A review by jen1804
Love on the Brain, by Ali Hazelwood
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
An enjoyable read. It follows the classic grumpy/sunshine & miscommunication tropes, the latter of which I have to say is not one of my faves. But I found the two main characters likeable which is always a plus, and even though the story heavily involves science, it wasn’t written in a way where I had no idea what was happening or lost interest. There’s also a nice amount of feminist undertones throughout the story, always a positive.
I really liked the twitter conversations between the two MCs, speaking to each other under their internet aliases and not realising the other’s true identity. Whilst it is easy to guess the identity of Shmacademic from the first time he’s introduced, I didn’t think this mattered and found that those twitter conversations were the bits I looked forward to the most throughout the book.
The book is fast paced and doesn’t stop very long in places to actually develop the characters much or build on their relationship with each other. For example, there’s a scene late in the book when Bee is reflecting on her time spent in Houston with Levi, reminiscing and listing things that the two of them have done together, and as the reader it is the first time we’re hearing about a lot of these things, and I don’t really rate that. Like why did we not get to read about more of those scenes in depth as they happened to help with the development of the characters and their relationship?
I did find some of the sex scenes a bit strange, like I don’t think they were always well written/well explained so I was sometimes confused about what a character was doing or how a character got to a certain place etc. but some of it was good.
There were some laugh out loud funny parts, and whilst the miscommunication trope can be v annoying at times, I did also enjoy Bee’s inner monologue and found her fairly relatable as a main character.
I also really enjoyed the light sub plot of the mystery and the twist towards the end which I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting. One of my favourite scenes was Bee attending dinner with Levi’s parents and royally shutting Levi’s dad up. And I also really liked how often Levi sticks up for Bee, i.e. in front of bosses, their old grad school mates and his family.
Some of the side characters are quite well developed and that’s always good to see.
It was all wrapped up pretty nicely at the end and I didn’t feel that there were any loose ends which I like!
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
I really liked the twitter conversations between the two MCs, speaking to each other under their internet aliases and not realising the other’s true identity. Whilst it is easy to guess the identity of Shmacademic from the first time he’s introduced, I didn’t think this mattered and found that those twitter conversations were the bits I looked forward to the most throughout the book.
The book is fast paced and doesn’t stop very long in places to actually develop the characters much or build on their relationship with each other. For example, there’s a scene late in the book when Bee is reflecting on her time spent in Houston with Levi, reminiscing and listing things that the two of them have done together, and as the reader it is the first time we’re hearing about a lot of these things, and I don’t really rate that. Like why did we not get to read about more of those scenes in depth as they happened to help with the development of the characters and their relationship?
I did find some of the sex scenes a bit strange, like I don’t think they were always well written/well explained so I was sometimes confused about what a character was doing or how a character got to a certain place etc. but some of it was good.
There were some laugh out loud funny parts, and whilst the miscommunication trope can be v annoying at times, I did also enjoy Bee’s inner monologue and found her fairly relatable as a main character.
I also really enjoyed the light sub plot of the mystery and the twist towards the end which I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting. One of my favourite scenes was Bee attending dinner with Levi’s parents and royally shutting Levi’s dad up. And I also really liked how often Levi sticks up for Bee, i.e. in front of bosses, their old grad school mates and his family.
Some of the side characters are quite well developed and that’s always good to see.
It was all wrapped up pretty nicely at the end and I didn’t feel that there were any loose ends which I like!
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Death
Minor: Grief