The Love Solution

by Ashley Croft

It’s all in the chemistry…

Sisters Sarah and Molly are close, but they couldn’t be more different. Sarah runs a craft business and is obsessed with all things shiny and glam, whilst Molly is much more at home in her white coat and goggles, working in a science lab.

When Molly is put onto a new assignment, she’s over the moon. It’s a high-profile, top secret project – and she has a handsome new boss to ogle at when she’s not bending over a petri dish…

But when Sarah finds herself on the painful end of a disastrous break-up, no amount of Ben & Jerry’s or trashy rom-coms can cheer her up. She wants to take a more drastic approach to dealing with her heartbreak, and one that only her sister – and perhaps a sprinkle of science – can help with . . .

Will Sarah find love where she least expects it, or is it really all in the chemistry?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks

300 pages, ebook

First published August 15, 2019

Reviews

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

FYI, I plan on using spoilers in this one because that is how aggravated I am by this whole book. Look away if you don't want to be spoiled.

"The Love Solution" follows sisters Sarah and Molly. The two of them are close after losing their parents in a car accident when they were younger. Sarah is trying to start a new business while happily in love with her boyfriend Niall. Molly is working in her lab with her hot boss Ewan trying to create something called "The Love Bug." Molly is attracted to Ewan, but he has a strict rule about not getting involved with coworkers after his ex-wife had an affair with a colleague. You follow all that? Well when Molly has a break through with developing the "The Love Bug" she has to deal with her sister wanting to use it after she gets dumped by Niall.

I have to say that science is a major plot of this book but I am really aggravated by how it was used. So you all remember the movie "Love Potion No. 9?"

As a kid even I thought the movie was messed up. You have two scientists that put together a potion that makes them unresistible to whoever they speak to. Yeah....let's not even get into the messed up actions of the two leads in the movie and how they were advocating for rape. Someone being forced to respond to you due to "science" is not great. So with "The Love Solution" after Sarah is dumped by Niall she demands her sister help her get him back by using what she is developing in her lab.

So Sarah is just plain awful through this book. She also gets involved in a love triangle and I maybe threw my hands up. The fact that she wants her sister to use something that she developed to force a guy who dumped her to get back with her? I just could not. And then Croft tries to instill some "comedy" into things when they do a whole well did we use the actual love bug or was it a placebo. I can't believe that the author didn't even have one of these two fools talk about consent and how they shouldn't be doing this and wasn't this a form of rape. If I had known more about this book I would have passed on getting it via NetGalley. The synopsis made it seem like it was a fun romance with two sisters possibly doing something involving science but not with something that would actually involve forcing men to be with you if they don't want to be.

Molly is a dingbat and it takes her freaking boss telling her how far she overstepped for her to even get it. But of course he has done something she can point to and be all ethics in gaming and I wanted to throttle her too.

And I can't with the love interests because they are void of any type of personality and should be called Beige 1 and Beige 2. Neither sister deserves happiness and should be forced into therapy and get it through their tiny heads that being with a man is not the end all be all and if you have to "game" a dude to being with you you are a messed up person. And of course they learn some lessons, yadda yadda yadda. You both still suck.

The writing wasn't great either. There were some awkward sentence structures that gave me pause here and there. The flow was awful too. I don't think Croft was able to juggle two characters and their story-lines. I will pass on her in the future.

The ending made me roll my eyes. That's all I got.

[Brooke — brooklynnnnereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

If I had written a review for this book immediately after reading, I can tell you...that would have been one heated review. However, I have distanced myself and gave myself a day after finishing this to collect my thoughts. Hopefully, I'm able to get my thoughts across in an eloquent and calm manner.

First off....how DARE you.

Just kidding.

But really, I think the most disappointing thing of all when it comes to this novel was how much potential it had. The story started out so promising and then it hit a drastic decline.

What started out as a story of two parallel romances (technically three) became a game of 'hot and cold' for the duration of the novel. Understand me when I say that I LOVE a 'slow burn' romance but none of the relationships featured in this novel fall into that category. When I say it was 'hot and cold', I mean it. The romance would be going fine between a couple until it suddenly was not and then the cycle would start over again. It was not a read that kept me anticipating what was going to happen next because if anything, I became more and more frustrated with the characters and found myself liking them less and less. I know I'm supposed to be sympathetic towards Sarah's character especially but do not even get me started. I liked her least of all.

Regardless of what is mentioned above, there is a moment in the story that is the exact moment where all of my interest in this novel was lost. It was the introduction and involvement of a particular...solution. I mean, come on, seriously?! Prior to this 'ingredient' being involved in the story, I still had a little bit of hope that it would turn itself around. But this with the combination of the 'hot and cold' dance brought a resounding no from me.

Again, I'm so disappointed because the novel originally started out so promising! I don't know how it went from that to where the story eventually finished off.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

[Marjolein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

This was a supposed to be a lovely, contemporary, romantic novel. It had a couple of hilarious moments and I actually laughed out loud one time - that doesn't happen very often. It had three ships, a basic setting and two female protagonists I didn't really care for all that much (one I liked slightly better than the other). It was an easy read and I finished it pretty quickly. So why did I only give it 2 stars?

Mostly because of Sarah (one of the two protagonists). I didn't get her. I didn't understand why she made certain choices, why she was so hell-bent on getting back together with her ex boyfriend (a massive tosser in my opinion) and WHY did she keep *that* secret for him for so long. If she'd told him sooner, she'd never had to put her sister in that awkward position and she'd had discovered that she definitely didn't want to be back with him a few chapters into the story. I get it, the author had her keep her mouth shut for plot reasons. But it's a pretty weak reason if you ask me.

The other reason is the whole Love Bug storyline. I thought it was actually pretty interesting and inventive. I liked Molly & Ewan as colleagues and of course, I wanted them to hook up eventually from the get-go. I definitely liked their chemistry better than that of Sarah & Niall or Sarah & Liam. I actually enjoyed Molly's chapters more, if I'm being entirely honest. But what I don't get is why any self respecting scientist whose working on a top secret project would share any details with her sister - no matter how close they are. Even her co-workers at the lab have no idea what she and Ewan are working on but she tells her sister? And she actually considers giving the bug to her sister? I don't understand. I don't contemplate. I just - I don't think that's right, not even in a romantic feel-good novel.

Plus, the pacing was a bit off at times. Some events the author described in its entirety, other events she skipped all together. For instance - Niall getting upset and angry and storming off to confront Liam in his office. I would've liked to see that, to read about it. But it was skipped and we only hear about what happened when Sarah and Liam discuss it briefly in his office.

Overall it was an okay book, a quick and easy read and if your expectations aren't too high you will probably enjoy this. There were certain bits I liked, even though there were some aspects that really bothered me. It's not the best romantic novel I've read over the years, but it certainly isn't the worst either. It's just... okay. Somewhere in the middle, I guess.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and sweet book!!! I have recently come into a niche where I am loving all of these sweet romantic comedies and this was right up there in that genre! From the first to last page I was invested in these lifelike characters and their journey through the ever day troubles of life and love. There was a character that I absolutely hated, while there were other characters that I adored with my whole heart. I couldn't get enough of the fun and flirty banter and the emotional moments of truth and reality. This was a perfect read for anyone who has loved and lost, or had to make a difficult decision whether to stay in a relationship because of certain circumstances, or move on knowing that's what is best for you in the end. I think this hit on some pretty big topics that are difficult to write and read about but the author did so in a gentle yet realistic way. There weren't feelings spared or rocks left unturned. Everything was pretty much out in the open and take it or leave it, that's just the way life works sometimes.

I will say though, the lingo and way that these characters talked was a lesson in UK slang and sayings! I loved learning new phrases that I didn't know what they meant and looking them up was a fun little side project as I read! You never know what you might learn reading a book! And this was full of fun little seek and finds throughout!

I would love to read this authors future books and keep up with her fun and real way of writing and her wonderful characters that seem to pop off the page into the real world!

[biblio-sj · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of two sisters fighting the memory of unimaginable loss with the present day’s complexities of unrequited love. The first third of this story really captured my attention. It’s not often women in science are primarily featured in a book and I felt a kinship with Molly. Her career in biochemistry and pheromones brought back fond memories of my own time at uni studying biochemistry and neuroscience. The enthusiasm she had for her ‘Love Bug’ science project, the reason for the aptly chosen title, was endearing. I couldn’t help but support her attempts to gain the attention and affection of the man she secretly loved!

Despite my love of Molly, this book was hard for me to rate. There were a lot of things I liked and equally disliked about this that left my overall rating somewhere in the middle. I adored the science representation in the book, as well as the premise of two nerdy characters (Molly and Ewan) slowly falling in love. What brought this book down though, was Molly’s sister Sarah. Her story-line, which was half of the book, was very annoying to read. Her constant indecisiveness became frustrating half-way through the book. If this book had been solely about Molly and Ewan I would have rated it much higher. Regardless of this, it was still a sweet book that I think many readers would enjoy.

CHARACTERS

Molly – Easily my favourite character. She was kind, independent and career-driven. Her unrequited love for Ewan pulled at my heart-strings. While unrequited love is never easy, the constant mixed signals form Ewan really toyed with her emotions. She deserved someone willing to be proud of her on their arm, not neglecting their emotions due to the opinions of others. In addition to this, The unrequited affection in their personal lives played an interesting parallel to the nature of their research in to a chemical compound that would effectively create the illusion of love. The temptation of using it would be hard for some people to ignore, when in a similar predicament. Molly put a lot of effort in to being a good sister and helping Sarah out of her latest dramas. She definitely deserved a good HEA after all of that emotional turmoil.

Ewan – was a character I never fully understood. His actions were so hot and cold toward Molly and were quite confusing throughout the book. That poor woman! She didn’t know which way was up in their relationship (or lack thereof). Despite this, he was a genuinely nice and unexpectedly hilarious guy when he finally started opening up.

Sarah – The most indecisive woman on earth. Her inability to make any decision for the entire second half of the book really took away my patience. I really felt for her in the beginning. She had been dealt an awful hand in life and had really gone above and beyond to look after her sister. Her compromising nature to put others before herself was heartening to read about. I couldn’t help but want her to finally have everything she had missed out on. When presented with these opportunities though… she refused them. And then complained about it. It just… frustrated me. To say the least. In spite of this, I still have respect for all that she sacrificed in her life. Perhaps a life of constantly compromising would lend itself to a future of indecision and guilt at the idea of finally putting herself first.

Liam – The most patient man in the world. He really had to put up with a lot of hot and cold action from Sarah. In spite of Sarah’s hormonal tendencies, he was such a sweetheart. Maybe this was the reason I disliked Sarah so much. She had an absolute gem of a guy waiting around for her and she kept being obsessed with her cheating ex! He really deserved better, in my opinion.

Overall, this book had some highly enjoyable moments mixed in with a few lacklustre ones. The writing was done well and I particularly enjoyed the colloquial English terms used in this. It really painted a vivid image of the characters and their backgrounds. If you’re a reader that is sympathetic for indecisive, introspective characters then I think you’d really enjoy this book.

[Maaike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Arc received through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All I wanted was for this to be a light-hearted, quick summer read. That’s not asking a lot. And while the blurb definitely excited me, the book unfortunately didn’t meet any of the required criteria. About halfway in I debated DNFing but I pulled myself through. Not that I would have missed much if I hadn’t.

My first and main problem with the book is that it’s advertised as romance and that there is zero chemistry. The book is written in dual POV switching between orphan sisters Molly and Sarah and thus it contains not one but TWO developing romances; in some ways even a third. Yet I didn’t care. I can forgive a lot in chicklit books. As long as the romance is compelling there is a lot I can turn a blind eye to. But if not even that is compelling… it makes for a very boring read.

Sarah was in no way relatable (she made no sense at all) and even Molly was only slightly likable. They were very flat and superficial, as was every other character. The love interests were more or less interchangeable and apart from some stereotypical traits they had no personality or even a life. Molly and Sarah made choices I couldn’t possibly understand or stand behind and could only be explained as plot convenience. And too often there was drama for the sole purpose of DRAMA. So many things were exaggerated and could have been avoided if only people communicated.

The plot was … weird. It focused on the wrong parts of the story in my opinion and was often more tell than show. Some parts were awfully rushed while others that didn’t matter at all were given too much attention. But even then it was often just plain wrong or utterly unbelievable. This book is supposed to show empowered women but fails miserably. At some point it almost told me to feel sorry for people cheating on their partner, like boo-hoo they have it bad too.

And then there’s the ‘love solution’ plot. Molly and her boss Ewan are working on some top-secret artificial hormone that is nicknamed the ‘love bug’. It’s some sort of chemical combination that will make people fall for each other. It’s dubious in itself but the way it was used in the story was so awfully wrong I couldn’t get over it. Also, despite it being top-of-the-art and not even disclosed to other members of the company, Molly tells her sister all about it. How does that make sense? But none of that as bad as using it to make your cheating fuck of an ex-boyfriend take you back.

The writing itself was below average. The dialogue was off. I can’t quite pinpoint what didn’t work exactly but reading it felt like watching a bad soap opera; everything obvious and melodramatic. Except for the word “shagging” probably. Never have I seen the verb “shag” used this often before. I was this close to turning the book into a drinking game.

The only good thing I can give you is that the cover of the book is cute. When I looked at it I could see myself fall in love with these characters. But a cover is not the book, you still have to open it up and take a look. ‘Cause under the cover you discover that the king may be a croo- Yeah fine, no more Mary Poppins but I guess this tells just how much I didn’t care. The book was boring and sort of problematic. Would not recommend. Moving on to better things.

[Erin (erinevelynreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Love Solution is a charming story of two sisters and their romantic pitfalls and close friendship following the death of their parents when they were teens. Sarah, the oldest sister, finds out she’s pregnant and catches her boyfriend, Niall, cheating on the same day. Heartbroken, and at risk of losing her home and jewelry workshop, she turns to her sister Molly for help. Molly, a young scientist, hopelessly in love with her lab partner and boss, Ewan, has invented a chemical fondly known as the “Love Bug”. Sarah begs Molly to help her use the love bug on Niall to get him back, and hijinks ensue.

This was a very light and cute read. I did put it down a few times before I really got into it, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked the character of Sarah. She finds herself in very unfortunate circumstances and still tries to make the best of it. I felt very sympathetic towards her struggle. Molly was also a relatable character but I didn’t personally relate to her personality or circumstances as much as Sarah.

I would recommend The Love Solution to anyone in need of a light read that isn’t necessarily a romance.

[Castille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a 2.5 for me, as it really was just okay, but after having looked at the other reviews, I decided to round up because I don't believe a book's quality should be assessed based on the moral judgements of its readers. It's one thing to say a book is poorly written, constructed, plotted, or its characters are one dimensional, etc. But to say 'this book is not good because I disagree with the morality of the characters, choosing to use a love potion', is silly. Not that I think the Love Bug story points add to the quality of the book as a whole; in fact, I actually think the book could've done without that bit entirely, and would've perhaps been stronger, as that whole back and forth was ultimately a bit pointless, and the characters and relationships were interesting enough on their own. Also, characters are meant to be flawed-- and sure, maybe *you* are the kind of person who maintains utmost integrity, even in the face of heartbreak, and you would never succumb to your own desperate misery. But I'm not going to pretend for one single second that I couldn't be led down a 'dark path', or that I'd label someone who did resort to something like a magic love pill as a 'bad person'. Yeah, there are ethical issues with that-- that's precisely why we have Science Fiction (or, in this case, Romantic Comedies with Sci-Fi-Light elements), to extrapolate and tease out the potential pitfalls of such medical and technological advancements.
Outside of all that, The Love Solution is truly mediocre. It's the kind of thing you pick up because you've exhausted everything other option, or because there's a secondhand copy on sale for $1.99. It feels like it has been churned out, a bottom of the barrel tale that the author spruced up so she could make that next mortgage payment. It all feels very dated, in its language and domesticity, as if it was either created twenty years ago, or else is intended for an audience of senior citizens who prefer a more tame story.

[Mikaela (Booklover1974) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re on the hunt for a charming, feelgood book, this is the book for you.

Sarah and Molly are sisters who lost their parents in a car accident early in life and have since then only each other. They’re very diffenrent but close. Sarah lives with her boyfriend Niall and Molly is single, although she has a huge crush on her boss. The question is: how will she make him fall in love with her?

I enjoyed this well written book and really rooted for Molly and Sarah.

The Publishers kindly provided me with a free copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is the kind of book that I have been waiting for. The type of book that you step through the pages of the book and you are transported to a new place. Where you meet new friends, share their ups and downs, happiness and tears and where the story comes to life in magnificent colour. I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this book and if you love chicklit and romance stories this is one simply not to be missed.

[Sofiraindrop · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review *

The love solution is a cute rom-com, with likeable characters and a kinda interesting scientific background, which I would have liked to read more about.
It has what you would expect of a standard rom-com but little new to add. Also, the plot moved too slow
That said, it was enjoyable and I would recommend it for a good time.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this but it wasn’t for me, the plot wasn’t great, the choice the main character keeps making were really iffy with me and I just lost interest in what was happening. Not the best.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Zoë ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prologue really interested me, but unfortunately I didn’t grew to like the book. I wasn’t much of a fan of Molly’s perspective, and I didn’t feel that much attached to the characters...

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about two sisters who a are really unlucky in love. From the prologue you get a great understanding of why they are so close, and the chapters alternated between Molly and Sarah.

Sarah walks in on her partner cheating on her, on new years eve, hours after discovering she is pregnant but before she has told Niall.

Molly has a massive crush on Ethan who she works closely with, but he is a workaholic and seemingly oblivious to Molly even being a woman!

They are both though incredibly talented scientists who are working on something that could make you fall in love.

As we get to know both sisters we can see just what a pickle they are both in and I enjoyed reading to find out if either would get a happy ending.

Although there is some science in the book there is also jewellery or more specific tiara making.

And it's from a tiara making workshop we meet Liam, who was easily my favourite of the men in the book!

I really enjoyed reading this story, was certainly interested in the outcomes and its well written.

I particularly loved the first two instances of Liam popping up, and also all the tandem riding!

It's definitely a book that makes you wonder that if you used some sort of love potion, would you be able to live with yourself knowing the other person may only be interested because of unnatural chemicals?

Thank you to Netgalley an d Avon for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[Shaily Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm... it was okay overall, I think I had high expectations of enjoying this book because it was,
1. A romance
2. Fairly light read
3. Good story line
But by the end of the book I felt pretty meh. It's an okay book with a good story line but often was pretty boring, flat and cliché.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Avon Books and Netgalley for a copy of The Love Solution by Ashley Croft for review. Available now in e-book format!

What drew me to The Love Solution was the main setting. Molly is a lab scientist who loves her boss from afar. I am a science geek so that really drew me to this book.
In the end, I liked it but didn’t love it. Molly and her sister Sarah were a touch boy crazy for my tastes. I found the back story about their parents to be a side note that either girl used for emotional blackmail when they felt like it. The idea was fun but it just was not as romantic as I was hoping.
There were some funny parts and I did like the behind the scenes look into the science lab. The tandem bike scenes (another really random side story) were pretty hilarious.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, I was pretty much drawn to the book for the cover and description. I keep doing this to myself, where I think a book with a "scientist female character" will be something a bit more than a trope, but no. They always end up being a trope, which is totally fine, but not my cup of tea. I mean, the actual project she's working on is a love potion, so maybe I was just fooling myself to begin with. Maybe if the book was written by a real woman scientist would I ever be completely happy with how that character comes out?? Anyways, the book was fine, but Molly just put me off so much that I couldn't give it a higher rating. I did love her and Sarah's sister relationship.

[Anna (The Bursting Bookshelf) · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover and the description really dragged me in with this book - both were adorable and totally up my rom-com alley. Unfortunately, this book ended up being a DNF for me. There were a few things that unfortunately made me give up on this book - firstly was the love bug potion. The fact that it basically took another person's ability to choose away felt pretty damn morally wrong. In fact, it felt a little bit like rape. The second issue was the writing quality - it was substandard and made getting immersed in the story exceedingly hard. The dialog in particular really missed the mark - a lot of it didn't sound like things people would actually say. The third issue was the couples themselves - they weren't believable and were hard to root for.

[Daniela Contreras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno la premisa es un poco retorcida pero me gustó que haya dos historias centrales aunque a ratos queda poco resuelto todo

[W1nglockbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Steffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. This might not be the best romance story, but it was a nice and readable story nonetheless. The writing is pretty average for this genre, nothing particularly special, but easy and quick to wizz through.

Despite the morality and not very evaluated talk about consent and ethic when using the Love Bug, I find the characters came to their senses very quickly, and realizing the wrongs in their doing. I skimmed a few reviews who rated the book very low because of said disagreement on morality, but for me, when it comes to ChickLit I don’t have a lot of expectations wether certain scenarios are super realistic or not, because the book really isn’t that bad. I don’t have to agree with every decision a character makes and characters with knacks are absolutely fine. The motives for their actions were explained throughout the alternating POVs.

Sarah’s behavior and feelings towards her cheating ex-boyfriend were well reasoned. Getting over someone you loved so dearly ain’t no joke, and though her desperation was whiny and silly at first, I thought it was very raw and human to be feeling the way she did. Why does a person have to suck it up and get over someone they love so quickly, because that someone hurt them? It doesn’t make the pain subside any faster. Shit like that hurts. There’s nothing wrong in wanting them back even if you know it might not be the smartest thing to do. But human emotions are confusing, making you go for irrational steps. I’m glad she grew as a character, realizing that she’s better off on her own, giving herself time to heal and to find back to herself.

Molly has a great sense of humor, her wit and sarcasm brought great laughter within the dialogues. She knows that Sarah did a great deal on getting her where she is now. I enjoyed seeing the bond of two sisters. Their relationship was healthy and they are very considerate towards each other. Never wanting to hurt the other and always wanting the best for them, even if some decisions made situations more complicated than before.

I also liked how Ewan and Liam were portrayed. Ewan at first might seemed a little distant and not very interesting, but showed vulnerability and sensibility behind his hard shell. Liam was a sweet addition to the cast. I liked his honesty and directness, and I think his certainty is what Sarah really needed. Pete the Parasite was also a fun recurring character.

There was a lack of romance. It was sweet at parts, but because it focused on two stories at once which are intertwined, there was not much space to develop the relationship of each of the couples. I liked the love story between Molly and Ewan better. It was fun to see how their harbored crushes on each other developed during their tandem training sessions.

Plotwise, we get two narratives who deal with their own problems while juggling the Love Bug drama, so there's enough to deal with. The whole thing with Ewan’s ex-wife was a little melodramatic and not needed, as there was a lot of back and forth already.

All in all, the story was wrapped up nicely, and a lovely depiction of the strength of sisterhood.

*I received an advance digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Dini - dinipandareads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really torn about this one. It held promise at the start, but as the story continued I only kept noticing how there was so much missed potential for character development and deepening the plot. It's such a shame because I think it could've been a great read otherwise! A lot of the time I was confused because there's no indication of how much time has passed but considering how all of a sudden characters have become "very close", you can only assume a fair amount of time has passed. One thing I can say is that the story never really 'lagged'; at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot that happened.

I enjoyed the premise of following two sisters on their journey to finding love after losing their parents at such a young age. While the idea of one sister giving up her dreams to raise her younger sister so they won't get separated isn't anything we haven't seen before, I always love to see how this new dynamic has shaped them and their relationship with each other. I liked Molly and Sarah's characters initially but again, I felt like there was so much missed potential in developing them. We never really saw how they were affected by their parents' death or how it shaped their characters; whenever their parents would come up randomly in conversations, they'd move on so quickly and never touch the topic again. I also felt that their chapters were a bit repetitive after a while, with Sarah going back and forth on Niall, and Molly continuously thinking about having sex with Ewan everywhere. I wished that we got more beyond that! You could see that they both cared for and loved each other, but I also felt that was more told than actually shown through the writing. Can we also talk about how frustrating it is to watch characters make insanely stupid decisions -- that they also know are stupid -- and that you're going to have to watch it all play out anyway? Yep. That's exactly what happened here. It's like a train wreck you can see coming but can do nothing to stop it and I hate that feeling!

I was also not 100% sold on the romances, although Ewan and Molly's budding romance was a lot more believable than Sarah and Liam's. There was absolutely no development in the latter's relationship and yet we're meant to believe they've grown extremely fond of the other and might even be in love? I'm not sold. And I won't even go into how much I disliked Niall's spineless character. I didn't see what was great about him at all that Sarah would go to such lengths to make him grovel.

Overall, while I hoped to enjoy this read, it really fell short for me. It could've been so much more developed in so many aspects, and I was disappointed that it never happened. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ahana M Rao (Heart’s Content) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my whole review for The Love Solution here.

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copt from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

*falls back in exhaustion* Oh my gosh. I need a moment. I'm pulling a Will Smith from After Earth and taking a knee because I need a darn moment. 

The Love Solution frankly, had me...unhappy and perhaps even a little impatient for the first half of the book. I was not feeling good about anything that was happening and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The first half creates the foundatoin for the story that's often quite disheartening, painful and frustrating. You want to shake people up and have them just get their thoughts together even though you sympathize and feel quite sad for them/their situations. And then, at around just past the 50% perhaps, a bomb is dropped and all I did for the rest of the book was no no no no no no please no. 

I can tell you right now, all my praying helped for naught. Whatever was meant to never happen happened anyway. And you're pretty much freaking out right along with the characters. The story kicks up pace after this point, hitting all the right notes with drama at its absolute peak. I mean, yes, it's unethical and unprofessional and good God so scary, but it kept me at the edge of my seat. 

Sarah and Molly are sisters who've stayed at one another's side through thick and thin. Through loss, heartbreak, struggle and happiness. But what happens suddenly when they are both confronted by choices that could change the path their lives take? And are these choices only about the men they are interested in? Does their relationship last the test of their thoughts and the weight of the tasks that lay before them? 

The Love Solution addresses a lot of...grey areas of life. About love and how it must come to us, whether we are weighed down by the weight of the love we receive or whether we should do whatever it takes because...love. Right? Or not? 

Four stars. It took me a long long while to truly be dragged into the story, but once I was in, there was no actual getting out. TLS was not a light read for me, I felt too much for it to be. It wasn't an easy read either...and perhaps it was not meant to be. Give it a chance someday, you might feel a lot of things. 

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on my review blog Deanna Reads Books
The concept of this book was interesting to me, but once it gets really into the plot, I was kind of not on board. Because what these two sisters are working on together is kind of unethical and Molly could lose her job because of it. It left a bad taste in my mouth about that.

If you like a low heat romance, this is a book for you. There is mention of sex in this and some body part descriptions, but the actual act is done behind closed doors. So if you like romance done that way, I definitely recommend it. I don't mind sex scenes, but closed door romance books are fun too. When one of the couple finally gets together I was so happy about it! Honestly, they were the more interesting couple to me.

I think one of the reasons this book just didn't gel with me completely was because it felt a little disjointed. I definitely found some discrepancies, like where Liam is mentioning Sarah's secret, but she never told him. I honestly thought I missed something but I went back and couldn't find mention of it. I also just didn't understand how Liam stuck around! That dude was just too good, considering all of the stuff with Sarah's ex. It felt a little bit like just too much was going on in this book, almost like these were two separate books that were mashed together.

I definitely preferred Molly's point of view over Sarah's. I found her work and her romantic entanglement so much more interesting. However, there's a lot of conflict because of Sarah that throws a wrench into her love life, that maybe it wouldn't have been the same book without that. There's some other things about Molly's love life that I could have done without, like when it seems like Ewan is back with his ex-wife. Like, why???

I didn't totally love this book, and I think most of it boils down to the unethical mess of giving some one a controlled substance without their consent and the fact that Sarah was just such a boring character. I think I would have liked a book about Ewan and Molly way better.

*I received an eARC copy of this second look book via Netgalley and the publisher Avon Books. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Kittykat ~ katiesbooksandreviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review can be read at In Between Spines

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This cute and quirky story follows two orphaned sisters and their respective journeys to finding love.
Molly is a nerdy chemistry workaholic who is in love with her obtuse project leader. She’s working on an exciting, top secret project, to develop a “love bug” that looks to chemically bond two people together. Her sister Sarah is the responsible one, but when she comes home to tell her long term boyfriend she’s pregnant, only to find herself alone, she’s had it, and decides she wants to use the love bug to put her relationship and her life back together.

Molly and Sarah are both very different but both very endearing. They were a little all over the place, bumbling through life and love, trying to help each out along the way. For that matter so were the love interests which made for a lot of fun watching all the many awkward moments on their search for love.

I would definitely categorise this as chick lit more than a romance. We switch back and forth between the two, with the main plot driver being their personal growth. This is intertwined with the romance but, the relationships with themselves and each other was definitely what shined for me.
All the characters in this story were a little frustrating with their stubbornness and but I find this particular brand of it very characteristic of the chick lit style, so it didn’t bother me too much, and after all it’s usually what gets them stuck in hilarious situations.

The writing style was fine, didn’t stick out one way or another to me and I didn’t find myself wishing it was shorter or longer.

Overall a great feel good chick lit read!

Blog | Instagram

[Emily Leyland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, The Love Solution was a bit of a drag for me. In a couple of senses of the word. It took what felt like forever to get through, and the plot was a bummer.

Like other reviewers have mentioned, this book would be more successful if it focused on one main character rather than two. And again, I have to agree with other reviewers that Molly is the much more likable, compelling character. Her story alone could have been a whole book. Sarah simultaneously had no personality and was also the worst. Why not be like the rest of us and binge on bad food and make bad hookup decisions after a breakup? Don't completely disregard common ethics and put your supposedly dear, dear sister in a really bad position! The science-focused parts of the story were quite troubling, and I think the Love Bug debacle could have still played out well without compromising anyone's ethics.

I couldn't understand decisions that either of these sisters made, and reading about them was a bit torturous. I'm not a fan of scenes in books that don't serve the plot as a whole and it felt like there was a lot of those. The pacing of this book was completely wonky. There are moments we hear about after the fact, and scenes that are short with little explanation when they deserve a lot! This goes back to having two main protagonists when there should have been one. It wasn't until more than halfway through the book that the main plot point in the blurb even gets brought up, not to mention acted upon. And from there the story was a whirlwind. If the first 50% was condensed and the last 50% expanded upon in certain scenes, the story would have been much more successful.

[Vier (Ri) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah and Molly Havers have been orphaned since their teenage years. Sarah, being the eldest, sets her dreams aside for a while in order to support younger Molly. Fast forward a bit, Sarah is now living happily with her boyfriend Niall and has even started her own jewelry business. Little did she know about what's coming and how these events will shake her world. Dr. Molly Havers, on the other hand, is a behavioral ecologist working on a hormone that can alter people's feelings and make them in love. She is doing this under the guidance of her boss, Dr. Ewan Baxter, whom she also has the hots for. Is this 'Love Bug' really the solution they've been looking for? Can love really be controlled?

I love that this book is feminist in nature. I also love that it has a good balance of romance and humor. However, I found the premise problematic. There have already been a lot of stories about creating a love potion and this one did not really stand out. I hated Sarah's character but I adored Molly and Ewan's relationship. My favorite character would have to be Liam because he is the gentleman we all need. I would recommend this to friends looking for a light but not-so-impressive read. Trigger warnings include a car accident, death, cheating, sex, pregnancy, profanity, and mental health problems.

[Katie Robinson]

I expected this to be a bit more fun than it was.

Molly and Ewan’s storyline was cute; I love a grumpy hero and I like that he was creepy and had a lot of hesitation about workplace romance.

Sarah on the other hand was a bit annoying at times. I did feel absolutely devastated for her at first l, but began to lose patience with her once she guilt tripped Molly into basically doing something immoral?!?! A discussion about consent really needed to happen between the sisters. It was kind of disturbing that it didn’t even come up.

I actually liked it up until about the 70% mark when those things started to spiral. I wish it would have wrapped up with “I never actually gave you the love bug” and left it at that; sure it would have been more predictable but also just a lot less cringey.

It was fun for some of it but I would have preferred perhaps just sticking to Molly & Ewan’s story and kept it more lighthearted and fun!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve tried to finish this three times and it’s just not going to happen, so here’s my review:

The Love Solution’s blurb is much cuter than the book. I assumed since this is being marketed as a romance that we would be following one of the two sisters, but instead it’s dual POV with alternating sister chapters. Who needs a POV from the love interests?
Sarah’s horrible boyfriend cheats on her in their shared bed on NYE, when she’s been expecting to tell him that she’s pregnant. Then he dumps her.
Meanwhile, Molly’s boss for whom she has been pining asks her to dance and kisses the hell out of her at a work party. And then he abruptly leaves her there.
K, now you’re at 20% through the book.
So both sisters are in love with horrible men and those are the men they pursue through the book. Lucky for us, the sisters are also not great! Science and ethics etc etc

In conclusion, this book was very not for me and I can’t recommend it.
Content Warning - opens with a car accident on page when the sisters are teens.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

[Trianna/Treereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a fan of this one. It started promisingly enough, but by 40% it was only okay and then my 70% I was over it. I think if the author had chosen one sister (cough Molly) to focus on then it could have been a better story. I felt both plot lines were rushed and the relationships were both slowly cultivated and then rushed. All the sex scenes are fade to black, which depending on preference can be a pro or a con.

Things that bothered me:
-Niall
-The ethically of the 'Love Bug' like...the author tries to have that discussion, but doesn't excuse it being a plot device
-Author uses 'miles', this takes place in UK (granted could be changed in final draft)
- a few of the jokes seem a *tad* problematic

*Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*