You Can't Fight Molecular Attraction

by Marceline Addams

Emily Morgan is a hyper-competitive and brilliant young scientist poised to take the world of molecular genetics by storm. She has been asked to present her research at a prestigious conference and her mentor has all but promised Emily that she will be her replacement when she retires. Everything is going well for her except her love life–she’s had a dry spell so long that it could be called a drought–but when she has a meet-cute with the handsome Alex Davidson that leads to an intense night of passion, Emily thinks that maybe everything is finally lining up for her.

She’s feeling on top of the world until Alex treats her like a disposable one-night stand and she learns that he stole the job she thought was hers. As her boss, he is exacting and cold, pretending not to know Emily at all. He’s the total opposite of the guy that she thought she met at the hotel bar and it’s going to take all she’s got to put on a professional smile and pretend that she doesn’t know just how enticing her boss is underneath that lab coat. As Emily struggles to navigate her complex feelings for Alex, the challenges of working under him, and the regular pressure of being a woman in STEM, she can't help but wonder if their chemistry is a fleeting attraction or if there could be a deeper, molecular bond between them.

Fans of The Love Hypothesis and other Ali Hazelwood novels are sure to enjoy this full-length enemies-to-lovers workplace romance featuring women in STEM, laugh-out-loud romcom moments, strong female friendships, and a slow-burn steamy relationship with a boss. Set in a molecular genetics lab in Boston, Massachusetts, this is the first book in the CellTheraGene Romance series and can be read as a standalone novel.

Genres: Romance, Stem, Rom Com, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Workplace Romance

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2023

About the author

Marceline Addams is a half-goth, half-Haitian romance fan working in a STEM-related field that she'd love to quit. Fueled entirely by workplace gossip, she channels her penchant for mischief and genetic predisposition for drama into writing romance novels instead of destroying careers.

She hates sitting still and when not pacing the room, she can be found booking flights she can’t afford, singing to herself in bathrooms, and daydreaming about getting rich. She enjoys spicy workplace romances, enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, forbidden love, historical, and paranormal romances as well as fantasy and romantasy. Please help her stop herself from accidentally forming a cult by checking out her romcoms!

Marceline can be found on Instagram and Tiktok @writermarceline

Reviews

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't know yet, I LOVE science, i read about it, watch movies about it and of course learn about it.

Unfortunatly for me, there are not many cutesy rom-coms based in a STEM setting. Thankfully due to Ali Hazelwood there are more on the market and this being one of them.

Let me start out by saying that the first chapter of the book read like a creative writing piece written by a highschooler when tasked to describe an enviroment. And I would know because that is an assesment that I am doing right now. However, I can't lie I did enjoy this book a lot. BioTech really interests me so it was fun to see in a romance book.
I am no fan of boss and employee (and teacher/student for that matter) relationships but this one was not to bad in my humble opinion.

I really loved the conferance at the start of the book where top scientests present there finding, maybe because I want to go and speak at one of those one day but lets not dig into that fact.

Okay are you ready for a rant? So like in all Women in STEM books there is a guy that makes fun of her being a woman and making lude commets about her tits, 1st real unorginial and 2nd why are there always guys like that. I get it okay, irl there are terrible guys who discriminate against women but this is not real life so lets make it so theres not. ALSO this REAALy gets my engines going IN THE NEXT BOOK THE GUY THAT TORMENTED HER AND MADE RUDE COMMENTS IS THE LOVE INTEREST IDK THAT THE GIRL IS GOING TO EMBARAS HIM THEY ARE GOING TO GET TOGETHER AND HE DOES NOT DESERVE THAT. AT ALL. IM SO MAD Ohhh but the things he said to her were just so arghhhh, i have real anger right now, dont you dare test me. Im so mad hes gonna have a whole book to himself, he doesnt even deserve a scentance.

Okay, so this book is no Ali Hazelwood, but it was fun, if your missing stem, this is worth the read

[Emily | EMVZ.woodandbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

🥽 One Night Stand to Enemies to Lovers
🥼 Forced Proximity
🧪 Workplace/Boss Romance
🔬 Corporate Retreat
🧬 Caught in the Rain
📈 Women in STEM
💕 Open Door 🌶🌶


As luck would have it for Emily, the first time she stepped outside her comfort zone during a conference weekend, she ended up in a one night stand with the one person that took her promotion from her and now is her future boss, Alex. This book.. I enjoyed this book way more than... I dare say... The Love Hypothesis! The tropes were all the right ones and so much more realistic. It wasn't over the top and found it to be relatable (in general and as a woman in stem).

This debut book was well written from Emily's POV. The characters had believable flaws. The side characters had their own lives and dynamics going on that didn't completely center around Emily. It was an easy read that I was able/wanted to finish in one sitting! I only wished it was dual POV, so we got more of Alex.

Overall, the book was light-hearted with some serious aspects of being a woman in STEM, toxic family, and loss/grieving.

I would definitely recommend this book to others! ✨️

Thank you, Marceline, for the eARC copy. This is my honest review. I look forward to buying the physical copy for my collection!

[Josy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally hated the main character like 90% of the time. The male main character had no personality und with an exception of maybe one or two side characters, they were all horrible. It was sometimes okay, because it showed the problems with working in STEM as a women, but with the main character also being unreasonable all of the time, it just made finishing this book incredibly difficult.

[Molly Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

❗️Disclaimer: This review isn’t to tell the author that they are bad or not. This review is simply based on my own personal opinion of the book. I do suggest you give it a chance before you form an opinions about it and decide whether you like it or not.❗️

I really was so exited for this book and couldn’t wait to read it but unfortunately it wasn’t what I expected.

Things I liked

- I enjoyed the concept of the book.
- The writing was good.
- I liked the tropes that can be found in this book.
- I liked Alex and loved how he owns up to his mistakes and actually cares about her and her career.
- The spice level was good, probably 1 🌶️
- I did enjoy that the main character was a woman in STEM and was super exited to read more about that


Things i didn’t like:

- I didn’t love the story and its execution.
- I didn’t like the narrative point of view and that we only got Emily’s POV through the whole book, I just wish we had more of Alex in that sense.
- I felt like the plot was also a little to fast paced and wished there were more detail.
- I found Emily (the female main character) to be a little immature and I didn’t like how quickly she got attached to Alex, it was just to quick for me.
- I wish we got more of Emily’s job, what she did, what projects was she working on and just more information about it.


Overall I did enjoy some parts of this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. There were a lot of things that I wish were better. I do wish the author the best and I am thankful for the chance to review their book, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

[chaithanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Any comparison made to Ali Hazelwood is honestly an insult to her. I was so close to DNFing it. I would like to say I rushed past the final pages cause it was so exciting and not because I wanted to finish it ASAP, but sadly, that was the case. I cannot believe that Emily is a 30+-year-old woman who has spent a lot of years in STEM yet hesitates to go to HR after multiple incidents of hostile work environment. Every man in this book is disgusting except obviously Alex Davidson. He needed to be her knight in shining armour to save her from work place harassment. And also if Emily's parents did not want another child or hate their second child they should have just said so, not force her to live Emily's life for 21 years and then after 1 magical phone call make a complete 180. Lastly, what was this subtle shaming, with oh idk if I can trust my sister she parties a lot, yeah cause she is fucking 21 years old or on the bus where she is like the bad kids sit in the back, like there are so many other words that could have been used. Idk if the author was intentional with these words as they form very insignificant parts of the book, or if she wanted to portray an annoying ass main character. Oh the romance? non existent. Emily's attraction to Alex was too weird, too sudden, like he is a ONS calm down jeez.

[Ashli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for sharing an ARC of this book.
This book has:
-Workplace Romance
-Supportive friends and family
-LOL moments

This is the author's debut novel and she did not disappoint.
Emily Morgan is a female scientist in a male-dominated field.
Alex Davidson is a handsome fellow scientist with whom Emily shares an immediate connection.
The chemistry (no pun intended) between Emily and Alex is instant and spicy.
As with any rom-com, there are twists and obstacles that get in the way, but you will not be disappointed in the outcome. Except for Zack, he's a jerk! In my opinion, he got off easy.
This book is much more than a romance. I love the relationship between Emily and her younger sister Clara and the way Emily tries so hard to be there for her and protect her. Unlike other romances that sometimes feel unbelievable, this one had many real-life elements, which I enjoyed.
I read multiple books at a time, but if I didn't I would've been able to finish this in one sitting. The short chapters and quick pace of the narrative kept me immersed in the story. I feel that there might be more in store for Emily and Alex, at least I hope so.

This was a great debut novel by Marceline Addams and I am looking forward to more.

[Myrthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/4

[pagepeekerpepsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

What was that

[Katelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Fabienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is to Ali Hazelwood what Gary Busey is to Nick Nolte. And even that isn't fair because Gary isn't wooden and this book definitely is.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

This book perfectly fills the Ali Hazelwood shaped hole in my heart after I have read everything she's published.

This book is so cute. Such a short, fun romance that was super enjoyable to read. The lovers to "enemies" to lovers? Amazing. The relationship in this book is so fun to read because the whole time it was so clear they both still were lingering on what happened when they first met? The little wood shack? Perfect.

The actual anger that went through me as Emily continued to be discounted by literally EVERY single male coworker she had???? Literally was fuming as I was reading this. As a woman in science, I know that feeling of being looked down at like I'm stupid, and to see it so perfectly incapsulated in this book was so infuriatingly wonderful.

**spoilers**

The ending of this book was the perfect ending. Her getting revenge on basically every man in that company who did her wrong? Perfect. Filing an HR compliant for the son of a major donor, who has continued to be an ass to literally any woman?? Wonderful (gave big Spanish Love Deception vibes there).

I love love loved this book and cannot wait to read more by this author.

[McKenna Lash · Rating 4 out of 5]

****Spoiler-Free ARC Review****

First of all, thank you to Marceline and her team for giving me the chance to read an ARC copy of this debut novel. I’m very new to ARC reading, so it means a lot to me. And honestly, this book pulled me out of my recent reading slump, so another big thank you to the author!

Now on to the review! This book was such a fun read. I practically read it all in one sitting. It was very “trope-y” but they were all tropes I’m such a sucker for. Enemies to lovers, workplace romance, and forced proximity were the biggest components. I’m usually not the biggest fan of RomComs, just because the tropes feel goofy and forced, but this one just felt so natural.

I loved Emily as our FMC because as a woman who was pursing a STEM career, I truly felt how she did when it comes to feeling like you have to work harder than everyone else to prove your worth. Also, the relationships between Emily and her sister, Clara, and the family pressure from their parents hit really close to home. I also have a sister who is a lot younger than me and it feels like I always had to be the one to do the “right” thing and not be a disappointment to the family. Very well written, and it made me feel all the feels.

Alex was a great MMC because he was the perfect balance between “pretentious asshole” and “pure simp-y boy toy”. He had his own ambitions, but ultimately he was a great guy who would do anything for his girl. Their interactions were very cute (and some very steamy) and I adored their chemistry.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend to anyone, especially those who are fans of books like The Love Hypothesis, because these books had very similar vibes. They’re very different in content and story, but I love the inclusion of a strong FMC in STEM. Very very cute! 💕

[Jule · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw a review of this book that said “I literally hated the main character like 90% of the time. The male main character had no personality und with an exception of maybe one or two side characters, they were all horrible. It was sometimes okay, because it showed the problems with working in STEM as a women, but with the main character also being unreasonable all of the time, it just made finishing this book incredibly difficult.” (Josy)I couldn’t put it into better words.

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can only rate by how much I enjoyed reading something and this was 5 stars. Might not be the deepest read but it is fast and fun and cute. Flew through it one day.

[Scarlett Larouge · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, thanks to the author and the publisher for providing me with this ARC copy! Let's dive right in. This book has:

-Enemies to Lovers
-Forced Proximity
-Boss Romance
-Supportive friends and family
-Laugh out loud moments

The story follows Emily (single POV), who is competitive and career minded. Her job in a genetics research lab means everything to her and Emily's retiring boss has basically promised Emily that she will be getting a promotion to department head when the boss retires. Emily is also presenting at a prestigious conference and decides to follow her friend's advice to try to meet someone there.

Emily meets Alex at the conference and they hook up. (In case you are wondering, the spice level is probably 🌶️🌶️🌶️. IMO it is explicit without being over the top or too much for a romcom. Basically, it's steamy but not overkill). Their chemistry is immediate and even though Emily is thinking of it as a one night stand, she still gets her hopes up a little when Alex seems interested afterwards. But then things change and he is mysteriously cold to her. It is only later, when she gets back to work that Emily learns that Alex actually was given the job she thought was hers. Not only is she upset about that, but Alex pretends to not know her at first which leads to some enemies to lovers vibes.

I personally really enjoyed this book. Emily is determined and smart, but she has believable flaws. And Alex is a great counterpart to her. It seems like he might be a jerk at first, but really he is not the type of guy who frequently has one nights stands and doesn't know how to handle the dynamic that occurs when he finds out that she is his employee. He is actually very thoughtful and funny, closer to cinnamon roll than bad boy. I found it a really believable take on enemies to lovers, which can be hard to do in contemporary settings.

I also really liked the side characters. Sometimes I get annoyed when books make everything about the main couple and their friends and family just exist to give them dating advice or build them up. In this book, I felt like everyone actually had motivations and lives besides watching Alex and Emily get together. I really loved Hannah, Emily's best friend, as a character. She stole every scene she was in and had her own side-plot in the background instead of being the "supportive best friend" trope. Emily also has a sister named Clara who is part of the plot. At first I thought that I was going to hate Clara, but honestly, I liked the family drama that she kicked off and seeing her and Emily bond as sisters.

The villains of the story are honestly just too believable. Men like Emily's boss probably exist at every single company and her rival Zack is definitely the type of guy that we have all unfortunately ran into at least once. As a side note, Zack is a total jerk, but like... a jerk I would like to know more about???

Overall, the book was light-hearted. It does touch on some serious things: sexism in the workplace, toxic family relationships, and loss/grieving, but without going too deep. This book is definitely light hearted and fun. It was one of the best crafted romcoms that I have read in quite a while and honestly made me laugh out loud several times. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading contemporary romcoms, workplace romances, and enemies to lovers done with a light touch.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

----------------------------------------------
Thank you so much Marceline and their team for giving me an advice reader copy in exchange for my honest review! It's such a honour!
----------------------------------------------
This review will be be split into two sections: writing and the story.

Writing:
The writing was great! It was easy to follow, had a great pace and I didn't notice any spelling or grammar errors.

This kind of bleeds into story but also writing style but, I wanted more. I was really excited to read another STEM romance but, for me, it wasn't enough. The fact that Emily was in STEM didn't impact the story too much, for me, because it could have been so easily any other career. I thought that we would know more about the research, more about what exactly she did, why she did it, etc. I found it to be very surface level. I really wanted more details about her work and not almost "fade to black" on her career. Yes, we did get some information, I won't deny that. But it really was limited.

The Story:
I appreciate that this is another STEM romance, it makes me happy because smart girls deserve their moments too! It really was Hallmark meets STEM romcom and I am here for that!

I thought that the workplace bullying, negative comments, and a lot of the feelings Marceline has written about are relatable for women in any career! It was nice to have some of my inner comments represented in literature. But I wish we had more background content regarding what the workplace was like before Alex because I think it would have been more impactful on the plot between Zach and Emily.

I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of how Emily reacted to Alex and how he handled THE situation. I understand that in those moments, we don't always react in a way that we are proud of because we are embarrassed. However, I thought Emily overreacted and was immature about it, especially because it dragged on for so long. She slept with Alex once and gets SUPER attached. I wished this was dealt with differently because it was WAY too quick for me.

Tropes: if you don't like tropes, this book is not for you! We have so many and personally, I loved all of them!

Side characters: I actually really loved the side characters in this book. Sometimes I find that they can take away from the main story but that wasn't the case. Emily's BFF is so supportive and helpful. Emily's sister gives another perspective of life: living in the shadow of a successful sibling. I feel like the side characters actually benefited the main character a lot.

Spice level: 1? 1.5?🌶: it's a romcom, but a little bit more steamy than your typical romcom. It was a great scene, well written.

Love interest: he is human in the best way. He makes mistakes but owns up to them! He actually cares about her and her career. I don't want to write much about him because I want people to discover him on their own!

Overal/TL;DR
I enjoyed this book and finished it super quickly. But there wasn't enough nerdy content for me, I found the FMC to be immature at times but the writing style was very good! I can't wait to see what else Marceline comes out with! 3-stars⭐️

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

- I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would
- the writing was what I would imaging mine would be like if I decided to read a book: fine but kinda clumsy
- i was thrown out of the story multiple times because of the way it was written (ex. "Then she did this. Then this happened." I mean, come on!
- i also didn't really like any of the characters
- Alex was very one-dimensional, I didn't get to know him over the course of the story. Here's all I know about him: he's hot, he's smart and apparently has good chemistry with the FMC Emily, and his family is dead. That's legitimately all I know about him.
- Emily is just kinda dumb? She didn't see her parents' blatant favouritism for her over her sister Clara. When Clara asked her to co-sign her student loans, Emily didn't talk to her about it, she didn't tell her that she wasn't comfortable doing that so what did she do instead? She realised her parents treated Clara worse and then called them to tell them that Clara lost her scholarship and had asked Emily to co-sign the loans. And then she was surprised that that didn't go well????? I really don't know what she expected to happen.
- and Clara?! girl, you are 21 years old and you continue to play the victim! Sure, she had a lot of pressure on her but the way she didn't really take responsibility for CHEATING on an exams and then acted like a victim when she lost her scholarship? She was lucky she didn't get expelled.
- and the way she cheated was so stupid as well?! She had the questions and answers to the test. Just study them beforehand! Don't take them to the exam with you???
- there was also just no originality in the plot. when you take a generic plot line like workplace enemies to lovers, you have to make it your own.
- so to recap: I didn't particularly like the writing, the characters or the plot
- in my personal review I gave the book 2.75 stars, so I decided to round it up to 3 stars on here

[Darkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Can’t Fight Molecular attraction was a book that felt like a guilty pleasure. It was a book that I could read when I was feeling overwhelmed and just wanted a moment to lose myself in a world. With YCFMA all i had to do was read what was on the paper. As a romantasy reader it was a nice change of pace in between books. The ending was also more satisfying then I thought it would, usually the character just gets the love interest and we end it there but in YCFMA… Did you really think I would just tell you the ending? Oh no no no, you my dearest viewers will have to find that out when the book comes out on March 15! But back to a serious note, not only was YCFMA a fun read it also tackled concepts such as fixing toxic environments/dynamics, gender inequality and harassment in the workplace all while not being overwhelming or so long that you find yourself just wanting the book to be over. In the end I can say that I truly enjoyed this book. Irecommend this book when you’re in a reading slump or need a book to read when you feel stressed and want something light on the mind.

How they Started VS How they ended :
“As she glanced around the crowded registration area, her eyes landed on a handsome stranger who had just walked in and approached a group of other men standing near the modern glass fireplace in the center of the room.”

“And as she took his hand in hers, walking back to the car, Emily realized that she had finally found everything that she had been looking for.”

Quites I loved :

“Oh, Emily, you sad little stalker troll.”

“There were only so many places a gorgeous 6'2" scientist could hide in such a small city.”

“It was the way he looked at her, the way that he said her name. Emily. Such an average name. She had never really considered it to be sexy, but the way he said it sent a shiver through her. It felt so intimate, her name on his lips.”

[Valerie Youngblood · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Summary*
Emily is a brilliant and strong woman in STEM. She feels on top of the world on her way to a conference she was asked to speak at and was about to be promoted at her company. Convinced by her best friend, she decides to let her hair down and ends up having a one-night-stand with the gorgeous and brilliant Alex Davidson. The next day they plan to see each other, but after her presentation Alex is dismissive. Emily returns home feeling rejected. Focused on taking on her new role, she walks into work on Monday only to be told she didn't get the promotion. She's even more outraged when it's announce that Alex was taking the role and he acts as if he's never met her. Her mind might say she hates him, but she can't deny her body's attraction to him.

*My thoughts*
I really liked the way the author made the situation relatable to women in male-dominated fields. I felt I was able to feel some of the struggles Emily faced. To me, this book read like a Hallmark movie. It had some spice too it, but the scenes weren't too heavy on the details. It was a light read that lightly touched on heavy topics such as harassment in the work place, (both physical and sexual) death of family members, and complicated family relationships. I loved Emily's competitive nature and although she was written as a strong FMC, her strength wasn't overly exaggerated.
The book is not dual POV. There were times I missed the male tone and wished I knew what Alex was thinking. In the end, his thoughts are shared through communication between the characters and the mystery that is Alex unravels to bring a well constructed ending to the book.

I really enjoyed the book and would recommend to anyone that appreciates a good STEM romance with a dash of enemies-to-lovers!

[Abigail Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of being on Marceline’ s ARC team for her debut novel “You Can’t Fight Molecular Attraction”.

The book follows Emily who is the FMC and she works in STEM. Emily works in a male dominated field and gets treated like crap most of the time especially by Zack. He was one of the worst villains I’ve read about in a while. Emily is a victim of sexual harassment and gets blown off by her superiors when she reports the harassment.

Emily goes to a work conference where she meets Alex and they have an instant connection. They have a one night stand. After Emily gives her presentation at the conference, she is told that Alex is going to be her new boss. Emily come off a little immature in how she handles Alex being her boss while she tries to navigates her feelings for him.

After going on a company retreat, Emily and Alex finally express how they feel about each other. They hooked up for a second time and it was kind hard to figure what was going on and it was a little awkward.

My only complaint about their relationship was that I wanted more. I wanted to see them go on dates and just have fun together. I definitely wanted to see them in the future being married and having babies. I also wanted to see Emily at her new job!

I liked all of the side characters especially Emily’s friendship with Hannah. I liked Emily’s relationship with her sister Clara. I liked that Emily encouraged her to chase her dreams and not feel like she needed to put in a box by her parents.

Overall, the book was good. Marceline’s writing style was good.

Spice level was 1-1.5

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Office Romance
Forbidden romance

[Claudine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much Marceline for the advanced copy of You Can't Fight Molecular Attraction!

What I loved:
- Emily's relationships with her best friend Hannah. Sometimes being in competitive and isolating industries results in competition between women (can be healthy competition, but usually toxic) but it felt like Emily and Hannah truly had a bond where they lift each other up and rooted for each other's success!
- The entire company retreat. Won't get into any spoilers, but the build-up to the shed scene.... *chef's kiss*
- A believable meet-cute. At first, I was like, how did she not realize she slept with someone well-known in her field of study, but let's think about it. Do you read an academic paper and immediately think "I need to see a picture of this author and see if they're hot or not"? Of course not.

What I would change:
- Felt like the plot moved a bit too quickly. Maybe more details or scenes where Alex and Emily worked together, showing how else he ignores her, to add the enemies part of "enemies to lovers". Maybe have a time where he thinks he is trying to help, but makes the situation worse, like the break room scene.
- Zack is definitely a villain, but I want to know more about his motives. What else happened between him and Emily? I feel some tension there.

Overall, it was a quick and fun read! I hope we see more of the CellTheraGene world soon.

[autumn ༊*·˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

enemies to lovers
close proximity
touch her and i’ll hurt one
strong female character

this book gave me love hypothesis’ vibes and for those that know me know that is my favorite book so reading this was very easy for me to get involved with and be attached to these characters. Emily is solely focused on furthering her career in STEM and Alex is the hottest thing since sliced bread in the STEM field so when they meet in new york for a conference the things that happen next are every sense of the word surprising.

i enjoyed this book as much as anyone who loves a good stem book mixed with all of the tropes named. i enjoyed the character development from Emily throughout the book so much. Emily’s best friend, Hannah, is a real one. the literal definition of best friend. Emily’s parents annoyed the absolute heck out of me and they slightly redeemed themselves towards the end. Alex is a man that does what he says and says what he means, through and through. also he loves cotton candy flavor yogurt, that should say everything you need to know about him!

i read this book as an arc but i still preordered it after reading because it was that good. the book releases march 15th and i definitely think of you liked the love hypothesis you’ll throughly enjoy this one as well!!

[Anise Starre · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight this was! I was hooked from the get go and I loved Emily - she was a brilliant protagonist. I really enjoyed following the journey she went on, not only with her relationship with Alex but also her relationship with her sister Clara.

I loved Marceline's depiction of Emily & Clara's relationship - as an oldest sister myself it really rang true to me. I found myself empathizing with both Emily and Clara for different reasons and I was so happy with how their mini arc was resolved!

Emily and Alex's rocky relationship was beautifully written. I loved Emily's anger towards Alex and how she just wanted to choke him. I love when women are allowed to be angry and to stew in their anger, so I was really glad to see that. I loved how Emily doesn't take any shit from anyone - including Alex - she's really an admirable badass.

I really enjoyed reading about how Emily had to navigate a sexist work environment - I think Marceline handled this beautifully although it was a sad and frustrating reality.

And finally, I have decided to make it my mission to m*rd*r Zack.

Congrats, Marceline, on a wonderful debut!

[Beka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I read this book in like 5 hours, it was so easy and quick to read. I enjoyed it, I liked Alex and Emily even though we went through several ups and downs with them and how to view what happened between them. Reading it from a third person perspective that focused on Emily was interesting and lent itself to seeing only one side of the story and having to be patient as the details unfolded and explanations came to her. 

Love a STEM setting and the inclusion of how difficult it can be to be a woman in that industry for a variety of reasons was really well done. It showed the sexism embedded in the structures and individuals she worked with and wasn't overly idealistic with the consequences for this. It felt realistic, sadly. 

The secondary plot line around Clara and Emily and their family was interesting and I liked that she grew from it and recognised her own role in it. 

There was a good amount of tension between the characters, a level of confusion that helped the story but didn't get too much to annoy me and I loved them together and the way they interacted (especially on the work retreat). Really enjoyable. 

[Bia · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review(with some spoilers)


This book for me was about a 3.5-4 stars. I really liked the premise of the story, and I really enjoyed Emily, the FMC. This book dealt with some serious topics, what being a woman in a mostly male work space is like. Emily's feeling and problems felt so real, they hurt my heart. Also her parents were THE WORSE, they kinda redeemed themselves at the end but still. I also really LOVED Hannah and liked Clara. The MMC was ok, he was hot, but I wish we learned more about him, or had his POV.

This book had a lot of good things going for it:
-Some spice
-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-work place romance
-caught in the rain
-corporate retreat

However, there were some things that bothered me and interfered with the reading experience:
- I wish this was a Dual POV( and 1st person)
- So So So So many exclamations marks!!!( i could have done with 95% less) i felt like people were yelling at each other all the time
-The spice was a bit awkward, and for the second spice scene I couldnt really figure out who was were doing what

[LuvACheekyBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big congratulations firstly to Marceline Addams on writing a fantastic first book. I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review and loved the story of Emily Morgan and Alex Davidson two scientists who form a connection at a work conference, one thing leads to another and well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out more (no spoilers here).

This is a single POV romance that is more than your standard rom com. The main characters have deeper interactions with other characters in the book which I loved as this doesn’t always happen in contemporary romance. Whilst the book is light-hearted it also deals with some serious issues around workplace bullying and women managing the struggles of working in male dominated roles. I thought the author handled these issues with the respect they deserve.

What I loved
- Workplace forbidden romance.
- Women in STEM
- Contemporary romance with depth

If you like Tessa Bailey books than I think you will love this one. Can’t wait to see what Marceline’s next book brings!

[migswig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this debut novel by Marceline Addams! Emily is a hardworking woman in STEM who deals with discrimination in the workplace.

After a hot one night stand at a work conference, Emily can’t keep the sexy Alex Davidson off her mind. But when her boss tells her (as rudely as possible) that she didn’t get the promotion she applied for, she is shocked to see who was hired. How will working for the guy she slept with go? How will it go if she can’t stop thinking about him 😩

Emily was a well-rounded character. We got to see what she went through at work and in her personal life, as she addresses family patterns with her little sister. However, we could have gotten to know Alex a little better. He felt very distant the whole story.

Overall, I loved this book and are so excited to join Addams during her journey as a romance author! I really hope we get Clara’s book next, and maybe in dual POV? 👀

[Allie Samberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I grew up in a STEM household, so these women in STEM romances certainly have a hold on me, and this one was no exception. Marceline did an excellent job of showing exactly what women in the STEM field face all too often in the workplace, and called attention to the boss/employee dynamic in a way that was not cringey and ended satisfyingly for all parties involved. She incorporated just enough science to establish the passion both characters had for their field, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly brainy for someone without a background in STEM (my dad was the scientist, not me!).

Not only was this a book about STEM, it was a book with some STEAM. (See what I did there?) There was the perfect amount of spicy romance to keep me turning pages late into the night.

If you’re a fan of Lessons in Chemistry or anything by Ali Hazelwood, give this book a try.

[Kristina Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chef’s kiss! 💋
This book was good. This book was really good! It checked all my boxes and then some for a good quality rom-com! Add in the bonus of a strong fmc in the science field, and yep-golden! I love how real the issues were surrounding being a female in a mainly male industry. I also really, really liked the connection and the story development between Alex and Emily. I found myself literally yelling at my Kindle as if I was there with them! Marceline really knows her craft and it shows as you read and get lost in the story; I was sad once it was over. If you love Hallmark style stories with a bit of spice, you are in for a treat! I am glad to hear this is the first of more to come!

[hungrybookworm.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time check, it's five in the morning. I promised myself five hours ago that I would only read the first chapter, yet here I am, having just finished the entire book in one sitting. It's simply beyond my grasp how I ended up reading a book, stay up until dawn, while trying to endure an asthma attack. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading the book. The chemistry between Emily and Alex was exceptional right from the beginning. It's crystal clear that I had trouble getting this book to put aside. For now, I'm too exhausted to review this book coherently, however I'll try to get around to doing so soon.

P.S. Although Zach Andrews made me strongly hate him, I still look forward to reading his Redemption ARC for the next book in this series, The Science of Revenge.