Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood Published by Sphere on 23 August 2022
Genres: Romance
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
I read The Love Hypothesis earlier this year, not really expecting much from it because hyped Booktok books had let me down before. Despite my initial hesitancy, I ended up really enjoying it, and I actually pre-ordered Love on the Brain because I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it (and the publisher declined my review request… it’s fine, it’s FINE).
I ended up loving Love on the Brain just as much as I enjoyed The Love Hypothesis. Sure, there were issues. I still don’t think Ali Hazelwood can write sex scenes well. The sex scenes in Love on the Brain weren’t just awkward this time, they were eye roll worthy and almost made me vom. I don’t need to keep hearing about how the love interest is just so big and how the main character is super duper tiny, thank you.
So I docked a star for the sex scenes, because Hazelwood can’t be trusted.
Otherwise, I thought this book was loads of fun! It was feminist (steminist?), intelligent, silly, and there were cats! | loved that Hazelwood brought a bit of her real European travels into this book, and I loved how she wrote the relationships between all the women.
I also really liked the love story, even if it was frustrating in the beginning because you knew exactly where it was going. Levi and Bee were cute, okay, and that’s all I needed.
There was also a bit of a twisty mystery in there too, that| wasn’t entirely expecting. The reveal was a bit ridiculous, but given the circumstances I was completely on board.
Honestly, I’m glad I read this a fairly long time after The Love Hypothesis because the two books are very, very similar. I get the impression that Hazelwood isn’t an author you necessarily want to marathon, as her characters and subject matters are pretty much the same. That said, the similarities didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book at all because I thought they were good similarities. Hazelwood hasn’t done a Hoover, for example, and written terrible love interests into every one of her books.
I look forward to trying out more of Ali Hazelwood’s books in the future. I might give her novellas a go when I’m in the mood for more romance, because she’s at least a romance author who hasn’t yet let me down. I really enjoyed Love on the Brain and its quirkiness, and I will be picking up whatever Hazelwood brings out in the future.
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