This had all the right ingredients but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I really wanted to love it, and the concept of a STEM-focused love story sounded promising, but the characters lacked depth and their interactions felt superficial at times. The romance between the protagonists lacked chemistry and felt forced, which made it hard to invest in!

Overall, The Hot Henry Effect might appeal to fans of light-hearted romances and Ali Hazelwood-esque storylines! Looking forward to seeing how Lucy grows as an author, because the potential is definitely there.

Literally giggling and kicking my feet throughout this book. After the train wreck I liked to call my previous read, "The Hot Henry Effect" saved me from spiraling into a pit of despair. Not to say that this book didn't have it faults (it did) but in the grand scheme of things I really liked this book, or rather I really liked my new book boyfriend Henry. This was not a book where you had to second guess feelings. You might scream at your book a couple of times saying things like "You idiot, he likes you!" or "You idiot, you like him!" But that's about as far as the stress levels get in this book. For those who love Ali Hazelwood, but are getting a little tired of the enemies to lovers trope that she tends to stick with, this is a great alternative. Same vibes except its Friends to Lovers, with clear mutual pinning. As for it's faults, I really only have two. The first being the ending just kind of ended. You get to a point in the book where you think "Oh maybe, this is the ending." But then it introduces a whole new group of characters and then, it ends. It felt a little awkward, like there should have been more to the story. The epilogue just flew right through the end, it wasn't a fast forward a week, or a month, or a year. It was that night. It felt a little clunky. My only other critic is that there was one plot point that never got resolved and it was a pretty major one, in both the character's development and the subject. Having the epilogue even touch on that would have been better than the ending that we got. I still want to give this book a 4 out of 5 stars even though the last 3-5 chapters were a bit of a let down. So this a reluctant 4 but I am looking forward to more books by this author!

I couldn't be drawn into the two MC's, they felt/read more like high school students a lot of the time which made the romance feel uncomfortable.

Loved the chemistry between the characters, the banter was incredible and i truly enjoyed this quick and easy read.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for the eARC of The Hot Henry Effect

I really enjoyed this novel, the banter between Clara and Henry was lovely to read, I really liked their friendship and how the characters developed. I loved the pop culture references and how the storyline played out.
The writing in this novel is typical of a rom com novel, which to me is a really good thing as I like how easy they are to read and get swept away. I was really engaged with the writing and I just couldn't put it down. Another romance novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is a cute, romcom, with a STEM backdrop featuring a very hot super-nerd engineer - wearing Clark Kent glasses - HELLO, and a little bit damaged inside, completely oblivious, kick-ass scientist.
It's not all sweetness and light, trigger warnings for attempted sexual assault, and harassment in the workplace.
Books like this sometimes get some stick, at being too predictable, that doesn't bother me, it feels like a warm hug. What I usually find with books in this genre is that the partner usually tries to "fix" what's bothering person one, and usually makes a hash of it, before realising they will sort things when they are ready, so it was refreshing that Henry didn't do this for Clara.
I really like Simmy and Jo, give a girl supportive girlfriends and she can take over the world.
It's a nice quick read, I'd definitely read more by this author.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review it if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

✨ Publication date: May 16, 2024✨

The Hot Henry Effect is a Women in Stem, friends to lovers rom-com by Lucy Chalice.

Clara Clancy is a stem cell researcher about to do a very important presentation to investors for her pharmaceutical company. After an important presentation to investors she realized she had a pastry mishap leaving a stain on her blouse looking suspiciously like a chocolate nipple.

After hiding in her office Clara runs into Hot Henry, a guy from her PHD days in Oxford who did an Engineering term in her lab. All of the girls called him hot Henry but they clicked and built an amazing friendship until he stopped communicating with her when he left Oxford.

As they reconnect and get to know each other again it’s just like old times. Clara’s best friend notices their chemistry which she denies until she realizes, they have always had this and could there have been more seven years ago when they worked together.

Can Clara get over her insecurities and tell Henry how she feels or will Hot Henry stay in the friend zone?

This was a cute story. I like Clara and Henry’s backstory and history together. I also like their chemistry and banter. I struggled a bit with Clara’s insecurities. They were brushed over and didn’t feel nearly bad enough to put her on a the path of self destruction she seemed to be on. I do like the women in STEM angle too. This was a 3 star read for me!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #lucychalice #thehothenryeffect

Thank you to @Onemorechapter and @Netgalley for the ARC. I loved this book. I could not stop reading. Henry was so sweet and I can just hear his voice in my head. Clara took her time realizing her feelings, but when she did, sparks fly. A must read.

This book was unnecessarily long for no reason. There were multiple times that I had to remind myself that the MCs were adults and not children in high school, I felt like I was reading a YA novel. Overall, not my favorite but it was mehh.

Enjoyable, light hearted and hilarious - this is a great read! May cause awkward laughing out loud moments - beware on public transport!

It took me so long to get into the book -struggling with the writing as I was- that I should've know it wouldn't work for me. There are so many misogynistic comments made by the FMC of all people, that I don't know if perhaps this could make the perfect sample book for a study on how authors think that women having their internalised misogyny coming out of their ears is somehow meant to be a turn on. Newsflash, it's not! I just felt sorry for her half of the time. I skimmed most of the last 50% because I genuinely couldn't stay focused, the writing felt off.

Also, the SA plot line was awful and uncalled for, imo.
I would not recommend this book, unfortunately.

A cute slow romance, he falls first, woman in STEM.

This book makes you root for Henry and Clara.

They reunite after university seven years later while working on a project together.

Such a sweet development of their love.

The ending seemed kind of rushed, which I find unfortunately.

DNF @ 66% - The book started off pretty boring, but started to get better as the two main characters interacted some. When it got to the part about Henry’s marriage I wondered if I was going to have to DNF- I HATE that plot line where one of the love interests is in a long term relationship or marriage even though they’re in love with someone else the entire time. Some people might find it romantic, but I do not! I tried to keep reading after that point, but I just couldn’t handle how annoying both characters were acting. If I’d known that would be part of the story, I’d never have started it.

3.5 ⭐This was overall a great colleagues to lovers STEM romance that is perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood. This was easy to read with short chapters and likeable main characters including our swoony male love interest, the titular Hot Henry. There was some spice which was done well and was a good level of steam and there were a lot of reader favourite tropes used such as he falls first. I think where this didn't quite hit for me and so didn't get rated higher was that I found myself frustrated by the lack of communication and characters, mainly Clara, jumping to conclusions that if she'd just paused for a minute she would have realised wasn't at all logical.

STEM romances are my jam and I did really enjoy this read, will be checking out more from this author!

the cover really drew me in to this book, and it was charming, made me happy, and was just overall a really fun romcom. a lighthearted read was exactly what I was looking for to get me out of a reading slump.

👨🏻‍🔬STEM romance
👨🏻‍🔬friends to lovers
👨🏻‍🔬grumpy sunshine
👨🏻‍🔬workplace romance
👨🏻‍🔬second chance

4*

Very enjoyable book. It was a super cute and light hearted read. The progression of the story was very calm including different viewpoints from both parties. In the end the time jumps were a little bigger than the rest of the book, which felt a little rushed to me. I get that the storyline got less interesting once the romance was confirmed, so I wasn't too bothered by it. The only real critique I have is that the spice-rate is waaaay off. Only the last few chapters include quite some spicy scenes, but if you're picking this book for the spice you might want to skip to another one, even though the scenes were written nicely. All in all a cute romantic book.

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC to read ahead of publishing in return for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75/5 stars)

Equal parts reunited friends-to-lovers and workplace romance, 'The Hot Henry Effect' is a fun and light-hearted story where we follow Dr. Clara as she reconnects with her old friend Henry. The duo teams up on a new project, and sparks fly as they navigate working together after being apart for so long.

While the storyline is engaging, the use of the miscommunication trope felt a bit overdone and detracted from the overall enjoyment for me. At times, the flaws in the main characters felt unconvincing, and unexplored which made it hard to fully connect with them. However, the plot really picked up towards the end, delivering a satisfying conclusion that made the journey worthwhile.

If you're looking for an easy, readable romance with a mix of professional dynamics and personal growth, 'The Hot Henry Effect' is definitely worth picking up. It's perfect for a cozy weekend read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publichers for providing me with this ARC

The Hot Henry Effect is a second chance romcom, with a STEM backdrop and a swoony MMC.
Unfortunately, this didn't quite hit the mark with me - I found the MFC, Clara, to be quite immature and annoying particularly with her denial of Henry's obvious feelings, especially when everyone spelled everything out to her. I struggled with her narrative of being 'damaged goods' and 'unable to love' with just a few mentions of daddy issues and a few bad dates but not a lot of resolution. I also didn't quite understand why Henry was so obsessed with her.
I really did want to like this book as I love a book with women in STEM but I just found it wasn't as well done as I've read in other books.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the book for me.