Cute cover and I liked the idea of this book 😂 I liked the beginning and seeing Clara and Henry reconnect but that was about it. Everyone seemed way younger than they were supposed to be. Why so many exclamation marks in the dialogue 😫. There wasn’t enough character development for it to make sense to me why Clara wouldn’t just let herself see Henry as more than a friend?? Maybe it would’ve worked better if it had been enemies to lovers. Or dual pov? Idk. And why was there even an epilogue??? The whole second half of the book has me confused.

This was such a cute women in STEM slow burn romance, where the boy is obsessed to the gods, he falls first and harder and she is totally oblivious. This is definitely for the girlies that love Ali Hazelwood's books!

I was giggling and smiling a lot reading this and I absolute love Henry. He is intelligent and sexy and supportive and caring, literally a perfect man. Clara, on the other hand, was a rather frustrating character. She was so oblivious and delusional, which at first was cute and endearing but then got annoying. When her insecurities got the better of her more than once, that is when I would have just dropped her if I was Henry. I really liked her character overall though and her banter and chemistry with Henry was so good. Simmy was a great friend and a good secondary character who made me laugh many times.

The first half is definitely better than the second, as the first half was all cute and low stakes but then as soon as the second half of the book starts, it turns to a more darker tone with sexual harassment taking place by one of Clara's colleagues, which I think is important to talk about and I think was handled well in the book, however, I don't feel it was necessary as it didn't add much, if anything, to the story. Also the second half is when Clara's insecurities get more attention and they just sort of come out of nowhere from childhood trauma which she never really healed from, which didn't get the deep dive it needed and was only mentioned to explain her distrust towards men. Another point from the second half was the miscommunication between Henry and Clara,

I didn't like the ending of the book, with the third act breakup and her meeting his family so late in the story felt strange but I had a good time overall and it reminded me a lot of Ali Hazelwood's books.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Lucy Chalice for the ARC!

The idea behind the story was promising, with the concept of unrequited love stemming from a closed-off female main character piquing interest. Initially, it seemed like it would delve into a fake dating scenario. However, there were a few shortcomings that detracted from its potential.

Firstly, there is the mishandling of unresolved issues. There was some drama with the co-worker that did not get addressed properly. Then Clara came off as contradictory in her character, and Henry struggled with effective communication. The ending felt off, and the epilogue didn’t add anything to the story. Despite these flaws, I believe this story has a lot of potential if it stays focused on the STEM romance aspect.

Thank you One More Chapter and NetGalley for this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to experience this book and offer my honest feedback. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This is such a cute, fluffy romance full of quirky characters with lots of fun humour. I found myself giggling throughout. I loved Clara she’s such a lovable person, and girls girl. She faced so many complicated feelings and she took them all in her stride. Henry is such a golden retriever, I love how patient he was and up front with how he was feeling with all different people in his life. He didn’t beat around the bush when Clara discovered his true nature towards her and really pushed her into expressing how she really felt.

I liked how easy the book was to read and I can’t wait to read the next one!

𝟯.𝟰 ͙͘͡★
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯."

Don't read this if you're looking for a quick read that won't give you a headache.🫶🏼

They were happy at 75%, so the book could easily have finished there, but no, the author wanted to add some unnecessary drama that caused me a headache, so thanks for that.💞

ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ:

The amount of time I completely forgot that both MCS were doctors and not high school students is insane. They didn’t really act like 25+ year old adults, and the choices they made (especially Clara, the FMC) were so childish and stupid. There’s literally no way that she graduated from Oxford. She’s definitely not on my favorite FMC list, that’s for sure. She was in no way relatable and too insecure for me. The number of times I needed to read the quotes "he’s way out of my league“ or "he deserves someone better.“ is unbelievable.🫤 Henry was meh and cute at the same time, but again, I really couldn’t picture him as a 25+ year old adult with a doctor title. Let’s not forget the number of times he said stuff like, "I’ll kill him." I always cringe reading this quote when a MMC that is not in a mafia or gang says that. You literally wear Superman boxers, so calm down, Harry.🤗
"𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳?"
"𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳." 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘭.”
How can I unread this???🥲


ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:

⊹ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ
⊹ ɢʀᴜᴍᴘʏ x ꜱᴜɴꜱʜɪɴᴇ
⊹ ᴍᴍᴄ ꜰᴀʟʟꜱ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ & ʜᴀʀᴅᴇʀ
⊹ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ꜱᴛᴇᴍ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ꜱᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ᴍɪꜱᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ (ᴇᴡ)


ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ Qᴜᴏᴛᴇꜱ:

💌
"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸."
"𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯,"
💌
𝘐𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦,"
💌
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺," 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. "𝘗𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥!"
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳," 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘈 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.”
💌
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢," 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥.”
💌

𝚂𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚈 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝.🫂

!!𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 & 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!!

The Hot Henry Effect is a sweet, STEM-y second chance romance starring socially awkward scientist Clara and the titular Hot (and thoughtful and kind) Henry. The novel opens with the two characters re-meet-cuteing after a grad-school friendship and seven years of not talking. They're working together, and their professional collaboration rekindles their friendship. I loved this part of the novel - Henry and Clara have great chemistry and banter, and I thought Henry's (non-POV) personality was very nicely developed.

In the second half of the novel, things start to get serious in a way that feels at odds with the lighthearted tone of the first half, and I found myself not really buying into it. One of Clara's colleagues - who has been hitting on her in a manner that's somewhere between comic relief and sexual harassment - sexually assaults her, and Henry comes to her rescue. Sexual assault is a serious topic, but here it feels like a device to allow Henry to demonstrate his strength, kindness, and good timing. We also learn that Clara doesn't do relationships because she considers herself "broken" after being abandoned by her father in childhood - another serious issue that needs more than a romantic gesture and a friend's pep talk to get over. Finally, we discover that Henry has somehow stayed in love with Clara through seven year of not seeing her and a marriage to another woman (which to me downgrades him from "sweet and romantic" to "stupid and kind of a jerk", but that's a matter of taste).

Of course, it all wraps up sweetly in the end. Given how much fun their friendship was, I wanted to really be rooting for these characters to get and stay together, but - especially in Clara's case - I wasn't sure that they had demonstrated enough growth to earn it. 5 stars for the first half, 3ish for the second...

I'll be honest. I wasn't entirely sure I'd enjoy this book after reading the first chapter and almost stopped reading BUT I am so glad I continued because I ended up LOVING this book.

It is cute and has all the feels.

It's one of those books you read for the vibes, knowing exactly how it'll end and I loved that about this book.

Henry is such a loveable hero, and I grew to really like Clara.

If you love fluffy feel good romance and want to fall head over heels in love with the hero then this book is for you.

I also love the cover.

All the stars.

Clara was saved by Henry during one of her important presentations at work. They have been friends since university but nothing romantically has ever happened. Both of them are oblivious to each other's feelings....

Love how smart Clara is professionally. It's funny how both Henry and Clara are smart professionally but totally clueless when it comes to their personal feelings. The only minor complaint that I have is that I was hoping for more romantic/sexy moments.... Otherwise, a perfect rom-com.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I simply could not put this book down- devoured in one evening!
I absolutely loved Clara and Henry’s chemistry and banter; would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys STEM romances.

I have most definitely fallen victim to the Hot Henry Effect…
I loved how Henry was written as a character, it was refreshing to have an MMC who is a little bit shy, in some respects, for once.

I do normally like a little bit more spice, and I was hoping for some more in this book, however I still really enjoyed this story and I could not put it down!

I would happily devour another book about Ted If that were on the cards.

Very cute story, loved the post it notes and the coat cocoon!

Thank you to Harper Collins Uk/ One more chapter for the ARC.

3 stars - a cute romcom but not my cup of tea.

I really enjoyed how Clara's work was described in the prologue and I wish there had been more details like this throughout the book, but it was sidelined for the romance. I enjoyed the chemistry between Clara and Henry, and loved Henry as a character. The premise was good and it could definitely be a fun read for those looking for a 'he falls first' STEM romance.

I think both main characters' backgrounds could have been developed more - I would have loved there to be more references to the years that they hadn't seen each other or what had changed during that time, as it feels like everything is the same as 7 years before apart from their jobs. I also would have liked to see more of their friends/family, as Simmy was the only one who seemed to have a role in the story. I didn't like Clara as a character - her inner monologue was grating at times and I found her obliviousness frustrating, though I'm not a big fan of the miscommunication trope in general.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

so so enjoyable! loved the fast-paced, the writing was great, and it was the perfect mix of sweet, witty, and spicy for a romcom such as this one. the only issue i had was with the FMC and while i understood where she was coming from, the miscommunication trope isnt usually my favorite anyways, so it was just a personal preference. however, i ended up really enjoying her character arc and improvement, and the mmc was simply swoony. loved the unique cliche and would highly recommend for a romcom!

This sucked me right in. It was a really enjoyable slow burn romance. I devoured it in one day, staying up until 2 am because I just had to know what happened between Clara and Henry. Thank you so much for the ARC copy, I cannot wait to read more of your books.

A very cute STEM lil romance - a bit slow in the beginning and it felt like the banter took 70% of the book before anything actually happened, but still cute! Also, I wished the story had been a bit more developed - not much about their families or about their time apart, etc.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I found it fun and easy to read, this makes a change from reading dark romance books and I love it.

Oh my goodness. This book was so sweet and cute even if I really wanted to smack Clara many, many times. Honestly, she wasn't my favorite FMC on the planet but that's besides the point. Henry is literally such a wonderful human and he has been in love with Clara forever. She's either very oblivious to it or she just wasn't accepting of it. There is trauma that has made her the way she is which was sad but still, I feel like she should maybe get a bit of therapy.
Henry was at times a little over the top but he was cute. There was a lot of miscommunication in this book and people not expressing their feelings, so if you don't like that kind of trope I would skip this book. Otherwise, it's a cute fun ride about a woman trying to overcome her aversion to love due to trauma, and a man who will do anything for her. Also, if you like women in STEM, you'll enjoy this book as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️From the publisher One More Chapter/Harper Collins: When a mishap with a pain au chocolat ruins the most important presentation of Dr Clara Clancy’s career, the last person she expects to come to her rescue is the impossibly good-looking and all-round super-nice guy from her university days, Dr Henry Fraser.
Back during their time together at Oxford, Clara was seemingly the only person immune to The Hot Henry Effect – a genuine scientific phenomenon whereby those around Henry fall instantly and helplessly in love with him, the outcomes of which he has remained entirely oblivious to.
Now, reunited and back working together, it’s not long before they slip back into their easy friendship. But both Henry and Clara are keeping secrets – if they can’t be honest with themselves, what hope is there of them being honest with each other? And will Clara really be able to resist the Hot Henry Effect for long?
************************
My review: Clara and Henry were both likable in this rom com. But well past the novel's halfway point they were still circling around each other. Henry, refusing to say how he felt, and Clara being oblivious. For overly intelligent professionals, they seemed very unaware.

While I rooted for them to finally acknowledge their feelings out loud and move forward, the lack of background info was frustrating. What exactly happened all those years apart? Why did no one ever get counseling?? Why didn't either one try harder to contact the other?

I laughed a few times, Simmy was a fun secondary character, and there were a couple surprises. A little spice at the end and the third act break up was remarkably swift (It's annoying when it's too long and dramatic). A quick read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

The tongue-in-cheek humor was amusing, the prose is easy to read, and it seems like the author has the know-how to support this STEM love story. I stopped a couple pages into chapter 2 (6%), but I'd expect three to four stars from the target audience, with five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm so impressed by it, especially considering that it is a debut novel. I love books that feature STEM, so I was so excited to read this. If you're a fan of Ali Hazelwood, then this book is for you! The book was written so well, and I loved both Henry and Clara. It's a fantastic romantic comedy with some laugh out loud moments. I think there could have been more spice; it was pretty minimal compared to other books like it but this isn't a dealbreaker by any means. I thought their relationship developed well and I loved seeing them go through their journey together. I'm also not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope and it was very prevalent in this book. Clara was so oblivious to how in love Henry was with her, but I totally get it. This is a slow burn but it's so worth it! I highly recommend reading this book! You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Chalice and HarperCollins/One More Chapter for the eARC of this book.

What I liked about the book:
🧫 Their banter and chemistry was top notch! I couldn’t help but drink in every word of their conversations!

🧫 This was definitely the rom-com it credits itself to be. I laughed out loud at several points in the story and overall found it very charming. I could totally see this as a movie starring Henry Cavill.

🧫 I love seeing more STEMinist novels written by authors other than Ali Hazelwood. I love Ali, but we need more representation and this is a great addition to the cause.

🧫 This was a fantastic debut novel! It had a great flow, great characters, and a great plot. I didn’t find that it fell into the normal pitfalls that debut novels can, which makes me want to follow Lucy’s writing career as it can only get better!

🧫 Above all, I could not put this book down! I read it pretty much for 5 hours straight from start to finish.

What could have been better:
🧫 The miscommunication trope hit so HARD in this one. I’m not against this trope, but it’s definitely not my favorite, and it was SO prevalent in this story.

🧫 Not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed that it took so long to get to the intimate scenes. Also, the fact that NetGalley classified this as “erotica” when it had, I think, one intimate scene on par with most romance books these days, was a little misleading. I picked the book up partially for this “erotica” classification and was a little disappointed that it didn’t live up to the descriptor.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Lucy Chalice for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

4 stars!

If you love women in STEM with a slow build romance where he falls first then this book will be just the ticket for you. This book had me giggling and smiling and rooting for Henry and Clara. After a while I did find myself getting frustrated with Clara but I knew the slow burn would be worth the wait. I will say this is definitely on the low end for spice, but it is balanced well with the plot. The post it notes were the icing on the cake for me.

This was a wonderful new STEM romance that was everything I hoped it would be.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Lucy Chalice for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.