Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with this amazing ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting read as it was my first romance book with AI thrown in it. It was interesting in this day and age. I also enjoyed seeing them figure out what they're into. This was a nice reverse age-gap, sports/tech romance with some spice.

Couldn’t get past the second chapter because the first was written in first person and the second from gale’s pov was in third person. I know this is such a small thing but it bothered me. Would probably pick it back up if revised.

I was excited to have received this arc given the premise of the book. Stem FMC meets broody hockey player is a lineup we have all come to expect good things from. I loved aspects of Harriet’s personality, such as the exploration of her kink and overcoming insecurities surrounding them. I am not in that community, however I thought her exploration of that could have been expanded on more given my limited knowledge of the experience. That was an interesting addition to her character that is often underrepresented in female characters. Another aspect of the story I enjoyed was the complexity of Gale’s relationship with his father and how that differed from his sister’s. Again, as a reader, I would have liked to have seen that expanded upon more. It was one of the most interesting parts about Gale’s character and it makes more sense to me that EMMA would have suggested therapy or handling the demons of his relationship with his father as a means to solve his hockey issues, especially considering the coach essentially said as much. Harriett and Gale getting together in this way did not feel nearly as satisfying. Especially given how long they’ve known each other. Other things of note here, I found myself towards the end getting lost in the pacing of the hokey schedule (ex: wasn’t he suspended for two games by coach? And yet it reads like he suits up for the very next game unless I missed something). One major suggestion I have for the editing phase of this book would be to continue to alternate chapters but label them Harriett or Gale and rather than 3rd person omniscient, rewrite the chapters in the 1st person. Overall, this book has a lot of potential, but ultimately fell short for me.

DNF. Too many typos and errors. He looks down at his hockey skates while his coach is talking to him .. in his hotel room?!? And no reason for her pov to be first person while his is third.

I had super high hopes for this book. I am a lover of hockey romances, and this one came off as unique with stem aspect of it, I was really excited to read it and, unfortunately, was a bit disappointed.

My issue with it is the pov. That was the most confusing aspect of the entire book. Why go from first person to third person back and forth depending on Harriet or Gale's pov? This made reading it very confusing, and at times, I had to break off from it because the first person pov pulled me in while the third person pov pushed me back away.

I'm hopeful that this will change by the time the book is published. I know it will confuse a whole lot of readers if it stays with the back and forth.

My first read with a woman in STEM falling in love with a hockey player and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I loved the relationship trope of friends to lovers and best friend’s brother in this novel and all the complexities that came with it. I related so much to Harriet when it came to thinking with an analytical brain for everything and pushing back when the data doesn’t seem right even if I should listen to it since it’s from an outside perspective. While the ending fell slightly flat for me, I did enjoy the journey.

An interesting romance about an AI product that is intended to maximize athletic performance, but ends up also playing matchmaker. A very intriguing premise, which I enjoyed a lot at first. I did feel the FMC's attempts to thwart the inevitable lasted too long. I'd rate it 2.5 stars. I really wanted to enjoy it, but ended up finishing it because I felt I should for this review. MMC is definitely a cinnamon roll- type incredible guy, and I loved their sweet relationship, but overall, I felt the storytelling fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC!

First of all thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC.

This is 2.5 star rounded up for me.
While the premise was cute I felt that the whole story was very rushed.

There was a challenge for the female MC with some minor antagonists that ended up being resolved with no explanation just boom… no more problem just a resolution.

It was just fine, in my opinion.

I loved this story with its Jane Austen vibes, female power dynamics, and hockey romance. I am here for it all. The author did a fantastic job integrating Emma into the story without making it too on the nose and Harriet and Gale were adorable. I liked the way the author used personal insecurities on both main characters parts to create tension that bordered on miscommunication tropes but not going there. There were a couple of times the story felt drawn out but they were few and far between. Overall this was a really enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, The Emma Effect just didn’t work for me. I went in expecting a fun Jane Austen-inspired modern twist, but I found the story repetitive and hard to stay engaged with. The main character felt immature, and her constant indecision made it difficult to connect with her.

The AI plotline also didn’t add much for me. It felt like a distraction rather than a meaningful part of the story. I ended up DNF’ing the book because it just couldn’t hold my attention.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC, but this one wasn’t for me.

First of all, this had nothing to do with Jane Austen other than a couple characters' names, so that was a failed gimmick. On top of that, it was just not good. The dialogue, especially for the AI, was so cringey, and the plot so contrived and nonsensical.

This was my first book by Lia Riley. I thoroughly enjoyed The EMMA Effect, both Harriet and Gale's love and friendship were so heartwarming.

Super cute, adorable, predictable romance. Definitely enjoyed the characters and the tech + sports tie in. I really liked her writing style. The final chapter (not the epilogue - that was great, but the actual final chapter) felt forced and unnecessary and I really struggled with the main male character being named Gale. Those two things kept it from five stars. Otherwise I really enjoyed it!

I had high hopes for this book based on the description. It ended up having nothing to do with Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ aside from the acronym and matchmaking efforts of “E.M.M.A.” It was taking me a long time to read this because while the premise was great, the execution was not. I got to around 60% and decided that it just wasn’t for me so it was ultimately a DNF.
One thing I think people will complain about is the switch between first person for FMC and then third for MMC but I really didn’t mind that and have seen it done before in other books.

I loved the fact that the book has an AI base of the story and that the characters are reversed in their roles in a way.

Also.. the back story of Gale was one of the most interesting that I have read in hockey romances.

The story is well rounded but for me the love aspect did not hit it out of the park.

The E.M.M.A. Effect is a delightful friends-to-lovers romance that blends STEM, sports, and a touch of matchmaking AI. Harriet, a computer scientist, recruits Gale, her best friend’s younger brother and a pro hockey player, as a test subject for her AI program, E.M.M.A. When E.M.M.A. identifies Harriet as Gale’s perfect match to enhance his performance, their professional relationship takes a personal turn. The story is witty, steamy, and heartwarming, with a dynamic that keeps readers engaged.

Harriet Smythe es una brillante científica que ha creado un programa de inteligencia artificial llamado E.M.M.A., diseñado para ayudar a atletas a alcanzar su máximo rendimiento. Sin embargo, cuando su proyecto pierde financiamiento, Harriet se ve obligada a usar como sujeto de prueba a Gale Knight, un jugador de la NHL en crisis... que además es el hermano menor de su mejor amiga y su amor secreto de años.

Todo se complica cuando E.M.M.A. determina que la clave para el rendimiento de Gale no está solo en su entrenamiento físico, sino en su vida emocional. Según la IA, su "match" ideal es Harriet misma. Decidida a mantener lo profesional por encima de lo personal, Harriet programa citas con otras mujeres para Gale... pero ni el sistema ni la química entre ellos parecen dispuestos a colaborar.



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Estuvo entretenido, pero me desespero que Harriet casi destruyera su carrera y modificar datos por una tonteria.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

This was an interesting read. You're typical and very sexy romance story but with family trauma and AI intelligence thrown in the mix. The EMMA conversations were both equally funny because of the meddling and also freaky because of its intelligence and boundary issues. Interesting mix of possibilities of future AI growth, comedy, and spiciness. I loved the added spice. Most romance the characters really already know their own kinks. It was refreshing reading about characters who were really just coming into their own and learning what really makes them tick. I'd say this is a great technological Dom/Sub romcom(not words id ever thought id put together!)

I wanted to like this in the worst way possible. A STEMinist romance ala Ali Hazelwood but make it hockey? Yes, please. The MMC, Gale, was sweet and so in love with Harriet. Harriet was a smart AI coding team-lead in a male-dominated industry. They had great chemistry, a shared history, and a strong friendship to base their romance on. There was quite a bit of spice, which wasn’t my cup of tea but to each their own. And there was a little bit of hockey but it focused more on their relationship than anything else.

Sadly, it just missed the mark for me. Without spoiling anything I will just say that the ‘E.M.M.A.’ AI didn’t deliver what I was promised, I didn’t understand what was holding Harriet back from giving Gale a chance, and my lasting impression of this is frustration.

I didn't pick up on a lot of Jane Austen vibes, which I anticipated from the title, but I am a sucker for a hockey romance. The spice was good, though not my thing, and I loved the chemistry between the characters.