The Sizzle Paradox
A Novel
by Lily Menon
Narrated by Abhay Ahluwalia; Brittany Pressley

I received a digital audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Described as The Kiss Quotient meets Love Potion No. 9. While there are perhaps
some similarities I can’t honestly compare it to Love Potion No 9 as I haven’t read it. And it feels unfair comparing it to The Kiss Quotient as this is one of my all time favorite books and what can compare to one’s favorite anything? It is worth a read/listen however.

This is a a friends to lovers, forced/close proximity rom com. Under the premise of scientific exploration of the concepts of attraction and what can support a long term successful relationship.

There are a couple open door scenes but nothing over whelming.

Overall an enjoyable story.
4/5

Graduate students Lyric and Kian have been best friends for years. They have helped each other navigate undergrad, grad school, and the crazy world of relationships. With less than a year before they head out to the real world, the best friends decide to research Lyric's thesis--the Sizzle Paradox. As they fake date and Kian tries to help Lyric figure out how to "do dating," they grow closer and closer until they need to decide if they want to fizzle out or let things sizzle.

This book was marketed to a similar crowd as The Love Hypothesis, though to me they were drastically different. This novel builds the friendship and sexual tension between the main characters in a completely separate way. While I enjoyed experiencing Lyric and Kian figure out how to get over their neuroses, I did wish for a bit of a curveball thrown into the plot as I never actually believed they would not end up together.

The relationship in the book felt forced and unrealistic. I found the characters to be overly witty and cynical for their age.

Did you like The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams, but found yourself wishing it was chock full of millennial cringe? Then have I got the book for you!

I counted FOUR times that the female main character referred to herself as an “awkward potato”, two mentions of loving The Office, two of three mentions of a Friends obsession, and talk of “adulting”. And these are just the things I can easily recall. As an almost millennial (‘97 baby— what am I??), I found this book to be absolutely insufferable and cheugy.

On top of all of that, the story and characters were just not good. They felt very immature and stupid. Friends to lovers can be done so well, but this is just not an example of that. These two sucked so bad at communicating and will definitely be breaking up in the future.

I considered DNFing, but stuck it out since it was so short. I honestly wish it was shorter.

thank you for the review copy; i wish i had liked it

DNG at 30%. Sorry it was more of a "me" problem here. I just couldn't stand the main character (I rather not say why sorry!). Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thought this would be a "Love Hypothesis" type novel, but unfortunately it didn't give the same feels. Disappointing for me.

*Thank you @macmillanaudio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

This book wasn't for me. I found the characters to be very immature. Didn't believe the friends the lovers trope.

This book was a huge disappointment. Nothing at all stood out about it. The MCs Lyric and Kian are platonic roommates who laugh at the idea of a romantic spark between them.

I gotta warn you that this denial feels extremely forced and breaks the flow of the story. The characters were decent I'd say, but nothing that hooked me. The term 'Sizzle Paradox' is also stressed upon and as a reader, this really bored and exasperated me. Add that to the fact that the plot is so predictable right from the blurb, and you have a dragging, sleep-inducing novel at hand.

Overall, I don't recommend this for obvious reasons. (I really wish I liked it)

Not as good as The Love Hypothesis. I can't hang with a book sooo heavy reliant on the misscommunication trope.

This was such a fun read! It had the quirkiest characters, and is a friends to lovers romance. I loved the friendship between the two characters. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

ooooo I loved this! I loved the back and forth and chemistry between the characters. I loved the plot as well as it kept me reading and waiting to find out if they would ever come to terms and admit their feelings for each other. I highly recommend.

I tried over and over again to continue listening to this audiobook. I just couldn't get into it. I kept feeling like I have read 20 of this same books. Very predictable and banter was a little too immature.

I enjoyed the story and the characters. I was a little let down at the pacing of the love story. I thought it could have had a resolution faster so we could have enjoyed seeing them together more than we did. Other than that, it was a sweet and quick read.

Lyric is a PhD candidate researching the Sizzle Paradox - chemistry between romantic partners to determine what makes for successful relationships. Kian is her best friend, roommate, and fellow PhD candidate. Kian offers to tutor Lyric in dating techniques and the rest is history.

Overall it was a cute plot, with lots of sexual tension and steam. Definitely a slow burn. Some Love Hypothesis vibes thrown in also.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was 30% unrealistic friendship and 70% miscommunication. I wish the miscommunication trope was fixed in every book. They could’ve had a conversation 150 pages sooner and avoided a whole mess. Disappointing

An average romance that I found to be sweet and well told; just nothing that made me want to write home about.

I have to confess, I'm not usually the biggest fan of the friends to lovers trope, but this one drew me in for quite a few other reasons. I loved the fact that Lyric is a woman in STEM - we definitely need more of these. However, while reading it, I found that even though I identified with the disconnect she feels between sexual and emotional connections (dating is hard, y'all), it was a little frustrating that she let her own experiences impact her area of study so much. Science should be impartial and unbiased, and while I understand the impact personal experience can have on things, it felt a little discrediting to women in STEM. I otherwise enjoyed the premise of the book.

The narrator did a fantastic job for the audiobook. I didn't feel bored at all while I was listening, and I thought the narrator did an excellent job with injecting feeling and inflection into the characters.

First I just wanna say thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a fan of The Love Hypothesis and The Love Quotient you will love this book. It was super sweet and it was an amazing friends to lovers story. Personally I love the miscommunication trope (I know I know don’t come after me) and this book had a lot of major miscommunication so if that’s not your thing you probably won’t like it. But if your like me and you feed off the frustrating drama of miscommunication you will love this book!

This was a cute read. Because the description initially gave the comps of Love Hypothesis, I thought this would be a good one to grab. While Lyric is hard to love as a MC, I just felt as though she were trying to use research to make excuses for her own role in struggling relationships. The premise of this book was cute, but I was expecting a bit more!

The Sizzle Paradox is a cute best friends to lovers trope romance. I really liked this story and connected to the characters, loved their close friendship, and seeing their relationship evolve. I didn’t love that Lyric referred to herself negatively and shamefully as a “pervert” when speaking of own sexual needs and desires, while for the male characters their desires were just presented as an acceptable given. I did not care for the male audio narrator, but did like the female.