A review by carbs666
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Okay normally I try to avoid spoilers but I probably won't be able to this time so if you don't want to be spoiled keep scrolling.
I was really frustrated with this book! I felt like so many of the components - the tropes, the set-up, the hero and the sidekicks, the chemistry, the sex - really WORKED, but they couldn't come together as a whole. The main barrier to this for me was the narrative choice; I don't prefer first person perspective for a romance novel anyways, but I felt like this character's voice was so immature that it made the whole book feel amateurish. It was hugely disappointing because I really like The Love Hypothesis and I wanted to like this book the same way but I just couldn't.
Now for the plot. Listen. You can't end a book like this one, which is mostly fluff and internal conflict and very limited hints at genuine external conflict, with someone threatening the heroine with a gun! You just can't it doesn't work!! Also, can we talk about how Levi watched his best friend die and we simply breeze by how traumatic that was? And how his family is just terrible and the only reason we need to know that is so we can explain why he's a good guy, even though that's already abundantly clear? I also could not STAND the Twitter side plot. I know the point was to prove how much they had in common without either of them realizing it, but the book was already showing us that so effectively that it was unnecessary. I wish Hazelwood had taken that space to instead develop what was already on the page so I could see a more satisfying character arc for Bee and an ending that MADE SENSE.
Anyways, it's fine. The chemistry between Bee and Levi is regrettably excellent and there are a few gratifyingly filthy moments in here. If you can get past the book reading like the self-insert fan fiction that it is, then you'll love all the cute things about it.
I was really frustrated with this book! I felt like so many of the components - the tropes, the set-up, the hero and the sidekicks, the chemistry, the sex - really WORKED, but they couldn't come together as a whole. The main barrier to this for me was the narrative choice; I don't prefer first person perspective for a romance novel anyways, but I felt like this character's voice was so immature that it made the whole book feel amateurish. It was hugely disappointing because I really like The Love Hypothesis and I wanted to like this book the same way but I just couldn't.
Now for the plot. Listen. You can't end a book like this one, which is mostly fluff and internal conflict and very limited hints at genuine external conflict, with someone threatening the heroine with a gun! You just can't it doesn't work!! Also, can we talk about how Levi watched his best friend die and we simply breeze by how traumatic that was? And how his family is just terrible and the only reason we need to know that is so we can explain why he's a good guy, even though that's already abundantly clear? I also could not STAND the Twitter side plot. I know the point was to prove how much they had in common without either of them realizing it, but the book was already showing us that so effectively that it was unnecessary. I wish Hazelwood had taken that space to instead develop what was already on the page so I could see a more satisfying character arc for Bee and an ending that MADE SENSE.
Anyways, it's fine. The chemistry between Bee and Levi is regrettably excellent and there are a few gratifyingly filthy moments in here. If you can get past the book reading like the self-insert fan fiction that it is, then you'll love all the cute things about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent