Author: Lily Menon
Format: E-book
Rating: 3.5 stars
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The Kiss Quotient meets Love Potion No. 9 in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Lily Menon, The Sizzle Paradox.
Lyric Bishop feels like a fraud – she’s studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners and what makes for a successful long-term relationship, only she can’t seem to figure it out in her own dating life. The science is sound, but how can she give her expert opinion with no real-world experience? In order to complete her doctoral thesis, she must crack the Sizzle Paradox – it seems the more sexually attractive she finds a guy, the less likely it is to come with an emotional connection; but why? – and to do that she must get the help she desperately needs.
Kian Montgomery, her best friend, roommate, and fellow grad student, has no trouble bringing both romance and sizzle to his own relationships. When he offers to tutor Lyric on dating tactics to find a good match, she’s certain it will solve her problems, and in exchange she agrees to set long-term-commitment-averse Kian up with someone different to give his romantic life a much-needed shakeup.
But once the two progress with their "tutoring sessions," they start to feel less like the academic exercise they were supposed to be as real feelings develop. Which is a problem, because Lyric and Kian are best friends and absolutely, irrefutably nothing else... Right?
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If you're in the mood for a truly funny romantic comedy book look no further - The Sizzle Paradox has all sorts of funny and romance throughout the entire book.
I liked all the characters in the book - and I loved the relationship that Lyric had with Kian. They were great friends, and once they actually opened up about how they felt about each other they made a cute couple.
Lyric and Kian did take A VERY LONG TIME to communicate with each other about how they really felt. Like, it was literally THE END of the book before they told each other they were in love with each other. They kept saying it to themselves and everyone around them, but when push came to shove they both kept their lips sealed with each other, and were then both absolutely convinced the other didn't love them. It led to a lot of hurt feelings and a lot of potential life changing decisions. That was the only thing that really bothered me about this book was that neither one just opened their mouth and said "Hey, I'm in love with you." Other than that I really enjoyed this book.
I loved the whole idea of Lyric needing a "tutor" because she felt so love inept. Her best friend, apparently more capable at love and all than her, offers to be her tutor and it works - they have this trust in each other that makes it just good enough to work. Lyric is able to trust that Kian will be honest with her about why she may be failing in relationships and love. And Kian is gentle and kind enough with Lyric to help her move through her awkwardness at dating.
The book was well written enough and kept me hooked with the story that I wanted to keep reading. Each part of the story worked well together and moved well within the book. I enjoyed watching each event and the entire story play out until it reached the end game.
Even with the amount of humor in the book it also had the right amount of heart and seriousness that comes along with adult life. The author did a great job striking that balance throughout this entire book.
The dynamic between each character was well developed and they all played off each other well. Even the weird moments that Lyric couldn't pick out because she wasn't love savvy fit into the story and made everything work.
The growth that Lyric did in terms of what she wanted from her education was good to see as well. She knew she had spent a lot of time investing in her education (and money, let's be real) and she took time to examine it due to her exploration and experiment with Kian. I think that time she took really helped develop her character and made her seem more like a real person.
Overall, this was definitely another hot from Lily Menon that I recommend to any adult who loves romance books!
The release date for this fun book is June 14, 2022.
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DISCLAIMER: I received and ARC of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions about this book are my own.
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