After a review of Ali Hazelwood’s first novel “The Love Hypothesis” went viral on TikTok, she quickly became a favorite of many readers. Her second novel, “Love on the Brain,” was highly anticipated and it definitely lived up to its expectations.
“Love on the Brain” follows the main character, Bee, who is a neuroscientist. She is selected to co-lead a NASA experiment called BLINK. She is so excited when she finds out she has been selected that she celebrates for three days straight. That is until she finds out her co-lead is her arch nemesis from grad school.
Bee has always known Levi to be a cold, arrogant jerk who has never been kind to her. All her memories of him from grad school include him purposefully ignoring her and refusing to collaborate with her. So it is no surprise that after the first team meeting, Levi reminds her that there is a “strict” dress code that she needs to follow.
Hazelwood does an excellent job of making Bee the perfect narrator by giving the story a conversational tone. It is almost as if Bee is telling the readers a story, but does not let them get a word in. Her thoughts are quick moving and fun to read.
As the story progresses, Bee is slowly doubting her previous thoughts on Levi. He starts sticking up for her when the men in the room do not take her seriously because she is a woman, and he comes to her rescue on more than one occasion.
Hazelwood has a Ph.D in neuroscience and it is clear that she knows a lot about the topic. She wrote Bee as an individual who knows so much about the brain, it is almost scary sometimes.
This background in neuroscience is shown a lot throughout the book and sometimes it can be hard to follow. Bee talks a lot about certain scientific terms that most people do not know about. However, it does not take away any of the enjoyment of the book.
One thing Hazelwood could have done without is the amount of times Bee mentions Marie Curie. From the first page, it is clear that Curie is Bee’s idol, but Hazelwood would use the first few pages of a chapter to talk about her life and it just didn’t make sense with the storyline at times.
It is very obvious that “Love on the Brain” was written by the same author as “The Love Hypothesis.” There are quite a few parallels between the two books that make it almost seem like the same storyline with two different characters.
That being said, if you liked “The Love Hypothesis,” you are sure to enjoy “Love on the Brain.” The two stories are not too similar in the sense that it takes away from Hazelwood’s talent. It is clear from her books that she is as passionate about writing romance as she is about science.
Hazelwood does an amazing job of showing the differences between being a woman and being a man in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Bee is not taken seriously until Levi backs her up in meetings or stands up for her. She is almost taken off the project and replaced with a man multiple times because of men doubting her skills.
“Love on the Brain” is a rare exception of a romance novel where you can tell how the love interest feels without it being written from a dual point of view. Levi’s thoughts are clear to everyone except Bee and it makes reading the story much more enjoyable. Bee being completely clueless adds even more humor to this rom-com.
Image from Ali Hazelhood via alihazelwood.com
