“You were always in my head. And I could never get you out.”
Love on the Brain is a 2022 romance book by Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. Another STEMinist rom-com tale, the story centres around Bee Konigswasser, a scientist who abides by a strict code: What would Marie Curie do? When Bee is offered the lead on a project, it looks to be a dream come true. That is until she learns she is working with Levi, her archenemy from grad school. Nevertheless, as time passes, Bee feels Levi slowly softening to the point where their chemistry threatens to reach boiling point. But, when the time comes to make a move and put her heart on the line, the only question she needs to worry about is: What would Bee Konigswasser do? If you STEM, academia and other enemies-to-lovers romances, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Love on the Brain!
Love, Theoretically – Ali Hazelwood
Kicking off our list of reads similar to Love on the Brain is another one of the best books by Ali Hazelwood, Love, Theoretically. By day, Elsie Hannaway is an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics. However, to make up for her non-existent paycheck, she also leads a secret double-life as the perfect girlfriend experience. Honing her people-pleasing skills, she is able to embody whichever version of herself her clients need.
Her delicate balancing act is suddenly upended by Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favourite client and individual who ruined Elsie’s mentor’s reputation. The very same Jack Smith who is now sitting at the head of the hiring committee at MIT. Sitting between Elsie and her dream job. But, just as she begins to prepare for an all-out scholarly war, Elsie begins to feel things when she’s around Jack that she couldn’t have ever equated for. Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit lull her into putting her most guarded perspectives on love into practice?
The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2) – Elena Armas
Similar to Love on the Brain, Elena Armas’ The American Roommate Experiment is another forced-proximity romance book nominated for Best Romance in the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards. Rosie Graham has just left her job to focus on her secret career as a romance novelist. Thankfully, she has her friend Lina’s spare key whilst she is out of town. What she doesn’t realise is that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin, Lucas.
Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him until she can afford some temporary accommodation of her own. What’s more, to help coax her creativity again, he proposes taking her on a number of experimental dates. Rosie has nothing to lose. Nevertheless, Lucas is only in New York for six weeks. Such an expiration date may not be enough, either for her deadline or for herself.
Beginners Luck (Chance Of A Lifetime #1) – Kate Clayborn
Kit Averin is anything but a gambler. A scientist with a steady, albeit quiet, job at a university, Kit’s sole focus has always been on maintaining the agreeable status quo. A sudden windfall doesn’t change that. The only exception is the fixer-upper property she plans to purchase. All appears to be going to plan until an undeniably handsome and determined recruiter rocks up at her lab, and somehow worms his way into her heart.
Ben Tucker is surprised to find that the scientist he was for Beaumont Materials is a young woman – let alone one as beautiful and sharp-witted as Kit. Convincing her to sign up for a big-money position proves to be harder than he was expecting. Nevertheless, he’s willing to put in the time over the summer. What begins as a cold rebuff soon heats up into an attraction that neither Kit nor Ben are able to deny in Kate Clayborn’s bestseller, Beginner’s Luck.
The Fake Mate – Lana Ferguson
Another bestselling STEMinist romance book like Love on the Brain, The Fake Mate is a 2023 story by Lana Ferguson. Mackenzie hasn’t had a successful date in months. Her grandmother’s obsession with finding her the perfect partner is close to driving her mad. Still, when she lies about meeting someone, the last name she would have expected to spill out would have been Noah Taylor.
A grumpy cardiologist and secretly untamed alpha, when an anonymous tip is brought before the board, Noah finds himself with two options: come clean, or find himself a mate. So when the chatty, overly-friendly ER doctor asks him to be her fake boyfriend, everything appears to be falling into place nicely. But, when the fake-mate act turns into a very real arrangement of a different nature, the lines begin to blur and the pair soon realise that love is a whole other kind of animal.
Practice Makes Perfect (When In Rome #2) – Sarah Adams
Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match; the sort of person who complements her quiet life running the local flower shop in her small town of Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately for her, everyone knows everyone in this town and her dating prospects appear to be dwindling by the day. When she overhears her latest date call her boring, she decides to spice things up and enlist the help of the sexy, tattooed and drop-dead gorgeous bodyguard, Will Griffin.
Amid steamy practice dates and purely ‘educational’ tutoring lessons, Annie soon learns that there are more layers to Will than his stoic exterior conveys. And, as the lines between friendship become dangerously distorted, she soon finds herself reconsidering what her dream guy may look like.
The Soulmate Equation (DNADuo #1) – Christina Lauren
Single mother Jess Davis is a data whizz. But, no amount of number crunching could ever convince her to step foot back into the realms of dating. After all, her ex decided he wasn’t ‘father material’ before their daughter had even been born. But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a revolutionary new matchmaking company that claims to be able to source a soulmate through DNA.
To Jess’ surprise, her test shows an unheard-of ninety-eight per cent compatibility score with none other than GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr River Pena. The stubborn and aloof man could never be Jess’ soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition for her: get to know him, and they’ll pay her. Close to breaking point financially, she has no other choice but to agree. However, as the pair are whisked from one event to the next touted as the couple to launch GeneticAlly’s valuation into the stratosphere, Jess begins to realise that there may be more to the scientist and the science behind a soulmate than she first thought.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Soulmate Equation
Remedial Rocket Science (Chemistry Lessons #1) – Susannah Nix
The last thing Melody expects when she accepts a dream job is to run into her college one-night stand again. What’s more, not only does this hunky blast from her past work at the same aerospace company where she’s just started in the IT department; he’s the CEO’s son.
Jeremy has a girlfriend and a proud reputation as a bad body. Melody resolves to keep her distance from him and pool her focus on the new life she has built for herself in Los Angeles.
Despite her good intentions, however, she can’t help but be pulled toward him again. As the two begin forging an unlikely friendship, her attraction to Jeremy only grows stronger. Susannah Nix’s Remedial Rocket Science is another book similar to Love on the Brain featuring a socially adept interest and an unlikely introverted STEM heroine, perfect for any fans of Ali Hazelwood.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
