Thank you to the publisher and author for giving me early access to this arc!
May contain spoilers!

I almost DNF but decided to push through till the end. I’m super confused on how this is considered a romance/erotica novel when it contains none of that imo??😭 The two characters didn’t have much chemistry, their intimate moments were very low on the spiciness scale and Jake literally wanted to stay married to the other woman towards the end??? Which I understand was for convenience rather than out of love, but regardless, I struggled to find the romance between the two characters within these pages.

Fun characters, and I enjoyed the writing style, but just really didn’t get into the story here. The secret marriage and problematic dialogue kept bothering me, as well. I’d love to read something else in this author’s voice, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Honestly, this just wasn't my cup of tea. The idea was nice, the execution not so much. By the end of this book I was annoyed with pretty much everyone and that's just not an enjoyable read for me. You have adults acting like teenagers, they had an horrible miscommunication and were constantly jumping to conclusions, grow up and try having a conversation about the things that bother you.

(+) The fact that he's married and never even mentions it until he's discovered????? disgusting

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-copy of Once Upon an Algorithm by Clara O'Connor in exchange of an honest review.

"Once upon an algorithm by Clara O'Connor offers a captivating blend of work and romance. The book follows the journey of Leonie and Jack, who initially meet under unconventional circumstances and later find themselves working together. While the romantic aspect between the characters may not resonate with everyone, the vivid portrayal of the STEM field and the intricacies of their work draw readers in. O'Connor's attention to detail in describing the process of building an app, pursuing a business sale, and navigating the challenges of the professional world adds depth and authenticity to the narrative. Although the chemistry between Leonie and Jack may at times feel unconvincing, the fascinating insight into the world of technology and innovation serves as a compelling foundation for their budding relationship. Overall, Once upon an algorithm offers a unique perspective on the intersection of love and work, making it a thought-provoking read for those with an interest in both fields."

I wanted today give this one the benefit of the doubt, despite what many reviews already say. Unfortunately I have to agree with many of those reviews.

From the start I found the FMC’s friends to be so annoying. They are loud and just keep taking. Then they force the FMC on a date with a stranger in Paris, and things keep getting weird from there.

The FMC makes a lot of references to movies, people, and other things that just don’t make sense to me or are so far out that I’ve never heard of them. Maybe it is just me, but it was hard to follow at times.

There was absolutely no chemistry between the FMC and MMC. In fact, they pretty much hate each other after they meet for the second time, and it’s all because of a stupid misunderstanding.

The FMC acted like she was better than other people, and the MMC said some really inappropriate and sexists things to the FMC while they were in a work environment. I was not okay with any of this.

*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review

“𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙇𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙚. 𝙉𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨.”

This book had all the making for a great romcom. The premise was good and the character development was great (even if I did hate some of the characters). I did get lost amongst the tech talk at times where things weren’t explained in layman’s terms but it didn’t take away from the overall feel of the book. Leonie went through an absolute roller coaster of emotions and it was nice to watch her grow so confident. The suspense in the relationship kept me intrigued throughout. A lovely rom-com and a potential five star for the tech minded readers out there.

*received and e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

Once Upon An Algorithm made me laugh, but not in the way I think this was intended to. It's supposed to be a rom-com, but I didn't really get that. I laughed at how immature the couple was, there was more of a love/hate thing going on and not love/laugh.

I was excited that the main character was not a young 20 something, but around 40...until I realized she was emotionally, at least to me, still very young. I didn't enjoy the way Leonie and Jack, at least to me, didn't really like each other at all! Antagonizing isn't flirty or fun, and that's who they came off to me.

I actually enjoyed the technical parts, but the romance fell flat.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun fast paced book. I love any enemies to lovers book and this one didn’t disappoint. I do think it was a bit techy but other than that i really enjoyed it and would highly recommend for all contemporary romance readers.

It seems to me that in all this effort to write contemporary romances with STEM topics, we have lost sight of the fact that plot remains a fundamental point for any book that is not an essay or is not written by a Nobel laureate in literature. The second fundamental point then with regard to romance books is of course the drama that results from misunderstanding of any genre. In both cases, this book fails rather miserably in my opinion, because the plot is rather flimsy and the drama comes from an inexplicable decision made by both characters not to talk to each other, period. That said it goes without saying that I did not like the book and I do not think I will read any more by this author.

Mi sembra che in tutto questo sforzo per scrivere dei contemporary romance con degli argomenti STEM, si sia perso di vista il fatto che la trama resta un punto fondamentale per ogni libro che non sia un saggio o non sia scritto da un premio nobel per la letteratura. IL secondo punto fondamentale poi per quanto riguarda i libri d'amore é ovviamente il dramma che deriva da un fraintendimento di qualsiasi genere. In entrambi i casi questo libro fallisce piuttosto miseramente secondo me, perché la trama é piuttosto raffazzonata e il dramma deriva da una decisione inspiegabile presa da entrambi i personaggi di non parlarsi, punto. Detto questo viene da sé che il libro non mi é piaciuto e non credo ne leggeró altri di questa autrice.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I was so excited for this book after reading the blurb but it definitely fell flat. I think Leonie and Jack lacked chemistry. There was no angst or pining. There is way too much technical jargon and it's a huge turn-off when reading for anyone who isnt knowledgeable about coding/tech start ups. There is also some problematic stuff that didnt sit well with me (the FMC's friend is very bi-phobic in the opening sequence, and the MMC technically cheats on his wife). This book is also billed as a rom-com but I didnt find anything in this book to be funny. The author has the FMC call her mother both "mom" and her given name in the same paragraph for no discernable reason and it's really confusing. Lastly, the author allows the FMC's step brother just manipulate her from the beginning with no recourse. The ending felt entirely rushed for the disappointing HEA.

Thanks Netgalley for this opportunity.
I enjoyed this story, but probably for the wrong reason. Leonie and Jack end up meeting when she is looking for someone "completely opposite" of her desires, and have a wonderful but relatively PG-13 time. But they are forced to be around each other when they end up working for the same company, and chaos ensues while they deal with work, budding romance, desires, checklists, and ultimately what makes for a good match.
I won't lie to anyone: I did not love the romance here. I didn't really get the attraction between Leonie and Jack, and I didn't think their chemistry was believable. I think her interiority was a bit difficult to follow and while I LOVED the greek chorus that was her friend group, the detachment from her real life was a bit difficult.
BUT I did really love all of the work scenes! As a person in STEM, I really enjoyed hearing about their work, building an app, going after a buisness sale, etc. It wasn't the point of the heart of the story but I thought it was done really well! I think that helped counterbalance some of hte issues in their love story and was the better basis for how they grew to like each other.
So I gave this three stars because I enjoyed part of the story, but its probably more of a solid 2.5

I really enjoyed 'Once Upon an Algoritim' and ended up reading it in one night. It leaps straight into the chemistry between Jack and Leonie very early on and at first I thought it was a bit much too fast, but it set up the story between them both perfectly. There are lots of mishaps and funny moments, plus the stress of working in a tech start up that all comes together to make it an entertaining read. I would recommend it to others who enjoy a romance novel with a 'will they/won't they' trope.

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.