Like others, from the premise I was eager to read this book. However it just didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure if it was the writing style, the way the plot unfolded or lack of pace but I didn’t find it enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for the chance to review.

Big thank you for the ARC.

I loved the premise of the book and I really wanted to enjoy it. Unfortunately I struggled with this book. I'm not sure I'm the right target market so it's probably me rather than the book.

I was very intrigued by the cover and title of this book and was excited about starting it. It took me a while to warm to the storyline but sadly it didn’t hold my interest. I never give up on books and decided to carry on. The relationship between Mimi and her mathematician brother is very quirky but the mathematical phrases went straight over my head. The ultimate revelation about their parents was quite emotional, however it didn’t make me rate this book any higher. I so wanted to enjoy this book but sadly it wasn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy to read though.

The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything is a charming book. It is refreshing and well written, with quirky likeable characters.
Don't listen to some of the other reviews, you really do NOT need to know anything about maths, or like maths, to engage with Art. He is a super clever neuro-divergent mathematician whose life work is to solve a particular equation. (Don't ask me what or why - it doesn't matter!) He is lovable and easy to understand, despite his job.
The family history, including why siblings Art and Mimi are so close, is gradually revealed and I felt moved and so sad for them. But despite their history, the book is both uplifting and even funny in places.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes books like The Rosie Project, or those where friendship and family is at the centre.
A good 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars from me.

I have just spent about five days with siblings Mimi and Art. Mimi is 35, and a sound technician, Art is almost 40, and is Mathematician, a Proffessor of Maths. He is also on the Autistic spectrum. Since their parents passed away, over a decade ago, Mimi has taken care of Art. She loves her brother, however, she also wants a life of her own. This thought terrifies Art, however, he agrees to help her find love using a maths algorithm...and so a can of worms is opened full of suspicions; where Mimi and Art are forced to address relationships with themselves, with each other, and with their parents..
An interesting, slow burner of book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a creative and absorbing tale!

I'm struggling with my review for this book, which I found rather odd. There were interesting parts, although I found it a little slow in places and I felt confused at times. I did care about the relationship between Mimi and her brother, Art, and also with her boyfriend, Frank, but I m still not sure of quite a few parts and whether it was a genuine relationship or if Frank was using her. I did battle on to the end but not really for me. Sorry.

I found this very disappointing. For me there was too much flitting about between the characters and the whole thing felt very bitty. There was too much distraction that took away from the story so that I found myself losing interest. Not one for me.

There's some compelling things about this, in particular the depiction of a brother-sister relationship felt refreshing to read. But I just couldn't connect with it and found it all really frustrating. The neurodivergent representation felt uncomfortable and much of the plot hinged on a dynamic I didn't believe or care for, And a late-on information reveal just felt painful.

This was a bit of a slow starter for me, I felt it was quite a lot to delve into and explore but once you get half way through I can promise you won't want to put it down.

The two main characters couldn't be more different, one of those - Art being neurodivergent and completely obsessed with maths. He was quite a quirky character and it was interesting to see how his personality affected his day to day life and relationships with others. Mimi on the other hand is very subdued in comparison and it's only later in the boom we see more of her personality come out. It was endearing to see their sibling relationship, how despite loving each other very much they absolutely find each other quite irritating at times. I think the dual narrative really helped to see each character in a different perspective.

I admit I was kinda expecting something similar to The Rosie Project however this is so much deeper. In a good way!!

Despite the sloe start I ended up actually enjoying it & that cover is absolutely fab which is what caught my eye in the first place.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

The Theory Of (Not Quite) Everything tells the story of a pair of siblings, Art and Mimi Brotherton, who have grown to depend on each other since their parents' sudden death when they were both young adults. Art is a brilliant mathematician whose life is devoted to solving a supposedly impossible maths problem, while Mimi is still trying to find her purpose in life and figure out what she wants beyond her relationship with her brother.

This book isn't too sure what it wants to be. The opening few chapters had me expecting a quirky romantic comedy, with Art deciding to help Mimi find love - so long as she agrees to do it according to a strict mathematical approach. Surely hilarity would ensue in a plot reminiscent of an episode of The Big Bang Theory? In fact, there is some very heavy subject matter here, the plot referencing suicide, terminal illness, brain injury, and sexual assault. There is some levity, much of it in the form of Art's acerbic observations about life, love and Mimi's new boyfriend, but there are as many elements of domestic drama and mystery as there are of rom-com.

Of the novel's two central characters, I felt Art was the more compelling and sensitively realised. He is a fascinating, unusual character and I was really interested to see how the way he sees the world impacts his life and relationships. It was also refreshing to have a neurodivergent protagonist. Mimi is somewhat less well-drawn, her character mostly defined as just being very different to Art's and, when more specific traits are highlighted later on, we are told what they are by other characters rather than inferring them for ourselves. However, I enjoyed the relationship between the siblings and thought that the dual narrative helped the reader to understand how they complement and infuriate each other, and how they love each other deeply even as they find each other utterly maddening.

The plot was very original, littered with references to mathematical theories and problems which mostly enhanced the story, though there were times when I had to re-read some passages to make sense of the way life was supposed to be imitating maths. The romance fell flat for me: I felt that there wasn't enough development of either Frank's character or the relationship with Mimi before things got complicated, leaving me unsure what the author wanted the reader to make of his character and confused about how invested I should be in their relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately I was unable to finish it because the mathematical speak and the use of algorithms and abbreviations over powered everything and I felt that the story was bogged down and lost amongst it all, such a shame

This was a compelling combination of family, friendship, mystery, love and maths and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The closeness of Mimi and Art’s relationship, whilst not always easy for either of them, is incredibly sweet and they love each other so deeply it was impossible not to feel my heart melt for this pair. Art, a maths genius, is always logical and fact-oriented, and this gives him insight into the world that others may overlook. It leads him down a rabbit hole of trying to unravel the mystery of the new man in Mimi’s life, deviating from his comfort zone through a deep desire to protect his sister - and his own research. Mimi, unfulfilled in her job and looking for romance, is trying to create a life for herself that makes her happy. Through the novel, the bond between Art and Mimi stretches and twists and unexpected truths emerge from their past and present. Although the secrets all eventually emerge, it was a bumpy road.

The dual narrative helped to contrast the two siblings and offer insight into their personalities and emotions and whilst I loved Mimi’s character, I had a soft spot for Art and the world as he viewed it. Who couldn’t, when he loves his sister so fiercely? The friendship between Art and Mimi and Rey was also wonderful to see. Rey is practically family and always looking out for her two friends. I did have mixed feelings about Frank, the new man in Mimi’s life, but that is clearly the intention from the outset, with Mimi’s feelings and Art’s logic warring against each other.

This was perhaps a heavier read than it seems but it’s also incredibly beautiful and full of mystery and the question of the narrators’ reliability. It took me a few chapters to settle into the book and grow used to these siblings but it was definitely worth it to fall into their world.

Like the circles of a Venn diagram, Mimi and Art Brotherton have always come as a pair. Devoted siblings, they're bound together in their childhood home by the tragic death of their parents. Art is a mathematical genius, and he believes that people - including his sister - aren’t capable of making sensible decisions about love. Love is what algorithms are for.

Mimi knows that her brother is a genius, but for her maths isn’t always the answer. Not quite. Especially when it comes to love. When Mimi wants to look for her soulmate, she gives in to Art’s plan based entirely on maths. Then Frank appears, a complete romantic who believes that destiny is written in the stars. He is definitely not algorithm approved. Art mistrusts Frank, something about him simply doesn’t add up. Yet the more Art disapproves, the more Mimi is drawn to him. The premise and the potential search for love through maths is a funny and entertaining concept, but as the siblings relationship becomes strained I felt there was a slightly darker side that changed this from the average rom-com. Art displays neurodivergent tendencies, although autism isn’t mentioned. These tendencies include his obsession with numbers and his controlling attitude towards his sister which made me uncomfortable. There is an emotionally incestuous aspect to their relationship that’s very destructive and prevents Mimi from finding happiness elsewhere. He uses his mathematical system to frustrate her efforts, while pretending to help. I felt sorry for Frank who is stuck in the middle of this.

I was worried about the impact their relationship would have on her future, especially when the siblings have already had such a traumatic start in life. There are the usual twists, turns and obstacles we expect in a rom-com before anything can be resolved. Some of these happenings are bleak and although I can see what the writer is trying to do, these are events that can’t easily be wrapped up with a happy ending. 
So this isn’t the average rom-com, despite some of the tropes used. It’s far grittier and more complex.

This book was completely out of my comfort zone but I am so glad I read it!
The story is based on the intense relationship between the genius mathematician Art and his younger sister Mimi.
Mimi decides she wants to find love and enlists her (reluctant) brother to help her by using a mathematical algorithm to find the perfect man.
It all goes south though when she meets Frank, in the 'real world'.
Art gets suspicious of Frank and decides to find out more about him
This runs alongside the tragic story of their parents death and how subsequently they have had to look out for each other which is why they find it so hard being apart.
Both characters are extremely endearing and this was written so well. It kept my attention throughout.
I would definitely recommend.

The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything is an entertaining, thoughtful book which explores some serious topics through characters that make mistakes but feel real.

This book is a slower builder – I think you need to give it some time. I struggled to feel connected to the characters in the first half of the book( and even having finished the book I still felt like I hadn’t properly got inside Mimi or Art’s heads) – they still felt like a bit of an enigma to me. I disliked the way Art treated Mimi, but as the novel continues you start to understand why he behaves the way he does and why they are so protective of each other. Plus it’s always great to read books with a neurodivergent main character.

I don’t want to give too much away but I think the last third of the book, with the surprises and revelations, ramped the plot up a gear and piqued my interest much more – I didn’t find myself particularly gripped by the story until towards the end when I think the story really came into its own with some great twists that I did not see coming!

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and reading about Art and Mimi, particularly the second half of the novel which I struggled to put down, but it took longer than expected to find myself really caring about any of the characters. However, it’s a different, entertaining book and well worth a read so I’d recommend it.

Not for me I’m afraid, I wanted to like this book , the title intrigued me, but I found it slow and uninspiring. I managed to get through eight chapters but at that point I just couldn’t read any longer . Sorry

I'm going to start by saying I t took me a fair few chapters to settle into this story, but once I did it was worth sticking with it. The book tells the story of two siblings & the challenges they both face in their lives. The book is slightly unusual & a bit on the quirky side but it's worth reading. 3.5*

The first chapter nearly put me off this book. It didn't feel like it was what I signed up for from the blurb. But I'm happy I kept going because it's a story of love in many forms and loss. It's sad at times, funny at others and quiet poetic too.

This book is centred around the story of Mimi and her romance with Frank, whilst still ensuring that she looks after her brother Art's needs. Although not stated in the book, I am guessing that Art is on the autism spectrum. Lots of mathematics and equations throughout the book which didn't really hold my interest as quite a niche subject, and although I finished it, it didn't wow me. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advance review e copy.