The book club I joined recently chose Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood to read for the April book, and while I truly had no interest in reading this book overall, it was the choice, so I went along with it. 

This book has over 15,000 reviews, and most of them are positive, and I don’t know how. I know it is a popular book, and most of the people in my book club really like it, so I am honestly wondering if maybe I am the problem. 

This is a cute rom-com type book starring Bee and Levi who went to the same grad school together. The entire time they were in school together, Bee was convinced Levi hated her, because of how he treated her. He would barely talk to her, when he did talk to her his words were curt and short and bordering on rude, he made her feel ugly and disgusting, and a few others things that left an awful taste in my mouth. And if you are wondering if he had a really good reason to do this, NOPE. He just had a hard time talking to her because of how beautiful he thought she was. 

This book starts a few years after grad school where Bee is offered a contractor job at NASA, and she ultimately ends up working with Levi. She is outraged and upset and does not want to work with him, but ultimately finds a way where they can work together companionably.  

I did really like that Bee was a scientist, and she was incredible at her job, and incredibly passionate about what she studied. She was a smart STEM scientist who was thrilled at the opportunity to make a difference and work on a new project. I love that this book was about a strong independent woman in the science field.

Unfortunately, this book is an entire miscommunication trope that, in my opinion, drags out far too long. I understand a miscommunication, I can see it lasting for a few chapters, but what I cannot stand is when it drags on for over half of the book, and the two adults the book is about do not just actually talk to each other.  

However, for being a rom-com, it is a quick and witty lighthearted book that I was content at giving it a two for. It is an average book, with a few problems for me. 

But then, then, I got to the last 13 minutes of the book. Is that specific? Yes. But I was reading on the kindle app on my phone, and I could actually check. The ending of this book was spectacularly ridiculous. There was truly no lead up to it, and it appeared to happen out of the blue. A side character, who both main characters became really good friends with, ultimately wanted to sabotage the project. Mainly because it was a project he had worked on initially and lost all credit for because his partner tragically died. And so because he was passed over to be a lead in favor of Levi (because he wasn’t qualified essentially) he wanted to ruin the project. This is all revealed in the last thirteen minutes of the book, when Guy (that is his name. Guy.) holds Bee at gunpoint and tells her he is going to escort her to the roof of the building where she is going to jump off. 

I got to the end of this book and actually started laughing out loud with how bad the ending was. I could not believe this is where it was ending up. 

Overall – this was a semi decent rom-com book that has way more hype than it deserves. I would have loved to see a different ending, because honestly almost any other ending would have made more sense. 

Love on the Brain – Ali Hazelwood 

Cost* – eBook is $10.99, Paperback is $10.00.  

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published