I really enjoyed this book! Pretty close to 5 stars for me, and I'd definitely read another book from this author again.

First thing, kudos for having the main character be a Scientist! I love the fact that Karla was a little bit nerdy, but still was hot and sexy. Remi immediately brought that side out of her when they meet, because the initial chemistry was on fire.

This book is told from Karla's POV, which I was a fan of. Some people may not like that style, but when I like a character (and I did with Karla) then I really enjoy it. It helped that Karla's niece was adorable, as well as her whole family and her best friend. I loved all her interactions even outside of Remi.

I also really liked how the author handled Remi and her brother, who had autism. I thought the fact that he connects with legos, and how that translated into how Karla tries to connect with him, was done very intelligently. I feel like she really did her research and it lent credence to the characters. I also could see why Remi was so stressed out about how her brother would react to Karla being in her life. It felt like a valid concern once we met him.

I did want the end to not feel as short as it did, but that happens often with me. Overall, a really enjoyable book.

This story has seemed a bit strange to me because I have not empathized with the protagonists in particular with Remi. But not with Karla either. So some parts have lost interest to me because of that.

Karla is a researcher who is currently collaborating on an investigation about something related to diabetes. But she has trouble sleeping, and her niece has presented a study project on Karla's insomnia at school. Remi is one of the judges in the presentation of the project and Karla feels an immediate attraction towards Remi that seems reciprocated, but it will not be so easy for them to meet again after that.

Remi is a very cautious and somewhat mysterious woman, her family history is complex and she does not easily trust strangers. And Karla is somewhat naive but at the same time she is very determined to give one hundred percent of her to her career. Until now at least.

As I say, the story has its interest but the protagonists have not reached me, so I cannot give more than an ok to this book, without many expectations.

This was a well written book, and I liked Karla, the main character from whose point of view the story is told. However, the first-person narrative made it difficult to connect with Remi, the other lead, and as a result I struggled to buy into their connection. The storyline about Maricela, in my view, was not necessary and took up a lot of time. It would have benefited the story more if the author had just focused on the romance and if the leads had spent more time together. I liked the racially diverse characters and the engaging writing, however, I just could not connect with this book.

𝗞𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲.

Ok, so Karla has a high-flying research career to cure blindness caused by diabetes and it takes up a lot of time. Remi has a busy job and an autistic adult brother who also takes up a lot of time. And the reason they thought this relationship would work out was simply that nobody would be unhappy because nobody had any time for anyone.

The times they got to spend together are few and far between but I liked those moments. And I love the effort Karla took to get to know Remi’s brother, Neil, knowing just how much it meant to Remi.

But I wasn’t able to enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to because I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I dislike the tension that developed each time Karla's career got in the way. I understand Remi's devotion to her brother, but I also recognise Karla's commitment to her career, so I ended up hating on Remi for appearing to put blame on Karla. As this book is written only in Karla's POV, we don't exactly know what Remi's thoughts are, but her unspoken expressions and reaction towards Karla when she fell short of expectations made me uncomfortable.

Karla is sweet and she certainly has a big capacity to love. But I just don't know about this one.

I was unfamiliar with VIlleneuve's work and was happy with how the plot developed. Like many others who have reviewed this book, I'm not sure the first person point of view is the best way to tell this story, but it did not hinder my appreciation of the book.

3 Stars

“Cure for Insomnia” by Laina Villeneuve is the story of research scientist, Karla, finding the right balance for a happy life with her demanding work and love life.

This was a sweet and had some charming moments but it didn’t really work for me as a romance as it contained a few of my big dislikes.

My first issue was that it’s told in first person from Karla’s point of view for the whole story. I’m not a fan of this pov in romance as I find it difficult to connect to the pov of the character we don’t get to hear from. Along with this issue is that Remi, the love interest, doesn’t truly show up until after the 20% mark. Karla and Remi also don’t spend a lot of time together on the page after she finally shows up. They spend a good chunk of time texting or speaking on the phone that isn’t relayed so it was hard for me to get a feel for her character.

I also thought Karla got a little preachy about diabetes. I know she’s a scientist and is working on a drug for diabetics but I thought Villeneuve got a little heavy handed when Karla was working with a student she was mentoring.

What I did like was that the cast was racially diverse and the women were all intelligent and it was okay to be smart woman. I also enjoyed reading about women working in STEM. It doesn’t seem like there are many of those types of careers in lesfic so this was a refreshing change. I also liked how Villeneuve didn’t brush Remi’s autistic brother under a rug and ignore him. He is a huge part of her life and I’m glad with how that was showcased.

Others have rated it higher so I would read those for a better idea if it’s a good fit.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books in exchange for an honest review.

Okay f/f romance. The overbearing "diabetes is going to kill you and you can never eat junk food or else you will get fat and die" was really way too much and took away from the story as a whole for me.

I found this to be surprisingly enjoyable. It’s my first Villeneuve book and reading the blurb I wasn’t sure if this would be too science heavy for me. Instead I found that the science was one of the things I really liked about the book.

Karla is a research scientist, spending the majority of her time working on a research project to cure blindness in those with diabetes. Her family are convinced that she works too much, and when she is volunteered to help her niece with a sleep study for her science fair, the conclusion is that she needs a girlfriend.

Remi is a judge at the science fair. She’s not sure a relationship is the right thing for her, but she’s just as intrigued by Karla as Karla is by her.

The background characters in this really helped make the narrative for me. I loved how they made the story not just about the romance and kept things really interesting. The use of these characters, especially Karla’s niece and the student she is mentoring, not to mention her amusing best friend, kept the narrative moving at a decent pace and kept me interested.

The science discussions that Karla has are depicted in a way that is not so bogged down in terminology that a lay-person can’t understand the meaning behind the scenes. I also especially liked how Villeneuve used Karla’s science and research background to allow her to communicate effectively with Remi’s brother.

Whilst I found some of the communication breakdowns between the MCs frustrating, I could understand why they happened the way they did and Remi’s reactions to the things that took place.

I wanted more from the ending. I’m not a fan of the conflict, everyone get back together, we don’t see the happy for now fully taking place, and to me that’s how this ended. I wanted more of them starting to learn to be a family, how they fully integrated properly into each others lives, that kind of thing.

I’ll definitely want to read more of Villeneuve in the future and would recommend this to romance fans.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A different kind of love story. Karla is a research scientist who meets Remi at a science show. Karla is a workaholic and can not sleep at night. The characters are very good and the plot sustained my interest. Remi has an Autistic brother which complicates this for her and Karla. The story is very good and delves into Autism, work and happiness. I recommend this book for romance lovers.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I’ve read this author before, I liked this but didn’t love it.

So, this features Karla, a scientist working on diabetes related research, and Remi, a behavioural psychologist who works with school children. Karla has a large immediate family that includes her 11 year old niece, who is somewhat gifted and uses Karla’s insomnia issues as her science project. Karla and Remi meet through this because Remi is a judge at the competition. Remi also has an autistic brother, Neil, whom she is very protective of, and family issues related to this. Both characters are POC.

This is told in first person through Karla, and it’s hardly ever my favourite choice because it usually means one character gets short changed, here it’s Remi, who apart from the brief meet up at the science fair, is largely absent from the first 20% of the story. Even when she does show up, she remains somewhat of a mystery and given her family situation I’d have liked to read her POV. There was something weird about the writing though, I couldn’t quite figure it out but it felt a little too formal, especially Remi’s dialogue. I’m not sure if that was on purpose because she’s a multilingual character, but I found it odd.

The two MCs are also workaholics who appreciate the other’s ability to understand how their work might interfere but Remi is a little less understanding about this as time goes on and Karla become more acquainted with Neil. Karla’s job is very work intensive and she cops flak about this from everyone she’s in contact with. She’s also mentoring a young college student working at her lab and dealing with some homophobia related to this.

There’s quite a lot going on in this book, and because of that I felt the romance aspect fell a little short, the two MCs had good chemistry, abut weren’t really together enough for me to really get a feel of their relationship. The ‘conflict’ that arises towards the end is a little contrived and the resolution wasn’t that satisfying, at least for me. Just seemed like a fairly abrupt about face.

I liked the depiction of a scientist as an MC (STEM characters are rare in wlw fic) and there’s plenty of diversity. I also like Karla’s strong family ties (especially the scenes with her niece Rosa) and her best friend Val and her wife Emma (having not read the author before I didn’t know if they had their own book but it felt like they might have). I also liked that both MCs were strong characters who weren’t afraid to go after what they wanted, but the romance aspect wasn’t strong enough for me. 3 stars.

This is more a book about learning to balance your work with your life - that your life doesn't have to be work. That both our leads do spend a lot of time doing their jobs is also kind of a fun little twist with the trope of the workaholic learning to be better with the people around them through their love of a more carefree person. There's also the interesting twist that Karla, who is the narrator of the story, is an insomniac and that it may not have anything to do with her job.

The setup is that Karla Hernandez is a highly dedicated research scientist who can't sleep because her mind is always moving. She agrees to help her niece with a sleep study for her science project and meets the beautiful Remi. As she gets to know Remi, she learns that it is okay to both work hard but let some of it go to be with family.

I liked some of the things that were done here, and appreciated that neither Karla or Remi fit neatly into boxes, and that Karla was able to accidently backslide into her bad habits that she was breaking out of. I, however didn't quite understand some of Remi's motivations, nor that Karla didn't actually call her out for being kind of cruel. I understand Remi's anger, and Karla did apologize (and understands why what she did was so bad), but that Remi basically used that incident as a way to amplify her own insecurities but instead of telling Karla, she basically just pulls back. Then they do get back on better terms by magic, it seems. That part of the sequence kind of dropped the enjoyability down for me a touch, but I think it was still a good attempt - Karla's behavior was actually natural for someone who is a bit of a work-a-holic, and she is promptly called out on it, but because Remi and her didn't really talk about Remi's insecurities until later, Remi's actions felt just a touch off to me.

In any event, I enjoyed Karla and her clumsy nature, and thought that Remi was fine as well. Who doesn't like a dorky scientist who dotes on her niece and is dedicated to mentor younger scientists? While I didn't quite like how part of the 'break up' sequence went, I did enjoy Karla's learning process and her willingness to try. I also liked that Karla learned something about herself along the way, and was able to lean into that for what would be a more fulfilling work life. I really appreciated that whole arc and it didn't end quite the way I expected.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.75 stars. This was the first full length novel I read by this author and I was looking forward to reading it as the main character is a research scientist. As a science nerd myself I was really curious how I would like it, and I had a good time reading this book.

It is always risky to read a book about a subject that your very familiar with. In the acknowledgements Villeneuve already indicated to have done her homework on the subject and to have some personal insights and I’m happy to say that I thought she gave a good representation of a life in research. And yes, I say a life in research and not work, because that is one of the main problems that Karla struggles with. Karla has no life, she seems to live for her work. This is something that I recognize in academia and research institutes, if you want to make a name for yourself or work at one of the more prestigious departments, it is likely that you won’t have (a lot of) spare time. So yes, Karla’s struggle was very familiar, and it was a joy to read how things evolved and what choices she made.
Remi also comes with a complicated life. She loves her brother Neil, but being autistic he needs a lot of structure and he demands a lot of Remi’s time. Building a relationship with Remi, means building a relationship with Neil, which is not an easy task with a time demanding and unpredictable job.

The book is written in the first person from the POV of Karla and I always like a 1st person book, but with this one it did take me a very long time to get familiar with Remi because of the 1st person. After Karla and Remi meet for the first time at the science fair of Karla’s niece (where Remi is one of the judges) they don’t have any contact for quite a while, so it takes a while before Remi comes into view again. Then, a large part of the communication between them is actually through text messages and this makes it super hard to get to know “the other person” in a 1st person book. When I did get a better insight in Remi I liked her. She is guarded and her fears about Remi and Neil were very believable. When they are together they are super cute though and I felt the connection.

There are also quite a lot of secondary characters some more in depth than others. I liked Karla’s niece and family, and Valerie, Karla’s bestie. Valerie is Australian and also a researcher, she was the fun factor, but also a good friend. Neil also has an important role and I enjoyed their special communication through Lego references.

There were some small things that I want to mention. The first being a secondary storyline about a college student at Karla’s lab which was a small coming of age story (while it is NA it felt like YA), including dealing with homophobic family members. This didn’t work too well for me as I had the feeling it was working towards something and then fizzled out. It went a bit up and down. Another thing was the dialogues, sometimes it was not entirely clear to me who was speaking and I had to reread it. The final thing was the ending, it’s a bit abrupt, I really would have liked an epilogue, just to give them more together time.

An enjoyable book, it’s a good read with a sweet romance and a realistic view on working in STEM research and finding the right balance between work and private life.

Karla Hernandez is a diabetes research scientist who has difficulty sleeping. Roped in as her niece’s subject for her science project on insomnia, she meets and is mesmerised by the alluring Remi, one of the judges for the science fair.

For a workaholic who does not even spend time (willingly) with family, Remi somehow intrigued Karla and set her on a journey of self discovery; learning what and who truly matters in her life.

In Remi, Karla found a kindred spirit who is equally ambitious and committed to work, intelligent and independent. After a misunderstanding of some sorts, the pair went on their first date, followed by a few until Remi starts to pull away. Karla is a big hearted dork, with the book written in her POV, it’s funny yet frustrating to see how she is clueless with certain things yet you will adore her for her understanding and acceptance of Remi’s commitment to her brother. As for Remi, one simply cannot dim the light of a person who loves and commits to family even with its challenges. A sexy linguist, she swept Karla off her feet but the couple stumbled when Karla’s work gets in the way.

4.5 stars. I love the way the couple get each other; a perfect match even with little spoken between them. Their first time is something else, the way Karla worshiped and worked Remi’s body is just wow, whoever said established professionals don’t get hot in bed? On another note, my appreciation goes out to authors who share their personal life experiences or perform extensive research to help readers understand and relate better to physical and medical conditions. Although the story started slow, it bloomed when the characters took steps into each other’s life and family.

I just reviewed Cure For Insomnia by Laina Villeneuve. Thank you NetGalley and Bella books for the ARC.

Karla is a research scientist who spends all her time in the lab. She's missing sleep, family nights and cant seem to say no to her beautiful boss Judy. When her niece Rosa decides to participate in the school science fair she agrees to be the subject. Rosa wanted to research how she could help her to sleep.
On the day of the fair she encounters the stunning and beautiful Remi a Behavioral Psychologist for Autistic kids and a judge at the school fair. When Rosa told her Karla was not sleeping because she needed to sleep with someone. Remi informed Karla that she might have a few solutions to help her sleep.
Karla and Remi has amazing chemistry. I enjoyed the story and loved the bond between Karla and her family.
It was a joy to see how much Remi loved her brother and took the time out to maintain the structure that was in place for him. To be honest having an autistic nephew I could relate with how important it was for Remi to stick to her brothers schedule.
In the end I was glad Karla figured out what changes she needed to make to alleviate her stress. The only downside for me was, I wished the author gave Karla a longer time to think about the Big changes she was making. Regardless, I recommend 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC copy from Bella Books via NetGalley for my honest opinion. Thank you

This was the first book I read by this author. It had an interesting storyline and some realistic situations when dealing with the demands of life.

Karla was a research scientist. She always wanted to help people. When she helped her eleven year old niece with her science project, she met Remi, who was one of the judges. They both seemed to have an immediate attraction to each other and when their schedule permitted it, they went on dates. Karla was extremely busy with her job. Remi was busy as a behavioral psychologist, but she also had structured routine visits with her autistic brother. He was actually her priority and Remi made sure Karla knew this going into their relationship. Karla didn’t have a problem with this and tried her best to be present in their lives. However, with her busy schedule, this didn’t work well leaving her relationship with Remi strained.

Karla and Remi were likable characters. Their relationship was difficult with the demands put upon them. But they tried to do the right thing and supported each other whenever they could. However, there were times when they had issues and did not communicate for days. Each appeared to be a bit tentative with how to move forward, especially Remi. To a certain degree, she seemed to be emotionally guarded, and stayed that way throughout the story. Given her circumstances, this was understandable.

I enjoyed the interactions between Karla and her niece. They were sweet and funny, especially the science fair scene. I liked Remi’s dedication to her brother. She was the one constant in his life. I also liked how the author used the Lego movies as a means of communication and a steppingstone to allow Karla into his world.

The other secondary characters were also likable except for the homophobic mother of the college student Karla was mentoring. Some of the scenes with the college student were somewhat questionable, especially when Karla and Valerie were discussing their sex life in front of her. I think they could have been open and honest with her without getting too personal. Other than that, it was a well written enjoyable story.


An ARC was given for an honest review.

Laina Villeneuve is a new-to-me author and it was a very enjoyable introduction.

The book is written in a first-person POV, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this POV, but for this story, it works. You really get to connect with the main, Karla. Karla is a research scientist who basically spends all her days in the lab and she has trouble sleeping. Her niece, Rosa, uses her as the subject for her science fair project. At the fair Karla meets a stunning and captivating judge, Remi, she gets her number, but maybe she also gets ghosted. Karla's friend Valerie and her wife Emma push her to go to some meet-up to see if she can find Remi there. Of course luck is in her favour. This is a bit of a running gag in her family, they are all very lucky, in love and life, and in any competition or bet, they participate in. Remi and Karla have this instant understanding and compatibility, it's a big change from the instalove type things that are so common these days. While both women are busy at work and show understanding for that, there remains this underlying tension of them being enough. Karla really is a bit of a high-strung person - lots of stress and pressure, no sleeping, setting high standards - and she just isn't happy with it, but it takes a good long while for her to understand that and take the first steps toward a happier and better life for herself and the ones she loves. Which of course leads Remi to believe she is doing it for her and not for herself.

I had a hard time following the passing of time. At some points, I was sure the character said tomorrow and the next page would talk about how the week was going by so fast and the date was coming up. This happened multiple times, it actually made it hard to read for me. I had to go back to see if I was wrong or not, or to see if I skipped pages. I've read some excellent books this year with neurodiverse representation and I feel like with Remi's brother it is just a bit inconsistent, it's a shame really. It's a big part of the story, how Remi is with him, and it just doesn't all add up. That's my main annoyance in the book, many things just don't add up. I enjoyed reading this and seeing a couple basically being coupled up pretty early on, but not going all lovey-dovey right away. Remi and Karla are very compatible characters, up to a point that is almost unbelievable really, but somehow it works. They are cute together and their love story seems fitting for the type of people they are. I really did have more of a click with Karla, it being written from her POV that could be expected, but aside from that I just couldn't connect with Remi. I just felt she said one thing to mean another thing and maybe have some secret standards she holds Karla to only to say she doesn't and understands everything, I'm basically saying I don't trust her, but that just me I guess.
Oh! big shout out to the author for writing a book with a Latina lead in STEM! *round of applause* Background of these characters is so diverse the author deserves some extra points for that. That is why my 3.5 stars are 4 :)

So I really loved this book! It is the first thing I have read in a really long time that just isn't super depressing. Sure, there is some angst, but for the most part, its a happy book. There were several times I actually laughed out loud. In my real life, I work with several research scientists and see the struggles displayed in this book. Maybe my personal attachment to the topic is what made this story so endearing for me?

I always love a first person point of view book, because you can really see inside the MC's mind. Karla Hernandez, the MC, is a research scientist who can't slow her brain down. The first person view point was really a great choice for her, because we get some insight into how her mind works. Its actually quite adorable.

My one suggestion would be to provide a more elaborate conclusion. I really felt like it was wrapped up too quickly. An epilogue or an extra chapter would have been nice to better conclude the character arc. Other than that, it was well written, unique and a overall breath of fresh air.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Karla is exhausted from working long hours in the lab but she doesn’t complain because she loves what she does trying to find a way to improve people lives who are diabetics. Although she doesn’t really have much of a life because of her work she decides to help her niece with a school project that involves insomnia.

Karla comes cross Remi who is a behavioral psychologist who works with autistic children this work is special to her because she has a adult brother who is autistic that she spends times helping him,

I enjoy both the main characters I like their ease and the heat between them. I like the support Karla has with her family and her friendship with Valerie Remi relationship with her brother. I like that Karla and Remi gave each other what they needed.

Karla Hernandez has her PHD and works exhausting hours doing lab work. She loves her work that potentially will improve diabetics lives. But her work/life balance is out of whack. While helping her niece by being the subject of her science fair project on insomnia she meets Remi. Remi is a behavioral psychologist working with special needs kids in a school district. She also has an adult (24 yr. old) brother who is autistic. She spends much of her free time seeing to his needs.

This is a fun book with lots of flirting and heat. The MC's have realistic problems. Remi needs structure and routine for her brother and Karla's work demands make planning hard. The story is told from Karla's POV but Remi comes off as a full character without her thoughts being revealed. There is a nice sub plot of Karla mentoring a college age girl encouraging minorities in STEM studies. Karla's family adds extra love and warmth as does her best friend Valerie. On a personal note I love that Karla has a thing for accents. The ending felt rushed to me as Karla makes some big decisions rather quickly but I was happy with the potential HEA.

Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.