Scan barcode
A review by eviecheesepuff
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I wanted to give Ali Hazelwood a second chance, as I rated #tlh 3 stars.
Turns out they are really not that different from each other, imo you could pretty much exchange any characters and have a very similar book. Different science fields? Yes Same personalities and physical descriptions? Yes.
Things I absolutely love:
- extremely cute banter and very sweet and sensitive male characters (hard to find and lovely to see!)
- representation of women in stem and specially bringing awareness to the difficulties women face in an academic environment ❤️ we need more of this for sure!
- very supportive and diverse secondary characters that I always adore and want to know more of (you can ways expect a queer romance subplot...I wonder if she plans to eventually make a queer couple the mcs?)
Things I... struggle with:
- miscommunication trope: AH herself has explained how she loves this trope. I can't fault someone for writing what they want to read but at the same time I personally just can't fully enjoy a book where a very simple honest conversation would solve every single plot point of the conflict 😅 this is why my favorite book by her is def "Under One Roof" because it's not so much miscommunication but prejudice.
- size: oh. my. god. The amount of times her books reference how big the MMC is and how tiny the FMC is ridiculous. If you've already told me the size of the characters I don't need a thousand reminders of it. I got it. Thanks. On top of that, I think the big problem for me it's not the size perse or even the lack of body inclusivity... but the way she emphasizes and describes it. I'm a midsize gal and to be perfectly honest, her books kind of make me feel bad about myself. That's more of my problem than hers, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone else (man or woman) who doesn't fit the "beauty standards" and struggles with feeling this way is considering reading her books...be aware ❤️ and remember that you are beautiful and worthy regardless of size. Be kind to yourself.
Turns out they are really not that different from each other, imo you could pretty much exchange any characters and have a very similar book. Different science fields? Yes Same personalities and physical descriptions? Yes.
Things I absolutely love:
- extremely cute banter and very sweet and sensitive male characters (hard to find and lovely to see!)
- representation of women in stem and specially bringing awareness to the difficulties women face in an academic environment ❤️ we need more of this for sure!
- very supportive and diverse secondary characters that I always adore and want to know more of (you can ways expect a queer romance subplot...I wonder if she plans to eventually make a queer couple the mcs?)
Things I... struggle with:
- miscommunication trope: AH herself has explained how she loves this trope. I can't fault someone for writing what they want to read but at the same time I personally just can't fully enjoy a book where a very simple honest conversation would solve every single plot point of the conflict 😅 this is why my favorite book by her is def "Under One Roof" because it's not so much miscommunication but prejudice.
- size: oh. my. god. The amount of times her books reference how big the MMC is and how tiny the FMC is ridiculous. If you've already told me the size of the characters I don't need a thousand reminders of it. I got it. Thanks. On top of that, I think the big problem for me it's not the size perse or even the lack of body inclusivity... but the way she emphasizes and describes it. I'm a midsize gal and to be perfectly honest, her books kind of make me feel bad about myself. That's more of my problem than hers, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone else (man or woman) who doesn't fit the "beauty standards" and struggles with feeling this way is considering reading her books...be aware ❤️ and remember that you are beautiful and worthy regardless of size. Be kind to yourself.