Love on the Brain | ARC Review

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?

I truly believe Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong. I’ve read all of her released book so far and there has been so much to love and so little, if anything, to hate.

This book, true to Hazelwood fashion, was funny, smart, and unapologetically feminist. Bee, our leading lady, has a unique obsession with Marie Curie (rightfully so) and has so many quirks and things that happen to her that you can’t help but laugh and root for her. The humor from Bee’s assistant, Rocío, also had me laughing out loud. She reminded me so much of April from Parks and Rec and I was living for it.

And, of course, this is a STEM-based book so we get all of the nerdy bits of science that we’ve grown to love from Hazelwood’s other novels. Bee is a neuroscientist and Levi is an engineer that are working are a NASA project together so we get lots of nerdy talk. Also, we learn a lot about Marie Curie which was an unexpected bonus to the nerd aspect.

Now, onto the romaaaaaance. It was absolutely top-notch. There was pining, so much pining, a small You’ve Got Mail trope, a miscommunication trope, and so many beautifully delivered lines that I wanted to cry and swoon all at once. Levi was everything. He was broody and stoic, he was romantic and sweet, and he was the only good seed out of a bad family plant. There was just so much to love about him and the You’ve Got Mail trope really solidified that for me. I had butterflies in my stomach anytime him and Bee were together. I just loved loved loved it!

There was also a bit of a mystery thing that played into the main conflict of the book. It was predictable, but I like the added component it gave the story.

Overall, run don’t walk to get this book. Hazelwood is on a different level than the rest of us and I’ve just accepted it. Praise to the STEMinist!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Ali Hazelwood, go to her Goodreads profile or visit her website.