This book touched my heart with it's wonderful depiction of love and work and disability all put together. It's a perfect read for people who loved The Love Hypothesis or The Heart Principal.

Synopsis:
When a tragic accident leaves mathematician Seraphina Ellis broken and despairing, she is convinced that she will live out the remainder of her life in lonely solitude. Determined to conceal her disability from her co-workers, she hides away in her desolate cubicle, crossing off the days of her life, unfulfilled and defeated.

A chance meeting with irascible but mesmerizing billionaire scientist and CEO Milo Grant provides her with the job of her dreams, and the chance of escape from cubicle land. But Grant is haunted by his own monsters and is increasingly interested in more than just her mathematical magic.

In this touching and sexually charged contemporary romance, Sophie Penhaligon manages to deliver a novel that is lighthearted and fun whilst dealing with the difficult topics of loss and disability.

When a tragic accident leaves mathematician Seraphina Ellis with a traumatic brain injury, she is convinced she will live out the remainder of her life in lonely solitude. That is until she lands a new job and a chance meeting with grumpy and self proclaimed asshole, CEO Milo Grant.

What follows is a touching and sexually charged contemporary romance that delivers a lighthearted and fun read that delves into topics like loss and disability.

Safety in Numbers is a sweet read and even gave me Kiss Quotient and The Love Hypothesis (which I haven’t even read yet) vibes. I loved our main character’s name and everything she over came throughout the book to live her life. It was lovely to see two imperfect people with their insecurities and jealousies and issues fight to make their relationship work. I also love that we’re seeing more books with smart, sexy leading ladies in the STEM field.

“I still believed in safety in numbers, but my belief system had changed a little over the last year. Now I also believed in the power of one, because one was all I really needed.”

Seraphina Ellis is a computational whiz with numbers, but still learning to live again after a traumatic accident left her with a brain injury. Milo Grant needs a research assistant with Seraphina’s skills and is not concerned with how her speech patterns and words sometimes get mixed up. Spark’s fly in Dr. Grant’s lab as the two of them together work. Seraphina helps Milo with his research and accepting love despite his neglectful parents. Milo helps Seraphina navigate the re-entering social world while learning to accept herself for who she is now, brain injury and all.

This was a lovely, quick read about learning to accept yourself, flaws, past and all. I enjoyed following Seraphina’s experience learning to live with a brain injury and navigating life with an invisible condition. I am also ALWAYS here for a brilliant woman in STEM main character.

Review posted on my bookstagram on publication day

Thank you netgalley for the digital ARC. This was such a super cute romance! Plenty of emotional and traumatic parts but in the end it was simply adorable. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a sorta light romance to read.

Safety in Numbers is my first Sophie Penhaligon book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Seraphina is a girl that suffered a brain injury from a car accident. She is covering from that trauma and learning to adapt to her life now. Milo Grant is a brilliant scientist and entrepreneur who can also be a complete arse. He has suffered some abuse and trauma in his childhood and life. Good girl meets bad boy. Penhaligon kept me engaged since page one. Seraphina had strength to her to balance her vulnerable side. She's smart, sassy, and sexy. I would love to be her friend and we'd probably be bffs. Milo had that bad boy look to him but really is a sweet, thoughtful, and caring guy. He is that candy coated chocolate, hard and cold shell but soft and delicious center. The one thing I'd love to see more of is Seraphina and Milo interacting with others at their place of employment. You see that on occasion but there's not much that helps the storyline through. Additionally, the last third of the book seemed a bit rushed for me. I wanted more of their adorable relationship, more of them fighting for each other or fighting to be with each other. Overall, I loved my time with this story and I'm intrigued to get into the author's backlist. I would highly recommend this sweet and thoughtful romance.

Many thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book fills a lot of boxes in the premise, but if wasn't able to get into the story itself. Maybe it was one too many tropes?

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Safety in Numbers" follows the story of the fiery Seraphina Ellis and the permanently grumpy Milo Grant. An easy, uplifting romance read I was drawn to the STEM-based plot with elements of mathematics, physics and computer science and a slow burn, nerdy office romance. Seraphina suffered from a traumatic brain injury that has resulted in aphasia (the loss of words), but this doesn't stop her from embracing challenges and navigating the mundane. She is fiercely independent and knowledgeable but has deep-rooted doubts about love and relationships. Enter Dr Milo Grant, the CEO of the company she's working in, who is secretly battling his demons that manifests in the form of crudeness, being standoffish, constant swearing and temper tantrums. His genius and being incredibly handsome is a cherry on the top.

Sophie wonderfully captures the marriage of minds, the beauty of honesty and the blooming of passion. It was beautiful to read how each character slowly as their connection deepens. I appreciated how the author presented the intimate aspects of their relationship. However, as I turned the pages, the book became segmented. The first part appeared to have solely focussed on Seraphina's disability which takes a backseat as the relationship between the two protagonists blossomed. While the characters have their moments of vulnerability, I found certain aspects repetitive (especially with Milo's approach to relationships and his estranged parents). I would have also liked to see more on how Milo put his demons to rest, given that the book has dual narrations. To me, this prevented the characters from being fully fleshed out but did not compromise on the power of love, endurance and perseverance. A well-deserved ending awaits you, one which brought a smile to my face. This is my first book of Sophie Penhaligon, and it's not going to be the last. A 4 star read!

Rating: 3.75 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this romance book.
I must acknowledge that I requested this book solely because the main characters are STEM majors.
•Workplace romance X Grumpy to everyone except YOU - To be honest I felt the romance was instant but as the story progress, I really liked how Milo respect Seraphina and give her space when it was required. The second half of this book was sweet as they were complimenting each other in both their personal and professional lives.🤍
•Woman empowerment – Seraphina didn’t give up on her life after the accident occurred and despite her disability (aphasia) but coped with her professional life by preparing all the needs independently with the help of a therapist.
•Milo- He knows how to treat his girlfriend by giving her space when she needed and love and attention most of the time. He pushed her to be a better self-version of her despite her disability and knowing the limit by doing so.🥺

This novel follows Seraphina Ellis, the main character. An intelligent, highly educated, and driven woman. Who, unfortunately, is involved in an accident which affects her greatly. However, in starting a new career she finds her voice again. I particularly focused on Seraphina as I enjoyed learning how certain circumstances affect people and then overcoming their challenges. It is what makes her such a great character. Of course this is a romance novel and there is a very evident and obvious attraction between our main character and a certain someone. I loved how the author created this knowing and understanding dynamic to their relationship. Overall I enjoyed this novel.

Just brilliant. One of the best books I’ve read in ages. Such clever writing, a moving and educational story about living with a life changing brain injury and how hard and beautiful life can be. A funny, deep and tender romance told almost as a biography of Seraphina and Milo with all their heart and emotion on every page.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital arc. I just wanna start off by saying I really had high expectations for this book. Overall, it was a decent read. However, it made me uncomfortable in various ways. The way that disability is approached and spoken about is quite ableist and coming from the main character herself to speak in that manner feels really off putting. As a disabled person, I would've been a lot more open to the way the book was structured and the perspective given if the main character was providing less ableism herself. Ableism from other characters works to motivate you to like the main character and hate the other characters but when the main character is viewing herself so negatively as if she's broken and needs fixing, it doesn't go over so well. I did really enjoy the side aspects of the storyline such as Milo's story arc or the backstory on Serafina's mom, but I do agree it could use a little bit more flushing out. Overall, the storyline was fascinating but the disability execution left me disappointed.

Ms. Penhaligon is a new-to-me author so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up. I read the blurb and was intrigued so I decided to give it a try. A tragic accident leaves Seraphina with a disability which she tries to hide from her co-workers for fear they will think less of her. While she has her set routine and tries to cope on a daily basis, she has a chance meeting with the CEO, Miles, and later gets a job working as his assistant. This is the job she had initially applied for , but didn't get and was placed in another position. Milo is known to be a grumpy, hard to work with man, but Seraphina was perfect for the job and worked well with him. Milo enjoys the time he spends with her. I enjoyed watching their connection blossom and grow and how Milo went out of his way to make Seaphina feel more comfortable given her disability. They developed such a beautiful connection, it was really great. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Our main female character, Seraphina, is a woman in STEM with a brain injury. She is also a brilliant mathematician. After recovering from the car accident that caused her brain injury she gets a job where she hides her disability from her coworkers and maintains a life of solitude. Milo is the CEO and a brilliant scientist, but he scares everyone. After a chance encounter in the lift,  Milo find out that Seraphina would be the perfect research assistant that he has been looking for and maybe she can be the perfect life partner for him too.

With a premise like that I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it didn't live up to them. I found that Seraphina didn't develop much throughout the book and her disability rep could have been much better. Whereas Milo was for me one of my least favourite love interests. He was possessive over Seraphina and quite a horrible man to anyone who wasn't her. We also didn't get to know much about his back story so I felt there was a lot missing from his character.

It was a short and easy read but unfortunately didn't execute the premise as well as expected.

2.5 stars but rounding up.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid 3-3.5 star read

“For me there was safety in numbers; you could always rely on them”

Seraphina has a brain injury, Aphasia to be exact. This affects her speech and ability to ‘remember’ words, especially when in new or stressful situations, like interviewing at Grant Innovations for her dream job. She’s more than qualified for the role but Seraphina doesn’t want to be treated differently so she doesn’t tell anyone about the Aphasia and all of the struggles she faces. When the interview goes wrong and she loses her words, the interviewer takes her to meet the boss.. billionaire CEO Miles Grant. He’s bad tempered, grumpy and has the eyes of a serial killer.. but a gorgeous serial killer nonetheless!

I enjoyed this book, it reminded me a little of both The Love Hypothesis and The Kiss Quotient, which happened to be two of my favourite romances from last year. It had a lot of my favourite things in a romance- dual POV, workplace romance, billionaire boss, grumpy I hate everyone but you trope and it even had a little sprinkle of spice (although, the majority of scenes were fade to black).

The writing was so easy to read, so much so that I read the book in one sitting.

Predictable- yes, would I still recommend- yes!

A great book to start off 2022 with!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this!

This was cute, for the most part, but the disability rep had me cringing in places. I get why Seraphina would feel such anger over her new disability, however I hoped she would grow over the course of the novel to be less ableist. She at one point overhears a mean girl mocking her, and then we got to the most uncomfortable parts of the book - she goes back to a care facility she had felt safe in and both the doctor and psychiatrist suggest things to her that perpetuated the ableist vibes of the earlier scenes - she’s told that if people knew about her disability they might not mock her, as if you should only call people stupid and mock them if they don’t have the right “reason” for their behavior, and then is hanging out with another patient with a worse injury and it’s commented on that this is “good for her” to see how much worse it could’ve been 😬

Overall I liked the romance and how easily the love interest was willing to work with her and didn’t care about her disability - though at one point he wonders if she is mentally capable of a romance and then is like, eh, who cares I want her - without finding out from her if that’s reasonable. The idea that he thinks she is so disabled she can’t pursue a sexual relationship, even though there’s no evidence up until then, but then just decides it doesn’t matter is uncomfortable.

I also really enjoyed the STEM workplace setting!

Overall, I thought this was fun but poorly executed in places, especially surrounding her being “broken” (which might’ve been a red flag I missed when requesting this book)

I liked the premise, but it was executed poorly. What drew me in was the women in STEM and disability rep. But it was not great. I wanted for her to feel better or at least accept her disability but that didn't happen.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. What follows is my honest review

I found Safety in Numbers to be a cute and light romance. Seraphina is ready to brave the real world and returning to work after recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Equipped with work around and coping mechanisms to combat her speech issues, she takes a job at a tech company-- though not the job she wanted.

She catches the eye of the gruff and grumpy CEO (obvi- its a romance) and they both have issues to work through.

I enjoyed how much Seraphina came out of her shell and embraced her challenges. She is fiery (iykyk). The storyline is predictable. Most romances follow the same line as far as plot development. Overall a very enjoyable and light read. Definitely swearing. There are sex scenes I would describe as light/medium in terms of description.

Safety in Numbers: ★ ★ ★

Sophie Penhaligon

<b>"For me there was safety in numbers; you could always rely on them."</b>

When Seraphina Ellis is hired as famed billionaire scientist and CEO Milo Grant's research assistant, a connection forms between the two of them that transcends the boundaries of what math, or any other science, can hope to explain.

There's a tragically low number of books about women in STEM, which is what drew me toward this book in the first place. I love seeing this kind of representation, and especially the added intrigue of Seraphina's brain injury and how that contributes to her ability to work. She deals with aphasia and struggles with her speech, which makes her life more difficult than others. Seraphina is a really sweet main character, who finds joy in her accomplishments and is very talented.

I loved how Milo gave her the opportunity to work in his lab, and gave her a chance. Despite being rude and difficult to literally everyone else, he was so soft for his fallen angel and that made my heart happier than I could ever explain. I absolutely love when the guy is soft for her and her only and Milo is a perfect example of that.

Personally, I thought the first part of the book dragged a little bit, but once the main characters met (in Chapter 7), I found it a lot more enjoyable. As their friendship and connection grows, it's really tangible. From their slow growth, to some fire, all the way to the genuine bond that forms between the two. It's very sweet and satisfying to see.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for the ARC.
I loved the couple forming by Seraphina and Milo.
Usually I like one character more than the other but here, they are just perfect.
They are both strong after what they have been through in the past and help each other once they are together.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! Sophie Penhaligon's Safety in Numbers was a great, easy romance read.

Seraphina and Milo's story was so sweet, and I enjoyed their dialogue/banter throughout the book. While the pace was on the slower side, I enjoyed it because I was looking for a calmer read, Also, I really liked the Epilogue and wished more of the story could have focused more on their philanthropy.

I would recommend it if you're looking for a chiller read!