Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm

 

Summary (from the publisher): Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Christina Lauren, a STEM academic-rivals-to-lovers rom-com set at a New York conference about two neuroscientists who are forced to pretend they’re dating, leading to unexpected chemistry and a heartfelt journey of self-discovery.

Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein has success on the brain. As a grad student, she was offered a job by her brilliant boyfriend, but determined to make it on her own, she turned it—and him—down. Now, stuck in postdoc purgatory with no job security and no personal life to speak of, Frances is desperate to make a breakthrough. Her best shot is a summer conference packed with her field’s leading scientists. The only problem? It’s organized by her ex, who has found the success that’s eluded her. But backing out is not an option, because Frances desperately needs to network to save her career.

Enter Dr. Lewis North: her perceptive, meticulous, and inconveniently attractive rival. When their academic sniping gets mistaken for flirtatious chemistry, Frances doesn’t deny it—putting her integrity and career on the line. As soon as her prefrontal cortex is operational again, Frances realizes she needs to keep up the charade, or risk everything she’s worked for. Faking data is out of the question, but fake dating? That might just be the solution she needs.

But as Lewis starts to make her reward centers spark and a major setback has Frances questioning everything, she must confront what she’s willing to chase—for love, for science, and for the future she thought she wanted.

Review: Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein is stuck trying to make her way in the competitive world of academia. In grad school, her brilliant boyfriend offered her a job but she refused to accept a job because of her relationship rather than her own merit. Now she's on her way to a conference in New York where she hopes to network in hopes of finding a more permanent job. But she just happens to bump into Dr. Lewis North, who has long been her academic rival after an incident with a paper some years before. When they are mistakenly thought to be a couple, Frances pleads with him to go along with the charade for purposes of the conference and networking. 

I absolutely love academic rival romances, and this one did not disappoint! So much to love about this one: 

- The opening. Love the plane scene so much! The way they were forced together in a situation that made her feel very vulnerable and allowed him to be nurturing and expose his soft side really had me from the get-go.  

- The chemistry. These two are such a great fit!! I just love them together. The LIBRARY SCENE. That's all I can say about it hehe. 

- Love a man who respects a woman's ambition. Lewis and Frances truly love talking shop, building off of each other's intellectual thoughts and are genuinely curious about each other's minds. They have so much in common professionally, which is both a strength and their greatest weakness since it means they're competing for the same opportunities. 

- The blushing!! Lewis is constantly blushing. I loved it. It betrays his true emotions over and over. 

-  Love the sister relationship between Frances and Karo. Their relationship grows so much over the course of the book and becomes so much stronger as a result of it. I just always love to see close sibling relationships in books, so this really spoke to me. 

- I think along the same lines, Frances herself grows a lot over the course of the book. She realizes that she doesn't put enough boundaries between her professional and personal life and has prioritized her professional ambition over everything else, including her own life, a sense of home and belonging, and her relationship with her sister. I love seeing her work to find a better balance as the book progresses. 

- Unexpectedly loved the character of Vivienne! Vivienne is the new girlfriend of Frances's ex, and I was not expecting her to be a key character or that she would be genuinely nice and supportive of Frances, but I really loved her perspective on Frances and the past and how she shows up for Frances.

In terms of what I didn't like?? Honestly, not much. I did get frustrated with Frances constantly pushing Lewis away. He always has a legitimate explanation when there are misunderstandings between them and works hard to find viable solutions, but she likes to run away from him. It went on a tad long. 

This reminded me of a STEM version of An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister that I read last year and also loved. 

Stars: 4