Sorry, but this book was not for, for so many reasons.

The main one being that the "hero’ Mmc is cheating. The WHOLE way though.

This book started off fine, but lost stars as it went on. First and foremost the blurb of the book shouldn't mention that Jack is Leonie's boss since it's written from her pov. At first I was confused and thought I missed where that had been mentioned and then once I realized she had no idea it was just a distraction. The whole marriage plot line was absolutely horrible and unnecessary. That alone will turn people off. By the end I was so very much over everyone trying to screwed everyone else over. I couldn't keep the lies straight.

I love Ali Hazelwood so I wanted to give this book a try and I was pleasantly supposed by how much I enjoyed it!

It was overall okay. It dragged (which is surprising for a book less than 300 pages long) and I just despised the constant push and pull of the main couple. The MFCs family stuff and inner growth was not explores at all, it was way too subtle to make it the point of the book. the MMC was super annoying with all the insecurity about being poor or whatever (even though he's not). And when it came to the app and programming and organising stuff I couldn't care less, everything was described so dry and it just went on and on and on that it felt like I was reading a tutorial on how to launch an app.

When I read a romance book, I really love smart characters. I find intelligence to be very sexy! I was naturally drawn to this book due to the women in STEM trope. I loved how the author incorporated so much tech speak into the book. It added to the technical and smart hot nerd vibe of the book. Overall the romance was enjoyable and very sweet, but I couldn't stand the FMC's friend. Also, I usually only read spicy books and the book was barely open door. I would have liked a lot more spice for a book to be labeled erotica. It seemed like a nice debut novel and I am looking forward to seeing what the author releases in the future.

"Once Upon An Algorithm" by Clara O’Connor is a spicy STEM romance novel for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Sally Thorne. The story revolves around Leonie, who has a personal dating algorithm with specific criteria such as being over 6 feet tall, funny and carefree, and well-travelled. However, when a dating app leads her to a night in Paris with the brooding stranger Jack, who doesn't fit her criteria, Leonie realizes that her list might be missing the most important factor: chemistry.

The chemistry between Leonie and Jack proves to be off the charts, challenging Leonie's reliance on her dating algorithm. As she starts a new job at a tech startup, she is surprised to find Jack there as well, sitting in the boss's office. Jack is not only the man behind the code but also the person responsible for the best night of sex in Leonie's life.

The novel explores themes of love, algorithms, and the unexpected connections that can defy even the most carefully crafted criteria. "Once Upon An Algorithm" promises a blend of romance, humor, and a dash of STEM for an engaging and delightful read.

I really enjoyed this book so much! I flew through this book and I was so upset when it was over. The plot was fast paced but not much which is what I really enjoy. I am obsessed with the characters and can not wait to read more by this author. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

Oh this is a hard one to write.

I thought the cover was super cute and when I read the summary, I figured this was right up my alley. I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t hit for me.

There was a lot of tech language and description throughout the story and for me, it was too much. I was struggling. The MMC was very unlikeable as were the FMC group of friends.

What really just turned me off was TW- cheating. Just no. How it came out and how it was dealt with- just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

1.5 stars… the fact that after reading and get into the book you find out the main male is cheating and that is a trigger spot for many people. I understand others may be okay reading about that but I didn’t finish this book.

I had high hopes but sadly this one did not deliver for me.

Once Upon An Algorithm by Clara O’Connor was an uplifting and cute STEM romance story.
It's fun and witty with great characters. I thought it was an enjoyable and entertaining story.

Thank You NetGalley and One More Chapter for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

2.5 🌟
I was excited to read once upon an algorithm based on the description and the cover but it left me feeling a little bit meh.

It was largely predictable in terms of what would happen by the end of the novel, and there weren't many moments that had the cuteness or the romance I was expecting to be honest.

I also found some of the terminology quite confusing and feel like some of the abbreviations and key words could have done with a bit more describing as it felt like every time they came up I didn't quite know what they meant which made it a bit hard to read at times.

That being said, it was an easy and relatively quick read.

Leonie isn't very lucky in love. But when her friends bully her into a one night stand in Paris, the last thing she expects is to see her sexy date at work the next week...

I loved Leonie and this book felt like a proper adventure. Throw in a bit of drama and some excellent romantic situations, and I was hooked! Definitely one for a lover of happy endings and infuriating (but gorgeous) men.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I DNF....TW cheating MMC. FMC 'friends' were awful, not likeable, the plot far fetched and too much STEM technical jargon.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF at 46%…

I really tried giving this book a chance.
Sometimes you need to read a few chapters before you really get into the story. But with this one, it was the reverse… the more I read, the more I wanted this to be over.

The main couple had zero chemistry, Jack has a weird “vibe” going on, there were many parts where it was so “coding” related that I just zoned out, and so on…

I wasn’t aware of the many other negative reviews, but in some way I’m glad I wasn’t the only one experiencing the same feelings. And from what I could read, I’m glad I didn’t get to the part where the “mystery” aspect of Jack is revealed (I would be so mad tbh).

So quite disappointed on how this book turned out! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I didn’t enjoy this book to be honest. I liked the fact that it showed a woman could work and be highly successful in app development and I liked the fact Leonie had a group of girlfriends although they seemed pretty pushy! For me there was too much technical jargon. This put me off the book because it bored me, unfortunately. I didn’t really warm to the characters either. They were one dimensional and the story seemed to jump all over the place, why would no one, especially the co-owner of the company not question this random woman coming in to the workplace, even if they have spent the night together! Sorry a no for me on this one.

I rarely check the reviews on Goodreads before reading a book because I want to stay unbiased. However for this one, I had to stop in the middle just to make sure I was not alone feeling annoyed with few elements.
1) Leonie’s group of “friends” are horrible. They just keep pushing her and maybe she needed a bit of help to get out of her comfort zone but the way they do it did not feel ok.
2) Leonie seems so clueless about everything like she is supposed to be in her late 30s, but she just acts like nothing is ever her fault. She is so immature and passive about everything… “Should I tell Jack?” “It does not feel right to do this BEHIND HIS BACK”… ok well just tell him?
3) Jack seems to either be a hot golden retriever nerd with insecurities OR a really inappropriate tech bro cheating on his wife. Nothing is ever black or white but just pick one personality

I am still giving it 3 stars ⭐️ because it was entertaining and you just want to know how the stories and the lies will unfold. The story was cute and the setting (tech start up) original 💕

I was really excited for this book because I love women in STEM books. However, this book was just so confusing. It does fall within the realm of tech - however I’m not sure how much the FMC does tech work. This seems more focused on being an age gap romance and figuring out where each character belongs. It’s fine, but was so hard to follow. There were time jumps, way too much tech-speak (I think?), and I just didn’t like the characters. They were kinda flat and just had the same repeating plot points. I think it could have been good, but it was several heavy edits away from it. 2.75⭐️, 2🌶

One of my favourite things about contemporary romance is when the characters are believable as real people. Yes there is always going to be a bit of artistic license but I think it brings so much to a story when you feel like you could bump into one of the characters on the street.

Once upon an algorithm is a journey of self discovery for our leading lady with miscommunication, second chances and a couple of leaps of faith.

I really enjoyed how easily I fell into this story. I was invested in the characters and whilst I usually find the miscommunication trope frustrating Jacks humour was a fantastic device to cut through those moments.

A well paced story with charismatic and loveable characters, well worth a read ♥️

This book was so cute! I absolutely love a good work place romance and I love it even more when the guy you have a one night stand with just randomly shows up and works with you.
Once I had started this book I had a really hard time putting it down. Reading a book about a woman in STEM has always been a really good niche market and it's always nice to read books that make the FMC strong and smart without making her extremely socially awkward. The chemistry between Jack and Leonie was so swoon worthy. You could cut the tension with a knife throughout most of the book while they were trying to stay away from each other.
Leonie's step brother is awful but a very well written out character for you to not like. Her group of friends is exactly the group of friends that you want around in your life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more books by Clara.

This was a really weird book. The FMC’s ‘friends’ are WAY too overbearing and pressuring someone to go on a date when they seem uncomfortable with the idea was just cruel. The miscommunication in this was so irritating. The characters are supposed to be grown up yet they just spend most of the time refusing to talk to each other and acknowledge the problems coming up. Eric was also an extremely irritating character. Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me at all however I am still grateful for the opportunity to read it as an ARC.