Once a book is set in academia, I'm sold.
If there's fake dating, I'm sold.
This was a book I expected to love and felt myself loving in the first couple of pages but that was it- I only loved the first couple pages.

This book follows Lily and Kian, two PhD students who are best friends and roommates. Lily is a psychology student who is doing research on emotional and sexual attraction in relationships, but is having trouble with her dissertation because she has no experience in relationships with both emotional and sexual attraction. So her, very hot, best friend Kian decides to fake date her, so she can learn how to be less awkward while dating, so she get a guy to experience the relationship she desires. Was that confusing? Yes, I thought so.

Firstly, I am a fake dating girl. I love the trope. It is one of my all time favorites. But this book sullied the fake dating name. Fake dating always has includes faking their relationship to deceive others and includes the characters going out of their comfort zone to pretend to date. However, they were doing things they always did. Going to eat at their favorite pizza place, hanging out together, it did not feel like fake dating where they are at odds with this thing they had to do.

Secondly, as a psych student myself, I just have to say- YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IN YOUR STUDY TO REPORT ON IT. I once worked on research on adolescent romantic relationships and despite not being an adolescent or having any serious romantic relationships while I was an adolescent, I was able to work on my research. Why? Because that is what research is all about.

Thirdly, the author kept switching between thesis and dissertation, using them interchangeably. A thesis is for masters students and a dissertation is for doctorate students, which the characters were. So using them interchangeably was weird.

There was also the bit that both Lily and Kian did not act like people in their mid-twenties. They read like teenagers in a YA novel and did not have the maturity an adult romance would expect. They had such awful communication and half the story was propelled by the miscommunication trope. Their relationship evolution was everything I do not like about a friends to lovers story.

TL;DR: The story had a great premise and I wanted to love it but didn't. Poorly used fake dating trope filled with tons of miscommunication.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review will be posted on Goodreads.
Review on tiktok will be posted in the week leading up to the release.

4⭐️
I really really liked this! I read Make Up Break Up in January of this year and I unfortunately did not love the characters, but this was so so much better! I don’t always love friends to lovers, but this book was absolutely an exception. I often find with friends to lovers there isn’t enough buildup to the realization of feeling but in this one, the buildup and tension was so good. I’ve also read a few of Lily Menon’s ya books written under Sandhya Menon and it’s honestly hard to believe that someone who can write such cute innocent ya books can also write such good steamy scenes to be honest. Overall, I honestly didn’t think I’d love this one going in but I’m happy to say it proved me wrong!

I genuinely loved this book… so much that I’ve already recommended it to friends.

Lyric and Kian, our (adorable) main characters, are best friends. They are grad students at Columbia and have been close since undergrad, specifically when Kian was a sophomore and Lyric was a freshman. They live together and can count on each other for anything. Both of them, however, are a bit stuck when it comes to dating. Kian has been casually dating for years, hoping to never get serious enough to discover if he inherited what he thinks of as the cheating gene from his father. Lyric has been trying to find her perfect person, but has only succeeded in getting either the sexual chemistry or the emotional connection with someone - never both. So they decide to help each other out. Kian will teach Lyric how to be less awkward on dates and hopefully be able to connect with the people she wants to date, and Lyric will help Kian feel more comfortable dating without worrying about if he’s going to become compelled to cheat.

The relationship in this book. Oh, my goodness, their relationship. This book is dual perspective, so we get to see everything happening from both Lyric’s and Kian’s perspectives. Watching them both fall in love while both being completely oblivious to the other one falling in love was… hilarious but in a fun and adorable way. And their chemistry was just off the charts (literally). They were just so good together!

One of the most unique things about this book was the way it approached family. Lyric’s family was present and important in the story, with her sister’s angst being a fairly prominent subplot and her mother’s influence and superstition coming up in almost every chapter. I loved the Bishop family and the energy that they brought to the story. And then we had Kian’s family, whose influence was also felt consistently throughout the book. His love for his mother despite everything that had happened with his father made me love him even more, and the way that he was able to face his father and his fears regarding his future was huge for his character development but did not feel forced.

Overall, this book really was just such a joy to read. It was sweet and deep and the characters were three dimensional and relatable in a way that I truly loved. I have read other books by this author, but only her YA books and it has been a couple of years, so I was pleasantly reminded of how much I enjoy her writing style. I have already recommended this book to my friends and definitely see myself continuing to do so!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advance copy of this
book for review!

This book gave me so many mixed feelings. I liked parts of it and other parts made me infuriated. The books tells the story of two grad students that are best friends but find that they have feelings for each other. The basic concept of the book I really enjoyed, but some of the details got a little annoying.

First, Lyric was a little annoying at times. She is supposed to be some sort of prodigy, starting a doctorate program at age 20 or something, but she was very emotionally immature. It is one of those books where it should be obvious that both characters like each other but no one sees it and so they never tell each other how they feel. Secondly, I was a little annoyed by the whole idea that Lyric couldn't finish her dissertation (yes, it's called a dissertation - not a thesis - when it is a doctorate) because she hadn't experienced love. Plenty of people study things they have never experienced - like do you think people who research Alzheimer's need to have been diagnosed with the disease?? The logic that lyric gave didn't make sense to me especially since she had data that confirmed her hypothesis. Finally, I just felt like certain aspects of grad student life were not depicted accurately or at least did not mirror my or colleagues experience during our doctorate programs.

Other than those issues, I liked the book and enjoyed the dual POV writing so we could see which each character was thinking. If you are looking for a light read and don't mind some of the grad school inaccuracies then this is a book to check out.

The Sizzle Paradox is definitely a cute, quick read. It was definitely one of those reads that you can go to for comfort when you need a pick-me-up book. I was hoping it would bring something new and it did. The path of self realization throughout the book was important for the character development. It also brings in women in STEM which is always a draw for me. 4 stars

This was my first book by Lily Menon and I really enjoyed it! Fans of friends-to-lovers and the grad school/academic setting in The Love Hypothesis might enjoy the similar setting here. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

In all honesty, I was pretty disappointed in this book. I just feel like it didn’t really give me everything it promised in the description. Lyric and Kiam and best friends and doctoral students. When Lyrica is having a hard time completing her thesis which has to do with sexual chemistry, Kiam offers to help. The description of this books calls it “The Kiss Quotient meets Love Potion No. 9”, and I think that’s where I got a bit disappointed. I was expecting more “lessons” in sexual chemistry between these best friends, and I just felt like it was lacking.

Apart from feeling let down from the description of the book, there was a couple of other things that bothered me and I just wasn’t able to let go, which honestly made it hard for me to enjoy the book. I felt like I didn’t really know the characters really well, which made it hard for me to vouch for them. I felt like some of the manners or quirks of the characters that were described and just kept coming up again and again instead on expanding on the character. I felt like all I really know about Lyric is that she has a big family and she is I to crystals, and all I know about Kiam is that he’s handsome and tall, and has had difficulty believing in love because of his family history. I felt like I wanted MORE from these characters and to get to know them and there 7 year relationship better. Another thing that I didn’t like was that I felt like it went from 0 to 100 super fast! Events were happening here and there, out of the blue at times. Again, I feel like I would have personally wanted more descriptions, which I think is lacking in this book.

I liked that this book was set in academia, was a friends to lovers and had “sexual lessons”. I also really liked the epilogue and I thought it was really cute. I just felt like this book was rushed and lacked descriptions that would have made me more engaged in the story and the characters.

There are slow burns...and then there are painfully low roasting burns that eventually turn into something great. Unfortunately, it was a struggle to get there. I think it was just the way grad school was portrayed that seemed a bit...romantic? Yes, the towers of the school and the libraries and the research labs...and the utter struggle to pay rent while downing copious amounts of coffee...The one thing I LOVED was the dual POV. This was so much fun and I do hope to see more from this author!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Sizzle Paradox seems like the perfect science experiment with a spicy twist. It features beloved tropes like Enemies to Lovers and Fake Dating. It’s a recipe for success until you take into account the science-based romance that was published last year with a similar title. The Sizzle Paradox was the diet coke version of The Love Hypothesis, yet it still somehow managed to incorporate more legitimate science into the plotline than its competitor. This particular book featured a pair of chummy roommates who were trying to find that certain spark which occurs between the perfect romantic connection. I think this was a wonderfully original idea, but it was waylaid by slow pacing and introduction of multiple dating partners despite knowing the main couple would be endgame.

The Sizzle Paradox had great elements within the plot and fantastic steam, but I couldn’t help but draw similarities to The Love Hypothesis. Perhaps it’s a poor timing issue or it was directly inspired by that book, but I constantly compared the two romances. Maybe if I read Sizzle Paradox first, then I wouldn’t have that issue? Regardless, this book succeeded in creating a heroine in STEM and a diverse cast of characters. For me, this sizzle was extinguished at the halfway mark but I’m sure many others will keep the flame alive.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book! It was light and fluffy. One of my favorite tropes, the fake dating, was not as strong as I thought, and the worst thing is the lack of communication between characters. People, just communicate!! Let's find plots that go beyond us not being able to share how we feel. Anyway. A fun read without too much intensity.

I enjoyed this one a lot. It was a fun, quick read without a lot of angst or depth. Lyric is brilliant and awkward but not in that over-done doesn't know how to interact with anyone way. She's just really bad at interacting with men she finds attractive which hey, fair. Kian on the other hand is smooth and charming and never has an issue getting a date which of course leads him to a dating slump where they're all just the same. In order to help them both a deal is made for some fake dating for Lyric to practice how to behave on a date and for Kian to learn how to woo a girl with a little more substance than he usually goes for.
The fake date thing was kind of flimsy from the beginning but I let it go because I enjoyed the rest of the story so much. The transition from friends who are obviously in love with each other and just don't want to admit it to people who are actually in love with each other and know it was handled so well. As someone who fell for her "just a friend" guy friend, there were parts that rang very true based on my experiences.
The writing style was really straightforward and conversational. The story was pretty light and fluffy and just a little bit silly. It's a great read for those days you just can't handle anything deep.

i had a hard time getting into this one. i just don't think this authors writing style is for me. i think it has a great concept and others might still like though

Oh my Gosh, this book!!! Loved it. Lily did a great job with this cute rom-com book! It has the romance and spice! Its a make you feel good book.

A cute and light read with laugh out loud moments timed perfectly, The Sizzle Paradox brought a much needed smile to my face. Friends to lovers has a special place in my heart and Lily delivered on not just the friendship, but also Kian and Lyric’s move to romance.

Kian is easy-going and charming, Lyric is awkward and hilarious, and they come together for the best kind of romcom, one that could easily be a movie. The spice was perfect, if only there was more than one scene but maybe that’s just me lol.


(Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I am a huge fan of this author - I have read most of the YA books she has written. Unfortunately, this "adult" book sounded like it still had teenage characters, and I could not get behind their behavior/actions and how childish the whole things was. The premise of the book fell apart for me too. I am disappointed in this particular book, but look forward to other works by Sandhya!

3 ⭐️

This book reminded me a lot of "The Love Hypothesis" mixed in with a bit of "The Kiss Quotient" (but not a lot of that). Lyric and Kian are both grad school students who became best friends their first year of undergrad. They now live together and share basically EVERYTHING with each other.

Lyric, working on her thesis, has come to a sort of standstill. She cannot crack her "sizzle paradox", aka finding the perfect mixture of romantic and sexual chemistry with a partner. Lyric is having trouble writing about something that she herself has never found. Buuuuut here comes Kian, the dating guru to teach her how to date so that she can crack the code. And, as time goes on, lines seem to blur, and things start to heat up between the two 😉.

Here's what I liked about the book:
✅ The beginning half build up
✅ The friendship between Kian and Lyric
✅ The treehouse date
✅ The London scenes

What I didn't like however, was how stupid these characters were when they both "discovered" they love each other 🙄. They both had feelings for each other but continued to think the other person didn't rather than saying something. It was the whole "Why didn't you say something?" "Well, why didn't YOU say something". Like GROW UP. They would both rather suffer in silence than admit how they feel. Okay, I think I'm done with that. But I would like to say, I did still enjoy the book, I just wish that we got this resolved before THE LAST CHAPTER.

Plot: 3/5
Characters 👫: 2/5
Spice 🌶: 1/5
Tropes: Best friends to lovers, roommates, college romance, *kinda* fake dating

**Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review**

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

Lyric is a psych grad student studying sexual chemistry, compatibility, and the brain’s response, however, she is utterly failing when it comes to her final project, dubbed “The Sizzle Paradox.” Unable to find someone she has good chemistry and a genuine connection with, she turns to her best friend and roommate Kian for some lessons on dating. Even though Kian knows her better than anyone else, Lyric insists that they would never date… or would they?

I loved the premise of this book and I really wanted to love it, but it was missing something. First of all, it felt way too short. There were some unnecessary details included, in my opinion, that detracted from the story and left me confused. We get little background on Lyric and Kian, no idea that they have any kind of romantic feelings for each other except a one-off dream, and little to no character growth. We learn that Kian’s dad is a serial cheater and Kian is worried he’ll become that, but then it’s just a HEA with no chance to work through that? Other characters were there for no reason other than to push the plot along and served little value to the story - Eli and Ava who? I also was really disappointed with Lyric’s character development. It felt like she was fairly stagnant and the only thing she accomplished was dating Kian and finishing her paper.

All of this to say that it’s not that the book didn’t have some redeeming qualities. It was a quick, fun read and I will never turn down a romance. It could just use some more development and expansion, in my opinion! 3 stars!

This was a fun book but it fell a little bit flat for me. I didn't connect too much with the characters but I did enjoy their romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I could not finish this book, so take my review with that in mind. This writing is, in my opinion, incredibly juvenile. The style, the phrasing, the overuse of superfluous details that crowd out the actual content. This reads as a high school story aged up to target a different audience but with the exact same vibe and maturity. Lyric is painful to read, Kian is fine I suppose. I'm grateful to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC, but I cannot force myself to continue reading this.

I really enjoyed this romantic comedy. Lyric and Kian are full of personality and chemistry. And while the early scene in Target where they both leave with a gorgeous hook-up had me rolling my eyes a bit, it was just such a fun, youthful, and joyful read! The two main characters definitely sizzled, and their journey to realize their true feelings, along with mutual hesitation to communicate for fear of rejection, kept the tension going the entire time. Definitely a quick, well-paced read.