Stopped reading at the 33% mark. I could not get into this one. I really honestly didn’t like or relate to either of the main characters - you’re telling me Lyric studies sexual chemistry but thinks it’s a good idea to bring up duck penises on a date? And Kian was so cocky that it turned me off. I couldn’t bring myself to root for either of them.

I wanted to like this book. I love friends-to-lovers and women in stem. When you read a lot of romance, certain tropes pop up a lot and that's okay, but THE SIZZLE PARADOX just felt uninspired and over done.

There is nothing new about a smart woman with poor social skills who spouts scientific facts when nervous. This has been done over and over and over again. And THE SIZZLE PARADOX just rehashes the same characters and the same plot lines I have read so many times before.

I skimmed and them finally gave up.

Cute and predictable read. But nonetheless I enjoyed this friends to lovers romance. Perfect Summer read.

This was cute! I liked their friendship a lot & their loooove. I enjoyed it! There was something keeping it from being a 5 star read for me, but I can’t pinpoint it.

Lily Menon is one of my favorite authors, as she writes some of the sweetest novels with the most relatable characters.

The Sizzle Paradox is a fake dating trope, set in the STEM world (similar to The Love Hypothesis) except we have Lyric, a brilliant scientist who is struggling to finish her research, who recruits her best friend Kian, the soon-to-be doctor, and beloved campus hottie to help her out, no-strings-attached. Of course, the fake dating idea backfires, Lyric and Kian realize that maybe their relationship probably needs to change and how to navigate it all. There are so many tropes (friends to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating) in here that somehow work and I especially loved how much representation there is throughout the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book sizzled just as much as the title would indicate! Gave me Love Hypothesis vibes in the best way,

DNF. Felt like a Love Hypothesis copycat but less engaging. I was quickly bored and set it aside and forgot about it.

This was just the friends to lovers adult romance I was in the mood for! I loved Lyric's love of crystals and that her roommate Kian appreciates them too. I thought her thesis on sexual chemistry was the perfect lead into their romance going from friendship to possible romance. The fact that he recruits himself to give her dating advice through fake dating made for a fun plotline.

It was a fast paced read and had the perfect amount of spice for my current mood. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a little romance in their reading life!

I was hoping to love this book but sadly it wasn’t for me. I found the main character to be very immature for her age, the romance to be to Insta love and too much going on in the background of the story (family, friends ). Some of it distracted from the main purpose of the story and I didn’t feel like it really added to the characters growth in anyway.

There is a little bit of spice and I found it a little enjoyable but it didn’t get me excited as some romances do. Considering the two characters are friends who become lovers, I expected a little more difficulty when making the choice to be together.

I really thought I would enjoy this one, but I struggled with it from the start! It didn't grab me the way I hoped it would, but that's probably a me problem more than anything else.

I needed more!! It was slightly cringe and I wasn't a fan of the characters. I had high hopes for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I enjoyed this light, swoony stem romance. The dual perspective and friends to lovers are two of my favorite things and they worked well here. It felt more realistic that neither main character was pining over the other and as they slowly realized they had feelings for each other it came together in a swoony, believable way.

I loved this cute little friends to lovers story. It was relatively predictable but a fun adventure to get there. I do love when characters won't really admit to themselves that their feelings are real. It was a cute rom-com I'd definitely recommend. I was lucky enough to read the eARC alongside listening to the audiobook and it really helped set a tone.

** Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. **

A cute, quick read that I absolutely adored! While the characters felt a little flat, the chemistry between them didn't suffer. This is a nice, cozy, friends to lovers romance with a moderate steam level.

If you loved any of the fiction that has come out lately featuring women and men in STEM, then you will enjoy this. Very reminiscent of The Love Hypothesis and The Kiss Quotient, this book made me root for the main characters. While it wasn't my favorite story ever, it filled the space for wanting to read more books about academically-minded, maybe a little less common-sense minded people. It is a fun and cute romance.

This book was weird. I did not like Lyric’s immaturity and I did not vibe with this book at all.

A huge thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me a copy of the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. I love a friends to lovers set within the world of academia, but couldn’t get behind the amount of miscommunication and lack of maturity between the main characters.

Overall this book wasn’t for me. I really liked her short story “Booked for Christmas” and her writing style so I am going to read more from her in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley, Lily Menon and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I'm usually the biggest fan of the best friends to lovers trope, but this one just didn't do it for me. It was hard for me to connect with the characters and their chemistry just wasn't coming through for me. I was not as invested in the characters or their relationship. The third act break up fell a little flat for me because of the miscommunication and just really bothered me, it felt completely avoidable. Even them finally getting together fell a little flat for me and I really just wish there had been a little more communication.

The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon

This was another fantastic romance by Lily Menon (which is the pen name for one of my favorite YA authors, Sandhya Menon!)! She writes great characters, and her plots are always fun. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I haven't read Lily Menon's prior book, so she's a new author to me. Overall I was.... disappointed by this book. I was so ready to love it. It has women in STEM, a grad school setting, friends to lovers, all my favorites. However, the thing that killed it for me was the miscommunication and lack of maturity between the characters. My pet peeve in books is when authors forcibly cause tension in the book through annoying miscommunication and lack of communication. It's a tired concept and doesn't feel real to me. This book has a great premise but was a letdown overall.