After having sat in on a panel discussion last spring with author Hazelwood, I now understand why she and several more of our best contemporary romance authors (including Diana Gabaldon and Lauren Billings of the writing duo Christina Lauren) went from careers in STEM to writing romance. At the very least, they are finally getting the recognition (and, hopefully, financial rewards) they deserve.
In Love on the Brain, neuroscientist Dr. Bee Konigswasser has been fighting her entire career against the unfair treatment women in STEM (especially academia) face from a field full of predominantly white men. Using “trademarked” phrases like Cockcluster and Wurstfest, in describing this seemingly impenetrable brick wall, is the least she can do to release some of the tension and anger she feels when she and her fellow women in STEM are confronted with this misogynistic reality. As a way to fight back anonymously, Bee started a Twitter account as an homage to her hero, Marie Curie, called @WhatWouldMarieDo and has been evading potential career-destroying detection for 4 years. However, other than providing support and encouragement to other female scientists, she’s also developed an open online friendship with Shmac, one of the few male scientists who truly champion and support their female colleagues.
After a bad betrayal and break-up, following by a depressive slump two years before, she’s finally been tapped to lead a joint NASA-NIH project. Unfortunately, even before flying to Houston, she finds out the co-lead is her arch nemesis Levi Ward, a man whose utter disdain for her during grad school was the stuff of legend. Will having to work with him lead to another career dead-end, especially if he goes so far as to sabotage her work? Or will she find that her perception of him has been wrong all along?
Hazelwood’s follow-up to The Love Hypothesis is equally as charming and sexy, with subtly-coded neurodivergent characters who struggle to communicate their feelings but who connect on a cerebral and sometimes nerdy level. Whether it’s bonding over Star Wars, comparing Levi’s rescue cat to Bee’s “imaginary” one, competing over hummingbird sightings, or surprisingly supporting and defending each others’ work in the lab, their journey to love is a joy to behold. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Jove Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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