Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood: A Review
Release Date: April 23, 2022
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 (with potential spoilers):
This is my second Ali Hazelwood book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Love Hypothesis. It was one of my favorite books from last year and I have re-read it multiple times. I plan to read all the novellas she has released as well. When I read The Love Hypothesis, it was easy to see that it was originally a reylo fanfic, but as a fanfic lover I had not issues with it at all.
This one, I jumped right in. Bee is a lover of science, Marie Curie, and cats and she is chasing after my own heart. I loved this woman and her personality from the very first page. She is brash, unapologetic and holds her hurts close to her chest. She also has a style that I would kill for, differently colored hair, septum piercing and tattoos. Yes, mommy. From the beginning we learn that she was engaged, cheated on, and emotionally abused (though she never puts it in quite those same words). Now, she is married to her work and just received the chance of a lifetime, the ability to collaborate with NASA on a neurosciencey thing that can help astronauts (I’m not a science person, sue me.) Until she discovers that her archnemesis is her co-lead. (We all know where this is going right?) But she pulls on her big girl panties and sets off to Houston to pair up with a man who hates her (does he really?) With her very eccentric assistant, Rocio beside her to inform her of all the morbid curiosities life has to offer. Seriously though, I LOVE Rocio and would gladly die for her. Well her and Kaylee.
From this point Bee runs into issue after issue, her equipment isn’t there, she has nothing she requested, no one is responding to her emails, she can’t even get access to the building. And of course, we know just who did this to her. But do we? This was the turning point for me in the book. Before this point my blood was beginning to boil, I did not see a way that we could like Levi, and I was ready to call him every mean name in the book. But when we witness his conversation with his boss, I started grinning, because I knew that love was going to come on fast.
From this point on the book moves at a pretty great speed. We get some forced proximity, a ton of miscommunication, a decent amount of steam (if that is your cup of tea), and plenty of girlbossing. We also see a side coupling between two women, and it is hilarious and beautiful all at once.
But whoo buddy, I was not prepared for the third act drama.
In the third act we get potential ruined careers, cease and desist orders, disappointing all the people who matter, and tampering with security cameras. And it happens SO QUICKLY. The worst part of it for me, Bee would have remained silent if Levi had not left the flash drive at her house. I truly don’t think she would have mentioned any of it to him, and just dealt with the consequences.
Honestly, this is the only reason I marked off from 5 stars to 4.8. The villain reveal was expected, but them having a gun and waving it around was too much for me. In The Love Hypothesis, we had a despicable villain who was a piece of shit, but he wanted to ruin Olive’s career, not kill her! This felt like far too much of an escalation.
Overall, I loved this book. I read it in one day and would love to re-read it. Ali Hazelwood did not disappoint, and I hope she continues to give us great rom-coms with a side of science.
