lovealwaysadi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Abandonment, Car accident, Gun violence, and Medical content
brighta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexism, and Sexual content
lealovesbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Abandonment and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Car accident
hq_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Was it predictable? Yes. Was it full of overused tropes? Yes. Was it cheesy? Absolutely. But I don't care. There was something so comforting reading this book, knowing they were definitely going to get together. I still had fun reading through it - sometimes you just need a good comforting, easy read and this delivered exactly that.
I love the humour in her writing and I loved the FMC Bee. I usually don't enjoy the miscommunication trope but it worked for this story! Dr Levi Ward is definitely a contender for top 10 book boyfriends of all time - he's bypassed Dr Adam! The anticipation and slow burn of their relationship was done so well - SO WELL.
Having gone through a postgraduate degree in STEM myself (marine biology), I found so many moments in this book (and the Love Hypothesis) extremely relatable! I love that Hazelwood draws attention to the day-to-day discrimination women in STEM face, and the examples she uses are very much real and common in many professions. She is able to articulate all the microaggressions and double standards very well, in a way that many women find it hard to communicate as these behaviours are often quite subtle and hard to prove. I feel like women reading her books who experience this will be able to better recognise when they are facing this discrimination in the workplace and feel confident to speak up.
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Gun violence
littlewitch_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Chronic illness
deetabz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexism
Minor: Classism, Abandonment, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Chronic illness
samandthebookstack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved The Love Hypothesis. It made my Reylo loving little heart so happy. It fixed some of the sadness that lingered in light of the way The Rise of Skywalker ended. (Ben Solo deserved better. JS.) I was hoping that Ali Hazelwood's next novel would give me the same vibes as TLH, and Love on the Brain delivered.
Our main characters, Bee (a neuroscientist) and Levi (an engineer), gave me the same vibes as Olive and Adam, and I didn't mind it one bit. You see, I have a type. He's tall, dark-haired and a tad broody but he exhibits all the cinammon roll qualities of a labrador retriever. He is smart, and heart-set on being a good person who isn't a bag of trash that refuses to face his own issues and trauma. But he's also intensely human and acts like an idiot sometimes. That is Adam's character in TLH, and it is also Levi's character in LOTB, and I loved it. I married this type of man and it's no coincidence that my husband also happens to be an engineer. As I said, I have a type. Mkay. Thank you, Ali Hazelwood, for effectively writing my husband into your novels. He's loving all the extra snuggles that result from your work.
Now...moving on...I loved Bee. I felt a deep camraderie with her character for one very specific reason: her poorly functioning autonomic nervous system. I have something called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS, for short), and it is marked by...you guessed it...passing out. All. the. friggin. time. My own illness is far more severe than what is portrayed via Bee's character, but it still tugged at something very deep in my heart for me to see a character with autonomic dysfunction in a novel for the first time. I felt seen. Aside from that, Bee is relatable, she is stubborn, and she loves her work. I am so glad to see that Ali Hazelwood continues to use her work to highlight what its like for women in STEM (the good and the bad parts).
All in all, by the time I finished this book, I felt nostalgic. It was a comfort read and I remain dutifully obsessed with Ali's work and will continue to autobuy whatever she releases.
Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Medical content, Misogyny, Infidelity, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Gun violence
harmony822's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, Misogyny, Gun violence, Mental illness, Car accident, Sexism, Stalking, Violence, and Death of parent
readwithde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, Infidelity, Death, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Misogyny, and Chronic illness