seraphina becomes milo’s research assistant and the two of them begin to get closer. recovering from a brain injury, seraphina is dealing with the impacts of that and trying to navigate her new normal.

i have mixed feelings about this book. the story had so much potential, with it being an interesting plot idea. one of the biggest fails seemed to be the pacing, there were a few time jumps that were brushed by and vague. this left some confusion about how much time had passed throughout the book. along with that the writing itself was just not up to parr. the dialogue of the characters often seemed choppy and forced (outside of the brain injury), along with there being a lot of clunky passages.

Safety in numbers was a simple and sweet romance that distinguished itself by exploring more serious themes. Seraphina is coming to terms with life after being in a serious accident, when she starts a new job at Grant industries. Milo is a successful billionaire that runs the company, and when these two meet sparks fly. Despite their immediate connection, they both are working through their own issues and the book explores how they overcome this. Despite being a somewhat stereotypical romance read, the characters were well written, multidimensional and very likeable. Would definitely recommend this book!

A different read for me.

The first few pages gave a doubtful vibe but as I continued reading, it started to grow on me.

There were places where I felt a bit lost and in few instances wondered if we would want our book bf to be like Milo etc.

Somewhere between 25% to 40% the thought I had was maybe Seraphina and Milo characters could have had a bit bolder image - something like Nora Roberts MCs.
But then after 50% I was like - each person is different and we have different strengths and weaknesses. Why not accept the characters as they are!

Though it felt a bit long, it was made for an interesting read.


3.5 stars for a good read.

QOTD: What time do you go to bed?
My A: Honestly... like 2-3am. I know, I know, it’s awful. I’ve been a raging insomniac since I was a child and all the medication, yoga and sleep schedules in the world haven't fixed it so I’ve given into being nocturnal. I’m usually awake by 9am. My husband, on the other hand, falls asleep around 8:30 every night and wakes up at 4:30am, so sometimes we meet in the mornings on our way in/out of bed.
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Get ready to add yet another book to your TBR for 2022! Sophie Penhaligon’s novel, Safety in Numbers, is a feel-good workplace romance. Fast paced and low angst, there were moments of predictability, but I never mind that if the characters can carry the story. I’m totally a sucker for the ‘I hate everyone but you’ trope and Milo is the perfect example of this. He’s rough around the edges and a total jerk, but he just melts for Seraphina. Swoon!! I admit, I would’ve liked more of a build up between them and more of their outside of work life, but I’ve been really loving the science/lab workplaces in romances lately! I also feel like the representation on TBI and Serephina’s day to day struggles were written well and obviously researched. All in all, a great book for a cold Thursday spent bunded up on the couch!
BLURB:
When a tragic accident leaves mathematician Seraphina Ellis broken and despairing, she is convinced that she will live out the remainder of her life in lonely solitude. Determined to conceal her disability from her co-workers, she hides away in her desolate cubicle, crossing off the days of her life, unfulfilled and defeated. A chance meeting with irascible but mesmerizing billionaire scientist and CEO Milo Grant provides her with the job of her dreams, and the chance of escape from cubicle land. But Grant is haunted by his own monsters and is increasingly interested in more than just her mathematical magic. In this touching and sexually charged contemporary romance novel, Sophie Penhaligon manages to deliver a novel that is lighthearted and fun whilst dealing with the difficult topics of loss and disability.

Seraphina Ellis suffers from a disability after a accident that changed her life. Milo Grant is a CEO, scientist and an asshole. Seraphina and Milo meet and love is born. This is pretty much the story.

I wanted to beging by saying that I loved that this book portraited a mental disability. Mental disabilities are a reality most of us don't know and don't understand about and I believe that, the fact that this book portraits one of this situations, makes us more aware of the challenges people with this condition might suffer. It's interesting to learn how Seraphina lives and deals with the world, how she has to work so hard on things most of us take for granted. I'm sure we all benefit to have such realities represented in books (or media).

The narrative either takes place in Seraphina's point of view or Milo's. I usually enjoy this split narratives a lot, but I didn't love this one because it was told in the first person and it didn't click with me.

As the story moves on (a bit too fast on my opinion) we get to learn more about Seraphina and Milo.

I really liked Seraphina but I couldn't connect with Milo. He is supposed to be an asshole just on the outside and a good person on the inside but I couldn't feel that vibe from the writting. For me Milo was just an over protective/controller ass who is used to get everything the way he wants.

Overall I'd give this book a 3.5/5 and I think it's worth the read simply by the fact that it portraits a mental disability. Plus it's very light and easy to read.

I read a lot of romance, so it is hard for a book to stand out to me. They all start to blur together with common tropes and ideas.

However, I found Safety in Numbers to be a delightful and engaging read. Milo and Seraphina were a great pairing and I enjoyed their romance. I think the fact that Seraphina suffered a brain injury was thoughtfully done. My cousin had a similar situation and it is hard to find books that have decent disability rep.

I binged this one in one sitting and would recommend it as a quick, fun romance.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Seraphina is a mathematician with a brain injury trying to navigate her new reality while determined to conceal her disability.

A chance meeting with irascible but mesmerizing billionaire scientist and CEO Milo Grant provides her with the job of her dreams, and the chance of escape from cubicle land. But Grant is haunted by his own monsters and is increasingly interested in more than just her mathematical magic.

This book started off wonderful, I was drawn to it as I had a similar issue after a brain surgery and really related to Seraphina. I found Milo interesting and I really enjoyed the beginning stages of their relationship. I loved the focus on them being intelligent individuals and found the book really sweet.

As their romance progressed, I did begin to feel like i'd put one book down and picked up another. While I'm no prude, I found the sexual aspects and Milo's constant gifts of clothing and a trip in a private jet overwhelming , a bit possessive and it started to feel a bit too Fifty Shades of Grey. I do feel the book lost it's way in the midde.

However! i'm pleased to say it picked up again and went back to being the lovely , interesting book i'd started reading and there was the introduction of further characters which added something special.

Overall a decent read and a sympathetic take on traumatic brain injury.

It was one easy romance read for me.. Also, I quite liked the setting, pace and the word building. Though, it was pretty predictable at times, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc.

I found Safety in Numbers to be an easy, sweet romance read. The main character Seraphina is coping with aphasia (loss of use of words) as a result of her traumatic brain injury suffered in a car accident a year previous.
While she has her arsenal of work-arounds and coping tools, she's determined to live as independently as possible and start to work again. She ends up at Grant Technologies and naturally comes to the CEO's attention (it's a romance).

Once she starts working directly under Milo Grant (CEO), her TBI kinda falls to the wayside as the romance develops. Naturally, Milo has some issues of his own, but it felt like they were thrown in more to balance the characters rather than something heavy.

Overall, I found this a medium/low angst and predictable (it's a romance!) read.

3.0 stars

Sophie Penhaligon's book, Safety in Numbers, can accurately be described as "un-put-down-able." From the moment I started reading this book, I was absolutely enthralled with her characters. I managed to binge-read the entire thing in one sitting. The main character, Seraphina, is fun, quirky, and relatable. You cannot help but root for her. This is everything I wanted in a book and more. I will definitely be recommending this one to my friends.

I loved and didn't love this book all at once. I adored the representation of neurodiverse characters and a character with a traumatic brain injury. I didn't love the overall arc of the relationship in the story.

Seraphina is pretty much alone in the world. She survived a devastating car crash that left her with a severe traumatic brain injury and killed her mother. Prior to the accident she had gotten her master's degree in Mathematics and was strongly involved in research. the accident significantly affected her speech language processing - which makes interactions with strangers and new environments difficult for her. But after a full year of recovery, Seraphina is ready to rejoin the working world. She interviews for a research assistant job with billionaire scientist/businessman Milo Grant. That interview - does not go well - but Seraphina gets a job in another area of the company and things move on from there.

Seraphina is such a sweetheart. She is kind and smart - and your heart breaks for all the things she has been through. How much she's accomplished and is able to do is also amazing. I liked how much the author showed that Seraphina was so much more than her TBI. That she was a normal human woman - just one who had some very specific and unique challenges. I liked Milo -a lot. He definitely doesn't try to "fix" Seraphina - and seems perfectly ok with letting her be who she is - TBI and all. He definitely needs Seraphina to bring him back down to earth and remember how to treat people.

So here's the thing - unfortunately - I felt this book succumbed a little bit to the "love fixes all things" pitfall. When we start the book - Seraphina definitely has a hard time communicating with strangers - and finding words. This improves at a very rapid pace throughout the book. I am not discounting the fact that her confidence was also growing - and that she had held herself back somewhat out of fear - but still it felt somewhat unrealistic. Like Milo believing in her "fixed" her TBI. Maybe it is just that we don't see her using as many of her OT prescribed systems, routines, and workarounds - but it felt like once she was with Milo that all just completely fell away.

I also felt that Milo's character - while interesting - ended up feeling somewhat two-dimensional. The background and information was there, but I just never really felt strongly about him emotionally in the same way as Seraphina.

Overall - this was a good read and a different take on romance. I love romance books that show the many different shades and shapes love can come in - and this one definitely does that.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Such a refreshing and sweet book about two people who find safety in each other. Big fan of smart women in STEM representation with a twist of her new disability (brain injury) and how she dealt with it. Loved the love, chemistry and patience the MCs had for each other.
It was an adorable, fast read that I was not able to put down, so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

I think this story had a lot of potential but missed the mark. Seraphina was a great character but Milo seemed one-dimensional and without growth in the story.

This book is more of a 3.5 stars than just 3! I love the premise and set up of the story, I just wasn't entirely sold on Milo's character. I love the grumpy yet soft guy trope but sometimes it felt like he was infantilizing Seraphina, rather than just simply caring for her. I'm not sure on the accuracy of how TBI was portrayed, but I actually really enjoyed it. It never really occurred to me before how difficult it is for people to have to relearn to speak and relearn basic words again, but this book really opened my eyes to it. I really enjoyed Seraphina as our heroine, but Milo just fell short in some places for me.

I was drawn to Safety in Numbers by the allure of women in STEM, nerdy workplace romance, an underdog disability, and romantic slow burn. A brilliant mathematician and computer programmer applies for a job as research assistant to an equally brilliant and accomplished inventor. Unfortunately Seraphina Ellis’ initial introduction with the irascible Dr. Milo Grant, CEO of Grant Industries, meets with an abrupt dismissal. Little do they know that their past challenges make them perfect soul mates!

Here’s my reaction to this love story, by the numbers. At 25%, my tummy was thrumming with excitement because I sensed I had found someone who knew how to set me up to fall in love. At 50%, my heart was palpitating with the thrill of new love and fiery sexiness. At 75%, my core felt warmed by the connection between the two lovers as they came to understand how they complimented each other, filling in gaps created by their self-doubts. By 100%, my soul floated on the euphoria of an indelible bond and well-deserved happily ever after. Sophie Penhaligon is a new-to-me author who has won a new fan!

This is a voluntary and sincere review of an ARC downloaded from NetGalley.

I liked the sound of Safety in Numbers and after reading The Love Hypothesis and The Kiss Quotient, I was ready for another science-based romance! Unfortunately, Safety in Numbers didn't live up to my expectations. I think the representation of a traumatic brain injury was good, I don't know an awful lot about them but it didn't make light of the situation which I appreciated.

My main issue was with the way the story is told through the character's internal thoughts, pages would go by without any actual dialogue between characters. Pretty much everything was told directly to the reader by the character thinking about the situation and how they felt, it was pretty odd to read.

For example:
'We enjoyed a companionable dinner with me doing most of the talking. She really appreciated Emmy's chilli, and I was surprised at how much she ate. She was a petite girl. I didn't think she would have much of an appetite, but she certainly did it justice.'

If I wasn't reading this for a NetGalley review then I probably would've DNFd around 45%, but I definitely would have done when Milo went into crazy caveman mode over a bit of ice cream...

3.5/5⭐️
If you want more women in STEM,then this is the book for you!!
Well,this was definitely a book with heavy complex subjects such as disability representation,child abuse which I was thrilled to see because we need more of this in books.
Considering I loved The Kiss Quotient,The Fine Print,Love Hypothesis,The Heart Principle,I knew I was gonna enjoy a woman in STEM.Who wouldn’t really?
There was nothing particularly wrong with this book or the plot.I did find the character development well-written since we can see the difference from the beginning to the epilogue.Not as other books where there is no evolvement.I normally enjoy steamy scenes in books,but I didn’t really appreciate the scenes in here.Respectfully I don’t want to offend the writer,but I feel like they didn’t put a lot of effort into the smutty scenes.
Other than that,I adored Milo and Seraphina’s relationship.They always took their time and didn’t force things.It felt quite flowing.Seraphina is an angel literally.She is sweet and calculated,trying to not be a burden in people’s life.Even though,I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that he is an asshole.I know this is how he is presented,but that wasn’t the case really.Except the first scene where Milo is having a discussion with his employer,he wasn’t an ass at all.Not that i mind,but i expect more banter and pinning.
After all,it was good and I’m thankful I had the chance to give an honest review to this ARC.So thanks to NetGalley!!!

I was really hoping to like this one. I was surprised at how well the main character’s TBI was portrayed, but I think this book got a lot heavier than I originally anticipated. There are things like child abuse and loss of a parent discussed, which did make it a little hard for me to personally enjoy the overall romance of the story. I also felt like those topics I mentioned above were just…there. They weren’t explored enough, so it felt like they were just there to be there. Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential but fell flat for me.

DNF at 42%.

Seraphina Ellis received a traumatic brain injury in a car accident which has made interactions with others difficult. Faced with spontaneous choices she panics and so her life has become highly regimented with a daily meal plan, clothing selections and set routines for every part of daily life. her stilted speech and social awkwardness mean that despite her brilliance as a mathematician she has a lowly cubicle job in a tech firm.

Milo Grant is a billionaire CEO of the tech company where Seraphina works, young, handsome and good-looking of course he comes with a bad personality, sacking assistants regularly and shouting/swearing at people.

Seraphina originally interviewed for the role as Milo's assistant but failed the interview. Having seen how Milo bit the head off of the HR woman when she tried to introduce them Seraphina is sort of glad she didn't get the job, even if the alternative is that she has an unfulfilling job and no friends. She even meets him in a lift one day on the way to her cubicle and he makes an unkind joke at her expense.

After firing yet another assistant Milo decides to get the head of HR to trawl their employees qualifications to find someone who can handle the work - surprise, surprise it is the mousey woman from the lift. When she starts work it turns out she is perfect for the role, far better than Milo could ever imagine and he finds the time he spends in the lab with her the best parts of his day.

All this sounds great right? STEM heroine meets flawed billionaire yadda, yadda, yadda.

Sadly, the execution was lacking. First, I got the distinct impression that this had been written as a serial because things were repeated. For example, Milo uses escort agencies because he got his heart crushed and he likes his romance transactional (what a charmer!). The reader gets told this more than once, I'm like I know he's a sleazebag you don't have to repeat it. Similarly, we hear about the girl in the next cubicle to Seraphina who reads out bits from gossip rags more than once as if this is news.

Second, Milo is rude to his employees and thinks that's okay, similarly Seraphina is very scathing about her fellow cubicle drones, who all made an effort to befriend her but she gave them the hard shoulder and speaks ill of them behind their backs (in her head but it totally counts.

Third and finally, the book feels as though it is almost entirely written as interior monologue of Milo and Seraphina, first he thinks about something, then she thinks about something. There's a lot of unnecessary descriptions of her hair and his hair etc, etc.

Overall, I began to dislike both characters so I decided to stop reading.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ I absolutely loved this story! The story was so heart warming and had all of the things I love in a contemporary romance. There is great disability rep and the grumpy/sunshine storyline was perfect. It does have insta-love which I know not everyone likes, but I LOVE it! I only took .5 a point from the rating due to the writing being a bit quirky at times so I couldn't get completely lost in the story.