propia galaxia muy muy lejana.De pronto, Bee se encuentra con que su material ha desaparecido, el personal pasa de ella y su maltrecha carrera profesional pende de un hilo. Puede que su lóbulo occipital esté jugándole una mala pasada, pero juraría que Levi empieza a convertirse en su aliado, apoyando sus decisiones, secundando sus ideas... devorándola con esa mirada suya. Y las diferentes posibilidades traen a sus neuronas de cabeza.Sin embargo, cuando llega el momento de jugársela y arriesgar el corazón, solo hay una pregunta que importe: ¿Qué hará Bee Knigswasser?

Yes, in reality a guy who walks out of rooms you're in because he's embarrassed about his feelings for you and refuses to do projects with you, giving the impression that he thinks you're a waste of time and space would be deeply irritating and deserves that he is called out regularly, but thankfully he learns. Still the comments about the sexism in science are probably all things women have experienced in STEM (and still do for a lot of the time). Honestly for me, more grovelling would have been good but he got there in the end. Silly fun romance with a lot of science. ( )

Again, an addictive novel I got invested in and was excited to keep reading, but I think how terrible the novellas were made me feel a bit more critical and there were a few tropes that felt quite tropey. All of Hazelwood's characters are very small dating very large men and none of them ever wear condoms because they haven't had sex in a long time and are on birth control.

Our main character's ideal man would have a Nickelback tramp stamp though so make of that what you will! ( )

This felt absurd and very, very cringe, but I loved it. I would try another book by Ali Hazelwood.

That being said, a lot of the critical reviews are valid, and pretty funny. ( )

uhhhhh Yeah. Ali Hazelwood is an icon. A legend. She is the moment for all women in STEM. She writes with such relatable wit, and i want about 800 more books from her please! ( )

Dr. Bee Konigswasser is delighted when her application to run a project at NASA is accepted, where she'll use her neuroscience background to help design a helmet that will help astronauts focus better. Her delight dims slightly when she learns that her engineering co-lead is Levi Ward who has hated her since they met in grad school. However, as she and Levi work closely on the helmet, she'll discover all is not as it seems both with the project and with her and Levi.

I was thoroughly delighted by this contemporary romance from Ali Hazelwood. Again she brings life to the world of women in STEM while crafting a really steamy romance. Bee and Levi's romance is charming and full of plenty of good banter. The plotline about Bee's career in science is also super compelling. Recommended for romance readers. ( )

I was skeptical after all the novellas were the same story, but thankfully this was the best thing she's written. The hero still looks like Adam Driver (seriously, move on from Reylo already!) but at least he had depth and cared about people. Our heroine had her own issues and a penchant for having things happen to her but she cared about her science and making things better for women who do it. For 80% of the book I saw all the plot coming but didn't see the true villain coming and the ending wasn't completely predictable. And unlike the first book, there isn't a skeevy power dynamic going on. I do like her breezy style of writing and I loved the supporting cast. It was worth my time. ( )

When Bee gets her dream position as head neuroscientist on a project at NASA, she's literally jumping for joy, until she learns that her co-lead is Levi Ward, her nemesis since grad school. He hates her, and he's going to make this project a nightmare, she knows. When she arrives and none of her equipment is in place and her office hasn't been set up, her suspicions seem to have been confirmed. But does he really hate her? And is he really the one causing delays in the project? Or is there more going on than meets the eye?

This was a solidly fun romance read, with some steamy bits, but not enough to overpower the story. There's a "You've Got Mail" subplot, and also some Glenda/Elphaba bits involving some secondary characters. Perhaps the fact that so many pieces of the plot reminded me of other things was the reason that I didn't feel that this was as strong a book as The Love Hypothesis, Hazelwood's other novel that I've read. It's still a good book, don't get me wrong, and very enjoyable for romance fans. There's cool neuroscience stuff, a lot of Marie Curie love, and some serious shade cast on standardized testing. A fun light read. ( )

I remarked to my sister about 3 chapters in, "I'm not young or 'woke' enough for this book." At the age of 34, I feel old and unremarkable after finishing it. I'm not even entirely sure why (other than the tattoos, piercings, veganism, intense feminism, dyed hair, perfect quirkiness, supreme intelligence, etc. Does Bee have any flaws other than poor communication skills and a tendency to faint (which isn't really a character flaw, at that)? It was tiring.

Also tiring? The fact that there were so many similarities between the main two characters in this book and The Love Hypothesis... I get that it worked the first time around, but it was a little confusing here and therefore took me a while to get into the story at all.

I'll give the next book a try when it's released, but with a healthy amount of trepidation. ( )

Bee, a neuroscientist, is working on a project at NASA, and her co-lead is a guy who notoriously ignored her back in grad school. Bee is convinced that Levi hates her still -- it’d explain the missing equipment, delays and unanswered emails.

I was expecting this to be much more reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail, because Bee anonymously runs a Twitter account @WhatWhatMarieDo and it’s fairly obvious to the reader who her Twitter buddy @Schmacademics must be in IRL. However the romance unfolds in its own way and, while I love courtship through correspondence, that allows Bee and Levi to avoid the potential problems of that sort of situation.

Bee’s Twitter account is still plot-relevant. It also allows her to share her passion for women in STEM in general and Marie Curie in particular, and for @Schmacademics to share his feelings about his new colleague.

I enjoyed this a lot. (Not as much as The Love Hypothesis, if we’re making comparisons, but I also wasn’t expecting that.) As I said before, I like how Hazelwood writes about couples who accept and support each other, mistakes, insecurities, messy emotions and all.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a community of women trying to mind their own business must be in want of a random man’s opinion. I’ve long learned that engaging with basement-dwelling stemlords who come online looking for a fight is never a good idea—the last thing I want is to provide free entertainment for their fragile egos. If they want to blow off some steam, they can buy a gym membership or play third-person-shooter video games. Like normal people. ( )

This was a fun read, starring a smart female scientist. There were humorous characters and relationships and I just enjoyed the whole thing. ( )

Love on the Brain

I Picked Up This Book Because: I adore Hazelwood’s stories.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: CC Public Library
Dates Read: 12/7/22 - 12/9/22
Stars: 4.5
Narrator(s): Brook Bloomingdale

The Characters:

Bee Königswasser:
Levi Ward:


The Story:

There was nothing new or revelatory about this however the way this story gripped me! It was so good. To be enthralled in a book I found predictable is amazing to me. Maybe this was just a story I needed at a time I needed it or maybe it’s just plain good. IDK but I loved it.

The Random Thoughts: ( )

Marie Curie devotee, Bee Konigswasser, has finally landed her dream job at NASA helping to design and implement a neuroengineering project, but everything sours when she hears that she will be working with her grad school nemesis, Levi Ward. Bee knows that Levi hates her, and that knowledge is reinforced when it seems as though he is trying to sabotage her part of their project, making her attraction to him more than a little inconvenient. However, when it becomes clear that other forces are at work, Bee discovers that Levi might be more of an ally than she ever could have hoped.

Love on the Brain is a fun rom-com set in the world of STEM. All of the characters in the story are bright, intelligent people, especially the leads whose quirky personalities are well developed, but are at times, annoying, making them difficult to like, particularly at the beginning of the story. Supporting characters are less developed, but add depth and layers to the plot. While the ending is a little far-fetched, and somewhat predictable, most of the story is entertaining. Overall, Love on the Brain is another successful addition to Ali Hazelwood's growing list of titles. ( )

A solid 3.5 that I had is a three here for how long it took me to get into the story. ( )