This book was the definition of a light, easy-breezy read. This story followed many of the classic antics of a friends-to-lovers trope. I enjoyed the dual POVs as it made the story a little more fun to follow along during points where it became a little slow.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Lyric is a grad student at age 24 and studies sexual chemistry between two people in a relationship. So she should be an expert on love, right? Wrong! Her love life is basically nonexistent. Thank goodness her best friend, Kian, offers to tutor her and give her lessons on that…

Kian was super adorable! If he was my best friend, I’d probably be having those dreams about him too. LOL. They were both super swoon-worthy, and although this was a slow-burn romance (which I usually don’t like too much), it was a really cute story. The end had me in happy tears.

Also, I’m going to need my boyfriend to take me on a treehouse date. Immediately.

Will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out on June 14, 2022!

The Sizzle Paradox is a decent read. It’s a friends to lovers romance. There are some The Kiss Quotient vibes, except it’s hey BFF that I’m definitely not in love with, lets fake date so I can teach you how to be better at dating and relationships and not teaching sex. There are 2 spicy scenes, one is a dream the other is when it actually happens. Nothing too over the top if you aren’t a fan of open door. I liked Lyric and Kian both as characters. Their respective fields of study were interesting. Their relationship as friends was great. The transition to them being into each other was a little abrupt for me but overall it was good. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book. Release date is 6/14!
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I absolutely LOVED this!! Friends to loves will always be in my top favorite tropes and this case was no different! I adore Lyric and Kian's friendship and bond so much, and I loved their matching yet opposite personalities. The steamy scenes were done really well and any time a book has dual POV, I will eat it up. This was the first time I had read Lily Menon, but it 100% has turned me into a fan! Looks like it's time for me to go read her other books!

I usually love Lily Menon's writing (especially her YA), but this one didn't really work for me. I didn't feel like Lyric's sizzle paradox concept was well defined, especially as it related to her project, and it didn't make sense to me why she had to nail it down in her own relationship rather than in the data that she was collecting. Shouldn't she be objective? And why would Kian be the one to help her with it when he can't maintain a relationship either? As for the actual romance, it felt like the setup was pushing them together (they're best friends and roommates and everyone always thinks they're together) rather than the characters themselves having the chemistry.

Also, I yelled many, many times "this is not how grad school works!" No way that she lives in NYC as a grad student and has money to fly to London and stay in a 5-star hotel room by herself without being independently wealthy or having a rich family. Working overtime hours in the lab, presumably on her own project, for extra money to pay for it? That's not how grad students are paid. And she took off to London for a weekend the week before her due date for her professor? The entire stakes of the book hinge on her project so she should probably be more invested in it, and then the climax and resolution around her project were very rushed at the end so the stakes fell flat.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

So I really wanted to like this book. I did! But for whatever reason, it didn't quite hit with me. It's really well written and sweet, but the chemistry between Lyric and Kian didn't quite lift off the page for me as I hoped. It's a really cute book, and something I would recommend to friends who are looking to get into rom-coms, but I was hoping for a bit more mmmph and I was left wanting more.

I definitely love Lily Menon! She is a fantastic writer and really entrances you with her story lines. This was a perfect mix of friends to lovers, science and not being able to deny the one that you love. I felt connected to the characters, especially Lyric, and found that the story wrapped up nicely as well.

Ahhh as a graduate student I understand Lyric's struggle with her project. I definitely am a huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope and this is a perfect example of it! Kian is the best friend that we all want--supportive and willing to step up and help her in her time of need... I mean maybe a little unconsciously on his part a bit selfish in the RomCom way!

What a bummer that Kian is going to graduate ahead of LB and I was rooting for them to get together the entire time. I hate leaving reviews with too much info but I love this easy read by Lily Menon and am very excited to read her next book!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I struggle to really follow this story and really get pulled in with the characters. Immediately the relationship between Lyric and Kian is set up in the friend zone and a sweet brother and sister relationship. It felt like they really never left it throughout the book.
The book progressed slowly, and the Lyric didn't come off as an adult that is pursue her PHD in her degree. She acted not awkward but like a high schooler still in school. To me it was what caused a disconnect for me.
I thought this book had a good story idea and I wanted to be invested in the plot. I read another book that the author wrote and felt that this book wasn't as strong as the last one.

This was a cute romance novel. This is a friends to lovers trope and the way these two best friends acted together made this novel so light hearted and an enjoyable read.

This novel is marked as an adult romance. With that being said, it felt more like a new adult novel to me. It’s set in college- albeit both main characters are in phd programs but the premise of the book is more geared towards new adult romance. So take that as you will. There was one, maybe two, scenes that were x-rated. One I would say that bumped up the novel from young adult to new adult and the other was definitely young adultish.

So the sizzle paradox is what Lyric, our main female character, is trying to solve. What in our brains shows us that we are in love? She is trying to find out what characteristics in her love life answer this question. What she doesn’t know is that Kian, her best friend and roommate is the way to answer her sizzle paradox questions.

I received an arc from netgalley for my honest opinion

Loved this! Excellent character chemistry. I am always a sucker for the roommate/best friends to perfect couple trope.

Tbh I don’t think I would recommend this friends to lovers book. It started off strong and ended pretty good but getting from point A to point B was a little choppy. Kian and Lyric make a cute couple but the way their story was written was just mediocre.
I’m giving this one a 3/5 stars
This book comes out June 14, 2022

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc!

2.5 stars.

Not going to lie, this book definitely had its moments but overall it just didn't work for me.

The Sizzle Paradox is about a grad student named Lyric and she is trying to crack "the sizzle paradox" which is the key to a long-lasting and loving relationship. She's best friends with Kian, who offers to help her discover said sizzle paradox. Slowly, they begin to realize their feelings for one another and they fall in love, it's the classic best friends to lovers trope.

I liked how it was dual pov (that's always a win) and there were moments where I was smiling at my screen since there were a couple of cute moments throughout the book. However, my biggest issue is that I didn't feel the "sizzle" between Lyric and Kian. I typically like slow burns because of how rewarding the end result is but the chemistry simply wasn't there in my opinion. Kian and Lyric could have stayed platonic best friends and I wouldn't have batted an eye. I ended up skimming through the last 10% or so because I was pretty bored. I would've liked to see more romantic development between Lyric and Kian because them as best friends was great, but them as romantic partners...eh not so much.

I think that people who are looking for a very lighthearted rom-com with a happy ending might enjoy this but I wouldn't go into this with high expectations.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 14, 2022

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange of my honest review.

Lyric and Kian have been best friends and roommates for years. Both are struggling grad students at Columbia and neither has had any luck in committed relationships. Kian has no issues when it comes to romance and sizzle, it’s that he’s had no interest in committing, but lately he’s felt like he’s getting bored. Lyric, on the other hand, is studying sexual chemistry and what makes relationships successful, but can’t seem to figure it out in her own dating life. When Kian offers to tutor Lyric on dating in exchange for her helping him find someone different to mix up his romantic life, their relationship will never be the same.

This is your typical friends-to-lovers trope. I found it cute, although pretty predictable. The characters are quirky and lovable, but I just wish there had been a little more depth to the story.

This one gets 3.5 (rounded to 4) ⭐️’s from me!

I really enjoyed this book!! It absolutely flew by, and I was just dying to finish it. I really loved hearing from both Lyric and Kian’s POV. I definitely could feel their closeness as friends through the story, and while there was a lot of miscommunication in the plot, I honestly really liked it being used here! Kian and Lyric both being so afraid to be vulnerable felt really genuine because it was clear how high the stakes were for both of them. The only thing that really would take me out of the plot was when they would talk about their research, but I think that was just my own outside biases. Otherwise, the story flowed naturally, and I definitely recommend it as the perfect quick, easy, lighthearted one night read.

Separately — I absolutely loved ALL of the side couples in this book. ESPECIALLY Opal and Arthur! Like they were a highlight — I would love a separate novella or epilogue about them.

Lyric and Kian are friends and roommates. Lyric needs some help when it comes to her dissertation and thesis question. Kian who seems to be a pro at dating steps up to the plate. I love the tutor trope and this one did not disappoint! There were some dry parts of the plot that seemed to drag but i get why they were important to discuss.

This was a sweet friends-to-lovers read to end the year. I loved the STEM representation, and as someone who studied Psychology, I found the research question interesting. It was a slow built to the romance, but I liked the way the author really highlighted the friendship and the characters' concerns about starting a romance.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!

The Sizzle Paradox is perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Love a hypothesis as it follows two best friends (who are also Columbia Grad students) on their journey to find the “perfect” type of love.

Lyric Bishop is studying sexual chemistry and has come up with "The Sizzle Paradox" to measure both physical and emotional attraction. However, with her love life failing, she finds herself stuck in a rut with her thesis and research. Kian Montgomery is Lyrics best friend and roommate who is on the verge of graduation and is in desperate need of a change in his love life. So when Kian offers to help Lyric get out of her rut and take her on a set of fake dates, Lyric is certain this will spark some motivation, and in exchange, she will set him up with someone different to give his love life a much needed shake up. But as they begin fake dating, they both realize the person they’ve been looking for might be right in front of them. As feelings get challenged and friendships are tested, Kian and Lyric embark on a journey to discover what it really takes to crack The Sizzle Paradox and find true love.

I really enjoyed this easy and light "friends to lovers" rom com. I loved the dual POV and the obvious sexual tension between the two characters. The story did drag on a bit with some unnecessary miscommunication. However, it was still a very enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Good book to read, enjoyable.

🥔 Lyric calls herself a self-proclaimed awkward potato and I can totally relate. This book had me giggling throughout and definitely crossing my legs at times (iykyk).

❤️‍🔥I love Sandhya Menon's writing, and though her debut as Lily Menon wasn't my favourite (still enjoyed it!), I thoroughly enjoyed The Sizzle Paradox. That being said, I have to admit it didn’t feel as POC and diverse as some of her other tales. Nonetheless, it was still an absolutely delightful read.

📖I started reading it on January 1st because I thought it releases January 22nd and figured it would be a good way to start my year, but it actually releases June 2022! So y'all have to wait a little longer but I can't wait for y'all to read it.

🎯I love that the tale starts off in Target. It's one of my comfort places and that immediately made this book feel cozy. As a Canadian Target lover, I've definitely been missing Target runs during this pandemic. My last Target trip included a tub(or two) of Toll House Cookie Dough, a pack (or ten) of Pretzel M&Ms, and a bunch of skirts (they had pockets, I had to!). What did you last buy from Target?

🥳Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my thoughts.