LIFE IS WORTH LIVING 🎵🎵
Waaaww this was so good, I read it in under 24 hours, it felt just like an Ali Hazelwood book and I’m saying that in the best way possible. I am definitely not objective about it because I am literally the target audience for this kind of book but IT WAS SO GOOD.

Little synopsis:
Frances and Lewis meet in a transatlantic flight, sitting next to each other and when Frances tries to help Lewis shorten his abstract, she understands that he’s actually Dr North, her academic rival who nitpicks every scientific paper she writes. They are both headed to the same academic conference in New York and they’ll be in a sticky situation that will force them to spend time together.

The characters felt very real and the struggles of working in STEM and academia were nicely written. I think even though I understand all the science talk, that people will follow easily everything is explained in simpler terms without making it arrogant or condescending.
Frances’ stress and anxiety about her work and all the discourse about tying your self worth to your work felt so RAW. I loved her journey and I’m so glad about the ending of the book.
The tension is HIGH between our MCs and they flirt over email and science.
The most unrealistic thing about the story is the fact that Lewis is a man in STEM who actually has emotional intelligence and can read social cues…thank god for fictional men.
Oh and Hannah? Please write more 🥹

Tropes:
- Academic rivals to lovers
- Fake dating
- Scientific conference
- Nerdy banter
- He cooks for her
- Slow burn
- Forced proximlty

Thanks to Netgalley, Aria & Aries and Hannah Brohm for the ARC.

Move over, Ali Hazelwood, there's a new PhD in town!

This debut knocked it out of the park for me. I'm a total sucker for academic rivals, having read all of Ali's stem romances, and I was initially worried this would feel too similar, but it doesn't at all. It's fantastic and absolutely stands on its own. I ADORED Frances, she's easily one my favourite FMC's of the year. I thought her struggles with academia were handled really thoughtfully, and it didn't feel so consumed by the romance thread, there was actually a lot of depth (especially Frances's relationship with her sister, and Lewis's relationship with his father and brother). It was swoony in all the right places, heartfelt and romantic, but also thoughtful and realistic. The ending had me! I'm so excited to read more from this author. Get this on your TBR list asap!

it’s a lovely day to talk about a NEW and CUTE debut book STEM romance novel because if u’re looking up for more stories involving fake dating and STEM this one could be the one for 🫵🏻 so be ready to read about my thoughts… ;)

if u’re an ali hazelwood fan like me i know u’ll enjoy frances and levi’s story because because i certainly did! from the start i was sat and ready to fly in NY with our lovely and relatable main characters ;”)

from the start it was obviously that u could feel the chemistry between frances and levi until she found out who levi was and the professional history they had involved but life happens and u never know right? and these two will have to fake dating and ikyk 😁 feelings will be involved with also the professional aspect that frances has to face respect levi and so everything mixes and here u’re served with an interesting and adorable romcom!

and the outcome of our couple’s love… 100% correct and not only! i really appreciated how hannah brohm portrayed frances’s feelings towards her career and love! she was truly a lovely and inspiring female main character! levi oh levi the thoughtful man he were… to have more men like him… but besides from this i truly loved to read how he tried with his family and remained true to his beliefs!

levi and frances in the end were really cute but most importantly very mature! it was so refreshing to see them communicating and understanding each other it was truly something else and i definitely appreciated that <333

last but not least i would like to thanks netgalley and aria & aries for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Love and Other Brain Experiments follows neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein, five years after she turned down a job - and her accomplished boyfriend - to forge her own academic path. She’s still single, hustling from project to project, and about to face her ex at a high-stakes conference – the same ex who once told her she'd never make it on her own. When an argument with her infuriatingly attractive rival Dr. Lewis North leads to a mistaken assumption that they’re a couple, Frances accidentally confirms the misconception, inadvertently putting both their careers at stake. Forced to keep up appearances, Frances and Lewis know that for any scientist worth their salt, faking data is out of the question. But fake dating? That might just be genius.

Wow - this is how you write a debut! I devoured this book in 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down, it was THAT good! I just know that this will book will be compared to Ali Hazelwood. I am an Ali girlie, but I think this book was EVEN BETTER and really stands on its own.

I fell in love with Frances and Lewis as characters, and they had fantastic depth and development. Both characters had struggles in both their personal and professional lives, and they communicated (for the most part!) and supported each other so well.

I loved their meet cute, their sparring, and their banter. I eat up fake dating, forced proximity and rivals-to-lovers every time, and these tropes created incredible tension and chemistry. The slow-burn romance was delicious, and the spicy scenes were very hot and well written (not cringey at all!). Lewis is DOWN BAD and I am so here for it!

I also really enjoyed the side characters and the various relationship dynamics that were explored. I particularly enjoyed Frances’s budding friendship with Vivienne (her ex’s fiancée - we love to see girls supporting girls!) and her relationship with her sister. It was also lovely to read about Lewis reconnecting with his siblings.

As someone who is fascinated with the human brain, I really enjoyed the science aspects. However, even if you aren’t a big science person (I’m not, really) the science aspects are explained very well and don’t overpower the romance. I loved how passionate the characters (and the author!) were about their careers, and Hannah Brohm did a great job of exploring the complexities of a career in academia, and the issues women in STEM can face.

The third act breakup felt realistic and was handled well, and I loved the ending and where the characters ended up. The grand gesture had me tearing up!

This was truly a delight to read, and I think anyone that loves romcoms should 100% pick this up when it releases in February 2026. Hannah Brohm is a new favourite author of mine, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus/Aria for providing me with an eARC. This review is being left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

Oh wow. I expected to like this but it really hit home. As an academic, this felt a bit like therapy. It felt so refreshing to read about the realities of academia in a romcom novel. I could relate so much to wanting to paint walls, to be there in person for your friends and family and not having to move every couple of years. And the romance was so cute too! I loved Frances and Lewis’ dynamic and that both were able to admit that they didn’t handle things perfectly. All the conflict felt very realistic and well handled.
I hope to read many more novels by Hannah Brohm in the future. Thank you so much for the eARC Netgalley!

I'm so incredibly obsessed!!!!! STEM romances are my faves and this one hit the mark in the best way possible. These two characters... I love them so much. They were so real and well-written and their struggles in academia were too. The anxiety, the stress, the doubt, it all felt so raw. And the character development of both of them!!! Like Lewis said, people change and we saw it happening in a positive way in real time with them and I loved how their character arcs were written.
Don't even get me started on their romance. The TENSION, my god it was scorching over here. These two were hot^2 and you know when you have these books that just have you giggling and kicking your feet at the little moments, yeah that's this right here. Lock Hannah Brohm up right now, because the fact that Lewis isn't actually real (or my boyfriend, no wait he is too perfect for Frances) is criminal. That man... dayum, hot hot hot. Of course, we can't forget about Frances' slutty little glasses...
I feel like it's been forever since I read a STEM romance, so yeah this really came at the right time. I loved it and whoever is reading this should read it too asap.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Aria & Aries and Hannah Brohm for the eARC!

I actually loved LOVED this. It is the closest someone came to recreating Ali Hazelwood magic for me. 4.5 stars

If you're looking for:
🧪 stem romance
🧪 rivals to lovers
🧪 slow-burn and high tension
🧪 banter for days
🧪 fake dating
🧪 "we should kiss for practice"
🧪 forced proximity
🧪 actual communication

... just pick this up. For a debut novel, this is absolute gold. While I do compare this with Ali, since she is best known for her STEM romances, this does have its own charm. I enjoyed the couple dynamics, other little relationships we got glimpses of, the humor and of course, the fake dating gets me every freaking time. It was super easy to get into and gripped by the story and MCs. Hope to read more from Hannah Brohm!

Imagine my disappointment when I immediately looked up Hannah Brohm to order her other books, only to find out that this is her only work so far! This was incredible for a debut and I found myself swept up in the academic romance, which is a topic I've always loved.

"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."

I'm sad that this will get constant comparisons to Ali Hazelwood as I feel like it stands well as its own STEM romance. I feel that Hannah Brohm did a brilliant job of detailing the hardships of STEM and research and academia without feeling too weighed down. Frances was a lovely protagonist to follow and I found myself really relating to her struggles and her anxieties about things going wrong. The tension between Frances and Lewis was beautifully written and I found myself telling myself, "Just one more chapter" multiple times because I wanted to eat up more of their relationship development.
I feel like this couldn't be a full 5 star rating for me because I felt that Frances's previous relationship was not fully fleshed out, and would have appreciated more of her ex and his new fiancée on the page as they seemed to be highlighted as such a huge obstacle at the beginning. I also found the ending to be slightly frustrating due to choices that Frances made (but this may just be a personal frustration, as someone who also works in dementia research).

Overall, a gorgeous read and an introduction to an author that I will definitely look out for in the future. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If there is one thing to know about me, it’s that I absolutely love a STEM romance. I’m a scientist and I have read a LOT of them. I kept catching snippets of Love and Other Brain Experiments on TikTok and knew I had to read it as soon as physically possible. It did not disappoint.

Love and Other Brain Experiments follows Dr Frances Silberstein, a post doc trying to get her academic career off the ground who also has a nemesis (Dr Lewis North) in her field which makes getting anything published difficult (iykyk). A couple of inconvenient situations later and they are suddenly having to fake date for 2 weeks at a conference full of her peers (and her ex) in order to save her career. Yes, it’s hysterically tragic and I loved it. This book had me cackling throughout (when I wasn’t heartbroken) because when you think things can’t get any more complicated…it turns out sometimes they can.

This book is based off a very big miscommunication, but it’s a fairly spicy, close proximity, enemies to lovers with a cast that you want to be part of. Certain characters I wanted to hug, others I wanted to punch in the face and others seemed like great dinner party guests. The chemistry between Frances and Lewis was a slow burn but I was eating it up. The little snippets of backstory being drip fed shocked me on multiple occasions and made the blossoming romance even more heartwarming.

It really portrays academia realistically: from the issues with job security, loneliness, work culture, sexism, publish or perish culture, and should be essential reading for anyone tempted to pursue a PhD or supporting a loved one through it. Sure, it was a little dramatic at times but everything that happens (apart from the enemy to lovers romance) is a situation that could genuinely happen to anyone on that path.

If I had to give a critique, I would say that the self-awareness of the characters threw me a little bit. Part of that was probably me relating to the characters a little too much but the explanation of their motivations got pretty repetitive as the book continued. I’ve got to admit, it’s realistic 😂

If you love Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry, this book is a great blend of the two. You get the heartwarming romance mixed with the exploration of serious topics and genuine character development. It’s a whole lot of fun and I’d absolutely recommend it: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book. LOVED IT. I want to give it more stars. Hannah Brohm you are actually a genius and definitely my new auto-buy author!
I love the academic rivals to lovers trope, and in a STEM setting... even better! The banter between Frances and Lewis, the way they pushed each other as rivals and lovers, and the tension they had when they were learning to take the risk; all of it was flawless! I loved the slow burn, I loved the fake dating plan and I loved how all of these romance moments were balanced so well with the academia background.
The plot was so well-written I was completely hooked throughout and I really enjoyed not only all the side characters woven in (who I am now also big fans of) but the character growth that happened for both Frances and Lewis. It gave me so much hope to see where they ended up whilst knowing how much they worked for it to happen.
I highly recommend this book for any fans of Ali Hazelwood or the rivals to lovers trope and I also recommend this book to anyone currently in academia, you're going to love this story!
Lastly, please tell me there will be more books like this in the future...

5 🌟

Hannah Brohm has written the most gorgeous academic romance! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I'm so glad I got an ARC.

Frances and Lewis were exceptional. The level of academia? Perfect. You can tell Hannah has extensive experience with the world of paper publishing and postdocs, and within that she's woven the swooniest slow burn! I loved seeing the little hints of Lewis' feelings throughout, loved how well rounded and developed his character, family and friends were. Frances and Karo were so genuine that I really want a sequel just for more of them!

This felt like the right balance of science, politics around academia, relationship development and spice. Hannah is definitely now one of my auto-buy authors and I can't wait to see what she does next!

This STEM romcom has everything I love in the genre! We follow Frances on a business trip where she has to network in order to find her next job in academia. On the plane, she meets a cute guy who turns out to be none other than her scientific nemesis.

I loved everything about this book:
-The writing style
-The pacing
-The scientific context and the representation of postdoc struggles
-The dynamics between the FMC and MMC: I like how they get to know each other and are open about it. We don’t get much of a misunderstanding trope.
-Their hobbies are so typical for German scientists! I say this as a phd student in Germany: yes, bouldering is pretty common and hiking is a lifestyle! And yes, most Germans from this bubble are vegetarian. This was a correct representation of the current life as a scientist.
-I was afraid that ending drama is going to go in a different direction and that Vivianne would be the one sabotaging her. I liked that this wasn’t the case, and that women were supporting each other.

Can’t wait for the book to come out, I can see it as a perfect Christmas present for my female colleagues 👌

4.5 ⭐️

A smart and swoony STEM romance! Frances, a successful neuroscientist with an uncertain future, ends up fake dating her academic rival, Lewis, at a science conference hosted by her ex. The setup is both hilarious and heartfelt, made even richer by author Hannah Brohm’s real-life neuroscience background.

The chemistry between Frances and Lewis is tender and genuine—he’s adorably shy, she’s determined and driven—and their emotional growth is as satisfying as the romance. The epilogue ties everything together beautifully.

A fantastic debut I couldn’t put down—can’t wait for Brohm’s next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of Love and Other Brain Experiments!

We are following Frances, a neuroscientist who is attending big event- the Sawyer’s- which could help her getting more recognition and funding in her field. The thing is, she gets seated next to her academic rival and has no choice but to fake date him at this event…

Frances’s journey throughout this book was incredible to follow. It was great to have her as the main character and know her thought process. Her relationship with Karo was lovely and I quite enjoyed how it evolved.

As for her relationship with Lewis, they were the cutest. The miscommunication was there, but it was well-written and did not leave me as frustrated as I usually am with romance novels. It was nice to see that they also both had issues to work on and could help each other through hard times.

I would highly highly recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 🌶️🌶️ 2/5

Tropes
🧪 Fake dating
🧪STEM romance
🧪Rivals to lovers
🧪 Slow Burn

France’s and Lewis are academic rivals and very well known to each other via emails but they’ve never seen each other in person until they’re seated next to each other on a plane on the way to a conference.

Frances’ work is her life, it determines her self worth and she has a lot of anxiety surrounding achieving within her field. Lewis? Secret cinnamon roll? he is quick to blush ( for her) and has been France’s academic rival for years. France’s is used to fighting for credit for her work and Lewis is used to landing all the grants he applies for, it’s no wonder they’re natural rivals.

The fake dating aspect? Necessary and benefits them both, although it was the most anxiety filled aspect of their conference experience. I loved that they were so incredibly supportive of each other and stood up for each other where it counted.

I really loved this book and found it to be really well paced and had so much going on to keep me interested. The science aspect was so much fun I loved hearing about what the characters were working on and the back and forth collaborating.

The side characters are phenomenal and I hope we get more books in this world because I need to read more by Hannah Brohm immediately.

Definitely for fans of Ali Hazelwood... I found the writing a little stilted at times and not everything fully worked for me but overall I really enjoyed this academia, New York-set rom-com and would definitely read more by this author!

I am someone who comes from a science background and because of that I love reading romance based in science so as soon as I heard about this book I knew it would be up my street.

Love and Other Brain Experiments follows neuroscientist Dr Frances Silberstein who has been determined to forge her own path, and is about to face her ex at a conference, and when an argument with her rival Dr Lewis North leads to the assumption they are in a relationship, putting both of their careers at stake. In order to keep this up the pair agree to fake dating.

Fake dating isn’t normally my favourite romance book but it worked so well within this story that I ended up loving it. There were some great scenes that came from this one and allowed Frances and Lewis, to get to know each other in ways they previously hadn’t.

The romance throughout this book really did give me Ali Hazelwood vibes which was really nice and has me wanting to read more from Hannah Brohm as she hopefully releases more romance books. The writing kept me really immersed and I felt that Hannah Brohm developed the characters and their relationships particularly with their families which really added to the romance.

The science made up a decent chunk of the story which I really liked as it was part of what drew me to the book and it also didn’t take over the story in a way that I liked, it felt like the ideal balance of science and romance. The science in the story also really interested me and I would have been happy to keep reading about it.

I loved the development of the relationship between Frances and Lewis throughout the course of the book, seeing them go from dislike to friends to lovers felt like it was natural and a dynamic that I just really liked. I also found that as someone who can sometimes find third act breakups annoying, the one in this book was grounded in the story in a way that I actually enjoyed reading and made sense for the characters, and made me even more invested in the story itself.

There were some other characters throughout the book I also really liked reading about. The relationship Frances has with her younger sister Karo was one of my favourite relationships in the story and I loved seeing how it changed throughout the book. Lewis’s family dynamic also felt complex and both Frances and Lewis had some great friends in the book.

This was a romance that I loved, I am really looking forward to getting a physical copy when it is released in February. I will be highly recommending this book as much as possible. If this one interests you I would highly recommend pre-ordering before release. I also can’t wait to see what Hannah Brohm comes out with next.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah Brohm’s Love and Other Brain Experiments opens in the familiar territory of the STEM romance: tropes such as academic rivals, fake dating, forced proximity, rivals to lovers abound, but what unfolds is something far more layered and immersive. If Ali Hazelwood’s novels brought lab coats and equations into the mainstream of romance, Brohm goes a step further: she roots the story inside academia rather than merely using it as a backdrop.

The book follows Dr. Frances Silberstein, a neuroscientist whose life has been defined by her research and relentless pursuit of discovery. When she’s unexpectedly thrown into proximity with Lewis, a fellow researcher with whom she shares a complicated professional history (read: collaboration, betrayal, unresolved tension), the story finds its pulse. What begins as a misunderstanding that forces them to keep up appearances that they’re dating, gradually unravels into something deeper, touching on ambition, burnout, and the quiet disillusionment of academic life.


At its core, Love and Other Brain Experiments thrives on the fake dating trope, but what makes it stand out is how Brohm allows her characters to navigate these tropes with the same scientific rigour they bring to their research. There were several moments where I almost wanted to say “nerd!”—not as mockery, but as affection—because every decision, every turn of the trope, felt so grounded in who these characters are. The fake dating, for instance, never reads as contrived; it unfolds as something they’d both approach like an experiment, complete with hypotheses, observations, and inevitable emotional variables. It’s this self-aware, intellectual handling that makes the novel feel both believable and fresh within the genre.

Brohm braves the deep end of academia, for love
Unlike many STEM romances that skim over the institutional grind, Brohm’s novel dives straight into it. There are the pressures of publishing, the constant scramble for grants, the politics of collaboration, and the uneasy balance between personal life and intellectual ambition. It comes across best as not just a love story set in academia, but rather a story about academia that happens to be a love story. That distinction is important and refreshing.

Frances and Lewis first meet on a plane ride that Frances is already dreading, and Lewis seeks her help with an abstract submission. It might be the most turbulent flight on Frances’ life because she finds out Lewis is actually Dr. Theodore L. North.

“Whenever I submit papers for consideration to a journal, other experts in my field evaluate the quality of the work to judge whether it’s worthy of publication. There’s always one who errs a little too far on the side of nitpicky and rude, and although the reviews are anonymous, I know that in the review process of my last paper it was Dr. North—Lewis—who pointed out all the shortcomings with an extra pizzazz of snark.”

The chemistry between Frances and Lewis feels organic, grounded in shared passion for their field. Their banter often borrows the rhythm and vocabulary of research, turning intellectual sparring into flirtation.

“How are you going to give me a ‘more of a comment than a question’ remark at my lecture on Thursday if you’re home in bed with a cold? I’ve been looking forward to this all year. Don’t let me down.”

And because both characters are well into their careers: decade-long veterans of their fields rather than wide-eyed PhD students, their conflicts and choices feel more adult, shaped by fatigue as much as attraction.

STEM as more than a sub-genre or a silent backdrop
What stood out to me was how Brohm uses the academic setting not as a gimmick but as a mirror for the characters’ inner lives. Frances’s journey, of learning to forgive, to let go of misplaced ambition, to draw boundaries between professional worth and personal identity, is deeply tied to her world. The novel captures the strange push and pull of academia: the love for discovery alongside the loneliness it breeds. Lewis, in turn, becomes not a saviour figure but a prism through which Frances recognises how much of herself she has given to an institution that rarely gives back. It’s not about him redeeming her; it’s about her reclaiming herself.

“Academia is a marathon of obsessing over the most minuscule questions, the ones you tackle deep into the quiet hours of the night with only your computer at your fingertips. It can get lonely inside your brain. Too much time there can fill you with doubts, but then, sometimes, occasionally, a cool result, a new insight, feels like the most potent drug in the world.”

The narrative doesn’t rush towards its happy ending. The third act carries emotional weight — perhaps a bit crowded in terms of how many threads needed resolving — but it earns its payoff. There’s no shortcut to resolution here; Frances grows through the messiness of her choices, and the ending feels earned precisely because it’s not tidy.

What I particularly appreciated was the academic realism that threads through the story. Brohm’s depiction of Frances moving between countries, juggling projects, and navigating fleeting professional relationships feels spot-on. Her network of acquaintances — former collaborators, rivals, exes, and peers met through conferences and forums — creates a sprawling, interconnected web that mirrors how academia actually operates. It’s refreshingly realistic to see a romance novel acknowledge that professional circles can be small, reputations sticky, and alliances short-lived.

Brohm’s academic circles have interesting characters
The supporting cast adds texture: Lewis’s family, Frances’s colleagues, and the many side characters who orbit the main duo. If anything, I wanted more time with them: Jacob, Vivienne, Brady: because they were so well-sketched that a few extra pages with them would have been a treat. Brohm makes us care about these people, and it’s easy to imagine some of them carrying stories of their own. [Insert quote here.]

In terms of tone and texture, Love and Other Brain Experiments reminded me most of Love, Theoretically, Ali Hazelwood’s most politically aware book, but with the emotional intelligence of R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis, if Katabasis had chosen romance as its primary lens instead of fantasy and the banter of Nicole Cubba’s Deep In Love. Brohm’s academic world is just as ruthless, but her storytelling is gentler, anchored in humour and humanity.

By the end, the book becomes less about love as salvation and more about ambition, agency, and self-definition. It asks how much of yourself you can give to a system before it takes too much, and whether love, in any form, can make that loss easier to bear.

Love and Other Brain Experiments is a quietly revolutionary STEM romance, one that actually understands what it means to live and love in academia. It’s funny, heartfelt, and more intellectually grounded than most of its peers. A rare story where the lab notes matter as much as the longing.

I was keen read this book as a fan of STEMinist romance and was not disappointed! This academic rivals to lovers story hit every serotonin sweet spot and is a must for Ali Hazelwood fans. Looking forward to what Hannah Brohm delivers next!

Love and Other Brain Experiments follows a quirky, heartfelt exploration of relationships, identity, and the science of love. Through a mix of humour, awkward charm, and emotional depth, the story dives into what happens when logic and emotion collide and how the human brain tries (and often fails) to make sense of it all.

3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Hannah Brohm for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit, the first half was difficult to get into. The pacing felt slow, and I struggled to stay engaged with the story early on. The setup and scientific themes were interesting in theory, but I found myself lacking the motivation to keep turning the pages. However, once I hit the halfway point, the story really began to find its groove. The humour started to land, the dialogue felt sharper, and the characters developed in a way that made them both believable and endearing.

The second half brought a much better balance of emotional depth and wit. The relationships became more layered, and I found myself genuinely caring about how everything would play out. Brohm has a distinct narrative voice — intelligent, funny, and slightly off-kilter — that shines most when she leans into the imperfections of her characters and the absurdity of trying to rationalize love.

While it wasn’t an instant favourite for me, I’m glad I stuck with it.

It's finally time to write my review for Love and Other Brain Experiments and I have to say it's taken me a while to find the words. This book is an absolute JOY! To say that my heart swells with glee whenever I think about it is simply an understatement.

Picture this, you're stuck in postgraduate purgatory, no job, no 'life'. To make matters worse you're actually now sat on a plane on your way to a conference organised by your ex, who unlike you, has had great success. Oh joy! Well, that's actually where you will find Dr. Frances Silberstein. And as it happens, you'll also find her academic rival, Dr. Lewis North, on the same flight! In fact... he's sat right next to her. Seeing your ex is difficult enough so when someone confuses bickering for flirting, Frances couldn't help but play along and begin 'fake-dating' Dr. North. But we all know what a slippery slope that can be. When everything Frances has worked so hard to push to the back of her mind is suddenly standing right in front of her, she is suddenly forced to consider whether she wants to stick to her current life path, or choose to chase another.

What I found to be so endearing about this book was the genuine love emanating off of the page. Brohm's words were as passionate and vulnerable as they light and humorous. I deeply cared about the characters, I enjoyed existing in a space with Lewis and Frances, so much so that it will be a book I return to when I am in need of some comfort. Love and Other Brain Experiments ultimately serves as a reminder that sometimes home isn't a place, but it's a person (or sometimes it can be both). Don't you just love love! Not the surface-level kind, but the deep understanding of who this person is. Love is found in quiet gestures. Love and Other Brain Experiments proves this.

This is such an amazing debut. I read the book in a matter of hours! I simply cannot WAIT to see what Hannah comes out with next.

p.s. as someone who has a degree in Psychology and is also half German, I ate this book up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely devoured this book, I really enjoyed this STEM romance! 💕

This was golden retriever x black cat, this had yearning, fantastic banter and only a little bit of miscommunication.

Lewis is definitely a top tier book boyfriend, he was a perfect MMC for fiesty Francis our FMC.

If you enjoy STEM/Academic books, pick this one up! 😍

A big thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the gifted copy 🫶

"When he looks at me like that, like I'm the question he's most eager to investigate, I almost get the feeling he could want me, too"

"Love and Other Brain Experiments" was a sparkling gem of a STEM Romance. Frances' character captured so viscerally the experiences of many women working in male dominated fields. The romance between her and Lewis was so sweet. It was nice to see a man so down for a woman because of her heart and brilliant mind. I also enjoyed seeing the family dynamics that both characters negotiated in the story.

Another bonus was that I learnt a little about Neuroscience in the process. Hannah Brohm wrote about all the Science-y bits in a way that was very accessible.

👩🏼‍🔬👨🏼‍🔬 Academic Rivals
🧪 They have chemistry 😉
❤️ Fake dating

Thanks to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for an eARC of this title.

I really loved this book. Frances and Lewis had such sweet chemistry, and the fake dating setup at the science conference was both funny and heartfelt. Frances was confident and driven, and Lewis was adorably shy yet supportive, which made their interactions so enjoyable. The STEM setting felt authentic. I also appreciated the slow burn tension and how both characters grew individually and together. The epilogue tied everything up nicely, leaving me completely satisfied. Overall, it was a worthy debut that I couldn’t put down. Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in advance, I received this for free and I'm leaving a honest review

Frances is a postdoc neuroscientist who is slogging through the unstable hell of temporary contract life, flitting from university to university across the world in search of a place and an academic position where she can settle down and actually establish a life and have security in her job.

On a plane, on her way to a conference in New York she meets this other scientist, Lewis, who is also going to the conference, and is getting along with him when she learns that he’s actually an academic rival of hers who has done some shitty things to her in the past and has made her life very unpleasant.

Through some circumstances, when they both get to the conference, people assume that they’re dating, and for reasons, she asks him to go along with it.

This book is a cross between the Love Hypothesis and the Hating Game.

I enjoyed the characters, their backstories, flaws and chemistry as well as the academic setting. It was a fun time, and I liked Frances’ character arc in particular. She felt well-rounded and we got to explore all parts of her life rather than just the romantic aspect.

I also really enjoyed the fact that, though the bulk of the book takes place at Columbia, we get a more global perspective true to life in academia and centring of a non-native English speaking character (Frances is German).

There were some parts of the book that required a bit more of a suspension of disbelief (like the specifics of Frances and Lewis’ first meeting), and there felt like there were some conflicts or potential conflicts that were teased at without really being resolved, but ultimately I had a good time.

This book is perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, and I’m looking forward to other releases from this author.

Although this book leans heavily on the enemies to lovers trope, I would say it goes beyond what is normally found in the genre to produce a book full of honest feelings and emotions, a HEA which isn’t like out of a storybook, but which is realistic, and characters you’ll fall in love with. I really enjoyed this book. I’d you aren’t keen on open door scenes you will find 2 in this book, however you can skip these as they add nothing to the story. Overall a really enjoyable read which has intrigued me about other books from the author

"I want to know everything. If he felt it, too, this connection that pulled me into his orbit and planted me there. If he can pinpoint the moment he started wanting me, or if it was a gradual shift, a sneaking suspicion."

GENRE: STEM Romcom
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Would I recommend to others?: YES (you only need one word from me for this but really read this, its a lovely STEM Romcom that I quite enjoyed AND okay one more thing: this is what started my STEM Romcom obsession lol, I went to read another one the next day)

Review:
Guys I've now officially entered my STEM Romcom obsession era and Love and Other Brain Experiments was SOO good, I finished it in less one reading (loss sleep for it but SO worth it)

As someone who is in the STEM field, I was super excited to see that this focuses on Neuroscience and memory specifically. I quite enjoyed the relationship between Frances and Lewis, enjoying seeing things build up through their Fake relationship (not Fake data LOL). What I did enjoy is that we get sprinkles of Neuroscience mentioned, learn the reasoning and when I came upon this quote, I just knew this book was going to be So good because Neuroscience and anything brain related are YEARS behind other fields
"Neuroscience was lagging behind the older science like physics and chemistry and it didn't have the clarity of medicine. As a species we'd been on the moon, but we didn't understand the tiny universe right inside our skulls."

I think what I really enjoyed in here is how we see both Frances and Lewis meet, how they slowly open up to one another and learn to let each other in. I think what I like about this is that they met and bonded before and already had a bit of a foundation established, despite it not necessarily being the best of foundations. I feel like it set the road for them and made the building of their relationship and development from a fake one so much more stronger AND the way they just dive into getting to know one another despite being scared?! AHHH what a good take on rivals to lovers as a trope
"What's more loving than telling someone you accept them the way they are? Annoying quirks, and all? That it doesn't matter if they hate public speaking, that they cannot figure out emojis for the life of them, that they use scientific discussions as a way to ignore their feelings? Because you love them anyway?"

And I really enjoyed how we get to know the characters, see them with their family and friends, watch as they both learn more about each other that way. I always say that the best way to learn more about someone you love is to watch them in their environment and I think Brohm really embraces this concept. Another thing that I truly loved was that, somehow, the book felt it expanded over a period of time without being rushed or too long. The way the story was written was one of my favourite parts and had me rooting for both of the MCs, their developments and the ending

And the "Ich liebe dich" in here?! AHHH

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion

4.5⭐

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it so quickly and what I loved the most is that while there was some really great chemistry between the Francis and Lewis, the plot was done so well and it has such a lot of substance for this academic rivals to lovers.

The writing was so engaging and easy to connect with and I just had the best time reading this book. As someone who is slowly getting into contemporary romance, I will be recommending this one non stop I honestly loved it so much!

Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review before publication. All opinions are my own.

Two rival neuroscientists, a fake dating charade, and more chemistry than any lab could handle.

Enemies to lovers meets lab coats and academic chaos? Yes, please.

Frances and Lewis had me laughing, swooning, and cheering all at once.

Hannah Brohm perfectly mixes STEM smarts with heart, humour, and that sizzling tension you can’t look away from.

If you love rom coms with brains and heart, this one’s for you!

Thank you Hannah Brohm and Head of Zeus for this e-arc for review!

This will the hot new STEM-romance everyone talks about in 2026! What a stunning debut from Hannah Brohm!

She creates such real and loveable characters in headstrong Frances and misunderstood Lewis who fake-date while over in New York for a conference. Frances fibs the truth to her ex's new partner and has to rope Lewis in to keep up the charade. Why of course because if you lie about your relationship - who's to say you don't make up data in your research?

Along they plod through their conference with mutual "benefits" and will they?/won't they? shenanigans ensue..

The tropes include:
🧠fake dating
💭neuroscientist x neuroscientist
🧠academic rivals to lovers
💭kissing “for Science”

You will love this if you are a fan of STEM romances, Ali Hazelwood and hot male scientist being written by women TBH.

i really like how stepping out of the book in terms of what romance looks like and who can be involved is still trying to get known. some manage it, some are just box ticking for buys, but some you just know get it, perhaps a science boffin they might be themselves. this book, this author gets it. and what a joy to read this book was. it didn't feel forced or like boxes were being ticked. it felt like a romance. and i love that.
Frances is a scientist. shes feeling a bit wobbly about how and where her future could go. her career isn't quite where and what she thought and she sacrificed a lot along the way. a networking opportunity feels key. so when that comes up in a summer conference she knows she has to take part. not something she likes doing at all. and especially made trickier because who is the leader there? yup, her ex.
but she doesn't half know how to make it complicated because now for some strange reason her behaviour has made the ex think she is dating her now rival. arrrgh. this is not the kind of equation she was here for. but to keep things going, to save face she needs this new "look" to be real for the time they are all there.
this book felt so authentic. i might not know all the terms in this kind of book but it sure feels like the author does. and it never feels too complex for is mere mortals to understand.
i love how we get to see so much of Frances inner turmoil as her connection with Lewis grows. she starts like many to really think about what she wants in life and how she actually might want her future to look like. what is she chasing and why? and does it all mean something to her or just what she feels SHOULD mean something to her?
all our characters have a few wobbles within themselves. there careers and there ability with smarts are great, but there personality seems something they wobble over and i liked this vulnerability. this isn't made any easier by the work politics especially towards woman. and this is such a important theme touched upon. i wonder whether this will ever change as the world seems to be going backwards. so i worry even more in the fields that already suffered before we started going downhill in that aspect again!
i loved the fact that the human flaws were there and they would connect a reader to them even if we are all science brilliant. because humans are humans and everyone feels. everyone loves. everyone can feel insecure and hurt or in conflict over themselves or work.
this was a really great read. i enjoyed it so much and love the cover art.

I’m calling it now, Love and Other Brain Experiments is going to be a big hit!
If you loved The Love Hypothesis or are a big fan of STEM romances then you NEED to add this book to your TBR!

🧠 Academic rivals to lovers
🧠Fake dating
🧠Women in STEM
🧠Nerdy MMC (my favourite kind)
🧠Slow burn

When Frances travels to an academic conference hosted by her ex boyfriend, at a pivotal stage in her careeer, she inadvertently affirms she’s in a serious romantic relationship with her academic rival, Dr Lewis North. Plot twist, she is not. The pair agree to “fake date” for the duration of the conference in order to maintain their credibility.

It’s been a while since I read a fake dating trope book and Love and other Brain Experiments has reignited my love for them! I ADORED Frances and Lewis’ story The developments of their relationship felt so organic and I found myself rooting for them and truly invested in their story. I loved their meet cute.
Lewis is my favourite kind of MMC, soft and nerdy, incredibly thoughtful and he made me swoon!
I admired Frances’s character so much! I want to be her when I grow up! She is determined and intelligent and goal driven and I her character grew so much throughout the book.

As a woman in STEM myself, who has a developmental biology degree, you can tell that Hannah Brohm has a neuroscience PhD because the scientific elements of the book were excellently executed but also easy to follow for those not well versed in scientific terminology.

Love and Other Brain Experiments truly has been one of my favourite reads of the year and I cannot believe it’s a debut (it’s just that good). I cannot wait to see what Hannah Brohm writes next!

Hannah Brohm knew exactly how to squeeze my heart.
Lewis and Francis were the perfect cocktail of rivalry, delicious tension and banter mixed with some neuroscience jargon.
This was a great stem romance. Lewis is a golden retriever sweetheart scientist who happens to get on Francis’ nerves. A flight sat next to each other leads to more moments shared than they would like.

I loved how caring Lewis is. Even when Francis is being stubborn or when she doesn’t see what's in front of her, he’s patient. He’s always there, making sure she’s taken care of. And suddenly their ‘fake’ arrangement doesn’t feel so fake. They made a great couple, with their brain related jargon and banter. They bickered for the majority of the book and I loved every second of it.
It was a story that kept me coming back. Even on the treadmill I was hungry for their delicious tension and rivalry.

I loved this book! From the very start Frances and Lewis' chemistry captured my heart and I could not read fast enough. The academia setting was fun whilst also highlighting some real issues women in academia face, and I'm so happy HB wrote such a perfect resolution

I love a STEM-based romcom and this did not disappoint.

Frances and Lewis are both clever, dedicated and hardworking, but not great at talking about their feelings or communicating with each other! When a misunderstanding leads to them having to pretend to date or risk their academic reputations, they agree to keep up the pretence for the duration of the conference they’re attending. As they get to know each other, previous assumptions are challenged and they both come to understand each other better.

I enjoyed reading about Frances’ struggle to succeed in a male-dominated field and the pressure she is under to succeed in the world of academia. I especially liked that she didn’t compromise on her boundaries. She learned to balance things as she pursued her career and love and I respected her choices, even if sometimes I wanted her to make different ones!

This was a really fun romance and I flew through it in less than a day as I really wanted to see if they would ever actually be honest with each other! I really enjoyed it and would definitely read more from this author!

5 ⭐♾️

Firstly, thank you endlessly to Aria, Head of Zeus, and NetGalley for the e-arc of Love and Other Brain Experiments in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Hello, hi, this hands down is one of my favourite reads of 2025, omggg, I absolutely ADORED this debut novel, which brings me onto the question of: how is this a debut novel?! I have such a soft spot for STEM romances and finding that right balance of nerdy science and romance between two characters is rather ingenious and I loved how Hannah brought that together amongst other tropes I loved. I actually don't know where to begin with this; other than the obvious being that it was so incredible! Every time I think about how adorable Frances and Lewis were, I break out into this huge, ridiculous grin, because they had no business being so cute together. I'm becoming increasingly concerned by how much bandwidth (thanks for the great saying, Lewis!) they are taking up in my head!! 

Firstly, I'm such a sucker for a cute cover; it's pink and the art illustration of Frances and Lewis are so adorable; I'm honestly just in awe of how beautiful it is. When I realised that this was an academic rivals to lovers, fake dating romance, I knew that I was going to enjoy this, because I love the two tropes.

Frances was your typical nerdy, science loving FMC and I just was in so much awe of how resilient she was; from having to deal with her ex and his new fiancé, being faced with her academic rival and fake dating him - sorry, it is such an underrated moment, when as a reader, you actually come to discover that the MMC is quietly obsessed with the FMC, in awe of them and their work, and when it came to Lewis, he was nothing short of amazing in that aspect. Frances was so super focused on getting her grant and funding to continue pursuing her love for academia, without realising that she was actually falling out of love with it, and the harsh wakeup call that she needed to realign her focus and passions.

Lewis had his own problems, and reasons as to how the fake dating scenario could work in his favour with his parents, who didn't support him when it came to his own dreams, and not following in his father's footsteps, with a dash of some unresolved daddy issues.

Both characters were multilayered and they saw different sides to themselves, when forced to be around each other; I loved their little moments together, how Lewis helped Frances with her panic attacks and cooking for her. Lewis, who had this quiet confidence to him, but easily got nervous (especially around Frances) but had the way of centring him when he got too in his head or overwhelmed.

Ugh, Lewis was just happy to exist in Frances's orbit, what a man!

Truly, this was such a joy to read, I really had the best time with it, and honoured that I got read this early. I'm still in awe as to how this is a debut novel. because not once did it feel like it was; it's perfect for readers like me who love women in STEM, fake dating and forced proximity, and one I will fondly think about and come back to read again!

tropes

fake dating
academic rivals to lovers
forced proximity
he falls first
STEM romance

Hannah Brohm’s Love and Other Brain Experiments is a genuinely lovely read that fans of STEM romance will devour, delivering a mixture of witty banter and scientific passion. I absolutely loved both main characters; their chemistry is palpable, and their individual journeys are compelling, making it easy to root for their success both in the lab and in their relationship. My only reservation is that despite its quality, it risks getting lost in the current stream of STEM romance releases on the market. This is a must-read for those who love smart, feel-good love stories with an intellectual edge.

Thanks so much for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a fab read, loved the stem element and especially enjoyed Frances’ character development, so well done!

Love the rivals to lovers element and absolutely adored Lewis’ character.

Really enjoyed this one.

STEM romances are back baby!

As a woman in stem I love reading books set in a university setting and this was a great one imo! It made me laugh and cry. I was kicking my legs. Fake dating and rivals to lovers are definitely favorites of mine!

I went in having not read the blurb and I would recommend this, I love a messy meet cute!

I could write more about why I loved this book but it would end up going into spoilers!

If you enjoyed Love Hypnosis I think you will like this...

This book is a slow burn to start with but picks up the pace and depth to the storyline.

The first quarter of the book didn’t quite hit the spot for the connection made between the two chancers to make me want more.

However the last three quarters more than made up for it. The hunger developed and became insatiable.

This book lifted itself from a four to a five star review and was sufficiently compelling to captivate my attention and leave me wanting more.

It was a beautiful story of self empowerment and self reclamation. Transcending the hurt and pain of rejection and reclassifying the rules of engagement so the main characters could feel safe and yet excited for life and connection and new discoveries.

Love and Other Brain Experiments is a smart, funny and surprisingly tender exploration of ambition, insecurity and what it means to build a life that actually fits. Set within the competitive and often unforgiving world of academia, this book blends romance with sharp insight into the realities of being a woman in STEM.

Frances Silberstein is a brilliant but deeply insecure neuroscientist stuck in postdoc limbo, watching her peers surge ahead while she struggles to be taken seriously on her own terms. Her voice is wry, self aware and painfully relatable, especially when it comes to imposter syndrome, career anxiety and the quiet exhaustion of always having to prove yourself. When a misunderstanding at a conference leads to a fake dating arrangement with rival neuroscientist Lewis North, the story leans into familiar tropes but gives them real emotional weight.

What stood out most for me was how grounded this book felt. The academic politics, power imbalances and ethical grey areas felt authentic and thoughtfully handled. Frances is allowed to be messy, ambitious, insecure and brilliant all at once, and that complexity made her incredibly compelling. Lewis is a strong counterpart, thoughtful and imperfect, with a dynamic that grows naturally rather than feeling forced.

The romance is slow burn, emotionally satisfying and rooted in mutual respect, with just enough spice to add tension without overpowering the story. I also appreciated how the book explored identity, self worth and the cost of tying your value too closely to professional success.

Witty, heartfelt and refreshingly intelligent, Love and Other Brain Experiments is a romance with real substance. Perfect for readers who enjoy smart love stories with depth, humour and heart.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Fans of Ali Hazelwood's books will love this. It was such a cute and fun read. I was hooked from the very first page and I kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. I loved the story, I found it cute and easy to follow. And there was a great cast of characters. Plus there were some spicy scenes. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💝 Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

"If you like constant fighting and know-it-alls, I guess you could call him cute"
"Sounds just like your type"

First of all, I was hooked in chapter 1 when our FMC, Frances, was having a panic attack on a plane and the cute guy next to her (our MMC, Lewis) holds her hands and calms her down, but then we found out he is actually the guy who failed to credit her contributions on a paper 4 years ago and I was hooked even further.
I loved the enemies-to-lovers fake dating trope in this story, the constant bickering and tension was perfect. I really appreciated how Frances and Lewis seemed to really understand each other so quickly, in part because they had been following each other's career so closely for years, we especially see that when Frances goes with Lewis to meet his family.

This book also included a side plot of Frances healing her relationship with her younger sister which I really loved and was glad to see healed by the end.

Extra note of appreciation for the best friend who writes The Witcher fanfic that was another favourite side plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for this ARC, I really adored it.

This book reminded me so much of Ali hazlewoods books. It was such a sweet romance, with fake dating and forced proximity.

I enjoyed the stem aspect to this book and the way it portrayed this difficulties of the academic world.

The fmc annoyed me at different part in this book, she kept pushing things that her ex had done onto Lewis. However she was always tried to support him and help so much to build the relationship Lewis had with his siblings.

I really enjoyed this!! It definitely scratched my Ali Hazelwood itch and brought back all the lovely STEM-y feelings that the Love Hypothesis brought on. I loved Francis as an FMC and her and Lewis had great tension. The fake dating worked really well and I loved all the science bits. I do wish Lewis hadn’t have continuously kept things from her, but overall it was very enjoyable and I’ll definitely pick up more from the author!

Two neuroscientists at a conference where Frances hopes to get a new post in research. A misunderstanding leads them to fake dating, but will their dating stay as a fake? Ideal reading on a cold, wet day.