I really liked the premise of this book but I just didn’t connect with the characters and felt there was the lack of clear and direct communication between Leonie and Jack. I also felt there was too much going on and I was a little lost with all the tech world descriptions and did find myself skipping most of this. Unfortunately it just wasn’t for me which is a shame.

I literally fell in love with Once Upon An Algorithm by Clara O'connor it was an ARC read but it has been one of my favorites to read in the month of November. This new romance book that comes out in January is a new STEM romance that has all the banter, spice and character chemistry. People who are fans of Ali Hazelwood and Sally Thorne will definitely enjoy reading this novel. This is an opposites attract where Leonie and Jake 3-5 list into this algorithm app that results your date into being the opposite of the their own list. Leonie and Jake fun story starts but ends abruptly before it even began. The two main characters paths cross again at their place of work. This book has an evil step brother, family trust is tested along with each character having some type of baggage. Can the good outweigh the bad, and will they be able to make it or break it? If I could rate this book 100/100 stars I would. I don't want to give much away otherwise it will spoil the book before anyones read it yet. But trust me when I say you won't regret reading Once Upon An Algorithm and I hope you cherished their love story as much as I did.

Leonie had one night with a stranger Jack who is the opposite of what she's looking for. But when she goes to her new work place, she sees him again....

The step-brother is a total villain. Leonie and Jack both have LOTS of issues to work through without his involvement! I am glad that they work things out in the end. I like Leonie is smart and tech savvy. I prefer a bit more swoon in the book but it's a great book otherwise. It's a terrific book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Once Upon an Algorithm by Clara O'Connor was just so long. And so full of needless technical detail. Fixing the second problem would have helped sort the first. I kind of like Jack and Leonie but they drove me mad with their inability to communicate. And the lack of discourse between Leonie and Eric was even worse. It's an opposites attract love story derailed for me by too many issues.

I did not like this book because it felt like too much was going on at the end and we didn't get to see enough of the couple finally being secret free and happy.

I'm between 1-2 stars. This book called my attention because it has a beautiful cover and women in STEM vibes however it was a bit disappointing.

The beginning of the story was good, interesting base but as it progressed a few things through me off! First Leonie at the beginning portrays herself as a self assured woman with high walls so it was super disappointing how Eric walks over her an manipulates her feeling while well aware of how wrong he is behaving. Then we have Jack who is married and does not disclose that fact, sure he never said he was divorced but when he talk about it it implied that was a thing of the past. It does not matter his marriage was just for appearances he still did not say anything.

Finally the cherry on top was their goodbye when Leonie offer him a solution (sure it was not fully well thought) but he rejected it and her, only for a while later take that solution and ask for forgives with only a "I won't walk away again" Please!

.

This was a decently solid romance. Leonie and Jack have great chemistry, and there was definitely constant motion in the plot. Unfortunately, the tech developer language was pretty hard to follow, as someone not in the field.

I'll start by saying this is a cute, quick read.
I have a degree in computer science, so I understood the computer-ese that was used throughout the book, however I do believe it could impact the potential audience of this book. Not everyone will understand what is being said all the time.
I also felt like a lot of the "problems" could have been solved with better communication. Though, I must admit, I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope. If you love it, this might just be the book for you. Overall, I'd give this book a solid 3.5 out of 5.

While I enjoyed reading this book, the lack of clear and direct communication between Leonie and Jack is really annoying. There are so many times when they just needed to be honest with the other, or at the very least, let the other person explain before deciding what they meant and walking away.

Leonie is in her late thirties, from the US and lives in London as some kind of consultant while Jack is an app developer from Ireland, but living in the US. They meet through an app for a drink while both happen to be in Paris but they realise they have a connection and they spend the night together, though nothing actually happens between them apart from the odd kiss.

When Leonie gets back to London, her stepbrother, Eric, asks her to help him out with getting their app across the line in time for him to sell to an investor. She agrees once she finds out that Eric has put all the family money on the line. Instead of speaking to her mum and stepfather about the situation and finding out what is really going on, she blindly believes Eric and decides she's the only one that can save their fortune.

When she arrives in the London office she meets none other than Jack. They have some angsty back and forth for a few weeks but things don't really heat up until the are both called back the US to help with the launch of the app. This is also when Leonie finds out Jack is actually Eric's business partner and part owner of the app that Eric is trying to sell out from under Jack.

Finally she realises what is going on and speaks to all involved about what is happening but I can't for the life of me work out why someone of her age would think it would be best to deal with the whole situation on her own! She's not a teenager though she certainly acts like one most of the time.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book has a fun premise and I did enjoy it but it definitely could have been better. I want to piggyback on what another reviewer stated in that this is way too techie for the normal person to read and understand in parts. My husband works for a big techie firm and has for many years, and we have had many conversations around coding, apps, etc. and I still didn't understand half of what the author was trying to portray. It will definitely put some readers off and I did find myself skipping those parts.

The romance was just ok. I felt Jack was acting like a baby and getting pissy for little to no reason. He way over-reacted to a couple of situations. I did like their chemistry when they were together but then like a light switch it just shuts off. Also, if you are going to do open door, then do open door. I felt like the author wanted to make it spicy but skipped some of the good parts lol.

Solid start for a debut author and with a bit of fine-tuning future works will be even better.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Clara O'Connor for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

They say opposites attract so what happens when you put your list into an app and your date is the opposite of your list.
The fun starts and ends. A one time meeting until your paths cross again in the workplace.
Family loyalty, emotional baggage and a conniving step brother are all obstacles. Can they be overcome or is it time to walk away?
Enjoy the romance, misunderstandings and the attraction between Leonie and Jack.
I did

An emotional roller coaster of a contemporary romance novel

I expected this book to be the usual "they get together, there's a conflict or misunderstanding, but then it gets resolved, happy ending" type of story. I didn't expect the situation to be so complex and for the story to be such an emotional rollercoaster, where you can barely untangle the strings to decide how you feel about it all. I felt just as frustrated, confused, and at times hurt as our main character, Leonie.

The setting: STEM but make it SaaS

Let's start with the setting. Leonie, our main character is a senior product manager, while Jack is a lead developer (or so she thinks) working on a new app. They're surrounded by other developers and a UX/UI designer, working in sprints, doing sticky note brainstorming sessions, all that jazz.

As someone who works on a SaaS product in real life, although as a marketer, it was almost weird (in a good way) to be placed in a setting that's so familiar. I'm used to not understanding much of what they professionally talk about in STEM romances, so it was fun to be on the other side this time.

The characters of Once Upon An Algorithm

Leonie. I have mixed feelings about her.

Overall I liked her character, especially when she decided to hear Jack out towards the end to make decisions after hearing both sides of the story. MCs so often get stubborn and do the opposite that it was very refreshing.

But having been so hung up on the age difference, and falling for Eric's gaslighting and manipulation still annoyed me quite a lot. I know she needed the latter for the storyline's sake, but it still annoyed me a little.

Jack. He was an emotional rollercoaster in himself. First I was all "oh I somehow trust him as Leonie does" then I went "how could I think that he's such a jerk" and it kept going up and down and up and down. Until the very last page.

Eric. Just eww. The most awful asshole with his manipulation and gaslighting. Since his character was written very well, he and his audacity and entitlement made me so mad I almost threw my Kindle across the room a few times.

The girls. They were so fun to have around and I just wish we could have seen more of them and their friendship dynamics. I'd love to even read a whole separate book starring this group as a whole.

Mia & Mike. They're the good characters that are unfairly looked over, but whom our MC reconciles with at the end. I felt like their relationship with Leonie wasn't very well done, as the author scratched the surface but didn't go deep enough.

This way Leonie does sound more like a priviliged girl complaining, as Jack also saw her, making it harder to justify the strain in her relationship with her wonderful mother and actually really nice stepfather.

Is Once Upon An Algorithm spicy?

I feel like the categories and the blurb made this book seem more spicy than it actually is. Whatever spicy scenes it has are very nicely written, but not as explicit as I expected them to be.

They complement the book nicely but I definitely wouldn't call this a spicy romance -it's about the same level as The Love Hypothesis and all these other STEM romances are. Maybe even a little less?

The story and my overall impression

Overall, I really liked the author's writing style, which made it really easy to read. It was fun to read a contemporary romance in a STEM setting so familiar to me with a storyline not as straightforward as they usually are.

With that said, I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance between the main characters. It felt too messed up and the resolution of their conflict was too hasty. I wish there was more time spent on the romance and that we got a better MMC.

Since it's a quick and easy read though, I give it 3.5/5.

I liked this book but it has one major fault. I didn't understand a lot of the computer speak, I know more than the average reader as I used to work in a university alongside some geeks, and had heard of some of the vocabulary and how developments work, but most readers I suspect won't. This limits the audience who would be prepared to read through what is a longer book by current standards.
That said, I appreciated the style and storyline. However, I never quite saw the heroine in my mind. Other than she was 'older ' and could wear a small bikini it was difficult to visualise her.
As a first book it shows promise for this author.

3.5 stars rounded down

Nice little romance book. Easy to read and the characters are likeable enough (although it took me a chapter or two before I liked our heroine). I enjoyed the tech angle, but I think the banter and steam could have been dialled up. Nevertheless, would still recommend for a bit of brain candy.

I read this book really quickly, but more because I was skipping the tech world descriptions and wanted to know if the characters would become likeable. They didn't. The FMC is completely naive and allows her stepbrother to tell her what to do without even questioning it? The MMC was just unlikable. I would've preferred more romance and less app development. I also thought the book would mention more about the app the MCs met on, and go more into the algorithm, but that was largely brushed over. Thank you to One More Chapter, Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

1.5 ⭐️TW: CHEATING MMC!

The fact that this could be considered, under any scope of the imagination, a rom-com is ridiculous. This is no romantic comedy: the romance is barely there, and the comedy? I spent three days trying to finish this book. I feel like the joke's on me.

This is a sad story about a woman who, horrified of her single status as an almost 40-year-old gets peer pressured into a one-off with the opposite person she would ever choose for herself. She meets Jack and after a strange night together, they part ways on less than amicable terms. Horror ensues when the fmc encounters Jack, once again, when she goes in as an external consultant to help out on her step-brother's latest business venture.

This book was hard to read for several reasons. First, the writing and narrative tone aren't my favourites. There were multiple moments where the fmc's internal monologue kept going on for half a chapter -even in the middle of a conversation, making it impossible to find the rhythm of any interaction believable or synergetic at all.

Then there's the issue of the fmc's friends being complete lunatics. I get that being 'quirky' is the biggest personality trait in a lot of 30/40-something-people, but if you're friends talk to you the way these women did to the fmc, you deserve better friends. If I told any friend that the guy I was starting something romantic with had done what Jack does in this book, and their first and only response was to excuse his behaviour and lies, I would drop them so f***ing fast, it wouldn't even be funny. EVEN THE FMC'S MOM IS TRYING TO FIND EXCUSES FOR HIM!? IN WHAT WORLD WOULD A MOTHER EXCUSE HER DAUGHTER BEING TREATED LIKE THAT!!

Jack's past/present is a whole other thing that, not only didn't sit right with me but left me raging. How's that an ok thing to do? In what world is it just "fine"? Not everyone's perfect, but you could at least try to be honest with the person you're with!!! This felt like a dark romance by the end.

Also, her stepbrother deserves to be punched in the nuts repeatedly with a metal bat. I said what I said. I was so extremely disappointed every time she was steamrolled and belittled by him and she just rolled over and turned the other cheek, pasting on a smile and moving on. Girl, what? I just couldn't take his treatment of her. With zero f***ing consecuences too!

I could keep going, really, but this is a project that someone has spent time and effort into releasing, and I don't want to hate things that people love. I could consider this a decent women's fiction/ anti-romance tale about how women are pressured into settling for absurd situationships with men who don't even offer a modicum of respect or the bare minimum, and eventually then make it the woman's problem.

Also, I don't know who said this is like Ali Hazelwood's books. It's soooo not. Whoever said this first, girl, you've been lied to several times. Sorry.

⭐️.5 / 5
🌶 / 5 - The book is mostly closed-door, except for a couple of scenes, but they're not very detailed or spicy.

*Thank you so much NetGalley for offering me this eARC. As always, my opinions are my own.* This review has already been uploaded to Goodreads :)

Leonie is a forever single American living in London having moved away from home to escape the feeling of never quite fitting in with her rich stepfamily. Jack is an Irishman travelling for business and feeling down in the dumps, When Leonie's friends decide to take a trip to Paris to celebrate an engagement, they jokingly set her up with her a person opposite to her requirements of what she's looking for in a partner using an opposites attract app. That person is Jack.

Once Upon an Algorithm has some seriously geeky tech speak along with some steamy romance, making it a perfect read if you like your chick lit with a side of both tech and spice. If you're not into tech, you might find it gets a little bit heavy on the details at times as the author clearly either did her research or has worked in the world of product development!

I really enjoyed the story, despite both characters constantly jumping to the wrong conclusions and having massive chips on their shoulders about their upbringings. The step brother was as irritating as he should be but I did find myself wanting Leonie to put him in his place.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in return for an honest review.

For once I was disappointed by the hero Jack. He was rude, mean and malicious, it made it hard to want the couple to sort themselves out. Getting together with married men, plus step brothers getting away with things, unpleasant wives, all of whom pay nothing for their transgressions made me irritated rather than enthralled.

A romance that has more depth to it about their lives rather than just their love life. In fact this book may defer to the tech drama a little too much in that the tech speak and geek out on the roll out of this new app is probably a little on the heavy side unless you work or are familiar with the industry.

Jack clearly has a huge chip on his shoulder about rich people and specifically rich women and plays into the relationship woes for him and Leonie. To be fair Leonie has her own baggage when it comes to money and men and their falling out is understandable and yet they didn’t seem to actually spend all that much time getting to know each other and building up to a relationship for romance but definitely a great working partnership.
Both characters were likeable and I definitely wanted to see them succeed romantically and career wise. I even liked that it wasn’t a light and fluffy romance but there was just a bit too much tech and not enough love, their chemistry was sizzling and came through on the page in their physical attraction.
This is a 3.5 stars, maybe a 4.

I received this book as an ARC and provided an honest review