I loved this book it was so cute and just the light romance I needed right now! The characters were charming even if sometimes they got on my nerves. Highly recommend this book if you love contemporary romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Read if you like:
✔️ Friends to lovers
✔️ Women in STEM
✔️ Fake dating
✔️ Academia storylines
✔️ The Love Hypothesis

I really liked this friends-to-lovers rom-com featuring another badass woman in STEM (shoutout to The Love Hypothesis). I finished it in a day!

Lyric is an overachiever in every way and, at just 24, is on track to receive her Ph.D. next year for her groundbreaking work on sexual chemistry. The only problem is that she's hit a block and can't bring herself to write a thesis centered on a love she's never experienced for herself. That's where her best friend, Kian, comes in. An attractive ladies' man who has no trouble in the romance department, Kian agrees to "tutor" Lyric so she can fine-tune her dating skills and find someone to whom she is both physically and emotionally connected. Unexpectedly (to Lyric and Kian only; everyone else saw it coming), the only man she develops feelings for is Kian.

The Sizzle Paradox alternates between Lyric's and Kian's perspectives, which I really enjoyed. It kept the story moving and kept me engaged. I'm not a scientist myself so I'm not sure how sound Lyric's theories are, but they seemed plausible enough. I don't know how she was so clueless about her own feelings given her field of study, but I was able to overlook it because the characters were endearing and funny and I just wanted them to figure it out and have their happily ever after. There is some family drama mixed into the storyline but it's not overly serious. I found it to be a fun, swoon-worthy read and would recommend it to any romance fans, but especially fans of The Love Hypothesis. There is a little bit of steam in this, but nothing too spicy. There was lots of chemistry though, which we got to see from both of their perspectives.

This is great! The chemistry felt real, the conflict wasn’t forced, and I love stories about women in STEM. Someone needs to run an fMRI on me after reading this because my oxytocin levels would be off the charts. I’m so glad that I got to read this, and I’ll be looking out for more from Lily Menon in the future.

This book is so cute, and really checked all the boxes for me! \

I absolutely loved that it was set in academia, with friends-to-lovers and dual POV! So much fun.
Readers also get a closer look into both of the main characters familial lives, which leads to having really well developed and multi-level characters!

I really can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a bit conflicted with how I feel about this one.

On the one hand, it definitely had sweet and romantic moments— I liked Kian and Lyric together as a couple, which is the primary goal of any romance.

On the other hand, there were strange narrative and plotting choices that kept taking me out of the story. This might be a personal preference, but one of my writing pet-peeves is head-hopping and multiple perspective shifts in a scene/chapter. Each chapter would ping-pong back and forth between Lyric and Kian so that readers would get a few paragraphs with Lyric, then a few paragraphs with Kian, then back to Lyric, and so on. It was a disorienting experience as a reader and definitely impacted my enjoyment of the overall story. I will also say that both Kian and Lyric read as younger than their years, and many of their choices seemed immature. Finally, this Romancelandia grad school definitely did not resemble my time in grad school. Researchers do not need to have personal experience with their research subjects in order to effectively understand it, so the whole premise for Lyric’s pressure to experience ‘The Sizzle Paradox’ personally did not make much sense to me. The text also used ‘thesis’ and ‘dissertation’ interchangeably, when those are two different papers (at least in these characters’ U.S. educational setting)— Master’s degrees have a thesis and doctoral degrees have a dissertation. Not the biggest deal, but it was emblematic to me of the way that this text didn’t seem to have a firm grasp on the academia setting.

I’m all for the recent movement of characters working in STEM fields, but this book is not my favorite of this new trend. Not terrible, but not a must-read either. 3 stars.

I received this book as an ARC on NetGalley. It’s so fun getting advanced copies of books! It makes me feel like a ✨book influencer✨😎

Lyric Bishop is on her final leg of her PhD research project. She is studying sexual and romantic chemistry and the exact combination that results in a long, happy relationship. She is stuck, though. How is she supposed to write about something she has no experience with? Sure, she’s dated, but she has never found a guy she feels equally sexually and romantically attracted to, and if she doesn’t crack the sizzle paradox for herself, her thesis will crash and burn.

Good thing her hot, environmental engineering PhD roomie/bestie is naturally talented with dating and is willing to help her. Lyric is an absolute disaster at dates. She’s awkward and nervous and it’s such a turn off. Kian Montgomery is a natural with sizzle, but not so much with the emotional intimacy. He’s going to help Lyric by taking her on some dating lessons, and she wants to help him find a lasting romantic relationship (which he is finally ready for). Can these two help each other find love, and subsequently crack the paradox?

This book sounded so cute, but when I read it, it just flopped for me. I can’t put my exact finger on it. It read as very immature—two doctoral students that can’t have a conversation about their feelings? Crying and getting incredibly emotional/making huge life decisions on a whim because of a lack of communication? It’s super cringe and I don’t like that.

Also, the main character’s name is LYRIC. Her sisters are all gemstones, so why not stick with it? The name was distracting itself.

Finally, the final love confession really was only half a page. Super underwhelming and just felt like I was watching a middle school relationship start. If I wanted that, I’d stand in the hallway outside my classroom. These two are almost the same age, in different fields, and already best friends. Nothing is holding them back. So WHY CAN’T YOU JUST TALK ABOUT IT? If your relationship conflict can be solved with a single conversation, it’s not a good one, imo. It was cute, but not my style. I don’t recommend, but give it a try!

I really enjoyed reading a contemporary romance about grad students. Something about them being in university but being older then undergrads made it a plot I really enjoyed and a relationship I could actually see working out.

I loved that Lyric's research was directly relevant to the plot, it really justified that the characters were grad students. Kian and Lyric were great characters with a great dynamic and a fun 'denial of feelings'.

I have no complaints about how this book resolved and would recommend to anyone who like the Love Hypothesis (amongst other books).

(4 stars)

Lyric Bishop needs to complete her thesis. Area of study: sexual chemistry and romance. The only problem? How can Lyric be considered an expert in her field if she can’t even figure out her dating life. The more she is emotionally connected to someone, the less sexual attraction, and vice versa. Lyric has deemed this “The Sizzle Paradox”. And how can she crack this paradox? Her best friend, Kian Montgomery, thinks he has the answer. He can tutor Lyric on dating while she can help him foster a long-term relationship. Nothing will go wrong as long as they follow the established rules…..*cough cough*

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a fresh take on the fake dating trope and was just incredibly cute. Lyric is definitely my spirit animal. Exhibit A: “I give him a mock salute because I am an awkward potato and this is what awkward potatoes do.” Lyric and Kian’s friendship was precious from the beginning and I really loved the way it progressed. This book was light and had many funny moments that made me laugh out loud. A definite must read for rom-com lovers!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Sizzle Paradox follows the MC Lyric who is a student completing a study that studies romantic partners and what determines their relationship success based on emotional and sexual chemistry. Lyric finds herself at a block, because she hasn't been successful in her own relationships. Her best friend and roommate is the super handsome Kian, who never enters committed relationships in fear of ending up like his father, yet is at a point in his life where he feels bored and like something is missing. Lyric thinks the solution to his problem is that he needs to date a different kind of girl, and Kian thinks he can teach Lyric how to have a successful relationship through some fake dating practice. Cue a friends to lovers romcom with a slow burn. 

This was my first Lily Menon book and overall, I thought it was a cute read. I love Lyric and Kian's friendship. They are so comfortable and supportive of each other in their equally strong, scientific careers. However, despite this close friendship they have overall terrible communication with each other when it counts. I also felt the ending of this book to be really rushed, to the point where I thought I missed something. I'd give it 3.5 stars. It's a fast, light read, but not my favorite. 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The sizzle paradox a friends to lovers story following Lyric who is studying sexual chemistry to find out what makes a successful long time partner but has her own trouble with dating when her best friend Kian who when it comes to dating doesn’t have these issues offers to help her end they begin fake dating, but lines get blurred along the way as they discover their feelings but thanks to some miscommunication things got a bit complicated. It was a fast and fun read, I loved the dual pov even though the ending felt a bit rushed but overall I still enjoyed the book. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Loved the characters relationship and how it all played out for them and for me it was a quick read that I really enjoyed.

I really wanted to like this. I’ve enjoyed Menon’s other books and know she can write an adorable rom-com. This book, unfortunately, missed the mark a bit. I fully wanted to sit Lyric and Kian in a room together to make them talk it out. It honestly got so frustrating that I couldn’t enjoy the book. I had a constant mild annoyance as well - the use of the phrase “doc student” grated on me. Unfortunately, I just didn’t love this book.

Ah, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Thank you to the publisher for letting me read it ahead of time!

Lyric is an experimental psychologist trying to prove her thesis regarding sexual psychology she has come up with, titled "The Sizzle Paradox" which she measures using "Sizzle Paradox Scale" or SPS. She's been unlucky in her life thus far and is having a hard time defending something she can't relate to on a personal level as both a person and a scientist. So her best friend and roommate of 6 years Kian offers to tutor her in the art of dating and seducing as he's pretty darn good at it.

As you can imagine, this is is one of the god-tier tropes of "fake dating" and it did NOT disappoint. Lyric and Kian's relationship is so stinkin' cute - they both value their friendship so much it seems abhorrent to them that they could ever work together - except no one else agrees.

I love reading about women in STEM and there are many books published recently or coming out soon that feature this. Woman can be sexy, funny, and succeed in the fields previously and stereotypically dominated by men. It also had a very good pace and I was able to finish this in one day! Definitely recommending to those who love all themes and tropes in this book.

The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon is about Lyric Bishop. She is studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners and what makes them work long-term. Lyric feels like a fraud because she struggles in her dating life to find this chemistry. To complete her doctoral thesis, Lyric must get firsthand experience at cracking the Sizzle Paradox. Lyric finds that the more attractive she finds the guy, the less she is able to form an emotional connection with them. She needs to know why, so she enlists the help of her roommate and best friend Kian Montgomery. Kian has no trouble finding this chemistry in his relationships, so he offers to “tutor” Lyric on dating tactics. Soon, the two best friends grow closer and they begin to question their relationship. They begin to wonder if they can really keep their feelings out of the picture.

This book has an interesting premise. Both Lyric and Kian are likeable, and I like how we get both of their perspectives.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book wasn't my cup of tea. I could not connect at all with Lyric. I honestly found her immature. Kian wasn't what I expected either. They both just did not act their age at all. It also felt like it took forever to get to the "Sizzle". I just could not get into this book. I liked the dual POV a lot, but it still wasn't enough.

Once a book is set in academia, I'm sold.
If there's fake dating, I'm sold.
This was a book I expected to love and felt myself loving in the first couple of pages but that was it- I only loved the first couple pages.

This book follows Lily and Kian, two PhD students who are best friends and roommates. Lily is a psychology student who is doing research on emotional and sexual attraction in relationships, but is having trouble with her dissertation because she has no experience in relationships with both emotional and sexual attraction. So her, very hot, best friend Kian decides to fake date her, so she can learn how to be less awkward while dating, so she get a guy to experience the relationship she desires. Was that confusing? Yes, I thought so.

Firstly, I am a fake dating girl. I love the trope. It is one of my all time favorites. But this book sullied the fake dating name. Fake dating always has includes faking their relationship to deceive others and includes the characters going out of their comfort zone to pretend to date. However, they were doing things they always did. Going to eat at their favorite pizza place, hanging out together, it did not feel like fake dating where they are at odds with this thing they had to do.

Secondly, as a psych student myself, I just have to say- YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IN YOUR STUDY TO REPORT ON IT. I once worked on research on adolescent romantic relationships and despite not being an adolescent or having any serious romantic relationships while I was an adolescent, I was able to work on my research. Why? Because that is what research is all about.

Thirdly, the author kept switching between thesis and dissertation, using them interchangeably. A thesis is for masters students and a dissertation is for doctorate students, which the characters were. So using them interchangeably was weird.

There was also the bit that both Lily and Kian did not act like people in their mid-twenties. They read like teenagers in a YA novel and did not have the maturity an adult romance would expect. They had such awful communication and half the story was propelled by the miscommunication trope. Their relationship evolution was everything I do not like about a friends to lovers story.

TL;DR: The story had a great premise and I wanted to love it but didn't. Poorly used fake dating trope filled with tons of miscommunication.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review will be posted on Goodreads.
Review on tiktok will be posted in the week leading up to the release.

4⭐️
I really really liked this! I read Make Up Break Up in January of this year and I unfortunately did not love the characters, but this was so so much better! I don’t always love friends to lovers, but this book was absolutely an exception. I often find with friends to lovers there isn’t enough buildup to the realization of feeling but in this one, the buildup and tension was so good. I’ve also read a few of Lily Menon’s ya books written under Sandhya Menon and it’s honestly hard to believe that someone who can write such cute innocent ya books can also write such good steamy scenes to be honest. Overall, I honestly didn’t think I’d love this one going in but I’m happy to say it proved me wrong!

I genuinely loved this book… so much that I’ve already recommended it to friends.

Lyric and Kian, our (adorable) main characters, are best friends. They are grad students at Columbia and have been close since undergrad, specifically when Kian was a sophomore and Lyric was a freshman. They live together and can count on each other for anything. Both of them, however, are a bit stuck when it comes to dating. Kian has been casually dating for years, hoping to never get serious enough to discover if he inherited what he thinks of as the cheating gene from his father. Lyric has been trying to find her perfect person, but has only succeeded in getting either the sexual chemistry or the emotional connection with someone - never both. So they decide to help each other out. Kian will teach Lyric how to be less awkward on dates and hopefully be able to connect with the people she wants to date, and Lyric will help Kian feel more comfortable dating without worrying about if he’s going to become compelled to cheat.

The relationship in this book. Oh, my goodness, their relationship. This book is dual perspective, so we get to see everything happening from both Lyric’s and Kian’s perspectives. Watching them both fall in love while both being completely oblivious to the other one falling in love was… hilarious but in a fun and adorable way. And their chemistry was just off the charts (literally). They were just so good together!

One of the most unique things about this book was the way it approached family. Lyric’s family was present and important in the story, with her sister’s angst being a fairly prominent subplot and her mother’s influence and superstition coming up in almost every chapter. I loved the Bishop family and the energy that they brought to the story. And then we had Kian’s family, whose influence was also felt consistently throughout the book. His love for his mother despite everything that had happened with his father made me love him even more, and the way that he was able to face his father and his fears regarding his future was huge for his character development but did not feel forced.

Overall, this book really was just such a joy to read. It was sweet and deep and the characters were three dimensional and relatable in a way that I truly loved. I have read other books by this author, but only her YA books and it has been a couple of years, so I was pleasantly reminded of how much I enjoy her writing style. I have already recommended this book to my friends and definitely see myself continuing to do so!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advance copy of this
book for review!

This book gave me so many mixed feelings. I liked parts of it and other parts made me infuriated. The books tells the story of two grad students that are best friends but find that they have feelings for each other. The basic concept of the book I really enjoyed, but some of the details got a little annoying.

First, Lyric was a little annoying at times. She is supposed to be some sort of prodigy, starting a doctorate program at age 20 or something, but she was very emotionally immature. It is one of those books where it should be obvious that both characters like each other but no one sees it and so they never tell each other how they feel. Secondly, I was a little annoyed by the whole idea that Lyric couldn't finish her dissertation (yes, it's called a dissertation - not a thesis - when it is a doctorate) because she hadn't experienced love. Plenty of people study things they have never experienced - like do you think people who research Alzheimer's need to have been diagnosed with the disease?? The logic that lyric gave didn't make sense to me especially since she had data that confirmed her hypothesis. Finally, I just felt like certain aspects of grad student life were not depicted accurately or at least did not mirror my or colleagues experience during our doctorate programs.

Other than those issues, I liked the book and enjoyed the dual POV writing so we could see which each character was thinking. If you are looking for a light read and don't mind some of the grad school inaccuracies then this is a book to check out.

The Sizzle Paradox is definitely a cute, quick read. It was definitely one of those reads that you can go to for comfort when you need a pick-me-up book. I was hoping it would bring something new and it did. The path of self realization throughout the book was important for the character development. It also brings in women in STEM which is always a draw for me. 4 stars