June 11, 2025sarahylockwood

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Rate: 3.5/5

Medium: Audiobook

Overview (No Spoilers): 

I seriously have a problem. I can not get enough of Hazelwood and her STEM inspired romances. This is my fourth Hazelwood novel in as many weeks. While I was not as enamored with Love on the Brain as my first two Hazelwood reads, I still couldn’t stop reading this book, picking it up every spare moment I could find. This also includes bedtime stories for my 20 month old and my four year old. Yes, I’ll admit it, thanks to Hazelwood, it is becoming a nightly activity to read whatever book is currently on my Kindle to my children at night. Quinn is adamant that she prefers this. That said, I’ve become quite adept at editing the story in real time to become age appropriate. 

Perhaps it is because I’ve read so many of Hazelwood’s stories in such a sort time but Love on the Brain was seemingly cut from the same mold as Love Hypothesis. The themes throughout this NASA based love story felt familiar and predictable. One key difference was that the love felt very one-sided for most of this novel, with the mutual attraction occurring abruptly. 

Bee was such a fun main character, though her constant instance Levi hated her grew tiresome by the end, especially as he continually demonstrated otherwise. Bee’s sister was a fantastic side character as she served to contrast the quirks of her sister’s personality. Really the entire cast of Love on the Brain was a highlight and delight throughout this story. Hazelwood’s characters were a case study in opposites, from the emo/goth research assistant to the bubbly project manager they were such bright spots. Even the main characters felt more fleshed out in Love on the Brain, from their personal preferences and their social media activity to their over the top reactions to roadkill. 

Hazelwood is a master at including the science at a level in these stories that it feels complex and impressive though never completely over the head of the reader. In this novel, the project, Blink was intriguing in design and kept me curious throughout. Working for NASA though, what a dream!

Overall, Love on the Brain fit the entertaining template that kept hooked me in Hazelwood’s other novels, however, despite a vibrant cast, it the story felt predictable throughout. 

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound): 

  • I loved the obsession with Marie Curie!
  • I knew Guy was being suspicious. What would have happened had Bee said yes to a date. How could he have hoped to get away with offing her?
  • There was more sexual tension from the research assistant and project manager than Levi and Bee.
  • Ugh. Why would Bee have worn her grandma’s ring on her wedding finger? Especially with what happened to Tim and Anna.
  • Tim and Anna were the worst. That grad program reunion was so awkward.

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