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The Algorithm of Us Book One: The Birth of a Digital Bond
Okay, so this is gonna sound fake but I promise it's I got a guy's number from his six-year-old daughter at a wedding I was actively trying to escape.
Hi, I'm Evan. pediatric resident. professional overthinker. owner of a social battery that died somewhere around 2019 and never recovered. My ideal Friday night is charting patient notes in silence, not making small talk with strangers who ask what I "do for fun," like that's a normal thing people my age still have.
Then Lian happened.
Six years old. covered in chocolate frosting. zero sense of personal boundaries. She decided I was her new best friend, handed me her dad's phone number on a napkin, and told me we were gonna be "efficient pen pals." And because I'm apparently incapable of saying no to children with good ideas, I texted him.
Aiden's a cardiac surgery resident, which means he's just as sleep-deprived and emotionally repressed as I am. We started trading medical pics for his daughter, skeleton diagrams, heart surgery stories, drawings of my dying houseplant. It was wholesome. It was safe. It was absolutely NOT supposed to turn into late-night calls where he laughs at my jokes and I start looking forward to his texts more than my morning coffee.
Now I'm in too deep, and my best friend Julia is staging an intervention because apparently my "slow-burn era" is painful to witness.
This is what happens when you let a first-grader play matchmaker and two exhausted doctors accidentally catch feelings while trying to survive residency.
Tropes: single dad romance - slow burn - text-based yearning - found family - medical romance - grumpy meets tired (we're both tired) - "Oh no, I'm in love with my pen pal's dad."
Hi, I'm Evan. pediatric resident. professional overthinker. owner of a social battery that died somewhere around 2019 and never recovered. My ideal Friday night is charting patient notes in silence, not making small talk with strangers who ask what I "do for fun," like that's a normal thing people my age still have.
Then Lian happened.
Six years old. covered in chocolate frosting. zero sense of personal boundaries. She decided I was her new best friend, handed me her dad's phone number on a napkin, and told me we were gonna be "efficient pen pals." And because I'm apparently incapable of saying no to children with good ideas, I texted him.
Aiden's a cardiac surgery resident, which means he's just as sleep-deprived and emotionally repressed as I am. We started trading medical pics for his daughter, skeleton diagrams, heart surgery stories, drawings of my dying houseplant. It was wholesome. It was safe. It was absolutely NOT supposed to turn into late-night calls where he laughs at my jokes and I start looking forward to his texts more than my morning coffee.
Now I'm in too deep, and my best friend Julia is staging an intervention because apparently my "slow-burn era" is painful to witness.
This is what happens when you let a first-grader play matchmaker and two exhausted doctors accidentally catch feelings while trying to survive residency.
Tropes: single dad romance - slow burn - text-based yearning - found family - medical romance - grumpy meets tired (we're both tired) - "Oh no, I'm in love with my pen pal's dad."
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2025
12 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 14, 2026
I could not put this book down.
I’m in awe of this book. It was a frustratingly slow burn romance.
It had me laughing out loud and shouting at my screen. I was dragged into the lives of Evan and Aiden and the most adorable Lian. I was so invested in the outcome, that I had to read into the night.
Needless to say I read the second book straight afterwards.
I’m in awe of this book. It was a frustratingly slow burn romance.
It had me laughing out loud and shouting at my screen. I was dragged into the lives of Evan and Aiden and the most adorable Lian. I was so invested in the outcome, that I had to read into the night.
Needless to say I read the second book straight afterwards.
October 27, 2025
I am so sorry but I legitimately Googled if this book was written by AI. There were so many inconsistencies I had to go back and reread passages several times to make sure I wasn’t missing details.
Timelines made no sense. The passage of time would lead you to believe that a week or two would pass but then mention events that happened the day before. An entire chapter was written in third person when the entire rest of the book was in first person pov.
I liked the story in general, but unfortunately it was just very poorly written.
Timelines made no sense. The passage of time would lead you to believe that a week or two would pass but then mention events that happened the day before. An entire chapter was written in third person when the entire rest of the book was in first person pov.
I liked the story in general, but unfortunately it was just very poorly written.
October 13, 2025
Excellent Amazingly Awesome
I hope the title above tells you something about this book!!!! I wish I could give moor stars it deserves more!!! The characters are great and the life within the hospital is pretty accurate & little Lian is awesome 👍 - in my opinion there were no shortcuts in the medical mystery & legal hassles
I could stop reading just kept turning page after page!!!
Thank you so for this fantastic book - Lori
I hope the title above tells you something about this book!!!! I wish I could give moor stars it deserves more!!! The characters are great and the life within the hospital is pretty accurate & little Lian is awesome 👍 - in my opinion there were no shortcuts in the medical mystery & legal hassles
I could stop reading just kept turning page after page!!!
Thank you so for this fantastic book - Lori
January 24, 2026
ehh
It wasn’t bad but I struggled to finish. Loved the little girl and her interactions with Evan made the story. My struggle was never seeing Aiden’s point of view. Not sure if that was a choice by the Author but it made it kind of a ehh story.
I felt like we never truly get to know Aiden.
As much as I want to know what ends up happening not sure if I’ll be reading the 2nd one
It wasn’t bad but I struggled to finish. Loved the little girl and her interactions with Evan made the story. My struggle was never seeing Aiden’s point of view. Not sure if that was a choice by the Author but it made it kind of a ehh story.
I felt like we never truly get to know Aiden.
As much as I want to know what ends up happening not sure if I’ll be reading the 2nd one
January 21, 2026
This book is adorable. It's the first half of the story, the second is in the other book. It reads like a kdrama, with outlandish drama that will break you and no spice at all until the very very end of the second book.
January 27, 2026
I really wanted to live this
I really Wanted to love this book. I found the timeline confusing. The relationships between the adults and the child were adorable and kept me going, but the relationship between the two adults was confusing and honestly made no sense at times.
I really Wanted to love this book. I found the timeline confusing. The relationships between the adults and the child were adorable and kept me going, but the relationship between the two adults was confusing and honestly made no sense at times.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews