The Sizzle Paradox: Lyric's method towards finding love: her main research project. She is picky as can be and has set standards.

Kieran: Lyric's roommate who has sworn off daring. BUT he also has promised Lyric to fake date her to get her research results. What could go wrong?

In Lily Menon's book, it turns out a lot could go wrong. The characters were dry and seemed very stuck up in their standards. Standards are not a bad thing but acting like you're better than everyone less than five percent in? I wish there would be more fake dating scenarios and more depth into who these characters. The audio voice for Lyric was suitable but the male lacked emotion. Overall, this book wasn't for me but hopefully it will be for others.

Lyric and Kian are both students finishing up their doctoral studies and BFF’s who live together. Lyric is studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners and what makes for healthy happy long term relationships. She feels like a fraud as she has never been in one herself and acts like an immature goofball with men. Well, all of them except Kian. As she feels in need of some real life experience to help with her thesis she’s at a loss until Kian volunteers to tutor her on dating and all that goes along with it. Their tutoring sessions start off well until actual feelings get involved on both sides with neither of them willing to admit it to each other things go all FUBAR. Its a cute story, but considering they’re both adults they come off as children at times. For goodness sakes talk to each other. It all goes wrong until the tow of them figure it all out with a sweet HEA. It was a sweet story of friendship to romance, but at times found some of their dialogue and actions a little bit cringe worthy. It’s light and sweet listen.

As a doctoral student and woman in STEM, I love a story that features both. Lyric's research and family were interesting and kept me reading. I struggled a bit with rooting for Lyric and Kian, as it didn't feel like they had much development. It was a slow burn that ultimately fell a little flat for me.

The Sizzle Paradox is a friends-to-lover romance between Lyric, a PhD candidate studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners, and Kian, her best friend and fellow graduate student. Their journey is sloooowww but cute! This book is a great summer beach read when you want low-stakes, something a little predictable, and funny. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Lyric is a Ph.D student studying what she calls the Sizzle Paradox - using emotional connection and sexual connection to see how they amount to a successful long-term relationship. Although she has the science to back up her theory, Lyric herself has never had a successful relationship that has both. When her best friend/roommate Kian offers to tutor her in dating, she takes him up on his offer. However as their “lessons” progress their feelings do too.

I love a good woman in academics/Science plot line and I thought Lyric’s research sounded super intriguing. This one was a slowww burn and although I loved Lyric and Kian as individuals, it took me a bit to really invest in their romantic relationship because it was such a slow burn. Ultimately I did end up rooting for them, it just took a while to get there for me.

Thanks to SMP Romance for the advance copy.

. . . ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⋆ ⭒
You ever finish a book and we’re so caught up in it that by the end you’re like: “Y A S, ALL STARS!”, but then a day later, you settle down and start to really reflect in the book, and then catch yourself going: “Waiiiiit a minute…”? That was me after finishing this one.

So initially, I had a hard time getting into this STEM-romance story - the beginning really didn’t have that spark for me - but the more I read on, the more I got caught up and into the characters, that by the ending I was all aflutter and completely on board with all that happened. But then, after thinking about this book for a few - and while a major kudos to the author for writing a book that kept me thinking about it for several days after finishing is in order - there were some issues that became more apparent.

I find it a little hard to believe that after 7 years of friendship, Lyric - who is literally pursuing a doctorate in sexual chemistry and emotional connection - was totally oblivious to any inkling or twinkling of sexual attraction to Kian ( &/or vice versa ). Especially because it’s essentially a flip-switch shift for two parties who are presented as being very “platonically” connected, who then suddenly want to rip the clothing off of one another.

Ultimately though, I did really like this one. I tend to favour the friends-to-lovers trope more than others, mostly because the emotional connection is well established. And while they did seem to jump on the fast track in this regard, I still enjoyed the journey.

~👩🏻‍🦰

I’m always amused when scientists try to analyze emotions, especially love. Lyric is trying to code what she calls the Sizzle Paradox. Until it applies,to,her best friend, Kian.
It’s an amusing read with some painful parts, but the ending is totally worthy of the story.
Take analysis and practicality out of romance and just emote those feelings. Not everything can be sliced, diced, and compartmentalized anyway.

This was a very predictable friends-to-lovers romance. I always like that trope since I think that is actually the best foundation for a relationship. And I really enjoyed the friendship between Lyric and Kian. The only thing that was how long it takes them to realize that they are actually a perfect couple and just what they have each been missing in a romantic relationship. I also liked Lyric’s family and friends and their interactions.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

For being compared to the Love Quotient and Love Potion No. 9, I felt like this book fell flat.

Lyric was quite immature for her age and it made the book hard to read. I didn't feel any sort of lasting connection between me and the characters in this book, as even Kian was mediocre.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for review.

Unfortunately, while the premise of The Sizzle Paradox intrigued me, it really fell flat for me. At no point did I feel invested in the characters or the story.

There were definitely some moments that made me laugh, but as a whole, I wasn’t interested in how the Lyric and Kian kept hiding their true feelings for each other.

Best friends and slow burn, sign me up! This was a really cute romance between Lyric and her best friend of many years, Kian (swoon). They are both doc graduate students who live together and share everything, including no luck in the romance department. Although the story was overall predictable, it was exactly what I needed. Cute, lighthearted and funny. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This book starts out with PhD candidate Lyric, who is writing her thesis on sexual chemistry, on how emotional and sexual connection correlate in a relationship with the nuero chemicals in the brain related to those feelings. She herself has not been able to experience both at the same time with anyone she has dated and feels in a rut with her thesis. So she enlists the help of her best friend Kian who is charismatic and has no problem with dating. They begin have "tutoring" date sessions to help Lyric get better at dating. It goes well up to the point that they give into the moment and it feels like their friendship is ruined forever.

The chemistry between the characters was excellent, as was the gradual build up of feelings and tension. I loved having both characters be in academia and doing well. The miscommunication in this book is really what let me down. It went on for far too long and got frustrating in a bad way.

I gave Lily Menon another chance, as I really like her “Sandhya” stuff in YA. But this second adult romance is even more unbearable than her first. It seems to be trying to capture the magic that similar academically driven romances have, but without the substance. Granted, I couldn’t stand more than a page or two of The Love Hypothesis, but there’s basic plot similarities to The Kiss Quotient without a real grasp of the nuances of what made them work in TKQ. And I just didn’t care for the characters.

lighthearted fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book had a lot of potential but unfortunately it did fall flat. The characters were unbearable about 50% of the time and the other half they were just okay. It felt as if the author had never interacted with a ‘nerd’ or ‘dork’ and got most of her source material from watching bad 90s sitcoms. The jokes and attempts to make lyric seem as if she was an unsocialized hermit felt weird and forced. Not to mention while the cast of characters are diverse and plenty there were some moments where my brain went ‘misogyny’ and then moved on. I did enjoy the writing style for the most part and the idea of the book was honestly very interesting . It was just the actual execution fell flat.
If you want a short book where you can kind of shut off your brain for a moment you could honestly do so much worse. But if you are used to well developed contemporary romance where the character growth is a main focus and the plot is well researched and stuck to this might not be the one.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Sizzle Paradox is about friends and roommates – Lyric and Kian. The end of their lives as college students is nearing, and they realize that means they will have to go their separate ways. But they have been best friends and roommates since their undergraduate days, so this is a hard reality to process. When they begin developing romantic feelings toward each other during this time, that becomes an even more complicated reality to face.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
This will be the second book I read by Lily Menon, and since I liked the first book, Make Up Break Up (an enemies-to-lovers story), I anticipate the same for The Sizzle Paradox (a friends-to-lovers tale). The cartoonish cover screams romantic comedy, and the blurb sounds intriguing. I can't imagine a doctoral thesis referred to as the Sizzle Paradox would be taken seriously in any college, so I'm hoping there is more to it than the blurb lets on.

Actual Reading Experience:
I enjoyed the first half of the book. I even bought into Lyric's thesis being taken seriously (maybe) once I heard her explain it in more technical turns. But, eventually, Lyric and Kian's inability to admit their feelings or see that those feelings were reflected began to grate on my nerves. I can understand being worried about ruining their friendship. Still, I had trouble believing that at no point they could see what everyone else – even strangers – had no difficulty discerning. Still, the predictable ending made me a delighted reader. If you can't expect and get a happily ever after from a romantic comedy, that would genuinely be very disheartening.

I did love the families of the two main characters and the many quirks, layers, and struggles they provided to the main characters and the story. Lyric's family are free spirits who rub crystals and focus on the positives in life. She has three sisters and one brother who, when all together, tell a tale of Lyric's upbringing that helps flesh out her character. On the other hand, Kian is plagued by guilt and doubt, as his family life has been one of lies and mistrust. Kian makes choices to not be like his father, but he isn't being true to himself as a consequence.

The Sizzle Paradox is told in first-person narration through Kian and Lyric's points of view. I found the narration changes easy to follow and enjoyed that the story flowed well and read at a fast pace. It's a light read perfect for when you are in the mood for a predictable happily ever after with some sizzling hot scenes to break up the cuteness.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. I enjoyed Make Up Break Up more, but then I am a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers story more than a friends-to-lovers tale. The story became a bit grating with miscommunication that lasted for way too long. Otherwise, I loved the sizzle in the paradox and the happily ever after.

Characters:
I've already talked about the two main characters in the story. Still, there also is a collection of support characters that are all very interesting. Lyric's sister Opal who is afraid to commit to a man ten years her junior, is probably my favorite among them. But I also enjoyed Lyric's friend Zoey with her interest in all things plague related.


To Read or Not to Read:
If you love a sizzling hot friends-to-lovers romantic comedy with an ending that will make you cheer, The Sizzling Paradox is just the right book for a hot summer day by the pool.

I had such a hard time trying to read this book. Both Lyric and Kian were annoying characters to me. I know they were the main couple but because of how annoying they sometimes were (especially Lyric) I really wanted them to suffer.

This book didn't end up being good to read for me until about halfway, because that's when Lyric stepped trying to set Kian up on dates with this girl Zoey she knew, even though everyone including Zoey and Kian knew they didn't fit together. Kian and Lyric's communication was a bit lackluster especially since they'd been roommates since college and took each other to meet each other's parents. It was amazing how they couldn't be honest about lusting after each other because "it was morally wrong".

I also found Lyric's thesis annoying and very improbable because it seemed very subjective to her thoughts and feelings and didn't see to be benefiting anyone other than her, even if the subject matter was interesting.

The Sizzle Paradox was quite adorable. Lyric is working on her psychology doctoral thesis: the sizzle paradox - how partners react chemically that show physical and emotional desire. At times Lyric was a little frustrating as she was unable to see and use the data because it wasn't solving her love life problems. But as a scientist you've got to set that aside.

Kian is her friend and roommate. Kian offers to tutor Lyric to help her out and Lyric offers to set him up in return. This brought in a few funny moments, as well as some steamy ones. They have some real chemistry together, and it was easy to see from the beginning that they were meant to be.

Their journey may have been a little rocky, but it was worth the ride.

What is not to love about a friends to lovers trope?

This was marketed as The Love Hypothesis meets other best sellers and I just have to say The Love Hypothesis was nothing great at all. I actually really disliked it. While The Sizzle Paradox ticked every box for me! IT was cute, sweet, fresh, enjoyable and Ididn’t roll my eyes on every page.

I liked the representation of women in science and always love a good friends to lovers story line!

The Sizzle Paradox follows Lyric and Kian, two best friends and roommates who are working on finishing grad school while navigating their love lives. Kian finds that he is just dating the same type of woman, while Lyric flounders when she gets attention from any male specimen. In an effort to be mutually beneficial, Kian starts tutoring Lyric on how to get men in a meaningful way, and Kian attempts to learn how to try and date woman who might not be his typical type. Seems like a flawless plan until they start to become more than just friends.

I enjoyed this academic type romance novel. I read this entire book in one sitting because I was DYING to know how it ended up. While the premise is definitely not something new, it was still a fresh take on the "friends to lovers" troupe. I also enjoyed that there was representation of so many women in scientific positions and academia! It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was a sweet novel and I was rooting for Kian and Lyric the entire book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good friends to lovers trope but Lyric and Kian’s story was missing the sizzle needed, as noted from the title. They were like able but not swoonable.