Title: Love on the Brain
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 23, 2022
A 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.
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?
Did I miss something? Is it normal now that all romance novels must have political statements attached to the main protagonist?
Love on the Brain is the second romance I read in a week where there were so many political comments thrown at the reader that I had whiplash. I understand having a stance but does it really have to come out as verborrhea from the female character?
I don't know about you, but it was a turn-off for this reader.
Love on the Brain had the potential to be quite a cute story. I liked the main characters as well as the secondary ones. There were cute cats, a smart precious little girl, miscommunications that caused the heroine to believe the hero didn't like her, details about Madame Curie that were quite interesting, and talks about NASA helmets with neurostimulation that were exciting to learn.
What was lacking? Admission of love by one of the characters. The thought was there but was never spoken out loud. I think that was a big miss.
One last thing, if you are an "open door" romance reader, this one qualifies as one.
Cliffhanger: No
2.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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