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The Chemistry of Love
True love requires a little research and development in a funny, heart-racing romance by Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of The Paid Bridesmaid.
How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant, and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams—who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play.
All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after—if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.
Blame it on chemistry. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and occasionally combustible. If Anna and Marco are really falling in love, who are they to argue with science?
How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant, and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams—who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play.
All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after—if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.
Blame it on chemistry. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and occasionally combustible. If Anna and Marco are really falling in love, who are they to argue with science?
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,354 reviews
February 3, 2023
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .5/5 - The best part and saving grace of this book is that there are MANY quotable one-liners that made me laugh out loud!!
My biggest complaint… the main character… presumably a very smart woman.. QUITS HER JOB WITH NO BACKUP. People just do not do that when they have lives? It always annoys me when characters do this. *insert eye roll here*
Not to mention the first 29% of this book is SO painful to read. How do people avoid developing social skills without being considered stalkers or deranged? Me, myself, and I would like to know.
SHORT PREVIEW:
A budding cosmetic chemist, in love with her boss and bursting with good ideas, suddenly finds herself out of a job when she quits with the romantic notion of wooing said boss to loving her and her great ideas. As with all snap decisions, though, things don’t exactly go according to plan for Anna, our spunky, gloriously nerdy heroine. In swoops, the CEO of her late job's company with a deal for her: fake date him to help him save his company .. and he’ll help her win the heart of her old boss… who also happens to be his *brother*.
THOUGHTS:
- Overall, this is a light and cute #womeninSTEM romance (once you get past that first 29% of insidiously cringe-worthy conversations) but definitely more of a New Adult romance. Both the FMC and the MMC are in their twenties, and some of their communication is very immature/ angsty.
- I feel like this would be a great rom-com for any young gal, especially since it’s such a fast read (or listen as I did.)
- Light-hearted feminist romance read. (Yes – that is a thing!)
- This whole book felt like that Freddie Prince Jr. movie ‘She’s All That’ but the even nerdier version – and also a little of that movie 'Something Borrowed' where Ginnifer Goodwin is a nerdy lawyer pining over someone else’s guy… Make of that what you will.. I can't decide if those are good or bad comparisons.
CHARACTER BUILDING:
- Anna: Her character’s love for Star Trek, Star Wars and all things nerdy was lovely and endearing, but her complete and total lack of social skills/style, etc.. it made the story a little too unbelievable. But most importantly, I’m pretty sure she’s over 6 feet tall, even if that’s never stated because the girl wears a size 12 shoe! (Yay for a truly tall woman being in a romance novel!)
- Marco: Sweet, cute, tall --- a lil boring. Def has the elements to be a tall, dark and handsome morally grey love interest, but alas.. we got a sweet 29-year-old who I think would bore me IRL.
- Catalina: The consistent saving grace of this novel: the funny, snarky, realistic best friend and a dependable side character. Loved her throughout.
FAVORITE QUOTE(S):
- “I’ve decided I’m done dating hot guys. They’re awful.”
- “I cannot believe it has taken you this long to call me back. There should be some kind of friendship fine you have to pay when you leave people hanging like that.”
NOTES:
- 🌶/5 - Closed door romance (making out is as hot and heavy as it really gets) – very much a slow burn.
- Fake Dating
- Definitely gives me ‘brain candy’ vibes!
- Familial loss and character building, as a result, are explored – no big climax to this book.
- TWs: none really?
- (I – as a fellow nerd – say ‘nerdy’ with love throughout this review. I was your consummate nerdy gal until I was like 16, and still am most of the time! 🖤)
My biggest complaint… the main character… presumably a very smart woman.. QUITS HER JOB WITH NO BACKUP. People just do not do that when they have lives? It always annoys me when characters do this. *insert eye roll here*
Not to mention the first 29% of this book is SO painful to read. How do people avoid developing social skills without being considered stalkers or deranged? Me, myself, and I would like to know.
SHORT PREVIEW:
A budding cosmetic chemist, in love with her boss and bursting with good ideas, suddenly finds herself out of a job when she quits with the romantic notion of wooing said boss to loving her and her great ideas. As with all snap decisions, though, things don’t exactly go according to plan for Anna, our spunky, gloriously nerdy heroine. In swoops, the CEO of her late job's company with a deal for her: fake date him to help him save his company .. and he’ll help her win the heart of her old boss… who also happens to be his *brother*.
THOUGHTS:
- Overall, this is a light and cute #womeninSTEM romance (once you get past that first 29% of insidiously cringe-worthy conversations) but definitely more of a New Adult romance. Both the FMC and the MMC are in their twenties, and some of their communication is very immature/ angsty.
- I feel like this would be a great rom-com for any young gal, especially since it’s such a fast read (or listen as I did.)
- Light-hearted feminist romance read. (Yes – that is a thing!)
- This whole book felt like that Freddie Prince Jr. movie ‘She’s All That’ but the even nerdier version – and also a little of that movie 'Something Borrowed' where Ginnifer Goodwin is a nerdy lawyer pining over someone else’s guy… Make of that what you will.. I can't decide if those are good or bad comparisons.
CHARACTER BUILDING:
- Anna: Her character’s love for Star Trek, Star Wars and all things nerdy was lovely and endearing, but her complete and total lack of social skills/style, etc.. it made the story a little too unbelievable. But most importantly, I’m pretty sure she’s over 6 feet tall, even if that’s never stated because the girl wears a size 12 shoe! (Yay for a truly tall woman being in a romance novel!)
- Marco: Sweet, cute, tall --- a lil boring. Def has the elements to be a tall, dark and handsome morally grey love interest, but alas.. we got a sweet 29-year-old who I think would bore me IRL.
- Catalina: The consistent saving grace of this novel: the funny, snarky, realistic best friend and a dependable side character. Loved her throughout.
FAVORITE QUOTE(S):
- “I’ve decided I’m done dating hot guys. They’re awful.”
- “I cannot believe it has taken you this long to call me back. There should be some kind of friendship fine you have to pay when you leave people hanging like that.”
NOTES:
- 🌶/5 - Closed door romance (making out is as hot and heavy as it really gets) – very much a slow burn.
- Fake Dating
- Definitely gives me ‘brain candy’ vibes!
- Familial loss and character building, as a result, are explored – no big climax to this book.
- TWs: none really?
- (I – as a fellow nerd – say ‘nerdy’ with love throughout this review. I was your consummate nerdy gal until I was like 16, and still am most of the time! 🖤)
January 2, 2023
I would like to preface this by saying that I hate giving low stars, I think this may be my first one ever, but, I tried. I really did. But I just could not do it. Only made it to 2 chapters. The main character is very irrational and has a very puppy dog love crush, even though she thinks that she is in love with him, on the VP of the company she works at. Although her manager is wrong for publicly calling her out and even though she says that she is a capable scientist, all signs point to the opposite. She keeps fantasizing about the VP during work, drinking chemicals accidentally (chemicals that can alter one's hormones), and is almost always just talking with her best friend who is actually doing work and is the only voice of reason here. The main character does not see the fact that Craig the VP is just a manhole for a lack of a better word and does not really care about her as evidenced by the comments that he makes and his obvious boredom. She then decides to give her two weeks notice after reading an email from her boss criticizing her work. Like I said, irrational because earlier in the story she was saying that she needed this job. I am a hopeless romantic and I love nerdy things as much as the next gal, but this was just way too much for me.
February 25, 2023
My Opinion
The book starts with Anna, a cosmetic chemist, who works at Minx Cosmetics with her bestfriend but feels that her boss hates her. Then we get to know she's been in love with the VP of the company, Craig, for two years. Butttttt, she's not in a relationship with him, no, he helped her once (2years ago) and they've had only 1 conversation, and she's in love with him and thinks that she'll marry him. Her boss tells her that her job may be in jeopardy, and she doesn't even focus on that, she's all "oh, the management is coming, maybe I'll get to see my love, who doesn't know that i exist". Like girl, get a grip. When Catalina (bestfriend) tells her that he may not be a good person, she's all "nooo, he's my future husband, he isn't bad, those are all rumours". If my best friend said that the guy i like is a sleazeball, i would totally consider it. Then she quits her job, still goes to the company party because her true love will be there, wears a cosplay dress(which is the only dress she has. God forbid if the girl has more than even one dress), craig announces he's getting engaged(not to her), drinks a lot, cries in the bathroom but ohhh noooo, it's the men's room. Meets Marco, Craig's half brother and the ceo(i think), they agree to fake-date to make Craig jealous (apparently, anything that Marco has, he wants it), fall in love, and boom happy ever after. Also learns that craig is a sleazeball(*insert* I told you so).
Tldr, She was so fucking annoying, desperate, stupid, naïve and all their synonyms and I had to read 339 pages of it. It was complete torture. I wanted to drop kick her, hell i wanted to throw my phone while reading it. She's supposed to be in her 30s and acts like an idiot. She's happily living her life in love with some guy she had 1 convo with and is ready to break up his engagement. Hopefully I can forget that I ever read this.
Pre-review
Read this on Amazon First Reads and suffice to say, I totally regret it. Considered not finishing it, considered throwing away my phone, and considered banging my head to forget about this. Full review coming soon.
The book starts with Anna, a cosmetic chemist, who works at Minx Cosmetics with her bestfriend but feels that her boss hates her. Then we get to know she's been in love with the VP of the company, Craig, for two years. Butttttt, she's not in a relationship with him, no, he helped her once (2years ago) and they've had only 1 conversation, and she's in love with him and thinks that she'll marry him. Her boss tells her that her job may be in jeopardy, and she doesn't even focus on that, she's all "oh, the management is coming, maybe I'll get to see my love, who doesn't know that i exist". Like girl, get a grip. When Catalina (bestfriend) tells her that he may not be a good person, she's all "nooo, he's my future husband, he isn't bad, those are all rumours". If my best friend said that the guy i like is a sleazeball, i would totally consider it. Then she quits her job, still goes to the company party because her true love will be there, wears a cosplay dress(which is the only dress she has. God forbid if the girl has more than even one dress), craig announces he's getting engaged(not to her), drinks a lot, cries in the bathroom but ohhh noooo, it's the men's room. Meets Marco, Craig's half brother and the ceo(i think), they agree to fake-date to make Craig jealous (apparently, anything that Marco has, he wants it), fall in love, and boom happy ever after. Also learns that craig is a sleazeball(*insert* I told you so).
Tldr, She was so fucking annoying, desperate, stupid, naïve and all their synonyms and I had to read 339 pages of it. It was complete torture. I wanted to drop kick her, hell i wanted to throw my phone while reading it. She's supposed to be in her 30s and acts like an idiot. She's happily living her life in love with some guy she had 1 convo with and is ready to break up his engagement. Hopefully I can forget that I ever read this.
Pre-review
Read this on Amazon First Reads and suffice to say, I totally regret it. Considered not finishing it, considered throwing away my phone, and considered banging my head to forget about this. Full review coming soon.
February 2, 2023
Swoony!
You'll want to clear your day so you can curl up and enjoy this charming and engaging story.
Ms. Wilson is such a favorite of mine; I know going in I am going to be treated with a great love story. I love diving in blind and seeing where things go. I loved Anna and especially Marco, they have such a great relationship. I definitely plan on reading this one again and again.
Content Rated PG+ Secular Romance
Clean romance, flirty innuendo & kissing, no language or violence
You'll want to clear your day so you can curl up and enjoy this charming and engaging story.
Ms. Wilson is such a favorite of mine; I know going in I am going to be treated with a great love story. I love diving in blind and seeing where things go. I loved Anna and especially Marco, they have such a great relationship. I definitely plan on reading this one again and again.
Content Rated PG+ Secular Romance
Clean romance, flirty innuendo & kissing, no language or violence
January 7, 2023
Run from this book. RUN.
DNF at 54 pages. This book is SO disappointing. The MC is a chemist in a makeup firm. She is brilliant, of course, but her manager hates her and dismisses her work all the time. Her very best friend - like the most bestest in all the whole wide world - is a fellow chemist there. Know how long MC has know this very bestest of friends? Four whole months.
MC is in love - mad, passionate, blind love with the CEO of the company. She's met him maybe twice in two years, but she expects him to remember those encounters like she does and appears stunned to the core when he doesn't. CEO is horrible. Narcissistic and nasty, but MC doesn't see any of that even when 4-month bestie points it out. When CEO says that there is a nonfraternization rule, MC promptly quits her job. Yes!!! An adult woman does this! She still goes to the office party that night dressed in some cosplay outfit (because she needed to wear a dress, which she doesn't own, even though she knew about this party and wanted to wear a dress) and slimy CEO announces his engagement. Spoiler alert: not to her.
MC gets immediately drunk and goes in the men's bathroom and sits on the floor (!!!!) to cry. Nice guy follows her in and tries to help her. Nice guy is a fabulously gorgeous guy who turns out to be the owner of everything and is charmed by this slobbering sick woman in a cosplay outfit sitting on a men's bathroom floor crying over an idiot. I am repulsed.
Do yourself a favor and do not buy this book. I got it for free from Amazon Prime and it wasn't worth it.
DNF at 54 pages. This book is SO disappointing. The MC is a chemist in a makeup firm. She is brilliant, of course, but her manager hates her and dismisses her work all the time. Her very best friend - like the most bestest in all the whole wide world - is a fellow chemist there. Know how long MC has know this very bestest of friends? Four whole months.
MC is in love - mad, passionate, blind love with the CEO of the company. She's met him maybe twice in two years, but she expects him to remember those encounters like she does and appears stunned to the core when he doesn't. CEO is horrible. Narcissistic and nasty, but MC doesn't see any of that even when 4-month bestie points it out. When CEO says that there is a nonfraternization rule, MC promptly quits her job. Yes!!! An adult woman does this! She still goes to the office party that night dressed in some cosplay outfit (because she needed to wear a dress, which she doesn't own, even though she knew about this party and wanted to wear a dress) and slimy CEO announces his engagement. Spoiler alert: not to her.
MC gets immediately drunk and goes in the men's bathroom and sits on the floor (!!!!) to cry. Nice guy follows her in and tries to help her. Nice guy is a fabulously gorgeous guy who turns out to be the owner of everything and is charmed by this slobbering sick woman in a cosplay outfit sitting on a men's bathroom floor crying over an idiot. I am repulsed.
Do yourself a favor and do not buy this book. I got it for free from Amazon Prime and it wasn't worth it.
December 21, 2022
Wowza. This was a fun book! I literally laughed out loud at one point which hardly ever happens for me. I am frequently amused while reading but actual laughing? Rarely. I love when books make me laugh. That was the first stand out point.
Second, I loved the chemistry. It was growing, expanding and combustible. So, so good. I could feel it. Those make out sessions were fire.
Third, these characters are smart. I love smart and witty characters. Nerdy ones too. But does Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references make you nerdy? How about D&D? Probably. I must be nerdy too. :)
Anna and Marco have a very interesting first meeting (poor Anna). Marco is so attentive and so present with Anna. He listens, he remembers and he really tries to help Anna feel that. That right there might be the sexiest thing about him.
Content: kissing, making out.
- I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Second, I loved the chemistry. It was growing, expanding and combustible. So, so good. I could feel it. Those make out sessions were fire.
Third, these characters are smart. I love smart and witty characters. Nerdy ones too. But does Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references make you nerdy? How about D&D? Probably. I must be nerdy too. :)
Anna and Marco have a very interesting first meeting (poor Anna). Marco is so attentive and so present with Anna. He listens, he remembers and he really tries to help Anna feel that. That right there might be the sexiest thing about him.
Content: kissing, making out.
- I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 4, 2023
2.5⭐️ personally I didn’t enjoy this one as much. The first few chapters I was ready to give up (but mama didn’t raise no quitter) then towards the middle it got a little bit better. The story was very cliché-romance which I could deal with, but it was more so the fact that she was almost in her 30s but acted more like a middle school girl with a crush that a annoyed me for the first 1/4 of the book- once that passed I enjoyed it a bit more.
August 17, 2025
6/10
На початку книги я була впевнена, що поставлю 2. І на це був ряд причин.
По перше, безглуздий сюжет, от ти читаєш, а в голові думка, шо за брєд. Все якось не ліпилося купи. Я люблю троп фіктивних стосунків, але тут це виглядало по дурному і наївно. Як то кажуть, тєкст па дурному напісан.
По друге, інфантильні, емоційно незрілі і дурненькі головні герої. Анна, яка 2 рази говорила з хлопцем і щиро вірить, що знає його краще за всіх, адже між ними існує глибинний зв'язок і вони обов'язково мають бути разом. При тому, вона надзвичайно пишається своїм інтелектом, але схоже він обмежується лише її професією
І Марко — генеральний директор компанії, де працює Анна, який вирішив, що через незнайому дівчину, його брат легко розірве заручини, лише щоб йому насолити . Як він став директором з таким мисленням —лишається загадкою.
По третє, не смішні жарти. Якщо авторка намагалася таким чином показати, що герої мають багато спільного, то в неї це вдалося. Але хіба гумор не повинен бути смішним для читачів, а не лише для головних героїв, чи я щось не розумію? Бо читаючи їхні "інтелектуальні" жарти я відчувала себе трішки тупою і смішно мені явно не було.
Отож, половину книгу, я тільки те й робила, що фиркала й плювалася на все, що тут відбувалося. Але потім не зогляділася, як втягнулася в читання і перестала дратуватися. Все вище перечислене нікуди не ділося, але я просто абстрагувалася і перестала на це звертати уваги.
І тут почали з'являтися речі, які мені сподобалися: те, як герої поступово переходили від друзів до закоханих, багато дізнавалися один про одного і проводили час разом, їхні спільні інтереси та захоплення, турбота і спостережливість Марко, те як Анна зняла рожеві окуляри і побачила справжнє лице Крейґа і в, цілому, майже всі їхні взаємодії викликали посмішку. Не бісило, навіть те, що обоє не бачили очевидних речей і продовжували обманювати себе. А, ну і читати про косметологію з хімічної точки зору було цікаво
Загалом, я не скажу, що мені прям сподобалося, але це точно не найгірше, що я читала.
На початку книги я була впевнена, що поставлю 2. І на це був ряд причин.
По перше, безглуздий сюжет, от ти читаєш, а в голові думка, шо за брєд. Все якось не ліпилося купи. Я люблю троп фіктивних стосунків, але тут це виглядало по дурному і наївно. Як то кажуть, тєкст па дурному напісан.
По друге, інфантильні, емоційно незрілі і дурненькі головні герої. Анна, яка 2 рази говорила з хлопцем і щиро вірить, що знає його краще за всіх, адже між ними існує глибинний зв'язок і вони обов'язково мають бути разом. При тому, вона надзвичайно пишається своїм інтелектом, але схоже він обмежується лише її професією
І Марко — генеральний директор компанії, де працює Анна, який вирішив, що через незнайому дівчину, його брат легко розірве заручини, лише щоб йому насолити . Як він став директором з таким мисленням —лишається загадкою.
По третє, не смішні жарти. Якщо авторка намагалася таким чином показати, що герої мають багато спільного, то в неї це вдалося. Але хіба гумор не повинен бути смішним для читачів, а не лише для головних героїв, чи я щось не розумію? Бо читаючи їхні "інтелектуальні" жарти я відчувала себе трішки тупою і смішно мені явно не було.
Отож, половину книгу, я тільки те й робила, що фиркала й плювалася на все, що тут відбувалося. Але потім не зогляділася, як втягнулася в читання і перестала дратуватися. Все вище перечислене нікуди не ділося, але я просто абстрагувалася і перестала на це звертати уваги.
І тут почали з'являтися речі, які мені сподобалися: те, як герої поступово переходили від друзів до закоханих, багато дізнавалися один про одного і проводили час разом, їхні спільні інтереси та захоплення, турбота і спостережливість Марко, те як Анна зняла рожеві окуляри і побачила справжнє лице Крейґа і в, цілому, майже всі їхні взаємодії викликали посмішку. Не бісило, навіть те, що обоє не бачили очевидних речей і продовжували обманювати себе. А, ну і читати про косметологію з хімічної точки зору було цікаво
Загалом, я не скажу, що мені прям сподобалося, але це точно не найгірше, що я читала.
January 3, 2023
Sariah if you read this I am so sorry!! I love you girl but lord all I wanted to do was jump into this book and slap Anna up side the head as hard as I could. Seriously, I understand that some women characters need to be weak but this girl. Lord she needs some help from a medical professional. If you read this review go check out Wilson's other stories because they are so freaking good. But this one nope I just can't.
November 29, 2022
I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of The Chemistry of Love, as I've become a fan of Sariah Wilson's writing over the past couple of years. Of course, I added it to my TBR once I received it and was excited to read it as I have been with her previous rom-coms.
There is a lot of fun geek humor in this novel, which I enjoyed. Anna is a Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fan, which made me think of a line from Clerks 2: "There was only one return, and it wasn't of the king." I'm not hugely into either franchise, even though I've seen the movies, but I appreciate Anna's devotion. I even told a mixed-fandom group I'm in about this novel as I know there would be a lot of people whose tastes align with Anna's.
Marco was a swoon-worthy male lead and there were definitely some hot moments throughout the story. I liked most of the characters (except for the ones who were meant to be awful), especially Anna's grandpa, who gave all his birds clever names that made me think of Higgins from Ted Lasso. There were some laugh-out-loud lines and moments that I appreciated.
This novel had more of a Christina Lauren feel to it (with some Ali Hazelwood mixed in) and it also took a while to build up some momentum. (I'm not so into science, so the chemistry discussions went over my head.) However, once Anna met Marco, I enjoyed it the rest of the way through. Some parts reminded me of Pretty Woman, as well.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining novel. It will be here in time for Valentine's Day, so be sure to check it out when it arrives!
Movie casting suggestions:
There is a lot of fun geek humor in this novel, which I enjoyed. Anna is a Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fan, which made me think of a line from Clerks 2: "There was only one return, and it wasn't of the king." I'm not hugely into either franchise, even though I've seen the movies, but I appreciate Anna's devotion. I even told a mixed-fandom group I'm in about this novel as I know there would be a lot of people whose tastes align with Anna's.
Marco was a swoon-worthy male lead and there were definitely some hot moments throughout the story. I liked most of the characters (except for the ones who were meant to be awful), especially Anna's grandpa, who gave all his birds clever names that made me think of Higgins from Ted Lasso. There were some laugh-out-loud lines and moments that I appreciated.
This novel had more of a Christina Lauren feel to it (with some Ali Hazelwood mixed in) and it also took a while to build up some momentum. (I'm not so into science, so the chemistry discussions went over my head.) However, once Anna met Marco, I enjoyed it the rest of the way through. Some parts reminded me of Pretty Woman, as well.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining novel. It will be here in time for Valentine's Day, so be sure to check it out when it arrives!
Movie casting suggestions:
Anna: Ally Ioannides
Catalina: Emily Tosta
Marco: Pierson Fode
Craig: Mason Dye
Leighton: Skyler Samuels
Lindy: Isabella Crovetti
Tracie: Elaine Hendrix
February 2, 2023
”In case you didn’t know, the ugly ducking never had to change. She just need to figure out that she’d been a swan all along.“
Anna & Marco. She’s the geeky, awkward scientist and he’s the rich, charming CEO. A long standing crush on an unobtainable man. Honest to Obi-Wan’s ghost, The Chemistry of Love is going to be a TOP FAVE of 2023! A MUST READ!! Delightful and adorable and endearing. Swoon City, population me. A feel good book that every single person in the galaxy needs to read!
💋THINGS AND STUFF💋
-fake dating
-friends to lovers
-nerd culture: LOTR, Star Wars, D&D, video games, manga
-women in STEM: cosmetic chemist
-dirt & birds
-the classic rule: I won’t fall for you, you won’t fall for me
-jokes a la forty year old dad
-makeover: movie montage style
-goodnight hugs
-board games
-gum
-#IsThisAKissingBook: closed door. “My somatosensory cortex lit up like the Fourth of July.” FOR SCIENCE!!
Thank you Sariah Wilson for an advanced copy!
Song: When I Fall in Love by Nat King Cole.
Anna & Marco. She’s the geeky, awkward scientist and he’s the rich, charming CEO. A long standing crush on an unobtainable man. Honest to Obi-Wan’s ghost, The Chemistry of Love is going to be a TOP FAVE of 2023! A MUST READ!! Delightful and adorable and endearing. Swoon City, population me. A feel good book that every single person in the galaxy needs to read!
💋THINGS AND STUFF💋
-fake dating
-friends to lovers
-nerd culture: LOTR, Star Wars, D&D, video games, manga
-women in STEM: cosmetic chemist
-dirt & birds
-the classic rule: I won’t fall for you, you won’t fall for me
-jokes a la forty year old dad
-makeover: movie montage style
-goodnight hugs
-board games
-gum
-#IsThisAKissingBook: closed door. “My somatosensory cortex lit up like the Fourth of July.” FOR SCIENCE!!
Thank you Sariah Wilson for an advanced copy!
Song: When I Fall in Love by Nat King Cole.
Want to read
January 11, 2025
January 6, 2023
Lots of Chemistry… like LOTS!
Wow this book was not what I was expecting, but honestly I just absolutely loved it. The characters were well done and you just can’t help but root for Anna, the protagonist. She is kindof the stereotypical science nerd, or more specifically chemist nerd, and her thoughts and feelings told from her perspective had me literally laughing out loud at points throughout the story. And don’t even get me started on Marco, can someone say swoony?!! Their romance reminded me of the classic movie “Sabrina”, mixed in with a bit of “The Proposal”, lol. Between the constant references to science, the jokes and banter that often included the periodic table of elements, and the toe-curling romantic tension, this clean romance will leave you thinking about chemistry… lots and lots of chemistry!
Wow this book was not what I was expecting, but honestly I just absolutely loved it. The characters were well done and you just can’t help but root for Anna, the protagonist. She is kindof the stereotypical science nerd, or more specifically chemist nerd, and her thoughts and feelings told from her perspective had me literally laughing out loud at points throughout the story. And don’t even get me started on Marco, can someone say swoony?!! Their romance reminded me of the classic movie “Sabrina”, mixed in with a bit of “The Proposal”, lol. Between the constant references to science, the jokes and banter that often included the periodic table of elements, and the toe-curling romantic tension, this clean romance will leave you thinking about chemistry… lots and lots of chemistry!
February 26, 2024
A gorgeous, tidy tycoon fake-dates a smart, slovenly dweeb in this sexless, slapstick romcom
Nerdy, introverted, socially maladjusted, 26-year old Anastasia (Anna) Ellis is a brilliant cosmetic chemist, who has worked in the R&D department of a huge company called Minx Cosmetics for the past four years. Catalina Diaz, a fellow, twenty-something cosmetic chemist, is the only other female scientist in Minx’s R&D department (and the only non-WASP character in this novel). She and Anna instantly became BFFs from the moment Catalina started work at Minx six months ago, and she is apparently the only friend, of any kind, that poor, alienated Anna has ever had. For reasons unknown to Anna, even though she is the most talented and hard-working chemist in R&D, her direct supervisor, Jerry, loathes her. He has made sure she has never had a raise, and she knows for a fact she makes less than any other chemist in R&D. Worst of all, Jerry frequently publicly insults her work and berates her for trivial or outright imaginary offenses—abusive behavior which he inflicts on no other employee but her. Because Anna hates confrontation and dislikes change, she has never done anything all these years except meekly apologize to Jerry for, basically, simply existing, even though headhunters have frequently offered her enticing options to jump to a job where she would be treated with respect and receive excellent pay.
Anna’s parents were killed by a drunk driver when she was 12, and she was raised by her eccentric grandparents who, like Anna, are both brainy scientists. Her grandmother is a professor of environmental science, and her grandfather is a professor of ornithology. They have happily encouraged Anna’s pursuit of a STEM career, although her grandmother believes the superficial, and often misogynistic, pursuit of female adornment, which is the focus of cosmetics, is not a worthy career. Anna loves them dearly, and she has never moved out of their home. Though she doesn’t pay rent, she has beggared herself footing the bills for expensive repairs on their rambling, old house, as well as purchasing pricey scientific equipment for the chemistry lab she has set up in her bedroom. Over the years, Anna has barely dated, and she is clearly a virgin (though in her case, this is due to chance, rather than a loudly proclaimed, moralizing aversion to fornication, as is the case with the vast majority of SW heroines). Anna’s three chief passions are: (1) neurocosmetics (inventing makeup which interacts with the human nervous system), (2) all things fantasy, including graphic novels, movies (especially Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars), conventions (such as Comic Con and Anime Con), and (3) 24-year-old Craig Kimball, the handsome, charming Vice President in charge of Anna’s R&D department, and Jerry’s superior. Ever since Craig jump-started her stalled, ancient Toyota Camry in the company parking lot two years ago, Anna has been obsessed with him. She is convinced that she is madly in love with him and has woven detailed fantasies in her head, starring Craig as her adoring husband and the father of her children—even though the very few times they have encountered each other in passing at work, Craig has never even remembered her name. Since the New Year has just begun, and it is the traditional time for resolutions, Anna has made two challenging ones: She wants to take the first action steps toward starting her own cosmetic company, and she is determined to, at long last, confess her love to Craig.
Soon after making this decision, Jerry viciously verbally attacks Anna one too many times and the worm finally turns. In the most impulsive moment of her risk-averse life, she marches into his office and gives him her two-weeks notice. But before she can also state her grievances, Jerry cuts her off and declares, with a Snidely Whiplash sneer, that he wants her gone immediately, ordering a guard to escort her out of the building, in order to give the humiliating impression to all and sundry that he has fired her, rather than that she has quit.
That very night is the annual company party. Though Anna hates parties, and she is no longer an employee of Minx and not even eligible to attend, she decides she absolutely must go, because this may be her last chance to declare her undying devotion to Craig. Unfortunately, the only article of clothing she owns that even remotely resembles a suitable outfit for a formal-attire occasion is a cos-play dress as Arwen (an Elf from Lord of the Rings). Catalina advises Anna to make the costume slightly less dorky by removing the flowing bells of fabric at the ends of its sleeves. Since Anna can’t sew, after she rips them off, she hems the now ragged edges of the sleeves with a stapler.
When Anna arrives late to the party, which is held in a ballroom in a fancy hotel, she feels like every Minx employee in the room is staring at her (because they are, since she looks ridiculous). With strong effort, she tunes them out while snatching up two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and gulping them down for liquid courage. Then she tracks down Craig, who is, amazingly, temporarily alone, outside on a terrace. As usual, he doesn’t remember her name, and before she can make her bold proclamation of love, he excuses himself, strides to a stage at the head of the ballroom, and announces his engagement to Leighton, a gorgeous young woman he has clutched to his side. Anna freaks out, stumbles into a bathroom, plops down on the floor, and bawls. It is at that bizarre moment that she has her Meet Cute with Marco Kimball, Craig’s 29-year-old half-brother, who is CEO of Minx and who, prior to this party, Anna had never encountered before. After informing Anna she is in a men’s bathroom, Marco considerately locks the restroom door to keep out intruders and, uncaring of the potential damage to his costly tuxedo, settles beside her on the dirty tiles. He compassionately, attentively listens while she drunkenly pours out the entire saga of her adoration of Craig and her recent, precipitate departure from Minx.
Marco informs her that, up until two months ago, he himself was dating Leighton, and that she is a gold-digger that he walked away from. He states that he cares about his brother, and does not want him to marry a woman like that. Within 24 hours of meeting Anna, Marco offers her an irresistible proposition. Because Craig has always been very competitive of Marco, and has stolen girlfriends from him in the past, Marco believes that if Anna and Marco pretend they are dating, Craig will dump Leighton and go after Anna. Then Anna will get her man, and Craig will be saved from a terrible marriage.
This book is mostly a romance novel, but it has strong features of chick lit. In particular, it is written in the sole, first-person point of view of Anna. Unlike in a typical romance novel, we are not offered the dual POV of both the heroine and her romantic interest, so we do not get to know Marco deeply. Instead, as is typical for chick lit, we never get a break from Anna’s dysfunctional thoughts throughout the novel. She is presented with many of the features of someone on the autism spectrum, although the author does not overtly describe her as having that diagnosis. In addition, most of the attempts at comedy in this story are classic, chick-lit style, humiliation humor. Anna is constantly making slapstick blunders, such as dressing like a dweeb for the office party, as well as tripping, spilling, or breaking things, or accidentally drinking dangerous chemicals. We are also obviously supposed to think it is amusing and cute that Anna is a total slob. She never does her laundry, instead leaving every stitch of her clothing on the floor and walking all over it. She never cleans up the many horrendous messes that she makes in the home she shares with her grandparents��most particularly when she tracks everywhere a huge amount of glitter she spilled, even getting it in her bed, and making no effort change the sheets. She also has the disgusting habit of constantly chewing gum, like a cow with its cud, and we are obviously expected to view it as a romantic gesture that Marco keeps her supplied with gum, so that she is never without it.
We never get enough of a physical description of Anna to make it possible to adequately visualize her. We are told she wears size 12 shoes, and she is very tall, but not exactly how tall, only that she is eight inches taller than Catalina—so possibly somewhere between five-foot-ten and six-foot tall. She abhors exercise, and she eats nothing but high-calorie junk-carbs, but she nevertheless magically maintains a normal weight and good health. All we know about Marco’s physical description is that he is generically handsome, with the typical, romance-hero broad shoulders and athletic build, that he towers over Anna at six-foot-five, and his feet are much larger than hers.
Anna never realizes, until almost the very end of the book, that Craig would have to be a worthless, immoral jerk if he were to dump his fiancée for Anna merely because he wanted to steal her from Marco. Therefore, the central premise for why the two of them decide to fake date is ethically obnoxious.
It was frustrating to me that we never find out why Anna’s boss, Jerry, had it in for her. After making such a big deal of his creating a four-year, hostile work environment for Anna with his incessant bullying, it would have been much more satisfying if Anna could have confronted him about his behavior, and he had blurted out why he did it. Without a revelation of his motivation, his presence in the novel deteriorates into a convenient, one-dimensional plot device for the sole purpose of pushing Anna to quit her job, so she will have lots of free time to hang out with Marco.
The ideal of a romance plot is that both protagonists earn their HEA by making major sacrifices for love. Unfortunately, though Marco is a sweet-natured, attentive, “cinnamon roll” MMC, who makes endless sacrifices for Anna’s benefit across the length of this story, the only sacrifice she makes for him is to, with enormous, terrified reluctance, admit that she has fallen in love with him. As a result, their relationship is extremely, emotionally imbalanced, rather than the modern, romance-novel, ideal, an equal partnership.
As is typical with this author, this is a no-sex romance. Unlike the vast majority of G-rated romance authors, who offer protagonists who are as asexual as robots, SW offers plenty of kissing, with frequent mention of electrical zings of attraction. However, she remains faithful to the core expectation of so-called “clean” romances, that no body parts between the knees and the shoulders are ever described or caressed. During Anna and Marco’s kissing sessions, for the most part, all these two ever touch are each other’s lips, necks and hands. It is true that, during one “necking” session, Anna is lying full length across Marco’s body the whole time. But there is no mention, whatsoever, of his having an erection, so it, technically, is still within the bounds of acceptable “cleanness.”
Nerdy, introverted, socially maladjusted, 26-year old Anastasia (Anna) Ellis is a brilliant cosmetic chemist, who has worked in the R&D department of a huge company called Minx Cosmetics for the past four years. Catalina Diaz, a fellow, twenty-something cosmetic chemist, is the only other female scientist in Minx’s R&D department (and the only non-WASP character in this novel). She and Anna instantly became BFFs from the moment Catalina started work at Minx six months ago, and she is apparently the only friend, of any kind, that poor, alienated Anna has ever had. For reasons unknown to Anna, even though she is the most talented and hard-working chemist in R&D, her direct supervisor, Jerry, loathes her. He has made sure she has never had a raise, and she knows for a fact she makes less than any other chemist in R&D. Worst of all, Jerry frequently publicly insults her work and berates her for trivial or outright imaginary offenses—abusive behavior which he inflicts on no other employee but her. Because Anna hates confrontation and dislikes change, she has never done anything all these years except meekly apologize to Jerry for, basically, simply existing, even though headhunters have frequently offered her enticing options to jump to a job where she would be treated with respect and receive excellent pay.
Anna’s parents were killed by a drunk driver when she was 12, and she was raised by her eccentric grandparents who, like Anna, are both brainy scientists. Her grandmother is a professor of environmental science, and her grandfather is a professor of ornithology. They have happily encouraged Anna’s pursuit of a STEM career, although her grandmother believes the superficial, and often misogynistic, pursuit of female adornment, which is the focus of cosmetics, is not a worthy career. Anna loves them dearly, and she has never moved out of their home. Though she doesn’t pay rent, she has beggared herself footing the bills for expensive repairs on their rambling, old house, as well as purchasing pricey scientific equipment for the chemistry lab she has set up in her bedroom. Over the years, Anna has barely dated, and she is clearly a virgin (though in her case, this is due to chance, rather than a loudly proclaimed, moralizing aversion to fornication, as is the case with the vast majority of SW heroines). Anna’s three chief passions are: (1) neurocosmetics (inventing makeup which interacts with the human nervous system), (2) all things fantasy, including graphic novels, movies (especially Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars), conventions (such as Comic Con and Anime Con), and (3) 24-year-old Craig Kimball, the handsome, charming Vice President in charge of Anna’s R&D department, and Jerry’s superior. Ever since Craig jump-started her stalled, ancient Toyota Camry in the company parking lot two years ago, Anna has been obsessed with him. She is convinced that she is madly in love with him and has woven detailed fantasies in her head, starring Craig as her adoring husband and the father of her children—even though the very few times they have encountered each other in passing at work, Craig has never even remembered her name. Since the New Year has just begun, and it is the traditional time for resolutions, Anna has made two challenging ones: She wants to take the first action steps toward starting her own cosmetic company, and she is determined to, at long last, confess her love to Craig.
Soon after making this decision, Jerry viciously verbally attacks Anna one too many times and the worm finally turns. In the most impulsive moment of her risk-averse life, she marches into his office and gives him her two-weeks notice. But before she can also state her grievances, Jerry cuts her off and declares, with a Snidely Whiplash sneer, that he wants her gone immediately, ordering a guard to escort her out of the building, in order to give the humiliating impression to all and sundry that he has fired her, rather than that she has quit.
That very night is the annual company party. Though Anna hates parties, and she is no longer an employee of Minx and not even eligible to attend, she decides she absolutely must go, because this may be her last chance to declare her undying devotion to Craig. Unfortunately, the only article of clothing she owns that even remotely resembles a suitable outfit for a formal-attire occasion is a cos-play dress as Arwen (an Elf from Lord of the Rings). Catalina advises Anna to make the costume slightly less dorky by removing the flowing bells of fabric at the ends of its sleeves. Since Anna can’t sew, after she rips them off, she hems the now ragged edges of the sleeves with a stapler.
When Anna arrives late to the party, which is held in a ballroom in a fancy hotel, she feels like every Minx employee in the room is staring at her (because they are, since she looks ridiculous). With strong effort, she tunes them out while snatching up two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and gulping them down for liquid courage. Then she tracks down Craig, who is, amazingly, temporarily alone, outside on a terrace. As usual, he doesn’t remember her name, and before she can make her bold proclamation of love, he excuses himself, strides to a stage at the head of the ballroom, and announces his engagement to Leighton, a gorgeous young woman he has clutched to his side. Anna freaks out, stumbles into a bathroom, plops down on the floor, and bawls. It is at that bizarre moment that she has her Meet Cute with Marco Kimball, Craig’s 29-year-old half-brother, who is CEO of Minx and who, prior to this party, Anna had never encountered before. After informing Anna she is in a men’s bathroom, Marco considerately locks the restroom door to keep out intruders and, uncaring of the potential damage to his costly tuxedo, settles beside her on the dirty tiles. He compassionately, attentively listens while she drunkenly pours out the entire saga of her adoration of Craig and her recent, precipitate departure from Minx.
Marco informs her that, up until two months ago, he himself was dating Leighton, and that she is a gold-digger that he walked away from. He states that he cares about his brother, and does not want him to marry a woman like that. Within 24 hours of meeting Anna, Marco offers her an irresistible proposition. Because Craig has always been very competitive of Marco, and has stolen girlfriends from him in the past, Marco believes that if Anna and Marco pretend they are dating, Craig will dump Leighton and go after Anna. Then Anna will get her man, and Craig will be saved from a terrible marriage.
This book is mostly a romance novel, but it has strong features of chick lit. In particular, it is written in the sole, first-person point of view of Anna. Unlike in a typical romance novel, we are not offered the dual POV of both the heroine and her romantic interest, so we do not get to know Marco deeply. Instead, as is typical for chick lit, we never get a break from Anna’s dysfunctional thoughts throughout the novel. She is presented with many of the features of someone on the autism spectrum, although the author does not overtly describe her as having that diagnosis. In addition, most of the attempts at comedy in this story are classic, chick-lit style, humiliation humor. Anna is constantly making slapstick blunders, such as dressing like a dweeb for the office party, as well as tripping, spilling, or breaking things, or accidentally drinking dangerous chemicals. We are also obviously supposed to think it is amusing and cute that Anna is a total slob. She never does her laundry, instead leaving every stitch of her clothing on the floor and walking all over it. She never cleans up the many horrendous messes that she makes in the home she shares with her grandparents��most particularly when she tracks everywhere a huge amount of glitter she spilled, even getting it in her bed, and making no effort change the sheets. She also has the disgusting habit of constantly chewing gum, like a cow with its cud, and we are obviously expected to view it as a romantic gesture that Marco keeps her supplied with gum, so that she is never without it.
We never get enough of a physical description of Anna to make it possible to adequately visualize her. We are told she wears size 12 shoes, and she is very tall, but not exactly how tall, only that she is eight inches taller than Catalina—so possibly somewhere between five-foot-ten and six-foot tall. She abhors exercise, and she eats nothing but high-calorie junk-carbs, but she nevertheless magically maintains a normal weight and good health. All we know about Marco’s physical description is that he is generically handsome, with the typical, romance-hero broad shoulders and athletic build, that he towers over Anna at six-foot-five, and his feet are much larger than hers.
Anna never realizes, until almost the very end of the book, that Craig would have to be a worthless, immoral jerk if he were to dump his fiancée for Anna merely because he wanted to steal her from Marco. Therefore, the central premise for why the two of them decide to fake date is ethically obnoxious.
It was frustrating to me that we never find out why Anna’s boss, Jerry, had it in for her. After making such a big deal of his creating a four-year, hostile work environment for Anna with his incessant bullying, it would have been much more satisfying if Anna could have confronted him about his behavior, and he had blurted out why he did it. Without a revelation of his motivation, his presence in the novel deteriorates into a convenient, one-dimensional plot device for the sole purpose of pushing Anna to quit her job, so she will have lots of free time to hang out with Marco.
The ideal of a romance plot is that both protagonists earn their HEA by making major sacrifices for love. Unfortunately, though Marco is a sweet-natured, attentive, “cinnamon roll” MMC, who makes endless sacrifices for Anna’s benefit across the length of this story, the only sacrifice she makes for him is to, with enormous, terrified reluctance, admit that she has fallen in love with him. As a result, their relationship is extremely, emotionally imbalanced, rather than the modern, romance-novel, ideal, an equal partnership.
As is typical with this author, this is a no-sex romance. Unlike the vast majority of G-rated romance authors, who offer protagonists who are as asexual as robots, SW offers plenty of kissing, with frequent mention of electrical zings of attraction. However, she remains faithful to the core expectation of so-called “clean” romances, that no body parts between the knees and the shoulders are ever described or caressed. During Anna and Marco’s kissing sessions, for the most part, all these two ever touch are each other’s lips, necks and hands. It is true that, during one “necking” session, Anna is lying full length across Marco’s body the whole time. But there is no mention, whatsoever, of his having an erection, so it, technically, is still within the bounds of acceptable “cleanness.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2025
гіперболізований (місцями до кринжа) ром-ком, в якому любовний інтерес (це початок книжки) розказує головній героїні, НАСКІЛЬКИ жахливий його брат, а відразу наступні його слова їй це "надіюсь, ви з ним будете щасливі, коли ти розіб'єш його заручини". ПЕРЕПРОШУЮ???????????? це за цього мужика я маю умовно вболівати? так і гг теж не сильно розумна, бо вона оце все слухає і продовжує мріяти про брата, ммммммм.
а десь через два розділи він запрошує гг до себе і каже "ось візажистка, треба тебе трохи повністю переробити, бо мій брат ж така тупа і поверхнева людина. всенсі ти цього не хочеш???? ти в цій індустрії працюєш, і ти взагалі брату моєму подобатись плануєш?????".
мені погано. згадки росні в оригіналі, які віват у перекладі прибрав, і жарти про Чорнобиль тут йдуть бонусом. дякую, було дуже смачно.
а десь через два розділи він запрошує гг до себе і каже "ось візажистка, треба тебе трохи повністю переробити, бо мій брат ж така тупа і поверхнева людина. всенсі ти цього не хочеш???? ти в цій індустрії працюєш, і ти взагалі брату моєму подобатись плануєш?????".
мені погано. згадки росні в оригіналі, які віват у перекладі прибрав, і жарти про Чорнобиль тут йдуть бонусом. дякую, було дуже смачно.
January 1, 2023
Talk nerdy to me!
Anna is a brain who can be a little socially awkward. Like cringe level. So it's a little difficult to read when she misjudges a situation at the beginning of the story, but hang in there. The story starts a little rough for secondary embarrassment folks (like me), but it's fun once it gets going & the romance, as in all of Wilson's books is spicy but sweet - no peeping tom porn scenes. Not even any significant amount of language. Just a thoroughly entertaining romance
Anna is a brain who can be a little socially awkward. Like cringe level. So it's a little difficult to read when she misjudges a situation at the beginning of the story, but hang in there. The story starts a little rough for secondary embarrassment folks (like me), but it's fun once it gets going & the romance, as in all of Wilson's books is spicy but sweet - no peeping tom porn scenes. Not even any significant amount of language. Just a thoroughly entertaining romance
January 21, 2023
Sariah Wilson writes the most bingeable books! Once I pick one up I seriously cannot put it down. The humor and the characters and the swoony romance always draw me in and make me never want to leave and this book was no different!
Anna has had a longtime crush on her boss Craig and when his brother Marco suggests they start fake dating for a whole host of reasons, Anna agrees in the hopes that Craig will finally take notice of her. Well, you can guess where this is going, right?
I loved this one for:
Nerdy science humor
Pop culture references
Fake dating
Anna's car "Betty"
The meet-cute (could Marco be any swoonier?)
The awkward moments
Oh my so swoony kissing scenes
"You're perfect just the way you are."
Fabulous side characters
Monopoly game
Lipstick experiments
And I could probably keep going! If you have enjoyed other books by Sariah, then this is definitely one you want to pick up! 4.5 stars for this fun, witty, and swoony romance!
CW: This is a sweet and clean romance with not even implied intimacy, but there is some innuendo, some making out while lying down, and some substitute cuss words that come pretty close to the real thing.
I received a complimentary copy of the book but a positive review was not required.
Anna has had a longtime crush on her boss Craig and when his brother Marco suggests they start fake dating for a whole host of reasons, Anna agrees in the hopes that Craig will finally take notice of her. Well, you can guess where this is going, right?
I loved this one for:
Nerdy science humor
Pop culture references
Fake dating
Anna's car "Betty"
The meet-cute (could Marco be any swoonier?)
The awkward moments
Oh my so swoony kissing scenes
"You're perfect just the way you are."
Fabulous side characters
Monopoly game
Lipstick experiments
And I could probably keep going! If you have enjoyed other books by Sariah, then this is definitely one you want to pick up! 4.5 stars for this fun, witty, and swoony romance!
CW: This is a sweet and clean romance with not even implied intimacy, but there is some innuendo, some making out while lying down, and some substitute cuss words that come pretty close to the real thing.
I received a complimentary copy of the book but a positive review was not required.
February 3, 2023
I'm a huge fan of Sariah Wilson and always read her books the first chance I got.
THis book has so much nerd/geek humor and I was all for it. I highlighted a ton of jokes because they were the kind that always makes me laugh then feel disappointed no one else gets them.
Besides the chemistry needed for her job, Anna and Craig had chemistry with each other in spades. There romance journey was entertaining, filled with a roller coaster of emotion, and in the end, left me smiling as Sariah Wilson always manages to do.
*I received a complimentary copy of the novel. I was not required nor influenced to leave a review.
THis book has so much nerd/geek humor and I was all for it. I highlighted a ton of jokes because they were the kind that always makes me laugh then feel disappointed no one else gets them.
Besides the chemistry needed for her job, Anna and Craig had chemistry with each other in spades. There romance journey was entertaining, filled with a roller coaster of emotion, and in the end, left me smiling as Sariah Wilson always manages to do.
*I received a complimentary copy of the novel. I was not required nor influenced to leave a review.
July 21, 2025
Мені було важко написати відгук до цієї книги, тому що мені потрібен був час, щоб просто зібрати всі свої емоції до купи. Це було тяжко...
Перейдемо до книги. Мені і сподобалось, і водночас - ні. Плюсики:
1. Написано настільки гарно, інформативно, що аж моментами нагадало мені Алі Гейзельвуд.
2. Багато діалогів, герої всі достатньо активні, тому читалося все вельми швидко.
3. Прекрасна, просто чудова подруга головної героїні Каталіна. Вона постійно задавала темп, вставляючи фразочки, які автоматично визивали в мене посмішку.
4. Приємна головна героїня, яка простро сховище геніальних ідей. Талант 💜
Тепер поговоримо про мінуси:
1. Багато незрозумілої термінології. Якщо у Алі я розуміла більшість слів, бо вони були схожі до знайомих мені економічних термінів, то тут я відчувала себе максимально не на своєму місці. Мені було важко читати, постійно пропускала ці незрозумілі слова. Але ж герої так говорять між собою, розуміючи один одного, а може випадково я упускаю якісь важливі деталі? Чому не можна робити зноски внизу сторінки на всі ці терміни? (Слава Богу, цей квест лише на початку)
2. Основний троп - фіктивні стосунки тут неправильні. Мені не подобається як авторка побудувала їх. Якщо інші автори зазвичай беруть цей тип сюжетної лінії - лише для того, щоб насолити екс-дівчині чи екс-хлопцю (пропускаємо кохання-зітхання, яке станеться між жгг і чгг) або з метою, щоб головну героїню чи героя помітив об'єкт її(його) кохання. Тут же настільки очевидною була мета використання почуттів головної героїня заради власної мети, що мені стало неприємно це читати.
Ідеальною ця книга є лише до 8 розділу, коли ми тільки знайомимся з героїнею і її життям, потім ця рокова вечірка, де вона напивається, перетинаючись із Марком. Це було насправді мило, вона була п'яною і все йому вибовтала, а він як лицар їй допоміг. Це прямо 🥰 уву, до поки не настає 8-й розділ, де той самий Марк пропонує фіктивні стосунки з метою розірвати заручини його рідного брата Крейга, і це повинна зробити наша головна героїня Анна, бо вона закохана в Крейга (на хвилиночку Крейг навіть не знає про почуття Анастасії, вони не зустрічались між ними нічого ніколи не було). Марку потрібна корпорація і типу вільний брат від якоїсь там небезпечної жіночки. Тут і наступає моя огида.
3. Але є ще гірша ситуація. Окрім поганих від самого початку фіктивних стосунків. Крейг, який так завжди мило відносився до Анни, що вона в нього аж закохалась, він просто хотів використати її голову, її ідеї, щоб по факту вкрасти все це, перемогти Марка та захопити корпорацію. Цю лінію, я чомусь вгадала від самого початку. Занадто очевидно.
Тобто героїня по факту знаходиться між двох козлів. 🐐
4. Фіктивні стосунки зазвичай працюють на очах інших людей, якім хочуть насолити. Тут же герої проводять більшість часу разом, спілкуються, знайомлються, цілуються, ніжуться. І в мене до всього виникає лише одне питання. Марк, якщо ти просто закохався у Анну нах.я потрібно було все це? Нафіг ці фіктивні соплі, коли просто можна було зустрічатися і все?
Найкращим вирішення всього цього лайна було б лише вибачення Марка в кінці. І вуаля - це стається. Бо якщо б цього не було - книга б стала повним провалом.
Я ставлю цій книзі 2/5, але з величезною натяжкою резинки на штанях. Бо насправді - структура сюжету цієї книги - жах. Найкраще в ній лише початок, кінець та подруга.
Перейдемо до книги. Мені і сподобалось, і водночас - ні. Плюсики:
1. Написано настільки гарно, інформативно, що аж моментами нагадало мені Алі Гейзельвуд.
2. Багато діалогів, герої всі достатньо активні, тому читалося все вельми швидко.
3. Прекрасна, просто чудова подруга головної героїні Каталіна. Вона постійно задавала темп, вставляючи фразочки, які автоматично визивали в мене посмішку.
4. Приємна головна героїня, яка простро сховище геніальних ідей. Талант 💜
Тепер поговоримо про мінуси:
1. Багато незрозумілої термінології. Якщо у Алі я розуміла більшість слів, бо вони були схожі до знайомих мені економічних термінів, то тут я відчувала себе максимально не на своєму місці. Мені було важко читати, постійно пропускала ці незрозумілі слова. Але ж герої так говорять між собою, розуміючи один одного, а може випадково я упускаю якісь важливі деталі? Чому не можна робити зноски внизу сторінки на всі ці терміни? (Слава Богу, цей квест лише на початку)
2. Основний троп - фіктивні стосунки тут неправильні. Мені не подобається як авторка побудувала їх. Якщо інші автори зазвичай беруть цей тип сюжетної лінії - лише для того, щоб насолити екс-дівчині чи екс-хлопцю (пропускаємо кохання-зітхання, яке станеться між жгг і чгг) або з метою, щоб головну героїню чи героя помітив об'єкт її(його) кохання. Тут же настільки очевидною була мета використання почуттів головної героїня заради власної мети, що мені стало неприємно це читати.
Ідеальною ця книга є лише до 8 розділу, коли ми тільки знайомимся з героїнею і її життям, потім ця рокова вечірка, де вона напивається, перетинаючись із Марком. Це було насправді мило, вона була п'яною і все йому вибовтала, а він як лицар їй допоміг. Це прямо 🥰 уву, до поки не настає 8-й розділ, де той самий Марк пропонує фіктивні стосунки з метою розірвати заручини його рідного брата Крейга, і це повинна зробити наша головна героїня Анна, бо вона закохана в Крейга (на хвилиночку Крейг навіть не знає про почуття Анастасії, вони не зустрічались між ними нічого ніколи не було). Марку потрібна корпорація і типу вільний брат від якоїсь там небезпечної жіночки. Тут і наступає моя огида.
3. Але є ще гірша ситуація. Окрім поганих від самого початку фіктивних стосунків. Крейг, який так завжди мило відносився до Анни, що вона в нього аж закохалась, він просто хотів використати її голову, її ідеї, щоб по факту вкрасти все це, перемогти Марка та захопити корпорацію. Цю лінію, я чомусь вгадала від самого початку. Занадто очевидно.
Тобто героїня по факту знаходиться між двох козлів. 🐐
4. Фіктивні стосунки зазвичай працюють на очах інших людей, якім хочуть насолити. Тут же герої проводять більшість часу разом, спілкуються, знайомлються, цілуються, ніжуться. І в мене до всього виникає лише одне питання. Марк, якщо ти просто закохався у Анну нах.я потрібно було все це? Нафіг ці фіктивні соплі, коли просто можна було зустрічатися і все?
Найкращим вирішення всього цього лайна було б лише вибачення Марка в кінці. І вуаля - це стається. Бо якщо б цього не було - книга б стала повним провалом.
Я ставлю цій книзі 2/5, але з величезною натяжкою резинки на штанях. Бо насправді - структура сюжету цієї книги - жах. Найкраще в ній лише початок, кінець та подруга.
January 31, 2023
None of this was going how I’d planned.
The Chemistry of Love was a hilarious fake dating romance! This was one of those stories where I Couldn't. Stop. Smiling! If you're looking for an adorable story that will make you smile and fall in love, then this may be your book!
I was keenly aware of him walking just behind me, and I wanted to pinch myself. We’d been having our second- ever actual conversation!
Anna Ellis was a cosmetic chemist who lived with her grandparents. She was madly in love with her boss, Craig. Whom she rarely was ever around, but she built him up as the most amazing man possible in her head. Think movie star worthy. And it didn't matter that her friend Catalina wasn't the hugest fan of him. Anna knew she was destined to be with Craig! So when Marco, Craig's brother, stepped into her world, he was the key to reaching her dreams. Craig always wanted what Marco had. So if she were to fake date Marco, then Craig would be hers!
“Wow. That is some rom- com- level delusion right there,” she said. “It’s never going to work.”
“Marco seems to think it will.”
“It’s a good thing that man is pretty, because he’s obviously not very in touch with reality. I’ve seen the movies. This sort of thing never works out. If anything, it’s only guaranteed to make you fall in love with him.”
Anna was hilarious, quirky and so much fun! It took me a little while to warm up to her because she could be clueless and lost in her head at times, but she was goodhearted and had an innocent feel to her. So when Anna would make some bad life decisions, there was quite a few lol, I couldn't stop the laughter from pouring out of me. I was so happy she had Catalina in her life, because she had no problems being brutally honest with Anna. And I loved her grandpa, their interactions together were heartwarming. Yet my heart hurt for Anna. Her ambition and dreams didn't always pan out the way she wanted. I wanted her to find her happily ever after!
My pulse raced, and I couldn’t explain why exactly. Or why my stomach flitted with delight when he smiled at me.
I was in love with Craig. None of this made any sense.
Craig. Well. I lacked seeing what Anna saw in him. Yet whenever she and Marco were together, there were sparks. No matter how much Anna didn't want to admit it! And I loved Marco right from the beginning. He was thoughtful, kind and caring. Yes he was gorgeous, but I loved learning about the sides he didn't show others. I loved his interaction with her friends. And I loved even more the things he did to help Anna out. Except there was one tiny problem, Marco was the ultimate closed book. I desperately wanted to know his thoughts on everything. So his gestures of kindness and helping Anna out, well I built them up in my head. I didn't even care if I was wrong. I loved Marco, and thought Anna should feel the same!
I came close to Marco, and he stiffened, standing straighter, tightening his arms so that his forearms flexed.
I didn’t understand what his reaction was about.
“Thank you,” I said. “It may be too much, but thank you.”
It took him a second, and I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed twice before he cleared his throat and said, “You’re welcome. I should, uh, get back to work.”
“And I should get back to looking nice.”
Anna and Marco clicked together so seamlessly. Even if they could be the polar opposites when it came to their opinions on love and marriage. Anna was a firm believer that it existed, while Marco didn't think it did. And I got it. Marco's back story gutted me wide open. I understood why he was jilted towards love. But his moments with Anna were sigh worthy. And the chemistry between them was intoxicating. So every time they had to "fake" being together I was a giddy mess. I loved when they had to touch, be near one another or kiss. I wanted THEM to work. Their moments could be so perfect, it was like they were destined for one another. Yet Anna was adamant that she still wanted Craig and he was her forever.
“Hey, Anna?”
“Yeah?”
“In case you didn’t know, the ugly duckling never had to change. She just needed to figure out that she’d been a swan all along.” He paused, like he was waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one, he said, “Good night.”
The Chemistry of Love was laugh out loud hilarious and so much fun! Anna's cosmetic mistake will be stuck in my head forever haha! But the friendship that developed between Anna and Marco made my heart sing. And as little pieces came together, I was patiently waiting for Anna to connect the dots. To see what I saw. This was another adorable story by Sariah Wilson! I can't wait to read whatever she releases next!
PS All of the birds names?! They were great!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
For more of my reviews, please visit:
February 6, 2023
I won’t lie; I started reading this book having no idea what it was about because I love Sariah Wilson’s storytelling so much. This book is a delight. It’s 1st person, single POV. Clean. Fake dating. STEM FMC. Rich MMC, poor FMC. TW for death of parents, both for FMC and mom for MMC.
If you’ve read anything else by Ms. Wilson, you’ve come to know her for witty banter, corny jokes as dialogue, great kissing scenes, swoon-worthy MMC, and all around great storytelling. (And if this is your first, you are in for a treat! Check out her back catalog next!) This story is no exception. Another stellar job done by an author could write a cookbook, and I’d most likely read it.
I generally like to meet the MMC earlier on (We meet the MMC at the end of chapter 3. Around 13%) but this story really needed the slice of life set up. Which means readers get a LOT of FMC, and that will turn off some readers. Because the FMC is insecure, immature, and a little weird—but she’s also a female in STEM, so… And she’s in love with Craig, with whom she’s never had a conversation lasting more than 10 minutes. But she’s in love with him. And she mentions it quite a few times. And she keeps trying to justify why he isn’t that bad... I think she gets better as the story progresses, but I also love Ms. Wilson’s writing enough to stick it out.
MMC is 29 and is the CEO? Hashtag, I think I know why your cosmetics company isn’t doing well. Anyway. He’s wonderful. Attentive, smart, witty, and—objectively, of course—hot. I love a Sariah Wilson MMC who can read his FMC so well and goes at her pace (obviously to everyone but the FMC) to not scare her off. I'm glad it was revealed that he had a secondary ulterior motive for fake dating FMC, but I kind of hated how it was just casually dropped in there and she just accepted it. I wanted that to be developed more.
I don’t judge a book by it being clean or steamy, and Ms. Wilson’s writing is why. Holy make-out sessions. They always deliver. Always. She has an incredible way to build up the tensions through the story, but especially in the scene leading up to locking lips.
There is a lot of STEM talk. Like, a LOT a lot. I now know, scientifically, what happens when I drink alcohol, for example. There’s also So many LOTR and Star Wars references. If you don’t know or don’t like SW or LOTR, you won’t get a good chunk of FMC’s personality. And while I appreciate the author’s passion for Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and why he shouldn’t have died… it was a bit much and I didn’t care. But I did learn a lot about a lot of topics I’m not familiar with, and that was fun.
The third act conflict was just… not communicating? Not even miscommunication. Just straight up assumptions and just shutting down. Which felt out of character for at minimum the MMC. That was frustrating. And didn’t give me faith in their communication in the face of adversity later on. Honestly, it made me want to deduct a star on my rating. But the rest of the book was so fantastic that it just made me irritated instead.
I’m sad there was no comeuppance for Jerry. Everyone else who needed it got theirs, except him. I love that Leighton turned out to not be a stereotypical gold digger. Her ending made me happy. There were a couple of inconsistencies in dialogue/storytelling, but it was nothing important to the actual story. I’m honestly just surprised because I’ve never seen a Ms. Wilson novel have that.
Overall, should you read this? Insert some nerdy joke that ultimately says yes. 5 star read. Great way to end my reading year!
Thank you to Ms. Wilson for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!
If you’ve read anything else by Ms. Wilson, you’ve come to know her for witty banter, corny jokes as dialogue, great kissing scenes, swoon-worthy MMC, and all around great storytelling. (And if this is your first, you are in for a treat! Check out her back catalog next!) This story is no exception. Another stellar job done by an author could write a cookbook, and I’d most likely read it.
I generally like to meet the MMC earlier on (We meet the MMC at the end of chapter 3. Around 13%) but this story really needed the slice of life set up. Which means readers get a LOT of FMC, and that will turn off some readers. Because the FMC is insecure, immature, and a little weird—but she’s also a female in STEM, so… And she’s in love with Craig, with whom she’s never had a conversation lasting more than 10 minutes. But she’s in love with him. And she mentions it quite a few times. And she keeps trying to justify why he isn’t that bad... I think she gets better as the story progresses, but I also love Ms. Wilson’s writing enough to stick it out.
MMC is 29 and is the CEO? Hashtag, I think I know why your cosmetics company isn’t doing well. Anyway. He’s wonderful. Attentive, smart, witty, and—objectively, of course—hot. I love a Sariah Wilson MMC who can read his FMC so well and goes at her pace (obviously to everyone but the FMC) to not scare her off. I'm glad it was revealed that he had a secondary ulterior motive for fake dating FMC, but I kind of hated how it was just casually dropped in there and she just accepted it. I wanted that to be developed more.
I don’t judge a book by it being clean or steamy, and Ms. Wilson’s writing is why. Holy make-out sessions. They always deliver. Always. She has an incredible way to build up the tensions through the story, but especially in the scene leading up to locking lips.
There is a lot of STEM talk. Like, a LOT a lot. I now know, scientifically, what happens when I drink alcohol, for example. There’s also So many LOTR and Star Wars references. If you don’t know or don’t like SW or LOTR, you won’t get a good chunk of FMC’s personality. And while I appreciate the author’s passion for Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and why he shouldn’t have died… it was a bit much and I didn’t care. But I did learn a lot about a lot of topics I’m not familiar with, and that was fun.
The third act conflict was just… not communicating? Not even miscommunication. Just straight up assumptions and just shutting down. Which felt out of character for at minimum the MMC. That was frustrating. And didn’t give me faith in their communication in the face of adversity later on. Honestly, it made me want to deduct a star on my rating. But the rest of the book was so fantastic that it just made me irritated instead.
I’m sad there was no comeuppance for Jerry. Everyone else who needed it got theirs, except him. I love that Leighton turned out to not be a stereotypical gold digger. Her ending made me happy. There were a couple of inconsistencies in dialogue/storytelling, but it was nothing important to the actual story. I’m honestly just surprised because I’ve never seen a Ms. Wilson novel have that.
Overall, should you read this? Insert some nerdy joke that ultimately says yes. 5 star read. Great way to end my reading year!
Thank you to Ms. Wilson for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!
January 2, 2023
This story was an absolute delight! I was hooked from the first chapter, and then it just kept getting better and better. Once again, Sariah Wilson has created characters that are human, flawed and complex, while still being so relatable and lovable. I always adore the witty and flirty banter that is a trademark of her books, and The Chemistry of Love abounds with it. Between that, the clean and swoony romance, and an engaging storyline, this book was truly a fun and entertaining read.
Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing a review copy. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing a review copy. All opinions are my own.
January 13, 2023
“In case you didn’t know, the ugly duckling never had to change. She just needed to figure out that she’d been a swan all along.”- Marco
I’m a huge sucker for a fake dating trope and this one was no exception! It had some Love Hypothesis vibes with the love of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references but many of the characters were nerdy so..
Anna is a cosmetic scientist who loves makeup and creating it but doesn’t use it often. She believes herself to be in love with Craig who is the owner of her company’s son. Problem is Craig isn’t in love with her.
Enter Marco! Marco is the CEO of this cosmetic company and also the half brother of Craig. For reasons you will find out, Marco and Anna decide to fake date so she can seem more appealing to Craig and Marco can seem more responsible to his dad.
This was so sweet and adorable and those kissing scenes were 🔥 for my smut lovers please know this one doesn’t go any further than kissing but I didn’t mind 😏
I’m a huge sucker for a fake dating trope and this one was no exception! It had some Love Hypothesis vibes with the love of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references but many of the characters were nerdy so..
Anna is a cosmetic scientist who loves makeup and creating it but doesn’t use it often. She believes herself to be in love with Craig who is the owner of her company’s son. Problem is Craig isn’t in love with her.
Enter Marco! Marco is the CEO of this cosmetic company and also the half brother of Craig. For reasons you will find out, Marco and Anna decide to fake date so she can seem more appealing to Craig and Marco can seem more responsible to his dad.
This was so sweet and adorable and those kissing scenes were 🔥 for my smut lovers please know this one doesn’t go any further than kissing but I didn’t mind 😏
May 26, 2024
The Chemistry of Love is a contemporary romance that’s a low stress, happy ever after read. It features an adorably cute cosmetic chemist in a fake dating (slow burn) situation with Hot Nerd guy CEO. There’s a smart savvy best friend and sassy banter.
I found the characters to be all one way - either good or bad (not much depth). However, I liked how I had ones to root for and despise. Is it sappy or predictable? Yep. It is terribly unrealistic. Yep. Did I enjoy it, and did it give me a happy reading vibe? Why, yes!
It’s a fun, flirty, clean, feel-good romance with witty dialogue and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references.
I found the characters to be all one way - either good or bad (not much depth). However, I liked how I had ones to root for and despise. Is it sappy or predictable? Yep. It is terribly unrealistic. Yep. Did I enjoy it, and did it give me a happy reading vibe? Why, yes!
It’s a fun, flirty, clean, feel-good romance with witty dialogue and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings references.
January 24, 2023
Let me get my eyesight back after crying through the last chapters because I couldn't hold it in anymore (please insert a reference to the dairy-part in the book). This man deserves a raise for being the most perfect human being despite being a part of the male domination. He definitely belongs into the Hall of Fine. Also the characters? Chef's kiss. Every text message was a delight, thanks for serving Catalina. Did I already mention that Marco's not a want but a need? Seriously, I want to climb that man like a tree, too.
January 26, 2023
There's something about Sariah Wilson's books that always seem to be just what I need, just when I need it. Easy, uncomplicated romance with a heavy dose of swoon. Seriously considering disappearing into her backlist for a while.
February 17, 2023
Sorry, but Anna was just too delusional and too slobby for my liking. I was mostly annoyed with her.
August 17, 2025
4/10
На мою скромну думку, це просто дуже погано написано, хоч ідея була непогана.
Давайте детальніше.
😔 головна героїня
Я абсолютно нічого не маю проти інфантильних та ексцентричних героїнь, які обирають бути delusional, не дуже звертаючи увагу на реальний стан речей (мої улюблені жінки, написані Кетрін Сентер та Алі Гейзелвуд передають вам вітання).
Але тут героїня вийшла просто дурненькою, емоційно незрілою та по-ідіотськи одержимою.
Вона не була по-доброму кумедною і не викликала усмішку від вуха до вуха, мені не хотілось їй поспівчувати чи хоча б спробувати розібратись в тому, чому 26-річна жінка протягом 2 років була закохана в чоловіка, з яким жодного разу не поспілкувалась довше 10 хвилин, навіть коли факти вперто суперечили тому образу, який вона створила в своїй голові. Мені просто хотілось закочувати очі і тяжко зітхати від того, наскільки ірраціональним було все, що вона робила.
🤦♂ головний герой
Я б назвала його Містер Дисонанс. Те, як він умудряється в межах одного діалогу суперечити самому собі в трьох різних підтемах, справді вражає.
Але найбільше мене вибісили дві речі:
⏺ те, як він організував для Анни зміни в її зовнішності, навіть не дочекавшись її згоди, а просто прийнявши рішення за неї. Приправляючи це фразою «Ти залишишся собою, просто трішки покращеною версією» і мотивуючи тим, що, хоч для нього самого це не має значення (ну бо він же не такий поверховий, як брат), а от з його братом по-іншому в неї не буде навіть шансу - і лише якщо зробити макіяж і нову стрижку, висвітлити волосся, привести нігті до ладу і вбратись в сукню за пару тисяч, то шанс з’явиться. І вона така: я все зроблю, все зміню, всім пожертвую. GIIIRL🚫
⏺ режим drama queen в кінці. Типу шо це було? ШО. ЦЕ. БУЛО? Ой господи, аж завелась.
🤓 любовна лінія
Дуже слабенька і тримається здебільшого на постійній сексуалізації Марко та самопринизливих компліментах і жартах Анни про те, який він довершений поруч з нею вбогою.
На щастя, сцен 18+ тут не було, бо я навряд чи це пережила б, враховуючи те, що більшість вчинків героїв були нелогічними, дурними і притягнутими за вуха.
☠ сюжет
Дивіться пункт про «нелогічний, дурний і притягнутий за вуха». Особливо під кінець, де розгорнулась драма в стилі «Кармеліти», але якщо весь сезон стиснути до половини розділу.
Типу що це? Для чого це? Чому це так погано написано, ніби під кінець слова стали платними, а бюджет закінчився? *тяжко зітхає*
🐸 цінності і сенси
Ну дивіться, шо ми маємо:
⏺ мізогінія - є:
всі ці порівняння з іншими жінками, які мають бути гірші у всьому, щоб головна героїня стала хоча б якоюсь, я вже не кажу про те, щоб стати кращою. То авторка починає розказувати, як він зустрічався лише з жінками, які клювали салат, ніби вони недогодовані птахи, а потім нарешті зустрів нормальну жінку, яка їсть за трьох. То авторка каже, що всі, з ким головний герой зустрічався до головної героїні, «не вражали своїми розумовими здібностями», а от тепер з ним нарешті трапилась науковиця - «перша, в кого виходить говорити повними реченнями». Ситуацій багато, про всі говорити не бачу сенсу.
🤢 згадки росіян - є (про них вже говорили, зупинятись не будемо)
⏺ жарти про «гормональний Чорнобиль» - є:
і хоч «Віват» замінили цю хуйню на «щось рівнозначне вибуху на якійсь атомній станції», я вже була в занадто розйобному настрої, щоб думати, що стало краще.
Були, звичайно, якісь хороші речі. Наприклад, шлях до створення власної компанії, оця вся нердівсько-гіківська тематика, троп «від друзів до закоханих» (це один з моїх улюблених тропів, каюсь). Але написано воно так безглуздо і безладно, що мені на епілозі просто стало шкода ці 4 години життя і два десятки невинних душ, яких я прирекла на ці страждання під назвою «спільні читання». Пробачте мене, грішну🐹
На мою скромну думку, це просто дуже погано написано, хоч ідея була непогана.
Давайте детальніше.
😔 головна героїня
Я абсолютно нічого не маю проти інфантильних та ексцентричних героїнь, які обирають бути delusional, не дуже звертаючи увагу на реальний стан речей (мої улюблені жінки, написані Кетрін Сентер та Алі Гейзелвуд передають вам вітання).
Але тут героїня вийшла просто дурненькою, емоційно незрілою та по-ідіотськи одержимою.
Вона не була по-доброму кумедною і не викликала усмішку від вуха до вуха, мені не хотілось їй поспівчувати чи хоча б спробувати розібратись в тому, чому 26-річна жінка протягом 2 років була закохана в чоловіка, з яким жодного разу не поспілкувалась довше 10 хвилин, навіть коли факти вперто суперечили тому образу, який вона створила в своїй голові. Мені просто хотілось закочувати очі і тяжко зітхати від того, наскільки ірраціональним було все, що вона робила.
🤦♂ головний герой
Я б назвала його Містер Дисонанс. Те, як він умудряється в межах одного діалогу суперечити самому собі в трьох різних підтемах, справді вражає.
Але найбільше мене вибісили дві речі:
⏺ те, як він організував для Анни зміни в її зовнішності, навіть не дочекавшись її згоди, а просто прийнявши рішення за неї. Приправляючи це фразою «Ти залишишся собою, просто трішки покращеною версією» і мотивуючи тим, що, хоч для нього самого це не має значення (ну бо він же не такий поверховий, як брат), а от з його братом по-іншому в неї не буде навіть шансу - і лише якщо зробити макіяж і нову стрижку, висвітлити волосся, привести нігті до ладу і вбратись в сукню за пару тисяч, то шанс з’явиться. І вона така: я все зроблю, все зміню, всім пожертвую. GIIIRL🚫
⏺ режим drama queen в кінці. Типу шо це було? ШО. ЦЕ. БУЛО? Ой господи, аж завелась.
🤓 любовна лінія
Дуже слабенька і тримається здебільшого на постійній сексуалізації Марко та самопринизливих компліментах і жартах Анни про те, який він довершений поруч з нею вбогою.
На щастя, сцен 18+ тут не було, бо я навряд чи це пережила б, враховуючи те, що більшість вчинків героїв були нелогічними, дурними і притягнутими за вуха.
☠ сюжет
Дивіться пункт про «нелогічний, дурний і притягнутий за вуха». Особливо під кінець, де розгорнулась драма в стилі «Кармеліти», але якщо весь сезон стиснути до половини розділу.
Типу що це? Для чого це? Чому це так погано написано, ніби під кінець слова стали платними, а бюджет закінчився? *тяжко зітхає*
🐸 цінності і сенси
Ну дивіться, шо ми маємо:
⏺ мізогінія - є:
всі ці порівняння з іншими жінками, які мають бути гірші у всьому, щоб головна героїня стала хоча б якоюсь, я вже не кажу про те, щоб стати кращою. То авторка починає розказувати, як він зустрічався лише з жінками, які клювали салат, ніби вони недогодовані птахи, а потім нарешті зустрів нормальну жінку, яка їсть за трьох. То авторка каже, що всі, з ким головний герой зустрічався до головної героїні, «не вражали своїми розумовими здібностями», а от тепер з ним нарешті трапилась науковиця - «перша, в кого виходить говорити повними реченнями». Ситуацій багато, про всі говорити не бачу сенсу.
🤢 згадки росіян - є (про них вже говорили, зупинятись не будемо)
⏺ жарти про «гормональний Чорнобиль» - є:
і хоч «Віват» замінили цю хуйню на «щось рівнозначне вибуху на якійсь атомній станції», я вже була в занадто розйобному настрої, щоб думати, що стало краще.
Були, звичайно, якісь хороші речі. Наприклад, шлях до створення власної компанії, оця вся нердівсько-гіківська тематика, троп «від друзів до закоханих» (це один з моїх улюблених тропів, каюсь). Але написано воно так безглуздо і безладно, що мені на епілозі просто стало шкода ці 4 години життя і два десятки невинних душ, яких я прирекла на ці страждання під назвою «спільні читання». Пробачте мене, грішну🐹
March 11, 2023
Rating: 4.5 stars
You know when you need a light, sweet romance book and you read it and it's the perfect book for your mood? Well, that was this book for me. I have been reading so many historical romance books lately, and I just needed a break.
Sariah Wilson had me laughing and smiling throughout The Chemistry of Love! I loved Marco so much! I mean Anna was great too, but Marco was just the best. I don't want to go into too much detail about why because you will find out in the book, but just know that he is so sweet, especially towards Anna.
While I was questioning the entire book why Anna was still thinking about Craig when Marco was right in front of her, I still loved the fake dating in this one. This book is a closed-door romance; however, the kisses were 🥵. I don't know if I have read hotter kisses in a book before, but they were written so well. Go read this one if you want to read a book with great chemistry!
This was my first book by Sariah Wilson and I already want to read the rest of her books! Also, just going to throw this out there that I have never watched nor read The Lord of the Rings and I think I've only watched one Star Wars movie, so I had no idea about any of the references, but still loved this book.
You know when you need a light, sweet romance book and you read it and it's the perfect book for your mood? Well, that was this book for me. I have been reading so many historical romance books lately, and I just needed a break.
Sariah Wilson had me laughing and smiling throughout The Chemistry of Love! I loved Marco so much! I mean Anna was great too, but Marco was just the best. I don't want to go into too much detail about why because you will find out in the book, but just know that he is so sweet, especially towards Anna.
While I was questioning the entire book why Anna was still thinking about Craig when Marco was right in front of her, I still loved the fake dating in this one. This book is a closed-door romance; however, the kisses were 🥵. I don't know if I have read hotter kisses in a book before, but they were written so well. Go read this one if you want to read a book with great chemistry!
This was my first book by Sariah Wilson and I already want to read the rest of her books! Also, just going to throw this out there that I have never watched nor read The Lord of the Rings and I think I've only watched one Star Wars movie, so I had no idea about any of the references, but still loved this book.
January 8, 2025
4 ✨️
Was very sweet
Was very sweet
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