Lyric and Kian are friends and roommates. Lyric needs some help when it comes to her dissertation and thesis question. Kian who seems to be a pro at dating steps up to the plate. I love the tutor trope and this one did not disappoint! There were some dry parts of the plot that seemed to drag but i get why they were important to discuss.

This was a sweet friends-to-lovers read to end the year. I loved the STEM representation, and as someone who studied Psychology, I found the research question interesting. It was a slow built to the romance, but I liked the way the author really highlighted the friendship and the characters' concerns about starting a romance.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!

The Sizzle Paradox is perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Love a hypothesis as it follows two best friends (who are also Columbia Grad students) on their journey to find the “perfect” type of love.

Lyric Bishop is studying sexual chemistry and has come up with "The Sizzle Paradox" to measure both physical and emotional attraction. However, with her love life failing, she finds herself stuck in a rut with her thesis and research. Kian Montgomery is Lyrics best friend and roommate who is on the verge of graduation and is in desperate need of a change in his love life. So when Kian offers to help Lyric get out of her rut and take her on a set of fake dates, Lyric is certain this will spark some motivation, and in exchange, she will set him up with someone different to give his love life a much needed shake up. But as they begin fake dating, they both realize the person they’ve been looking for might be right in front of them. As feelings get challenged and friendships are tested, Kian and Lyric embark on a journey to discover what it really takes to crack The Sizzle Paradox and find true love.

I really enjoyed this easy and light "friends to lovers" rom com. I loved the dual POV and the obvious sexual tension between the two characters. The story did drag on a bit with some unnecessary miscommunication. However, it was still a very enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Good book to read, enjoyable.

🥔 Lyric calls herself a self-proclaimed awkward potato and I can totally relate. This book had me giggling throughout and definitely crossing my legs at times (iykyk).

❤️‍🔥I love Sandhya Menon's writing, and though her debut as Lily Menon wasn't my favourite (still enjoyed it!), I thoroughly enjoyed The Sizzle Paradox. That being said, I have to admit it didn’t feel as POC and diverse as some of her other tales. Nonetheless, it was still an absolutely delightful read.

📖I started reading it on January 1st because I thought it releases January 22nd and figured it would be a good way to start my year, but it actually releases June 2022! So y'all have to wait a little longer but I can't wait for y'all to read it.

🎯I love that the tale starts off in Target. It's one of my comfort places and that immediately made this book feel cozy. As a Canadian Target lover, I've definitely been missing Target runs during this pandemic. My last Target trip included a tub(or two) of Toll House Cookie Dough, a pack (or ten) of Pretzel M&Ms, and a bunch of skirts (they had pockets, I had to!). What did you last buy from Target?

🥳Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my thoughts.

This was such a cute, easy read. I immediately loved the premise of two best friends/roommates, living the mid 20s NYC life, with an important plot point: they are both graduate students pursuing PhDs! Dating seems to come easily to handsome Kian, who has no desires for a serious relationship after growing up around his philandering father and seeing the effects that had on him and his mother. Lyric, however, cannot seem to find her perfect match, sizing all the men she dates up with her "Sizzle Paradox," a metric she has developed in her studies of human sexual chemistry in her graduate program.

Of course, we the readers can tell from the start that there is definite tension between these two friends who laugh at anyone that suggests THEY should be together, because that could ruin a perfectly good thing. With Lyric's PhD at risk, she knows she has to crack the Sizzle Paradox and get better at dating, and Kian offers to "coach" her. We all know where this is going, but man is it fun getting there.

This book really shines in the characters. They are likable, funny, frustrating at times, and the growth between the main characters is fun to watch. Lyric's big, eccentric family are also a joy to read about. The passion the Lyric and Kian have for their academic studies, their families, and each other, make for a unique take on a romantic comedy set in the world of academia, and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Steamy, infuriatingly stupid MCs, best friends to lovers. Very swoony. 100000/10 recommend.

Be warned, you will spend half the book cursing Lyric and Kian for how stupefingly blind they are.

Sizzle is the word here!
Lyric and Kian have been roommates since their freshman year in undergrad. Now, seven years later they are months away from doctorates and still the best of friends and still single.
Kian is close to his dream job in the forestry, while Lyric is trying to crack the Sizzle Paradox and figure out exactly how two people measure their attraction for one another.
When Kian offers to help Lyric with dating advice, Lyric gets a bit of a sizzle….but is it just one way?

I enjoyed this book. The characters were well thought out and the plot moved at a great pace. I would enjoy reading more from this author in the future.

The Sizzle Paradox was an entertaining friends-to-lovers romance with some fake dating thrown in as well! I read Lily Menon's previous novel Make Up Break Up and I really like that she is incorporating female characters in STEM fields in her books and having their careers/research be central to the plot. There is a lot of miscommunication between Kian and Lyric once the lines of their friendship start to blur more. This was extremely frustrating at times, especially since as friends Kian and Lyric were so in tune with each other - their trust and history with each other seemed to disappear a bit. The ending wrapped up too quickly for me as well. As a fan of her adult and YA novels in general - I am looking forward to her next book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

This is blend of "The Love Hypothesis" and "People We Meet on Vacation." If you enjoy the fake dating or friends-to-lover tropes then you'll be in heaven with this one!

Kian and Lyric are both grad students one thesis away from their doctorates. They've been best friends for years, and a love experiment leads to blurring lines and heated feelings. Kian is your quintessential charismatic and smart guy and Lyric is your book-smart but awkward friend. At times, they focus a little too much on those characteristics which detracts from the character development, but overall - it's a cute and fun read.

3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4. There was a little too many simple miscommunications that turned into full blown problems that made it a bit frustrating at times. I wish they had more "together" time rather than a few pages.

It was clear to the reader where this was going from the start, but how they were going to get there was well done. Not too formulaic that it was boring, not too trite that it was insulting. Loved, loved, loved a super cool nerdy science girl as the star. We need more books that portray women in science as cool. Recommended for adult collections.

After devouring the author's previous YA and adult romances, I was instantly intrigued by her next novel's premise, especially with a woman in STEM protagonist, fresh off of the success of "The Love Hypothesis." Told in dual perspectives, there's so many good friends-to-lovers slash forced proximity tropes at play. True to Menon's style, it is full of well-written and compelling language, yet something was just off for me. Maybe that it was very, very, very sweet like saccharine almost. That being said, it is a cute and fun romance that's you'll particularly enjoy if you liked "The Love Hypothesis" or "The Roommate."

Lyric Bishop and Kian Montgomery are BFFs and roommates who are both doctoral students. This is a classic friends to lovers romance. It was pretty sweet and contained a slew of the the usual suspects including fake dating and just-one-time-let’s-bang-it-out-of-our-systems tropes, so if that’s your jam, then you’ll enjoy this romcom.

Overall, it was just okay for me, but nothing particularly special in my opinion. Lyric and Kian definitely had a strong friendship bond but beyond that, nothing really sizzled between them. It took more than half the book before there was even a little tiny spark and I was bored waiting for their feelings to start bubbling. At best the tension was room temperature.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lyric is a college grad student working on her Sizzle Paradox project, which involves her trying to find what makes the perfect partner (emotionally and physically)...but she is struggling. In comes her best friend/part time roommate, Kian. He helps her out on her project, too bad they end up kissing and things go a bit out of wack!

Kian is a player and Lyric... is well, Lyric. They decide to help each other find romantic relationships. But things never go the way they plan!

What I loved:
- friends to lovers trope
- slow burny vibes
- fake dating
- cute and funny male main character
-bantering
-the academic setting

My only problem was that it was a bit predictable, but alas, that is probably just a side effect of rom coms.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this fake dating/friends-to-lovers story well enough. It was a quick rom-com read and I did enjoy the fact it was set in a PhD university setting, but there were also a few things (the random side romances that felt thrown in and the seemingly sudden insta-love between both the main characters) that didn't mesh completely with me. Plus, all the miscommunication/no communication at the end... when they were supposed to be close friends? Not a trope/plot device I'm particularly interested in.

I LOVED this book. Friends to lovers is such an underrated romance trope in my opinion and it is done so well in this book! I also love nerdy romances and after being disappointed with my past nerd romance this book was most definitely a redemption. Lyric is such a lovable main character and I am so glad that this was a dual pov type of book. Another trope that I love is the “just for research” trope, this book did it so well that it had me kicking my feet and squealing! this deserves all of the stars easily!!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story! This was a quick read with endearing characters and a sweet HEA. I thought the author developed the characters and story well, not rushing over key plot points or background but also not weighing the story down with excess detail.
My main caveat for readers is that this story relies quite a bit on the miscommunication trope, which is not for everyone. I could have done with a little less of it myself, but it didn’t go so far as to ruin the story for me in the end. I recommend this as a fun, light read!

This book is super cute. I feel like it should be a bit longer that way there can be more of the fake dating in the middle but besides that I really liked it.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Rating: 3.25/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Warnings: difficult family dynamics
Read if you liked: nerdy friends to lovers
Steam: 2.5/5

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Sizzle Paradox will be released on June 14th, 2022.

Things I loved: I love a long term friends to lovers, there is something special about that dynamic. Lyric's family. Target and Kohl's trips. Higher Education and STEM rep/focus. All the forced proximity. The tree house was a new concept.

Things I didn't care for: It took a long time to get into this...nearly a week to finish it. There were some plot inconsistencies and issues with language about graduate school (thesis and dissertation are not interchangeable terms). I could not understand why Lyric's research was held up because she couldn't prove her concept on yourself.

Overall, loved the concept of this book but not the execution.