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?
Title : Love On The Brain
Author : Ali Hazelwood
Format : ebook
Page Count : 384
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Sphere Books, Little Brown UK
Release Date : August 23, 2022
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Micky’s 5 star review
Headlines:
All the unrequited longings
For cat lovers
Brain waves to the heart
I dove into Love on the Brain and stuck my nose out of the book to sleep overnight, then emerged the next morning with coffee to complete it and I am absolutely buzzing about these characters and story. Academia, NASA style was such fun to read for this academic, with some relatable aspects and puns I appreciated but the world was realms away from mine and I loved it.
Levi Ward, His Wardness, Dr Wardass, despised me.
Levi seemed to put the arse into hole but there were definitely misunderstandings about his character. His early hate was fun to read but the change in his interactions with Bee were all consuming to read. Bee was quirky and lovely, a small fainting package with a quick wit and broad shoulders taking on the misogyny in this world. I could totally relate to sausage referencing, I was laughing so much at that and many women will relate in their work and personal lives.
With Levi present, his team tends to agree to my suggestions more quickly – a phenomenon known as Sausage Referencing(TM)….the better-regarded the man, the higher his Sausage Referencing(TM) power.
The plot was really engaging. You don’t have to have any interest in neuroscience to enjoyit, but it was still a fun background to the project, the co-working and the more. When hump(s) in the road hit, I got that clawing feeling in my gut, I was so damn invested in these two.
Ali Hazlewood has written a superb follow up to The Love Hypothesis, I love them both equally, just as I find I adore her way of writing, her wit and skill with dialogue and characterisation. I will devour anything she writes.
Thank you to Little Brown UK for the early review copy.
A Take from Two Cities 