Spoiler-Free Review

If you want a fun workplace romcom about scientists, you might like Love on the Brain.

It felt like a combination The Hating Game (workplace rivals, funny tone) and Lessons in Chemistry (the woman-in-STEM experience). Combined, baked at 350, and resulting in a lightweight NASA romance.

What’s Love on the Brain about?

Neuroscientist Dr. Bee Königswasser is sent to NASA for a joint project, only to find out she’s co-leading with her grad school nemesis, Levi Ward.

It’s basically your standard romcom fluffy goodness.

Something I really appreciated about this story is that, while the romance is obviously front and center, the actual science project Bee and Levi are leading had depth and intrigue that kept me hooked. I don’t know anything about neuroscience, but as a lay person, I found the jargon and setting believable.

I also loved the subplots: another workplace romance between their team members, the @WhatWouldMarieDo social media account that Bee runs anonymously, and the mysterious workplace espionage threats. They all added some interesting pieces that broke up the main storyline.

The writing leaned toward exposition, but I can’t slam it for that because the author did a good job of giving Bee a distinct narrative voice. It could feel very stream-of-consciousness, but with jokes and exaggeration that made it entertaining.

There were things I had to just ignore, though. Primarily the main character’s fashion choices (which included things like galaxy leggings – what is this, 2016? – and a blue dress with yellow polka dots). Also, her sister using the word, “Beetch.” I am once again asking what year it is. This book came out in 2022, if you’re wondering. But it’s fine. It’s quirky, just-go-with-it stuff.

I liked the first half more than the second half. Mainly because Bee’s internal denial was really starting to get old. She’s a renowned scientist; I just felt like she’d be a bit more analytical in her love life as well, and would perhaps, you know, start conversations about things she’s unsure of instead of making bad assumptions. (Always test your hypotheses, doctor!)

Also, the ending. It suddenly had a thriller-esque climax that felt a little out of place for the genre and tone.

Basically, I had pretty much the same kinds of compliments and complaints with this one as I did for Bride, another Ali Hazelwood romance. So I’m feeling like I’ve sampled enough of her fare to know what I’m in for with this author, and will probably skip her other books unless I hear that’s she’s really doing something different.

Should you read Love on the Brain?

If light and fluffy is your thing, you’ll probably like it. If you don’t mind somewhat formulaic plot beats and (very mild) miscommunication, definitely check it out. I say mild because it’s less outright miscommunication and more like bad assumptions, which I could let slide in this story because it made sense. They’re just coworkers at first, really, and it would be rather unprofessional to be asking personal questions for no reason. So, that’s fine.

If you’ve already read other Ali Hazelwood books, I imagine this is similar. So if you want more of the same, I recommend it. If you’re wanting something really unique and different, perhaps skip it.