“I can give you nice. I can give you better than nice. I can give you everything.”

• Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
• Published on August 23rd, 2023 by Berkley
• Genres: Fiction, Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Science
• Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Blast From The Past, Women in STEM, The Call Is Coming From Inside The House
• Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
• Anne’s Rating: 7 out of 10

Here’s the thing about Ali Hazelwood books: I’m pretty sure they’re always a good bet if you want to read a well-written, sexy romance that celebrates smart women and is easy to devour quickly (because you won’t want to put it down). The first book of Hazelwood’s that I read was her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis – which started out as a Reylo (Star Wars) fanfic and was adapted beautifully into its own thing. We’re getting a LOT of incredible new authors from Reylo fan fiction, I’m just saying 👀. Love On The Brain is another great love story from Hazelwood that, in addition to being spicy, has something to say.

This story follows Dr. Bee Königswasser – a 28-year-old neuroscientist with a vegan diet, brightly colored hair, and a deep love for Marie Curie. After stalling out in her professional career at the NIH (due to having a uterus), she lands a lead investigator role in a joint endeavor with NASA. The only downside? Her grad school nemesis, Levi Ward, is her co-lead. Bee and Levi constantly butt heads while they attempt to work together to make BLINK come to fruition, positive that their hatred is mutual. The more they work together though, the more they start to question what they thought they knew about each other. When they finally talk openly with each other about what they really think, their fiery feud turns into explosive romance.

Love on the Brain is great smut with great plot. The enemies-to-lovers tension keeps you invested – and when that tension finally breaks? Okaaaaayy! Bee’s secret life as the person behind the viral @WhatWouldMarieDo Twitter account – and her online friendship with @Schmacademics – is a fantastic subplot that weaves in nicely with the main story. While some of Hazelwood’s characters can get a little one-note (Rocío & Kaylee, for example), there are some surprising elements to others (Levi, Guy). It keeps the story interesting, and even the more caricature-esque characters help you to keep your focus on the main plot of the book. Brain not only satisfies your lustful side – it also feeds your intellectual side.

I want to touch on Bee’s fear of abandonment and how it’s represented in this book. I have lost a lot of people that I’ve loved in life, so I can absolutely relate to being afraid to get too close to someone. Grief is debilitating and scary – if it’s YOUR decision to keep people at arm’s length so you can’t get emotionally attached to them (and therefore you won’t be hurt as much when they inevitably leave you), you feel like you’re controlling grief. And maybe you are, but, as my Poster Journal wallpaper says: “Safety protects you from everything”. Signing yourself up for future grief is part of the human experience – and the joy and love you get before the grief check comes due is what makes life worth living. As you root for Bee to let herself love again, you’re reminded that you should do the same for yourself. No risk, no magic.

What I love about Hazelwood’s writing is that while yes, her books are funny and spicy, they also always have a bigger message to convey. The message of this book is twofold: how women in STEM are taken far less seriously than their penis-having peers (which now that I think about it, might be a common thru-line in all of Hazelwood’s books… because it’s unfortunately true), and how standardized testing like the GRE and SAT are not only a piss-poor indicator of a person’s potential for success, but how these tests gate-keep higher learning from those who aren’t rich and privileged. The story’s #FairGraduateAdmissions sub-plot highlights the very real issue of institutions requiring high scores on very expensive tests, and places a grassroots resistance that is speaking out and demanding better – a trend we can also hopefully see in our real world.

Love on the Brain is smart, sexy, and funny as hell. If you are wanting some porn with plot, you can’t go wrong with this one!