Thank you Netgalley for the this earc! This was my second book by Lia Riley and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Both main characters were relatable in more than one way. As with the previous novel by Ms Riley I was hesitant about the premise but was surprised by how easily the story-line flowed. I look forward to reading more of Lia Riley's books!

This was a cute slow burn book of childhood friends to lovers. I enjoyed the AI science and a female represented as a scientist! The combination of science and sports was refreshing!

Harriet is a computer scientist in the process of making a AI model that would help athletes become better at their sport. Her best friend’s brother just so happens to be a pro athlete who’s currently not performing so well. His name is Gale, the perfect test subject and also the man she’s had a crush on for years. As they try to work together, they find comfort in each other and find it hard to resist the inevitable.

This was cute and interesting enough to keep me going till the end. But something’s fell flat for me. I was really intrigued by their relationship dynamic. The fact that she was older and liked to take charge in the bedroom while he was wanting someone like that. But then we didn’t really get to explore that more than once.

I didn’t really care for the AI aspect. Especially how the AI overrode its own abilities to play matchmaker. And she made no effort to fix it. Also, the fact that the solution to all his problems was getting some kitty cat was kinda crazy to me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my second time reading an ARC for Lia Riley and I’d say I definitely enjoyed this more than the first, a very solid 3.75 stars. Riley’s book comes at an interesting time in the evolution of AI in the cultural zeitgeist, yet E.M.M.A is not really THAT big of a factor. The writing flows quite well and the play on the usual “strong woman who wants to let go and be led in bed” dynamic was super interesting to me. However, what takes away from the story is it feels as though we were brought into a love story that was already happening and we arrived somewhere in the middle. I also took issue with the idea that somehow love was the solution to Gale’s very clear trauma and mental health issues. Harriet and Gale are sweet, and clearly love each other, but it is a bit lost on me how exactly they got there. I would still recommend the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

Cute quick read. Tropes include best friends brother, friends to lovers, golden retriever MMC. This story features light spice and has a slight twist in power dynamics. Our FMC uses the line “because you’re mine now, and I protect what’s mine”’ 🥰😍 Fun story with a HEA.
Thank you NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager for this arc

Okay, I wanted to love this book SO badly. The premise sounded great. AI matchmaking, a dominant FMC in STEM, best friend’s brother, NHL forward love interest? Yeah, I was excited. But honestly…this just did not work for me.

First off, this was not Ali Hazelwood vibes. Not even close. It was just… boring. I wasn’t a huge fan of the story despite loving the concept. Harriet being a strong, dominant FMC was refreshing, and I liked that idea in theory. The EMMA AI concept was also unique and the reason I requested this ARC in the first place. But the execution? Yikes.

Here’s where it lost me:
1️⃣ The POV choice was bizarre. Her POV was in first person while his was in third, and it was SO jarring.
2️⃣ The chemistry felt contrived. I get the best friend’s brother trope, but going from barely connected in their youth to nearly insta love in their 30s didn’t feel believable.
3️⃣ Their personalities didn’t match their actions. The way they acted with each other made their “core personalities” feel flimsy.
4️⃣ The back and forth dragged on forever. By the halfway point, they were still stuck in the same dynamic, and it felt repetitive instead of fun.
5️⃣ The EMMA AI’s evolution was wildly unpredictable and Harriet just… accepted it? Felt weirdly nonchalant for someone who supposedly thrives on logic and control.

That said, there were cute moments. I actually loved the cat fiasco scene and some of the humor sprinkled in. Harriet being a STEM powerhouse was great to see, but I wish we got more banter and tension between her and Gale. Instead, there was a lot of self-deprecation, choppy scene transitions, and not enough romantic build up to hook me in.

⭐ 2 stars from me – great premise, but the execution fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lia Riley, and Avon for the eARC of this book.

Things I Liked: I love a good STEM romance and the pairing of a PhD computer programming girlie with a NHL player was right up my alley. I loved that they had crushed on each other from afar for years and had already built a solid foundation before the book started. The flashbacks to times throughout their high school years were cute and funny (and thankfully nothing creepy since she’s older than him) They had fun banter in the first part of the book and I really enjoyed their interactions. Gale was a deep and interesting character with believable flaws. His conflicting feelings about his dad were relatable and I really felt for him. I loved how she handled the dates he went on. He was respectful and kind to the girls, but very obviously only had eyes for Harriet. The moments with her friend and the baby were really cute!

Things I Didn’t Like: I thought the book had a strong start but fizzled out somewhere after they kissed and a call from his coach interrupted them. I thought the interactions with the AI were strange. It was supposed to analyze his playing but really only offered romantic advice. Which it wasn’t supposed to do, but Harriet didn't fix it? I also think the author should’ve stuck to one way of formatting the AI responses. The multiple different ways were distracting and sometimes hard to pick out of the writing. Harriet didn’t really have anything to overcome. Partly her recent breakup, but she got over that relatively quickly and then had nothing else to do.

I really enjoyed some aspects of this book, while others weren’t my favorite. Overall, I think it could be a solid read with just a little more tweaking.

I'm rounding up from 3.5. I really liked Puck & Prejudice, so I was excited for this. it started out promising, then got messy in the middle, then it kind of rambled at the end and didn't make the connections out needed to. Gale made the emotional journey he needed to. Harriet was just ok. It got a little repetitive at times with her denying what they had together. Then with all the baggage with the dad hanging over their heads most of the book, there's no mention of him after Gale finds out he died. No reaction from telling anyone, Harriet, Brooke, his coach, no one. Odd. The meeting with Collette seemed to come from nowhere, there was no foreshadowing, no mention of trying to find an outside investor, nothing. Weird. I always appreciate a good epilogue, but skipping over them actually being in a relationship and getting a proposal seems like a missed opportunity. oh well.

This had so much potential! Like the novel previous to this one it was just boring. I was hoping for so much more .

I found this to be super cute and a fun take on Emma.

I was a little nervous about reading this since it deals with AI and there's a lot of controversy about AI right now. I personally am not too crazy for it but I think it was written okay here. The E.M.M.A. works more as a tool to improve athlete's performance (think the Ice Princess movie?). When the program suggests a romantic relationship to improve Gale's game that's when the story starts to get messy.

Harriet and Gale were cute. If you like sibling's best friend and age gap you'll probably like them. Plus Gale is a dream worthy MMC. He's head over heels for Harriet which was adorable. Harriet has had a long standing crush on Gale so it was super cute seeing her try to fight her feelings. Their chemistry was well written and too hot to resist. I was also surprised by how spicy this was! Gale and Harriet certainly spark a flame.

I thought the Austen references were nice Easter eggs. I also thought it was interesting how the author paired Harriet and Knightly instead of Knightly and Emma. This was quite the twist and a total what if scenario. I thought this was a neat twist on the story and made it a unique retelling/inspired by book.

This is a second in a series but can be read as a standalone. Would recommend if you enjoy Austen retellings, age gap. siblings best friend and opposites attract.

Honestly upset that I couldn't get into this because Emma is my favorite Jane Austen novel and I try to read every adaptation/remix/etc. (And also failed matchmaker is my favorite trope). But I guess hockey romances just aren't for me and that must have played a role in me not caring for this one.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this story. I love the premise, and the main characters conceptually. However, I had some pretty key hold-ups when it came to enjoying the story:
1. The scenes can at times feel pretty choppy. I remember the chapter that begins with the cat fiasco felt so abrupt I had to go back a page to ensure I didn’t accidentally skip anything.
2. The chemistry feels quite contrived at times. I get the idea of the best friend’s brother thing, and I get the idea of kidding after your older sister’s best friend. What I don’t get is being apart, practically no contact for years — especially when it seems they were only peripherally related in their youth — and having it compound to near instant love as they approach their 30s
3. The characters’ personalities are at ends with many of their actions, and I couldn’t write it off as “the things we do in love” — I feel that their core personalities felt quite tenuous once they were interacting with each other
4. The continual back-and-forth felt fraught. It became un-fun to read and when I checked my pace, to notice I was already halfway through and this was still a core part of their dynamic, I got really confused. Not to mention, the evolution in the AI being entirely unpredictable doesn’t add up — nor does her seemingly nonchalant acceptance of it.

The E.M.M.A. Effect was a light and easy read with a few genuinely sweet and funny moments sprinkled throughout. The banter between the characters had its charm, and while the romance wasn’t exactly fireworks, it had a warm, feel-good vibe that kept things moving.

One thing that didn’t quite work for me was the way the perspectives were written. The female lead’s chapters were in first person, but the male lead’s were in third, and that shift made the reading experience feel a little disjointed. I think the story would’ve flowed better if it had stuck to one consistent point of view.

I thought the concept of EMMA was very unique and that was a large part of what made me want to apply for this ARC. Harriett being such a dominant FMC was refreshing as it’s not something you see as often. There were cute, funny moments I really enjoyed like the cat scene. I found the book to be very repetitive in certain parts. The self deprecation of the main characters was a bit too much at points. I wish there had been more banter between Harriet and Gale. I was also missing something that really hooked me into the book, I would give it a 2.75 star rating.

This was overall a cute read. It was giving an Ali Hazelwood vibe with the FMC working in STEM. All I know is if an AI software told me I am the perfect match for a hockey player- I’d be saying ok great! No questions asked 😂😂

I felt really bad with everything happened with his dad and was glad he was able to overcome it.

A few parts of the book seemed repetitive but still a fun read.

The E.M.M.A effect
A creative STEM/sports take on Jane Austen’s “Emma”, where Harriet (Emma’s impoverished friend) is the heroine and Gale Knightly (Mr. Knightly) is the love interest. E.M.M.A. Is the AI matchmaker/performance enhancer. While I enjoyed reading this version, I found the writing style to be a bit jarring with Harriet’s first person POV and Gale’s third person POV. I would have liked Gales POV to be in first person to feel a bit more connected to his character rather than viewing him from the outside. Thank you Net Galley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

The E.M.M.A. Effect is a fun, flirty STEM rom-com with all the right tropes: friends-to-lovers, fake dating, forbidden crush, and a hot hockey player paired with a quirky, brilliant computer scientist. The chemistry was on point, the banter was witty, and the emotional build-up felt authentic — a perfect balance of nerdy and swoony.

That said, the title really doesn’t do the story justice. It reads more clinical than cute, and totally undersells how much fun (and steam!) is packed into the pages. Rename it, market it right, and this could easily be a standout in the STEM romance space. Still, a thoroughly enjoyable read with all the tropes I love.

The story wasn’t bad, but it lacked the emotional depth and tension I was hoping for. The main characters realized their feelings for each other very early on, which left the rest of the book feeling a bit repetitive and lacking in momentum. Without a strong climax or meaningful development in the relationship, it started to feel a little dull. Not a terrible read by any means—just not particularly memorable.

Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, Lia Riley, and NetGalley for the ARC of The E.M.M.A. Effect in exchange for an honest review.

The E.M.M.A. Effect was a "5 hole goal" for me. This is the first book by Lia Riley that I have read and when a quarter of the way through the book immediately added some of her other books to my ever-growing TBR. Her writing and content style in this book was the perfect cross of Tessa Bailey and Ali Hazelwood (both of which are favorites in my library.)

The E.M.M.A. Effect is a reverse age gap and falling for her best friends brother (both of which are new tropes for me and I think I'm in love!) There were spots in the book that it seemed a little drawn out, but overall was a solid 4.5 star!

I thought this book sounded cool and different but it was very hard to get through.

I didn’t like how the male character was introduced and that pretty much stayed with me the rest of the story.

It had potential.