From the Bookshelf of Swooning for Rom-Coms…

Love on the Brain

Ali Hazelwood

Start date: August 29, 2022

Finish date: September 10, 2022

Discussion: Group Reads

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Jan 16, 2023 Emily Turknett rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2023-tbr

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First and foremost: I want to say that I absolutely adored Ali Hazelwood’s Love Hypothesis, to the point I was so engrossed in the story, I truly could not stop reading.
Love on The Brain on the other hand…was more of a stubborn read. “I have already started it, might as well finish it.” When I was done, I did not feel the sense of wholeness and joy that The Love Hypothesis gave me; instead, I felt disappointment and confusion.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of why this book made me want to claw First and foremost: I want to say that I absolutely adored Ali Hazelwood’s Love Hypothesis, to the point I was so engrossed in the story, I truly could not stop reading.
Love on The Brain on the other hand…was more of a stubborn read. “I have already started it, might as well finish it.” When I was done, I did not feel the sense of wholeness and joy that The Love Hypothesis gave me; instead, I felt disappointment and confusion.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of why this book made me want to claw my eyes out all while continuing to turn the page:
- The main Character, Bee, is quite annoying. I get that she’s “quirky” and I typically enjoy those kind of characters. However, there’s an immaturity about her that seems very forced. She is 26, not 17. Then from the middle of the book and on, her personality shifted to be a bit more bearable. This was not a creative writing choice, it seemed that hazel wood just couldn’t keep forcing herself to write in such a juvenile way.
- Bee was obviously in a verbally abusive relationship- yet that is never truly addressed. Yes, we get the spiel on how her ex fiancé cheated on her with her best friend, but what about the other things that Peter had said? He truly made her feel ugly, told her that the reason why he cheated because she didn’t give good sex and how she should have done better, forced her to play “Guess the roadkill” games when he knew she absolutely hated roadkill, hid meat in her food even though she was vegan, etc. He wanted to see her uncomfortable. It was a game of how far he can push her and how much emotion can he incite from it. This is narcissistic and abusive behavior that is more serious than saying he was an asshole.
- Levi. Levi. Levi. So you had absolute love at first sight? Okay…let’s say that is true…you acted so repulsed by Bee that it resembled Edward Cullen from Twilight, but at least he had the reason of fearing he was going to suck Bella’s blood dry when around. You couldn’t even look at her or be around her or do a project with her because she was just too mesmerizing to you?? No. When you like a girl, I don’t suggest avoiding her every sense of being, a quick word of affirmation can make her whole day. Sincerely saying “You’re beautiful” might even make her whole week. But no. You couldn’t even make eye contact with the girl. Perhaps one of the most cliche aspects of this book.
- Their love was a very slow build, which I personally enjoy. He fell first but she fell harder. However, once they had their first kiss things progressed quite fast. The story began to feel like everything was being rushed.
- The gun scene…how many clichés can you put in a single book? I’m not even going to bother to say anything further on this.
- Something I did like: the science. Part of the reason I read her books is because they are all featuring women in STEM. This also comes with a good bit of science facts. So I am actually learning something.

I do respect Hazlewood as a writer, she is more than capable of writing another good best seller. I just hope that the next book will be. ...more

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