Tag: Ali Hazelwood

This Chick’s Mini review: Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

This final book in Ali Hazelwood’s mini series about three best friends. This book follows NASA aerospace engineer, Hannah. In grad school Hanna needs to interview someone for an assignment and her best friend Mara hooks her up with her cousin Ian who is in the same industry and who was on the team that sent the last rover to Mars and they have instant heat but years later they are arch-rivals.

Out of the three Women of STEM books, this one was the book that I’d have liked to see as full length. There was obvious chemistry between Hannah and Ian and I would’ve liked to have explored each character a little more fully to develop that chemistry into full fledged heat. Hannah had a really interesting back story that begged to be told and I would’ve liked to have known a bit more about Ian’s personality that wasn’t just limited to young genius.

What I liked the best about this novel was how each of these characters were so strong and independent but they needed each other and were better together than by themselves. At least they were in my mind. LOL.

I love all of Ali Hazelwood’s novels. The characters are interesting, funny, and smart. The dialog is sassy and you just want to be their friends in real life. (I also wouldn’t mind taken home my own Ian…)

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* Below Zero

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple rule: What would Marie Curie do? So when NASA offers her the co-lead on a neuro-engineering project she accepts, despite it also being led by Levi Ward. Levi, made it very clear in grad school that he disliked Bee, so how would they lead this project together?

I love Ali Hazelwood’s women of STEM romance novels. She is the queen of awesome dialog and heated chemistry and Love on the Brain delivers in both of those areas. Bee is not only brilliantly smart, she also has a very smart mouth. She stands up for women and doesn’t let mansplaining dissuade her from her purpose on this project to create the best model for NASA and somehow get along with Levi. Despite having heated dreams of Levi breaking her concentration. Love on the Brain is a slow burn story, but Ali Hazelwood heats up the pages when it’s time for her characters to get together.

I loved all of the Marie Curie references as well as the science speak. Smart chicks are cool, and Bee is one of the coolest leading smart chicks that I’ve read to date. She’s colorful in character and brilliant of mind, but most of all, she’s a great person and an easy character to like. She has one foible, she wants stability and a home. She was brought up by various relatives around the world and wants to find her person, but she’s not quick to trust because of her past. Levi has a lot of work ahead of him! Yeah, Levi doesn’t really hate her, he’s just socially awkward and doesn’t know how to show his feelings.

Love on the Brain was smart, cute, funny, and at times brilliant. It was the perfect vacation read and I loved the feelings that it evoked in me. I know I’ll be picking up the audiobook as soon as it comes out so I can enjoy it again in a different way. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this ARC for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Love on the Brain

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chicks Audio Reviews: Under One Roof and Stuck With You (The STEMinist Novellas #1 & #2) by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis was one of my favorite romance novels of 2021, so when Ali Hazelwood came out with novellas featuring women of STEM (Scientist, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) I had to read them and see if she could repeat her magical formula in short form. Part of what worked for me in The Love Hypothesis was the geeky humor and witty dialog. Also, the complete obtuseness (is that a word?) when it came to attraction and love that our main character betrayed. The STEMinist novella heroines definitely followed this same format. Super bright but when it came to their own love lives, they needed some great advice from their friends. It’s always easier to pick apart your best friends behavior than it is to figure out your own, right? This novella series follows three best friends who are all women of STEM and certainly have an opinion on each other’s love lives but aren’t so great at figuring out their own.

Under One Roof is book one in this short story series. Environmental Engineer, Mara, inherits half a house from her mentor and needs to move in asap. Inhabiting that house is big-oil lawyer Liam. They say opposites attract and you know when that front door opens that this is definitely the case but it takes a while for our duo to put aside their differences and take a chance on each other. It’s not often when I read a novella that feels like a full-length book but Ali Hazelwood does a great job of making that happen in Under One Roof. Mara and Liam fulfill that tension that I love in an enemies to lovers story! This book was narrated by Emma Wilder who did a great job voicing both characters and injecting humor, anger, angst, and attraction into every word. Bravo! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Stuck With You is the second book in the series and is the story of Civil Engineer, Sadie, who is slightly neurotic but ultimately adorable. She meets the hot, tall (to her very short) Viking, Erik at the local coffee shop. She is desperate for her lucky croissant and he just purchased the last one. This absolutely charming novella spends one wonderful day with the two of them as they get to know each other, not bothering to fight their attraction. Of course, it doesn’t all go smoothly but rights itself in the end with a little help from her friends. I’m saying less about this novella but I actually liked it a little bit more. The narration by Meg Sylvan was spot on. Her slight accent for the Dutch-born Erik is just amazing. You totally forget it’s a woman voicing his character! Sadie is a genius, but neurotically superstitious and her quirks made this short story a ton of fun. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I can’t wait for the third novella, Below Zero, to come out in July! The third and final STEMinist’s story looks to be a charmer. Each of these audiobooks runs just over three hours, so if you have a short car trip or are cooking something complicated on a weekend it’s the perfect amount of time to spend with these characters. The novellas both read like a full-length novel and don’t leave you hanging.

Click these links to purchase! Under One Roof and Stuck With You

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase these books through the above links I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Third year PhD candidate, Olive Smith needs to convince her best friend Anh that she should ask out her ex boyfriend on a date. Yes, Olive’s ex not Anh’s. As both of them are scientists, Anh needs irrevocable proof that it will not bother Olive so Olive kisses the first guy she finds (in front of Anh). That guy just happens to be professor Dr. Adam Carlsen, hot shot scientist and total @$$. Totally flummoxed by this kind of good kiss, he lets Olive drag him into a fake relationship that consists of meeting for coffee once a week and slowly getting to know each other until they develop a friendship. The problem with these two scientists is that neither of them know how to go after more. The Love Hypothesis is the first novel by Ali Hazelwood, and it is a potent formula of intellect, heat, and humor. A combination I can’t seem to resist.

What can I say, apparently I have a love for geeky science love stories! Although truthfully, neither of these characters are geeky but they do seem to be overly patient and sometimes clueless. I love grumpy hunks and Dr. Adam Carlsen is definitely more than a lab coat. When Olive locks lips with him he engages albeit very subtly. I can’t really blame Olive for being clueless that he’s attracted to her because he barely makes a move. Olive needs him to hit her over the head with his lack of subtlety before she catches on that they just might have feelings for each other. I loved each indecisive humor-filled moment. I was also shocked at the heat that I (the reader) felt at each very slight touch. When they finally got together? Holy Moly!!! They were on fire and those love scenes, were written so well.

Although I am not a PhD candidate this novel feels very authentic. I loved that the premise was so simple yet the silly plot was being portrayed by super smart characters. I loved the juxtaposition that just because you are brilliant in life doesn’t mean your choices are always spot on. I also really liked how all of the characters with their multi-ethnicities, gay, bi, whatever, were so natural. There wasn’t a big deal being made about their representation. It was refreshing!

What I liked the most though was the romance between Adam and Olive. It was a true slow burn romance and just before I got to the point of wanting to kick them into motion, they did it themselves. Whew! I felt relief, overjoyed, and overly emotional. It was truly Fab-u-lous.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Love Hypothesis

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads