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Below Zero Book Review

The third of the STEMinist novellas is, dare I say, my favorite of the series. It is everything that Hazelwood fans have come to love about her romances, combined with a more serious, deeper dive into the main character's hesitations about relationships. 

Ali Hazelwood is the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, as well as the writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband). You can find Ali online at AliHazelwood.com, or on Instagram @AliHazelwood. You can find more of my reviews of Ali's works here. 

Hannah's got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival. Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams...but he's never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm? 

I was most excited for Below Zero, thinking that it would be the craziest, most exciting of the novellas, and I was really gratified by Hazelwood's execution of this premise. It's not every day you read about a scientist stuck in a snowstorm, and Hazelwood did justice by this idea. What was wonderful about it is that it doesn't always 100% take place in the middle of that storm, but the story works up to that moment. I found this to be a good technique to build suspense and intrigue! 

One of my favorite parts about this novella is that Hazelwood really takes ample time to delve into Hannah's past experiences in academia, and how her life revolves around her work and interests. By doing this, I think Hazelwood creates a more relatable character than her other novellas. While I can't always fully relate to the women in STEM (because I am not in STEM), I can relate to the academic struggle and with the identity crisis Hannah defines for herself, so I'm glad that Hazelwood took the time to develop this. It makes Hannah more relatable, and the romance more rewarding. 

And finally, I just think it's so fun that we finally got to see all three main characters come together near the end of this one! I love reading books that have connected worlds, but not quite overlapping, so this entire novella reading experience was fun and lighthearted. I think that's all every Hazelwood fan wanted with the release of these novellas—they certainly helped as we all are anxiously awaiting the release of her forthcoming sophomore novel. 

Thankfully there isn't a much longer wait if you're like me and want more Ali Hazelwood content—her next full-length novel Love on the Brain is out in August! You can find Ali online at AliHazelwood.com, or on Instagram @AliHazelwood. You can find more of my reviews of Ali's works here.

*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*

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