Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

41 reviews

hecksbecks's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

Ali Hazelwood has done it again. She got me to read another one of her cheesy STEM romance books in under 8 hours. And I love every minute of it. I would even go as far to say that this is my favorite of hers. 
The characters are likable, the interactions are real and the emotion is so well done. You FEEL Bee’s panic, her fear, her deep, deep love. The one sided Enemies-to-Lovers plot was initially what hooked me but I was glad it didn’t persist for the duration of the book. Instead

Spoiler

we got a satisfying meld with a he-fell-hard-she-fell-harder that tickled my fancy. AND the sex was great, so well written, not at all raunchy or distasteful. .

OMG THE TWIST!! As predictable as the book was I really couldn’t flush out the full details, I have to commend Ali for that.
Aside from being a tad predictable and the tendency that our author has to “break the illusion” by having her character say something extremely meta I really loved it. 
I had barely finished Love on The Brain and I was recommending it to my best friend. An overall enjoyable read that’d pull anyone out of a reading slump. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent and Panic attacks/disorders

jomarie's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I know it’s a romance novel but Bee and Levi were perfectly matched. At times, it felt like Ali was really pushing Bee to be the Quirky Science Girl (TM), but I still deeply wanted to see her succeed. Levi gave me total Mr. Darcy vibes, as he was grumpy without being a total jerk. His inner monologue was also so stinking cute! * squealing in hopeless romantic * 

The progression of the story felt really natural and there was never a bit where I felt like the action was lagging or too overwhelming. I started out wishing Bee and Levi got together sooner, but how it happened was much better. I sort of predicted the twist, but it was still widely entertaining. Because of this, I think this story would be a great book to adapt to a movie. 

I wanted a cute romance novel and Love on the Brain delivered. While the characters were maybe a little more basic than I’m used to in my usual reads, the chemistry and plot were excellent! I’ll definitely be recommending this to my friends and looking forward to reading her other novels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Medical content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

hayzey's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Misogyny

Moderate: Stalking, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexism, and Gun violence

Minor: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Grief, Violence, and Stalking

kelsimitchell's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

Ahh I loved this so much! Probably my favorite of these 3 STEM-themed books. Such a great, cheesy, romantic love story! Also, I know I’m not the only one that wanted to punch the Wards in the face. Just had to throw that out there! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence

chasingpages1's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted relaxing tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Violence, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Bullying

jasmineslibraryy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

was it as good as TLH? no.
did i still have fun? yes!

i had trouble getting into this book, especially since the switch from 3rd to 1st person through me completely off guard. furthermore, bee is kinda whiny. but i LOVED her and levi. 

idc how many times ali hazelwood writes similar STEM romances - i will enjoy every single one. it is her niche and her charm, for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Cursing, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Car accident

daisy1_f's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence

backitupmoony's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Infidelity

sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ali Hazelwood is an auto-buy author for me. I love her intelligent witty female leads in her book. Her grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, he falls first tropes get me every time. 

My only gripe is that the women always seem to doubt their worth. That they aren’t worth loving or aren’t good enough for the guy. It just is upsetting. 

I really liked the story line of this book. Even if it was very predictable in some ways (the ending drama I did not see coming!) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

mlleelora's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Alcohol